Betrayal at House on the Hill Board Game Review: A Thrilling, Chilling Experience
Betrayal at House on the Hill is a brilliant, semi-cooperative game of exploration and horror that forces you to confront your fears. You play as characters who have been called to the old House on the Hill for some mysterious reason.
It’s a spooky mansion with plenty of secret passages and hidden rooms, but something still feels amiss. This game has you explore the creepy house while avoiding traps and enemies in order to piece together its history.
However, once everyone has found their way into different sections of the house (separated by trap doors), one hostile character will appear and wreak havoc on everyone.
Working together with your fellow players offers you a few benefits; if you all survive until The Endgame phase, everyone wins. If not, then whoever killed another player first wins instead.
Contents
Gameplay Basics
In this game, players will take turns exploring the house, finding items, and hopefully unlocking a few of the game’s mysteries. Every turn, you will draw two cards from the item deck; one of these cards will be a “hisk” item, which players keep secret from one another.
The other card is discarded. Once everyone has had their turn, the haunt triggers, the game’s antagonist reveals itself and the chapter ends. The haunt triggers when the number of turns needed to finish the chapter has passed.
However, this number increases each time the haunt triggers. So, the longer it takes everyone to finish the chapter, the harder it is to win. The item deck only consists of five items, so once they’ve all been drawn, the game is finished. When the deck has been exhausted, the game ends either when the haunt has been defeated or when the players have all died.
Darkest Evil is Awakening
Most of the game’s chapters are about finding out what dark evil lurks within the house. Every time someone enters a room (through a trap door), they encounter a “hisk” monster.
After you encounter a monster, you must put it in your “awakened” pile. These awakened cards are then used to fuel the game’s ultimate villain: The Haunt.
Each chapter has a theme and a few related items, which are either helpful or harmful. Players may encounter a cursed item, which they must put into their “burden” pile. You must then discard one of your other items in order to remove the burden.
Finding the Blue Room and Finding Your Fear
One of the game’s chapters reveals the room that holds your deepest, most crippling fears. If you’re lucky enough to find the blue room, you must face one of your fears.
There are two ways to do this: you can either draw a “fear” card from the deck, or you can pick a fear that another player has in their hand. After you’ve faced your fear, you must put the card back into the blue room deck and shuffle it. Next, you must discard another card from your hand.
If you draw a blue room card, read it out loud and follow its instructions.
Finding the Red Room and Defeating the Haunt
The red room is the room where you can defeat the haunt. Once you find it, you must discard the blue room card and place one of your items in the red room. Someone must then use the item that you placed in the red room. If the item’s instructions aren’t followed, the game ends.
Once the haunt has been defeated, the game ends, and players are judged. The player who has collected the most “ends” (victory points from defeating the haunt and exploring the house) is declared the winner. If more than one player has the same number of ends, then the game ends in a draw.
Pros: Scary, unique, fun experience
This game offers a genuinely scary experience that few other games can match. It’s really fun to immerse yourself in the theme while trying to figure out what’s going on.
It’s also an incredibly unique experience, as no two games are exactly the same. The game’s cards are very thematic, as they’re all about exploring the mystery of the haunted house.
Cons: Some can find it too scary, and confusing for new players
Although the theme and gameplay are pretty unique, some players may find it too scary to enjoy. The game is pretty difficult to understand at first, especially if you’ve never played it before.
There are a lot of complicated rules, and it can be difficult to keep track of everything. This game is definitely better for more experienced players, as it’s really not suited for beginners.
This game has you explore the creepy house while avoiding traps and enemies in order to piece together its history. However, once everyone has found their way into different sections of the house (separated by trap doors), one hostile character will appear and wreak havoc on everyone.
Working together with your fellow players offers you a few benefits; if you all survive until The Endgame phase, everyone wins. If not, then whoever killed another player first wins instead.
This game has you explore the creepy house while avoiding traps and enemies in order to piece together its history. This game is best for players who are able to deal with moderate amounts of horror and gore. This game can be played in about 1-2 hours.