Six Scary Good Board Games

Each year brings hundreds of new board and card games to the market, and even the recent dampener on social get-togethers hasn’t halted the flow. Without fail, in each year, some of the most popular themes include horror, monsters, magic, and mystery – perfect fits for a Halloween get-together.

Whether you’re looking to head to the game store and snag something for a game night this weekend, or you’re planning farther out, and you’re just a fan of games about things that go bump in the night, each of these recent releases provides a lovely evening of fun, with just the right mix of amusement and spooky vibes.

American Monsters: Horrified
Publisher: Ravensburger

The new American Monsters version is a standalone sequel to 2019’s original Horrified. It offers sufficient new content to make it worth the purchase, even if the previous one was a favorite. However, this version is also a perfectly solid entry point if this is your first go-around. Where the first game featured baddies like Frankenstein’s Monster and Dracula in a decidedly 1930’s vibe, this new installment leaps us forward into the 1950s, with classically American mythology at play, including monsters like Bigfoot, Mothman, and the Jersey Devil. Because each monster is unique, American Monsters doesn’t fall under the category of a “reskin”.

As the monsters terrorize small towns, players must work together in order to reach across the board. It is easy to choose the number of monsters you want on your board. However, a four-monster attack is quite a challenge. The interactivity and cooperative play are especially gratifying, as each player leverages their character’s special skills to help save the day. It also must be said that the art team has done a stellar job recalling the 1950’s small-town horror aesthetic. Play this if you’re a fan of old-school Drive-In monster flicks, or you just want an especially accessible and easy to pick up cooperative experience.

It is unfathomable
Publisher: Fantasy Flight Games

Unfathomable is a great way to get to grips with the excitement. Fantasy Flight published a game in 2008 based on Battlestar Galactica. It was a fantastic release, especially because it so ably captured the drama of that show, where most of the ship seemed to be working together, but traitor Cylons were secretly at work, undermining the team’s goals. That game fell out of print for the various licensed-related reasons you might expect, but excitement about the game hasn’t faded.

Unfathomable takes the bulk of that gameplay model, and reskins the experience into Fantasy Flight’s universe of Lovecraftian horror. Instead of a spaceship Galactica, it’s a steamship Atlantica on the way to Boston in 1913. And instead of Cylons, it’s Father Dagon, Mother Hydra, and the Deep Ones, gradually infiltrating and attacking, until they pull everyone down into the frigid depths.

The game opens with everyone acting together, although at least one person is a mixed player, who works against you and manipulates events to benefit the monsters. In an especially amusing twist, you may play a significant chunk of the game before an awakening phase reveals that you’re also a hybrid, and your loyalties must shift if you want to win.

Unfathomable features dramatic turns and sometimes devastating swings of fate, especially if a traitor is able to maneuver themselves into a position that they can do real damage. But, of course, that’s half the fun of the game – no one should take winning as the only goal. Instead, you should enjoy the tension and knowing grins shared around the table as well as the incredible art and miniatures that help Unfathomable come alive. It’s a wonderful revival of a clever game system from over a decade ago, and well worth the trip into the dark waters of the high seas.

Goonies: Never Say Die
Funko Games

Every year is a new opportunity. The GooniesThe franchise is becoming an outdated reference. And yet the cult classic film maintains a strong and enthusiastic following – it’s just a ton of fun. There’s nothing explicitly “Halloween-y” about the new Goonies board game, but the combination of kids on a wild adventure, a supernatural-tinged pirate treasure hunt, and the threat of maniacal foes at your heels all feel uniquely suited to the holiday.

Most of the participants work as a team, with one another, like Mikey and Chunk, or Sloth to defeat the evil Fratelli family, along with other enemies they encounter. The final player is responsible for controlling the bad guys. He manages traps and other situations to stop the Goonies achieving success and treasure. These adventures play out across nine distinct scenarios, which do a good job of following the movie’s threads, as well as expanding upon them.

