
- BGG rank
- BGG #5,341
- BGG rating
- 6.9
Cthulhu Wars: Duel
- 2 players
- 20–30 min
- Complexity 2.9/5
- 2020

Rules assistance for Cthulhu Wars: The Sleeper Expansion
Plain-language explanations of turns, card effects and disputed situations, with official source references and saved question history.

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Answers come from the official rulebook, with the page to check.
Cthulhu Wars: The Sleeper Expansion is an expansion for Cthulhu Wars released in 2015 for 2–5 players, 90 minutes per game, and ages 12 and up. It was designed by Sandy Petersen and its main mechanics are Variable Player Powers, Area Movement, and Dice Rolling.
The Sleeper turns indolence into a virtue, as the greed-crazed God of Entropy, Tsathoggua, emerges from the depths to turn the world upside-down. The Sleeper can force enemy factions to make sacrifices to him, and he is able to capture and sacrifice enemy monsters. In addition he brings out ancient sorceries, with monsters that appear for free on-map, burrowing their way up from underground, arcane wizards who are able to teleport to an enemy player's Faction Card and parasitize their special abilities, and the fearsome Formless Spawn. The Formless Spawn, a signature monster, have battle strength equal to the number of them on the map. For instance, if you have all four Formless Spawn in play, each has a Combat of 4 (which is huge). He has other abilties such as Cursed Slumber, Lethargy, Death from Below, and Burrow, all of which let him do more with less, making him the most Power-efficient faction around. In our playtesting, The Sleeper has proven to be one of the most popular factions to play. He doesn't win any more often than any other faction, but man is he fun.
Cthulhu Wars: The Sleeper Expansion supports 2–5 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 Cthulhu Wars: The Sleeper Expansion is 90 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 Cthulhu Wars: The Sleeper Expansion for ages 12 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.
Cthulhu Wars: The Sleeper Expansion 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.
Cthulhu Wars: The Sleeper Expansion belongs to these categories: Horror, Miniatures, and Expansion for Base-game. Its main mechanics are Variable Player Powers, Area Movement, and Dice Rolling. 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 Cthulhu Wars: The Sleeper Expansion are: Sandy Petersen. 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 Cthulhu Wars: The Sleeper Expansion as an expansion for Cthulhu Wars. Expansions add new content, rules or scenarios to the base game and usually cannot be played on their own, so you need Cthulhu Wars to use it. Check that your edition of Cthulhu Wars is compatible, as some expansions were revised between editions.