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What do you get in a $200 board game? All this stuff. The contents of "Cthulhu Wars."

(Petersen Games)

Why are there so many games based on H. P. Lovecraft's Cthulhu Mythos? Two reasons. One, it's a fantastically rich collection of tales and creatures. Two, most, if not all, are in the public domain, so anyone who wants to can write a story or make a game that uses the lovely, tongue-twisting names of Lovecraft's malevolent, all-powerful ancient deities.

That sort of freedom can lead to shoddy products, but it can also lead to a magnificently produced, deluxe tabletop game like "Cthulhu Wars." Among the most expensive board games you'll come across, it also comes in just about the biggest box. It might seem absurd to say that a $200 game is worth the price, but "Cthulhu Wars" at least comes close. Designer Sandy Petersen created the original "Call of Cthulhu" role-playing game way back in 1981, and this is a worthy successor.

The concept is rather like the classic world-conquest game "Risk," except each player controls one color-coded faction of cultists and monsters. As they move across a world map, the cultists build dimensional gates, which can be used by players to summon monsters or their faction's Great Old One: Nyarlathotep, Shub-Niggurath, Hastur, or Cthulhu itself. The critters are represented by big, solid, detailed plastic figures, and it's quite satisfying to grab your Great Old One and plop it down in the North Atlantic Ocean, ready to wreak havoc.

It takes a little while to absorb the rules, which lean a bit too much on jargon, but once you get the hang of it "Cthulhu Wars" is a rewarding, repeatable experience. (It better be at that price, right?) Each factions has its own monsters, from Flying Polyps to Fungi from Yuggoth to The King in Yellow, as well as its own spell books, so each player has vastly different abilities and strategies. It's a good idea to read the detailed hints in the rulebook about how to play (and how to defeat) each faction before getting started.

The game's limitations include the fact that it's only for two to four players, and gameplay is best with all four factions involved. The packaging lists the expected playing time as 90-120 minutes, but unless you're a gaming savant, you're looking at maybe twice that. In other words, this isn't casual, spur-of-the-moment recreation, but an evening-long activity you'll need to lay in snacking supplies for. And despite all the cool plastic figures, this isn't a game for young kids.

Things could get even more complex with the release of several planned expansion sets, including new factions and the ability to play with up to eight players. However, earlier this month, it was announced that Petersen had rejoined Chaosium Games, which originally released "Call of Cthulhu." It remains to be seen if that will impact the expansions' release.

Even so, "Cthulhu Wars" on its own should provide hours of apocalyptic fun.

-- Marc Mohan for The Oregonian/OregonLive