10/23 Game Night!

Hey everyone!

My apologies I haven't updated the blog in a little while - we haven't had a game night in almost a month due to a church event and the one before that I was out of town for!  

This upcoming Friday we will be hosting another game night and given its proximity to Halloween we will be playing a variety of horror themed games (with varying levels of actual scariness).

As such, here are my top 5 favorite "horror" themed games with some others listed at the bottom that we'll also have.

5.  Betrayal at House on the Hill

The first game we'll have available is one we'd be seriously amiss for not mentioning.  Betrayal at  House on the Hill is the quintessential Halloween game.  Strictly speaking it's not the best game in the world - the mechanics can be weird and every now and again you'll get a scenario that just breaks, but the theme is exactly what you want on Halloween.  The players all start on the same team but midway through exploring the creepy old house one of the players betrays the rest, each time with a different randomly determined scenario.  It's made even more fun when played in a dimly lit room with a creepy ambiance.

4.  Dead of Winter

Dead of Winter is the unofficial game of the year of 2014.  It was wildly popular and still is doing quite well for itself.  In this game, a group of survivors of the zombie apocalypse (what else?) have banded together for survival.  Each game features a different scenario goal and each player has their own personal agenda as well, including the potential that one player has a secret 'traitor' agenda to sabotage the main goal.  The game is highly thematic and very well designed.  It also gives a very great zombie feel, particularly with the use of the story-driven 'crossroads' deck that gives players interesting choices to make.


3.  Ultimate Werewolf

I love Ultimate Werewolf.  It is my favorite social deduction game that takes less than 3 hours (lookin' at you BSG) and I think that is largely because of how much fun I have moderating it.  Watching it all unfold knowing who everyone is is rather fun and interesting - it's like a social experiment I get to create and watch.  In the game, players are either werewolves or villagers with a smattering of special powers thrown in.  The entire game is discussion and accusation, pinning the players against each other trying to determine who is who.  The villagers win by killing off the werewolves.  The werewolves win by eating the villagers.  It's a great time.  We will be playing a game of this as our evening winds down (probably multiple games) so plan accordingly!

2.  Mysterium

To call Mysterium a horror game is a bit generous - it's not really scary.  However, the theme itself is rooted in the idea that the players, except one, are paranormal investigators seeking out the clues of a cold case murder trial in a big creepy mansion.  One of the players acts as the ghost of the victim who, by use of extremely surreal cards, gives the players 'visions' and clues (silently) to lead them toward the murder, location, and weapon.  This game is an interesting and unique combination of mechanics that just works extremely well.  It plays great with a full player count of 7 and is one of the most popular games on 2015 thus far.  The new American edition is gorgeous!

1.  Eldritch Horror

Finally, Eldritch Horror is my finally horror themed game.  I probably like other games better on this list overall, but as far as a Halloween themed game is concerned, this one takes the cake.  Set in the Lovecraft universe of Cthulu, a team of investigators is trying to save the world as one of the monsters (I forget their real names - I'm not that into Lovecraft or Cthulu) tries to destroy/eat/burn it.  You move your characters all over the map of the world, encounter very story-driven elements, and all around have a great time.  It's a somewhat heavy game that can take a few hours but it's worth the time.  The only problem is I don't own it and neither does GCOM so unless somebody else brings it (hint hint) we won't be able to play it.  Nonetheless, I wanted to mention it since it's such a great game.

We will have other horror themed games there as well, including Zombicide, Ghost Stories, Witch's Brew, Shadow Hunters, Fearsome Floors, Terror of Meeple City, and more.  Don't be intimidated by the scary theme - the games are generally fun and light-hearted with just a touch of the horror.  Bring some friends, bring some family, bring some strangers, bring some zombies, or bring the ghost of a cold case murder - either way, bring somebody!  And be ready to have a good time!