Specifically targeted at devoted fans of the 80’s movie, it may be a very specific niche. But it’s still a wonderful game with tons of nods to the source fiction. If you really love what you find, you can even track down the “Under the Goondocks” expansion, which adds in the playable teen Goonies, three new adventures, and more.

Echoes: Cocktail
Publisher: Ravensburger

If your spooky get-together is more about adults chilling out, rather than hardcore board gamers ready to learn a fancy new horror game, I’d like to introduce you to the echoes series. This is an audio mystery game that requires you to sync up to a smartphone app to play it. This then lets you tell a story through audio storytelling and the cards/boards that are placed on the table. The schtick is that each player is an investigator that can hear the “echoes” of objects left behind. You can scan an object to find the solution.

I played “The Cocktail,” one of two initial offerings in this game series. In this installment, you’re trying to unravel the identity of a mysterious mob boss. Another game/installment, The Dancer, is available. It is about the ghost of an old girl who died in a Scottish country estate. Pick your poison.

Each game is really only meant to be played once by a given group – once you solve the puzzle, there’s not much reason to play again. However, the challenge is there for the group, as they must piece together each of the 24 sections in the correct order. Each sub-section has been divided into separate chapters. The game is challenging everyone to take a moment to listen to every word in the audio files. Some of these details can help you move the puzzle forward. Echoes is a great choice for fans of escape rooms, puzzles, and social play, and the relatively brief hour-long playtime won’t bog down the party. A single copy is inexpensive, so you won’t feel too let down when it’s all over, especially if you and your friends have a memorable puzzle-solving adventure along the way.

Arkham Horror: The Card Game – Revised Core Set
Publisher: Fantasy Flight Games

Arkham Horror is one of most popular horror-themed card games. This card game takes the classic board game universe and makes it expandable with the same storytelling style and adventure. Arkham Horror is a New England-based town where players take the roles of various characters. The goal of the game is to race against time and stop the cultists as well the world-devouring, ancient monstrosities. The narrative is atmospheric and fun, and the gameplay is brisk and well-balanced, all about building out a deck of cards and managing threats at different locations. However, it’s the way each scenario connects to the next that will keep you engaged as you watch your choices echo out across the campaign.

The new revised core set wisely does not upset the Lovecraftian apple cart (don’t eat those!). This isn’t the right purchase if you already play devotedly. The new core set has a few key goals that will help players start playing. The best part is that it can be used by four players as opposed to two when using one boxed set. It also adds a few cards that originally didn’t appear until later expansions, broadening the initial array of upgrade options for investigators. And it also reorganizes the box’s contents, with the goal of a faster pick-up-and-play experience.

If you’ve wanted a fun long-term campaign, rooted in horror overtones, but not overwhelming in complexity or mechanics, it’s an ideal offering from an established and well-liked franchise.

Bellum Magica
Publisher: Blue Orange Games

The best part about Halloween is being able to let loose with your darker instincts. Bellum Magica can be a wonderful choice for friend or family groups who are looking for an easily-learn and fun engine-building game. Although the players take the roles of evil super-heroes, the game is fun, colorful and not too mean.

Building an engine requires you to gradually develop a network and build units and resources that increases in power with every turn. In this case, you’re recruiting goblins and other dastardly creatures, which you can figuratively fling at either the hapless human kingdom or against your opposing evil warlord players. All the while, you’re gathering treasure and increasing your clawed grip on power.

Bellum Magica’s strategy game selections have been light-hearted, quick and thematic. This is in contrast to complex, balanced and well-balanced games. It’s easy for a single player to get steamrolled by everyone else for no particular reason, and dice-rolling adds a randomness at which many veteran players may scoff. This game is intended to be enjoyed by everyone for its unpredictable shifts in control and the joy of being the evil guy. If everyone can get on board with the concept, it’s a beautifully illustrated and amusing diversion.

If magic and horror aren’t your thing, there’s plenty of other wonderful tabletop games to discover over at our Top of the Table hub. As always, if you’d like a personalized recommendation for your next game night, don’t hesitate to drop me a line, and I’ll be happy to offer some suggestions. Enjoy your Halloween.