Hello all you ghosts and goblins! If you’d like to get into the Halloween spirit at your gaming table, then here’s a list of thirteen suggestions from Paul Benson, Jonathan Liu, Rob Huddleston, and Michael Knight.
Zombie Teenz Evolution and Zombie Kidz Evolution
This legacy-style game for younger players picks up where Zombie Kidz Evolution left off, and introduces some new mechanics. It’s a lot of fun playing through the campaign and opening envelopes to gradually layer in more zombies, kids, and tweaks to the rules. (Note that it’s a standalone game, so you do not need to own Zombie Kidz Evolution to play Zombie Teenz Evolution.) Read my full review here as well as my review of Zombie Kidz Evolution. (JL)
Horrified
While Universal hasn’t been too successful uniting its library of classic horror villains on the screen yet, with the help of Ravensburger you can at least play against all of them in the wonderfully fun game Horrified. Players join forces in the cooperative game to defeat Dracula, Wolfman, the Invisible Man, Frankenstein and the Bride, the Creature from the Black Lagoon, and the Mummy. Each time you play you can face off against two or more of the creatures in any combination you choose, allowing almost endless replayability. Read my full review for more details. (RH)
Unmatched: Cobble & Fog
If your horror tends towards the gothic variety, then the GeekDad Approved Unmatched: Cobble & Fog is for you! In this skirmish game for 2-4 players from Mondo and Restoration Games, you’ll be facing off against iconic Victorian characters Dracula, Dr. Jekyll, The Invisible Man, and Sherlock Holmes on both the streets of Soho and in the halls of Baskerville Manor. Each character in the Unmatched series comes with their own special abilities and unique deck of cards. And even better, each game in the series is compatible. Want to see if Dracula’s strength is comparable to Bigfoot’s? Or if Sherlock Holmes’ fighting prowess can measure up to Bruce Lee? Read my review of Unmatched: Cobble & Fog, and you may also want to check out Unmatched: Buffy the Vampire Slayer. (PB)
Escape the Room: The Cursed Dollhouse
Nothing like spending a couple of hours trapped with creepy talking dolls to set the mood for Halloween! This latest title in ThinkFun’s Escape the Room series is more elaborate, with an actual 3D dollhouse, tougher puzzles, and several surprises tucked away around the house. (What’s in that armoire? Guess you’ll have to play to find out.) Read my full review here. (JL)
Abomination: The Heir of Frankenstein
Take on the role of a scientist as you compete to be the first to create another monster and bring it to life in this game which combines both worker placement and resource management. Send your scientists and assistants around Paris of the early 1800s to earn reputation, gain expertise, purchase supplies, and obtain cadavers from which you can extract materials. Then return to the lab and assemble those materials into parts for your monster before you bring it to life with electricity. Read my full review here. (MK)
Monster Slaughter
A creepy cabin in the woods. A group of college students there to party for the weekend. Sounds like a horror movie setup, right? But in Monster Slaughter, you’re not trying to survive the night… you’re trying to end it! Play as one of several different monster families competing to put an end to those obnoxious party goers. It’s a ghoulishly fun twist on a classic Halloween theme. Read my review here. (PB)
Alien: Fate of the Nostromo
This cooperative game bases on Ridley Scott’s classic sci-fi horror movie lets players take on the roles of the crew of the doomed freighter Nostromo in a fight for survival against the famous xenomorph. The game nicely evokes the theme of the movie while still being accessible. And it includes one heck of a cool miniature of the alien. Read the review here. (RH)
Something Wicked
Double, bubble, toil, and trouble in this quick game about collecting wands from a cauldron. Each of the actions—bubble, toil, and trouble—allows you to manipulate the wands in some way, in the hopes of getting thirteen of the same color. It’s for 2 or 3 witches, and is available from Breaking Games. Read our review here. (JL)
The Haunted Mansion: Call of the Spirits
Are you missing going to Disneyland or Walt Disney World this year for Halloween? You can bring some of that feel to your gaming table with The Haunted Mansion: Call of the Spirits from Funko Games. This fun family game is filled with great artwork and a ton of callbacks to the Disney attraction. In The Haunted Mansion, you’ll be socializing with ghosts, trying to collect the most sets of them. But, beware of hitchhiking ghosts… they’ll give you haunt cards, which may force you to discard your largest set! You can read my review of The Haunted Mansion: Call of the Spirits on GeekDad, or Sarah Pinault’s review on GeekMom. (PB)
Scooby-Doo: Betrayal at Mystery Mansion
Are you looking for a creepy game that is great for children and families? Scooby-Doo: Betrayal at Mystery Mansion offers exploration, cooperation, and even Scooby snacks. Players take the roles of the five members of Mystery Inc. as they search a mysterious mansion for clues. Eventually, one of the characters is removed from the game and that player becomes the monster. The rest of the players then compete against the monster as each tries to complete their objective before the other side. There are 25 different monsters, all of which are from the original Scooby-Doo animated series, and each has their own story and way to win. For more details, read my review of Scooby-Doo: Betrayal at Mystery Mansion. (MK)
Disney Hocus Pocus: The Game
It may have taken almost 30 years, but lots of people’s favorite Halloween movie is now a board game! Players cooperate to play just the right combination of ingredients into the cauldron to stun the witches. If they can do that four times before sunrise, they win! They have Binx to help them, but it’s still challenging, because the exact cards each player has is hidden from the others. A combination of strategy and luck combine in this fast-paced game. For more details, read either my review or GeekMom Sarah’s. (RH)
Jaws
You can now relive all of the great moments in the movie that defined the Hollywood blockbuster (and generated countless “opening the beaches too soon” memes this year). In this one-versus-many game, one player takes on the roll of the Bruce the shark, while the rest play Brody, Hooper, or Quint. Just like in the movie, the first half of the game takes place on Amity Island as the heroes try to figure out which beaches to close to keep the shark from snacking on too many swimmers. But then, the action shifts to the Orca, as our intrepid crew try to survive one deadly attack after another. Read my full review of the game. (RH)
King of Tokyo: Dark Edition
The original family classic by Richard Garfield debuted back in 2011. Last year, IELLO introduced a special limited “Dark” edition of King of Tokyo. In the game, you’re going to be rolling dice, drafting cards with special abilities, and fighting over which giant monster can control Tokyo. It’s a ton of fun, and with the Dark Edition, the artwork and components have definitely been taken up a notch. Plus those frosted dice are amazing! Even though it’s limited, you can still easily find copies of King of Tokyo: Dark Edition in stores, or, if you prefer, you can also go for the original. Read my review of King of Tokyo: Dark Edition and decide for yourself! (PB)
Happy Halloween!
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