Have you prepared yourself for the arrival of the Great Pumpkin? Have you adorned your domicile with spooky bedazzlements? Do you see a bad moon rising? — Specter says what? It’s time to dig up a body of board games for this year’s Spooktacular Halloween Board Game List.
Horrified: World of Monsters
(Ravensburger, 1-5 Players) – Join a few of your best pals and try to take down some iconic monsters in this standalone cooperative game in the Horrified series. The four baddies in Horrified: World of Monsters are the Sphinx, the Yeti, Jiangshi, and Cthulhu. While the game rules are pretty simple, you’ll be hard-pressed to find a better immersive experience for board game night during the Halloween season. Horrified is a great way to introduce families and non-gamers to the magic of cardboard, especially if a more seasoned board gamer guides them along. The components and art are also a nice draw for this game.
Witchstone
(R&R Games, 2-4 Players) – Co-designed by the master, Reiner Knizia, Witchstone has players doing witchy things, like playing with potions, pentagrams, energy crystals, and wands. Basically, these things are just excuses to perform satisfying euro-style combos over and over again for about an hour or so. And even though the theme could have easily been something else, the excellent board and components (including witch-shaped meeples) all come together with excellent mechanics to provide a solid Halloween-worthy board game experience. If the phrase “point salad” gets your nerd wand vibrating, then this game is a must to check out.
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The Plum Island Horror
(GMT, 1-4 Players) – A scientific experiment gone wrong has subjected the denizens of Plum Island to a zombie (aka Horrors) outbreak that threatens to overrun the island. Your job is to take the role of one of the protective factions, ranging from the National Guard to the women’s tennis club, using your special abilities and resources to evacuate a certain number of residents and survive for three days until the cavalry arrives. The Plum Island Horror is one of the few cooperative games out there that is not brutally difficult to win if you make logical tactical and strategic choices. There are enough surprises, but no cheap jump scares to derail your enjoyment. Warning: it will probably take a few hours to play, but this board game should provide a thematic Spooktacular evening.
Skull & Dragon
(Steve Jackson Games, 2 Players) – I just discovered this inexpensive push-your-luck game from Steve Jackson, the creator of a great PYL game called Zombie Dice. Skull & Dragon has only two six-sided dice involved. Instead of the “1” on each die, the Skull die has a zero and the Dragon die has a seven. Over four rounds you will take turns rolling one or both dice and then choosing over/under to predict if each subsequent roll will succeed. As a big fan of the game show Card Sharks growing up, this seemed like a perfect way to enjoy a witch’s brew with a friend while chucking some dice.
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Dead of Winter
(Plaid Hat Games, 2-4 Players) – What better way to spend a Spooktober Halloween board game night than by playing The Walking Dead TV show in a box? It’s winter in the after-times. The infected are everywhere. In this (possibly semi) cooperative game, everyone will have to do their part to overcome challenge after challenge in order to make it through the winter. It will be hard enough to survive, but one of you may also randomly be a traitor, trying to undermine the colony. You’ll be using worker placement mechanics to acquire resources by searching through locations, each time subjecting yourself to zombie attacks. You’ll have to keep your survivors fed and you cannot allow the colony to be overrun by the Dead. All the while, you’ll be wondering if Donna’s failure to donate some gas to the common cause was due to pure incompetence or calculated treachery. Dead of Winter is a great game that oozes with a creepy theme.
@fenirob Halloween Board Game Playlist:
That’s my Spooktacular offering for 2024. I hope you treat yourself to some cardboard candy this season. See more videos on my YouTube channel, fenirob, and keep nerding on!
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