Don’t Mess with Cthulhu is a social deduction game with secret identities. Players are either Investigators trying to keep Cthulhu from waking and controlling the world; or Cultists that want to bring the world to a disturbing end.
The game takes place over four rounds. The Investigators must uncover all the Elder Signs to win; the Cultists win when Cthulhu is revealed or if the game ends before all the Elder Signs are discovered.
Before each round players receive a number of Investigation cards; which they look at but then shuffle and put in front of themselves so they know what cards they have; but they don't know which card is which. Each round has a number of actions equal to the number of players in the game. Players take actions to reveal Investigation cards; and gather all unrevealed cards are shuffled an redistributed evenly among the players.
Reveal Cthulhu; and the Cultists win instantly. Reveal all the Elder Signs; and the Investigators win. If you want to play multiple rounds (it's highly recommended); the losers in each game get Insanity tokens. Get three tokens; and the night is over with the winner(s) being those most sane.
Don’t Mess with Cthulhu Deluxe is a new edition of this game with the Necronomicon and Objects of Power that allows for play with 4-8 players