Twisted Cryptids: Cryptid Culture Rulebook

Table of Contents

Table of Contents

• New Cryptids
• What's in the Box
• Setup
• Cults and Rituals

New Cryptids

This expansion introduces two new playable Cryptids. Each has a profile listing its height or wings, its outfits or wings type, what it likes (thumbs-up icon) and dislikes (thumbs-down icon), and a short description.

Lizard Person

• Height: average
• Outfits: assorted
• Likes (thumbs-up): Disguises, Summertime, Fly fishing
• Dislikes (thumbs-down): Cold fronts, Nail clippers

Ever feel like your friend isn't being themself? You might have been visited by Lizard Person in disguise! When they aren't wearing humans like a costume, you can recognize them by the spines on their back and a tendency to lay around in sunny spots.

Jersey Devil

• Height: 6 ft
• Wings: bat-like
• Likes (thumbs-up): Livestock, Turnpikes, Marshes
• Dislikes (thumbs-down): Bounty hunters, Zoos

It's a bird, it's a plane, it's… a… horned goat-bat-horse chimera? Rumored to terrorize remote marshes and woodlands, the cute-as-hell Jersey Devil has a pretty hefty bounty placed on its head... If you can catch it, that is.

The Cryptid Powers of Lizard Person and Jersey Devil are printed on their Cryptid cards; this booklet does not print the power text.

What's in the Box

• 4 tarot-sized Cryptid cards (2 standard, 2 lenticular)
• 18 Sighting cards
• 6 Event cards
• 21 Action cards
• 2 Cryptid meeples
• 6 double-sided Myth tokens
• 4 Hidden Trait cards
• 6 Cult Information Guides
• 12 Cult tokens
• 6 Hiding Spot tokens
• 3 card dividers

Setup

Adding the Cryptid Culture Expansion to Twisted Cryptids allows you to play with up to 6 players. When playing with this expansion, you'll get your very own Cult to help you out! During setup, add the Action, Event, and Hidden Trait cards from this expansion to the corresponding Twisted Cryptids decks.

After each player has chosen a Cryptid, have each player choose a Cult and take the corresponding components: 1 Cult Information Guide and 2 Cult tokens. Return any unchosen Cults (with their corresponding components) to the game box.

Place your Cult Information Guide above your Sighting cards, then place one of your Cult tokens on the leftmost space of the Influence Track on your Cult Information Guide. You'll use this to track your Influence by sliding it along the Influence Track.

After placing your third Hiding Spot token, place your second Cult token on the Site of one of your Hiding Spot tokens. This will signify your Cult's current location in The Wilderness. After each player has placed their Cult token, setup may proceed as normal.

[Diagram: "Once you have completed setup, The Wilderness should look something like this:" — the illustration labels the discard pile and the Current Event pile; the diagram itself is not transcribed.]

Note: When playing with 4 players, no more than 3 players may have a Hiding Spot token at any one Site; however, when playing with 5 or 6 players, up to 4 players may have a Hiding Spot token at the same Site.

The Cryptid Culture Expansion introduces a new Function called Rummage, which allows you to exchange cards in your hand for new cards.

• Rummage: Discard any number of Action cards from your hand, then draw the same number of cards from the Action deck. (This isn't the trash you want… You want different trash.)

Cults and Rituals

The Cryptid Culture Expansion comes with 6 different Cults, each represented by a unique symbol: Hunger, Whispers, Passage, Attraction, Mystery, and Might.

Throughout the game, your Influence will grow as your Cult gains more members. As their leader, you will Direct your Cult around The Wilderness and gain access to their Rituals as your Influence grows to help you secure your place as the True Legend.

Your two Cult tokens are used to track the location of your Cult in The Wilderness and your Cult's current level of Influence on your Cult Information Guide. Your Cult Information Guide tells you everything you need to know about your Cult. It tracks your Influence and outlines the Rituals your Cult may perform to help you.

The Cryptid Culture Expansion gives you an additional Action you may take on your turn to move your Cult through The Wilderness.

• Direct: Discard any number of Action cards, then move your Cult that many times. Each time you move your Cult it must be to an adjacent Site. If you discard multiple cards, you may Direct your Cult to multiple Sites on the same turn. (That way, everyone!)

Note: You may still only take one Action per turn. This means, if you Direct your Cult on your turn, you may not play an Action card or use your Cryptid Power on the same turn.

At the end of your turn, you may Cultivate to increase your Influence by 1 if there are 3 Humans of the same Flavor on the Site of one of your Hiding Spots.

• Cultivate: Choose a Site with 3 Humans of the same Flavor. Take 1 of those Humans and place it back in its corresponding Rest Area, then increase your Influence by 1. You may only Cultivate at the Site of one of your Hiding Spots. (Haha, tell them you promise you won't bite…)

Note: You may only Cultivate if your current Influence is lower than the number of Events in the Current Event pile.

As the Influence of your Cult grows, you will gain access to Rituals that you can use to your advantage. Each Cult Information Guide lists 3 Rituals that you'll unlock when you reach the corresponding level of Influence. You may use these Rituals in response to specific occurrences throughout the game.

• Ritual 1 is the same for all 6 Cults. You may use Ritual 1 each time your Cult is at the Site of an Encounter when you reveal a Sighting. This Ritual allows you to gain Myth equal to your Influence.

• Ritual 2 is different for each Cult. For some Cults, you may use this Ritual when you Attract a specific Flavor of Human, while for others you may use it when you Extract a specific Flavor of Human. Ritual 2 allows you to move your Cult and gain additional Myth.

• Ritual 3 is different for each Cult. You may use Ritual 3 when you Direct your Cult to multiple Sites on the same turn. For some Cults, this Ritual allows you to move Humans based on each of the Sites to which you directed your Cult. For other Cults, this Ritual allows you to move Humans based on the final Site (the Site on which your Cult ended up after you directed your Cult multiple times). You may only use this Ritual once per round.

The specific text of each Cult's Ritual 2 and Ritual 3 is printed on that Cult's Information Guide, not in this booklet, so it is not transcribed here.

Note: If a Ritual would Lure, Scare, Attract, or Extract Humans to or from the Site of a Cult, you do not need to have a Hiding Spot at that Site to use that Ritual.