Claustrophobia is an asymmetric two-player tactical survival game set in the catacombs beneath a doomed city. One player controls human warriors (the Redeemer and his condemned companions) exploring infernal corridors. The other player controls demonic troglodytes trying to overwhelm and destroy the humans. The game is scenario-driven, with each scenario defining unique victory conditions.
Components
Modular tunnel tiles
Painted miniatures (human warriors and troglodytes)
Character dashboards with stat lines
Dice (action dice, combat dice)
Event cards (Demon player)
Equipment cards (Human player)
Threat tokens
Scenario booklet
Setup
Choose a scenario from the scenario booklet.
Place the starting tunnel tile(s) as specified.
The Human player sets up warrior miniatures and dashboards per scenario.
The Demon player prepares their event cards and troglodyte miniatures.
Place any special tokens or items per scenario instructions.
Turn Structure
Each round has phases:
Phase 1: Human Player Initiative
Roll action dice (number depends on surviving warriors).
Assign each die to a warrior’s stat line. Each line provides different bonuses (combat, movement, defense, special abilities).
Activate warriors: move, explore new tunnels, attack, use equipment.
Phase 2: Demon Player
Gain threat points based on current threat level.
Spend threat points to: play event cards, spawn troglodytes, activate special abilities.
Activate troglodytes: move and attack human warriors.
Phase 3: Combat Resolution
Attacks are resolved with combat dice. Each hit reduces the defender’s health. Warriors have multiple stat lines; as they take damage, lines are crossed off, reducing their capabilities.
Actions
Human Actions
Move: Move a warrior through connected tunnels (movement points from assigned die).
Explore: When reaching an unexplored tunnel exit, draw and place a new tunnel tile.
Attack: Roll combat dice against adjacent troglodytes.
Use Equipment: Play equipment cards for special effects.
Special Abilities: Some stat lines grant special abilities when their die is assigned.
Demon Actions
Spawn Troglodytes: Pay threat points to place new troglodytes on spawn points.
Play Event Cards: Pay threat points for powerful one-time effects.
Move Troglodytes: Each troglodyte can move through tunnels.
Attack: Troglodytes attack adjacent human warriors.
Scoring / Victory Conditions
Victory conditions are scenario-dependent:
Human player typically must reach an objective, survive a certain number of turns, or defeat a specific enemy.
Demon player typically must kill all human warriors or prevent the humans from achieving their objective within the time limit.
Special Rules & Edge Cases
Stat Line Degradation: As warriors take damage, dice are placed on crossed-out stat lines. With fewer available lines, warriors become less effective.
Redeemer is more powerful than condemned warriors but losing him often means losing the game.
Tunnel exploration creates a random dungeon layout each game.
Line of sight matters for some abilities and ranged attacks.
Troglodytes are individually weak but can overwhelm through numbers.
Some scenarios introduce unique rules, special enemies, or time pressures.
The Demon player’s threat level increases as the game progresses, creating escalating danger.