''Cthulhu 500'' is a

motor racing An engine or motor is a machine designed to convert one or more forms of energy into mechanical energy. Available energy sources include potential energy (e.g. energy of the Earth's gravitational field as exploited in hydroelectric power gene ...

-themed

card game A card game is any game that uses playing cards as the primary device with which the game is played, whether the cards are of a traditional design or specifically created for the game (proprietary). Countless card games exist, including famil ...

H. P. Lovecraft Howard Phillips Lovecraft (, ; August 20, 1890 – March 15, 1937) was an American writer of Weird fiction, weird, Science fiction, science, fantasy, and horror fiction. He is best known for his creation of the Cthulhu Mythos. Born in Provi ...

Cthulhu Mythos The Cthulhu Mythos is a mythopoeia and a shared fictional universe, originating in the works of American Horror fiction, horror writer H. P. Lovecraft. The term was coined by August Derleth, a contemporary correspondent and protégé of Lovecraft, t ...

. The game was released by Atlas Games at

Gen Con Gen Con is the largest tabletop game convention in North America by both attendance and number of events. It features traditional pen-and-paper, board, and card games, including role-playing games, miniatures wargames, live action role-playing ...

2004.

Object of the game

Players compete by racing Cthulhoid vehicles (such as the Sports Cthutility Vehicle or the Car of Cthulhu) and take turns either upgrading the vehicle or pit crew, or attempting to overtake the car in front. Once a player reaches the front of the pack, that player may attempt to overtake the rearmost vehicle and thereby gain a lap. The player with the most laps when the checkered flag card is drawn wins; in case of a tie, the front-most of the tying vehicles wins. The last-place finisher is the loser.

Reception

The reviewer from the online second volume of ''

Pyramid A pyramid () is a structure whose visible surfaces are triangular in broad outline and converge toward the top, making the appearance roughly a pyramid in the geometric sense. The base of a pyramid can be of any polygon shape, such as trian ...

'' stated that "Attention, racing fans. Roll down your tailgates, break out the Space Mead, and get ready for high-speed thrills. Atlas Games is waving the green flag -- at least, it looks like a flag -- and the ''Cthulhu 500'' is underway." The game won the

Origins Award The Origins Awards are American awards for outstanding work in the gaming industry. They are presented by the Game Manufacturers Association (GAMA) at the Origins Game Fair on an annual basis for games released in the preceding year. For example, t ...

s for ''Best Traditional Card Game of 2004'' and ''Gamers' Choice 2004''.

References

External links

''Cthulhu 500'' official page
at Atlas Games * {{bgg, 12627
Game review
at

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Card games introduced in 2004 Dedicated deck card games Cthulhu Mythos card games Fantasy parodies Origins Award winners Atlas Games games