- BGG rating
- 8.3
Cave Evil: Chaos Pack 1
- 2–4 players
- 60–240 min
- 2019
- BGG rank
- BGG #3,530
- BGG rating
- 7.9
Cave Evil
2011
Rules assistance for Cave Evil
Plain-language explanations of turns, card effects and disputed situations, with official source references and saved question history.
- 2–4 players
- 180 min
- 16+
- Complexity 3.5/5
For 2 players
Rules assistant for Cave Evil
What would you like to know?
Answers come from the official rulebook, with the page to check.
Cave Evil is a board game released in 2011 for 2–4 players, 180 minutes per game, and ages 16 and up. It was designed by Nate Hayden, Mat Brinkman, and Jochen Hartmann and its main mechanics are Hand Management, Player Elimination, and Area Movement.
Expansions
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About the game
"The living dug out cities for their dead: necropolises deep within the earth. They filled the caverns with bodies and locked them away from the upper air. Eventually the dead forgot the living — if any remain. But in death, a new life began. The breath of evil from the darkness of complete shadow stirred corrupted flesh. In their middens and pits, the dead awakened, swarming through slime-fluxing tunnels, seeking chthonic power, warring with demons and denizens of the deep. Animated by the black flame, necro-ecologies rose and collapsed in the crypt-universe. Now, cloistered undead lich-wizards have discovered the primordial opening to the shadow source, the doleful horror-hole where the Eternal Evil Emperor watches and waits.... The necromancers have dug their Lairs deep into the ground. They must gather precious resources and body parts to assemble an army of minions, while defending their own lairs from the excavations and intrusions of others. In the end, the only route is into the demon path... Then depletion of your essence leads to spending another eternity in foul sepulchral darkness awaiting the next Awakening of Death." In Cave Evil, each player takes the role of an ancient Necromancer. Located deep within an earth, their Necropolises have now merged, each seeking the Darkest Pit, the location of all evil. The dark wizards must build minions with precious resources from their Lairs to send forth and destroy, or dig further tunnels to locate other creatures, resources or to ambush another sorcerer. The game is won when only one remaining Necromancer stands. A Necromancer can either be destroyed by combat, or an enemy minion may venture into their Lair and crush the wizard's shadow power, a Chthonic Crystal. BUT an even greater darkness may befall the players. As they build and destroy creatures the Dark Pit absorbs the shadowflame and may awaken the ultimate cave evil...
Publishers
- Ediciones MasQueOca
- Fox in the Box
- Blast City Games
- Emperors of Eternal Evil
Questions and answers
Cave Evil supports 2–4 players according to the catalogue. This range comes from the publisher’s listed player count, so the game can be set up for any group size within it. Some setups, rules and scoring details may still vary by player count, so check your edition’s rulebook for the exact configuration.
The listed playing time for Cave Evil is 180 minutes. This is the publisher’s estimate for a full game. The actual duration depends on the group, the player count and familiarity with the rules: first sessions usually run longer, while experienced groups often finish faster. Setup and teaching time are not included in this estimate.
The catalogue lists Cave Evil for ages 16 and up. This is the publisher’s recommendation and reflects reading demands, rule complexity and small components rather than theme alone. Younger players can often join with help from an adult, so check the age guidance on your edition and consider your group’s experience with board games.
Cave Evil has a complexity rating of 3.5 out of 5 from BoardGameGeek players, which makes it a medium-weight game. The rating reflects how much rules knowledge, planning and decision-making a typical game demands. Expect a longer first teach for heavier games, and use a preparation guide before game night.
Cave Evil belongs to these categories: Fantasy, Fighting, and Mature / Adult. Its main mechanics are Hand Management, Player Elimination, and Area Movement. Categories describe the theme and setting of a game, while mechanics describe what players actually do on their turns. Each mechanic links to a catalogue hub with similar games, which helps when you want something comparable.
The credited designers of Cave Evil are: Nate Hayden, Mat Brinkman, and Jochen Hartmann. These credits come from the published game data and name the people responsible for the game’s design, not its illustrators or publishers. Designer pages on MeepleRules collect other titles by the same designers, which helps when you enjoy a game and want to find similar ones.
The catalogue lists Cave Evil as a base game. It can be played on its own with the components in the box and does not require any other title. Expansions, if any exist, add new content or rules on top of it and are listed separately in the catalogue with a link back to this base game.