Cthulhu Confidential
Cthulhu Confidential is Pelgrane Press's Lovecraftian noir RPG for one player and one GM, and the first GUMSHOE One-2-One game. A lone investigator in 1930s Los Angeles, 1930s New York or wartime Washington, D.C. never misses a core clue, while Edge and Problem cards replace health and sanity. Three full adventures are included. It was a 2018 ENnie nominee for Best Rules.
Noir cosmic horror • GUMSHOE One-2-One • Exactly 1 player + 1 GM • Light rules, card-based consequences • Three ready-made adventures
Cthulhu Confidential is a Lovecraftian noir mystery RPG from Pelgrane Press for exactly one player and one GM. Written by Robin D. Laws with Chris Spivey and Ruth Tillman, it introduced GUMSHOE One-2-One, a version of the GUMSHOE investigation rules built for a single detective. It is best for two people who want an intense, hardboiled investigation that turns into cosmic horror, in 1930s Los Angeles, 1930s New York or wartime Washington, D.C.
It is not a solo game: you need a GM. It is also a poor fit for groups of three or more, and for players who want tactical fights or a detailed sanity and damage system.
What the game is
The publisher's page describes it as "Horror Goes Hardboiled". The player takes one lone investigator, "equipped with smarts, fists, and just maybe a code of honor", digging into their city's secrets until human corruption gives way to the cosmic indifference of H. P. Lovecraft's Cthulhu Mythos. The model is the classic solo protagonist mystery, like a Raymond Chandler novel.
The book comes with three ready-made protagonists, each with their own setting:
- Dex Raymond: a hardboiled private detective in 1930s Los Angeles.
- Vivian Sinclair: a determined reporter for the New York Herald in 1930s New York.
- Langston Wright: an African-American war veteran and scholar in Second World War-era Washington, D.C.
Publication history and editions
- PDF and print (2017): reviewers were playing from the PDF by January 2017, ahead of the physical release later that year.
- The book: 328 pages, with about 70 pages of rules (including a short Mythos primer) and the rest given to three full adventures, according to Ponderings on Games.
- GUMSHOE One-2-One: the rules are based on GUMSHOE, the engine behind Trail of Cthulhu and Night's Black Agents, rebuilt for one player and one GM.
What you need to play
- Book: Pelgrane Press listed it at £24.95 to £49.95 depending on format when checked on October 29, 2026. It is also sold on DriveThruRPG; we could not confirm the price there.
- Table: one GM, one player, a few six-sided dice and a set of Edge and Problem cards. The book includes generic cards, and each adventure has its own.
- Online play: Pelgrane pitches it as a game that "fits superbly with virtual tabletops", and reviewers have run it over Roll20.
Core rules and play structure
As in all GUMSHOE games, finding core clues is automatic: if your investigator has the right investigative ability and looks in the right place, they find the clue. One-2-One simplifies this further. You either have an investigative ability or you don't, and each character starts with a few Pushes to spend on any investigative ability for extra benefits. Particular successes earn them back.
The action side of the game uses general abilities such as Fighting, Sense Trouble, Shadowing and Stability, rated at one or two dice. Instead of single rolls, these feed into Challenges, which resolve a whole scene with branching outcomes. If you roll short, you can take on a Problem to get an extra die. A good result often gives you an Edge, and a failure often gives you another Problem.
Characters and advancement
Each protagonist is built for their city and comes with a network of Sources, friendly NPCs who cover the investigative fields the hero lacks. There are no health or sanity tracks. Injuries, shocks and Mythos trauma all arrive as Problem cards, and some can spell the end of the character if they are still unresolved when the adventure ends.
Signature mechanics
- Edges and Problems: cards that grant benefits or impose complications, replacing damage, sanity and most other subsystems.
- Challenges: scene-level rolls with set outcomes, so an unlucky roll cannot kill the hero outright.
- Pushes: a small pool of points to get more from investigative abilities.
- Sources: allied contacts who give the lone investigator someone to talk to and a way to cover missing skills.
What play feels like
Play feels like a conversation. Ponderings on Games (July 2017) wrote that "the rules get out of the way to let the player be engulfed by the story", with no bookkeeping beyond a short character sheet and the cards you collect. Much of a session is spent talking to unsavoury characters, so when the supernatural finally appears it hits harder. Because there is only one player, there is no one to hide behind: the book itself warns about the intensity.
Running the game
The GM is in the spotlight all the time and has no breaks while players argue, so Ponderings on Games suggests calling regular pauses. The book suggests using Sources to break up the tension. The three included adventures are well supported and ready to run. Writing your own takes more prep, because you need custom Edge and Problem cards and Challenges set for your hero's abilities. Otherworlds found that the card writing got easier with each adventure as cards were reused.
Campaign fit
Each adventure works as a self-contained mystery for one or a few sessions. The protagonists and cities are detailed enough to keep going, and the book gives setting details and hooks for continuing a detective's story. Some GMs have moved existing one-player Trail of Cthulhu campaigns to these rules.
Reception and awards
Cthulhu Confidential was nominated for the 2018 ENnie Award for Best Rules, which went to Delta Green. Reviews were warm: Otherworlds (January 2017) praised the rich settings, characters and adventures and how well the rules suit one-on-one play; Ponderings on Games praised the first adventure, while noting that the game is not meant to be improvised and lacks any sense of simulation.
Where it is strongest
- Built from the ground up for one player and one GM
- Clues are never lost to a bad roll
- Three rich period settings and full adventures
- Almost no bookkeeping, which suits online play
Where it can frustrate groups
- Only works with exactly two people
- Intense for both the player and the GM
- Writing new adventures and cards takes real prep
- Challenges are set by the GM, so there is little tactical play or simulation
Content and safety notes
Expect murder, blackmail, corruption, violence, Mythos horror and period racism; the Washington adventure has Langston Wright face down racist cops. Because it is one-on-one, talk about limits beforehand and check in during the planned breaks.
Best starting path
Pick the protagonist and city that appeal most, read their chapter and adventure, and print or prepare the cards. Run the adventure over one or two sessions with breaks, then decide whether to continue with that detective. If you want group play next, move on to Trail of Cthulhu.
Research notes
Last checked October 29, 2026. Price and book details are from Pelgrane Press on that date; rules details are from the reviews below.