Game Of The Week: Unspeakable Words

I'm a big fan of word games, and when they mix in a bit of Lovecraftian goodness, so much the better! I remember from reading that now somewhat rare early edition of Dieties & Demigods and being fascinated by the Cthulhu Mythos... the idea that saying the wrong word could summon one of the Elder Evils really tickled some deep corner of my mind. Since then I've had the experience of getting to read many of Lovecraft's works - and I'm always psyched to see references to him in gaming. A word game? That caught me by surprise. I think Playroom Entertainment has itself a winner with Unspeakable Words... take an opportunity to play sometime soon! (Oh, and by the way... we disavow any responsibility if the Hounds of Tindalos do show up!)

Deep in the corners of letters, the Hounds of Tindalos wait for the unsuspecting! In this devious Call of Cthulhu-themed word game by James Ernest and Mike Selinker, players use their card hands to form words based on the number of angles in the word. Succeed, and you're safe -- fail, and you're one step closer to madness!

I found this game by accident, just sitting on the shelf at my friendly local gaming store (which is friendly, but frankly more of a comic book store than a gaming locale), and I confess, while many of the games I see there don't draw me in, this one did. It combines a lot of game aspects I enjoy - from word games (plentiful, but difficult to find good ones) to card games (something non-collectible... please, my wallet needs a break!) to Lovecraftian influences (almost always cool).