I gave Smirk and Dagger’s CUTTHROAT CAVERNS my “Biggest Surprise of ‘07’ award back in the first-ever Cracked LCD year-end wrap up but I never got around to doing a proper review of the game. I was really impressed with the game’s unique concept and its strong blend of required cooperation and incredibly nasty competition, and its solid mechanics elevated it well above many other poorly designed fantasy RPG-influenced light card games such as MUNCHKIN.

Recently, Smirk and Dagger released not only one but two full expansions for the game along with an updated second edition that fixes a few errors and inconsistencies with the expansions so the time is definitely right for a full assessment of the product line. A couple of years on, I’m pleased to report that I’m still really enjoying CUTTHROAT CAVERNS and I think it’s probably the best game in its class- if you’re able to dig into the game’s high concept approach to its theme.

I wasn’t interested in CUTTHROAT CAVERNS when I saw it announced a couple of years ago. I’ve seen any number of light, fantasy-themed games come and go that were marketed specifically to role-playing game fans that may not be as particular about gameplay and mechanics as they are about seeing illustrations of elves and dragons. I kind of wrote the game off, assuming that it was going to be another cash-in title aimed at the MUNCHKIN set. That changed when I played a fresh-from-GenCon copy of the game with ARKHAM HORROR designer Richard Launius and a table full of dastardly backstabbers and assorted malfeasants. I loved the game at first play- particularly because it had a tremendous amount of conceptual theme, and a fresh approach to the light card game class that managed to capture a lot of game in a compact package.

The game may tread some of the same ground as any given fantasy adventure game, but it pinpoints a particular element of the genre that has never really been explored and definitely not as a key concept. You know those PC or console RPGs where only the character who deals the killing blow gets all the experience points? You know how you kind of pull back with certain characters so that weaker ones can deal the coup de grace and level up? Well, what if your party was at odds with each other and they all wanted a chance to land that death blow in order to claim all the rewards? That is the conceptual theme behind CUTTHROAT CAVERNS, and as such it emerges as a game of kill-stealing that requires players to grudgingly work together to beat the bad guys while also providing an impetus for direct and very nasty competition.

The players represent a couple of stock RPG character types: fighter, dwarf, thief, et cetera. The game is played over a series of nine encounters representing the party’s foray into the titular adventuring edifice. Each encounter is initiated with a random encounter card being turned up that lays out certain parameters: how many hit points the monster or trap has, what special effects it may have, and who it hits every round that it survives. Essentially, players have to kill the monster or otherwise deal with whatever adversary the card depicts or it will eventually kill them. Whoever lands the final blow gets all the Prestige Points. Everyone else who helped elevate the conquering hero to glory gets nothing.

CUTTHROAT CAVERNS is at heart a pretty simple take-that style card game that fits in nicely alongside classic games such as NUCLEAR WAR and FAMILY BUSINESS but I think it offers a fairly innovative style of play and an unusual structure for this kind of game. Players get a hand of seven cards and each turn an initiative card that establishes an order of events is dealt to everyone. All players lock in a numerical attack card that could range from a zero-value feint up to a massive 100 point attack. There are other cards that do tricky things like delay action regardless of turn order, let the player draw extra cards, play two attacks, and so on but the bulk of card play results in dealing damage to the encounter.

There’s actually a good bit of strategy involved in deciding which cards to play; if you’re going early and have a good shot at finishing the monster, a huge attack card is a good idea. If you’re the last to go, you can either sandbag and save the finishing blow for the next round or hope that others play cards that put your big attack card within killing range. Or let the others do the dirty work and finish the critter off with a pitiful five-value attack card and watch them fume. Additionally, monsters generally attack characters based on their turn order- so players #1 and 2 might get hit, but no one else. It’s fun to hold off on killing a monster so you can watch it hammer other people.

There are also out-of-turn action cards that trip other players, cause attack cards to fail, and steal items such as the helpful potions and amulets that are also in the card mix. There’s something elementally satisfying about watching a player set up a tremendous 200 point attack and making them fumble it and miss their next turn. The resulting take-that card play creates a feeling that you’ve got to run a gauntlet of player interference to succeed- some people will invariably hate that, but if they do that’s a pity. It’s one of the most fun elements of the game, and landing the final blow is more satisfying because you’ve outlasted the other players than actually overcoming the encounter itself.

Expect to spend about an hour and some change doing this, and for that timeframe the game is perfect. It’s entirely possible to simply play to fewer encounters if you’re looking for a shorter game. Whether you go the distance or just play through a couple of encounters, it’s the kind of game that goes great with a couple of beers and good-natured trash talk. There’s a tremendous variety of encounters in the base game so replayability is high, and those who like the game are going to find themselves wanting to come back to it again and again. I find that it takes a cue from COSMIC ENCOUNTER in the sense that it allows for amorphous, mutable rules manipulation. The encounter cards, much like the various alien races in COSMIC, make every game play out differently and it is always a joy to come across something you haven’t killed before.

Much like COSMIC, it’s also the kind of game that varies greatly depending on who you play it with. Receptive groups will get a lot of play out of it, but be warned that some folks for whatever reason simply don’t get the concept or balk at the idea of having slightly different rules for every encounter in the game. I’ve had the game go over like gangbusters with some groups and completely tank with others. The gameplay itself is very simple, not far removed from standard “play a card, draw a card” fare but when every encounter has wildly different parameters that players will need to pay attention to, some types of players will inevitably be put off by the perceived complexity. I think the game is kind of deceptive in this way- it’s not really quite as ‘lite’ as the concept, rules density, or ad copy would lead you to believe once you figure in all the possible interactions and variety involved.