10 Spooky and Tense Board Games Perfect for Halloween Night

Horrified

Publisher: Ravensburger

Finding yourself within a village just south of the public domain. You’ll encounter all sorts of monsters from the silver screen; Creature of the Black Lagoon, Dracula, and Mr & Mrs Frankenstein to name a few. It’s up to you to find these monster’s weaknesses and slay them before any more “innocent” townsfolk get captured.

Horrified is a monstrous new take on the Pandemic formula. You’ll travel from location to location picking up different items and using them to slay the monsters present. Depending on the monster, different items and different methods of slaying are needed.

Overall it’s a light game, but it has an atmosphere that puts you in the mood for a monster mash. Making it a great choice for those who want to enjoy the fun of the night, without the frights and horror of a modern-day scary movie.

These days Horrified has several versions, including Horrified: American Monsters and Horrified: Greek Monsters. So pick the one that appeals to you, and get to saving those villagers!

Betrayal at House on the Hill

Publisher: Avalon Hill

Betrayal at House on the Hill is known for three things. The first is that it has the worst acronym in board gaming (BaHotH). Second is that the rules are as imbalanced as they are inconceivable. Third is just how dang good it is at making you feel like you’re in an episode of Scooby Doo.

The first phase of Betrayal has you exploring an old haunted house. Discovering stairs, uncovering items, and touching things that really shouldn’t be touched. After a few rounds and an indecent amount of touching, one player is going to turn into a monster.

At this point, the game takes a brief intermission as one player takes the book of monsters, finds out which one they are and reads the rules they must follow for the rest of the scenario. The other players get new rules as well, and some clues on how to defeat this aberration.

Given the variety of the monsters in the game, and its fun but spooky feel, Betrayal is a certified cult classic among board gamers. Although the rules are messy, and the second half of the game is usually imbalanced as all heck, it captures the vibe of a campy horror movie completely. Even though everything is so corny, it commits to the theme so hard that it starts to feel like you’re part of the mystery.

Mysterium

Publisher: Libellud

Put away the Ouija board because there’s a new way to commune with the dead. Mysterium puts one of your party into the vanishing shoes of a ghost. Having been murdered only recently, the police are still trying to solve the case. But without any clues, they’ve turned to the physics sitting around your table in the hopes that they’ll conduct a seance.

Unable to speak, the ghost will talk to the rest of the table through vision cards. Beautiful but macabre and bizarre picture cards. It is then up to the psychics to determine what the ghost is trying to say and see if they can’t find the killer.

Mysterium still sits firmly on the fun side of scary, even though some of the picture cards are quite dark – especially in the Secrets and Lies expansion. Yet given the length you’re at the table and all the props, you do get sucked into this world of ghosts and miscommunication.

The sequel, Mysterium Park, streamlines the rules and the components making it an excellent party game. Although, that depends on your tolerance for ghostly theme parks, and murderous clowns.

Dead by Daylight

Publisher: Level 99 Games

Being a counterpart to a horror video game, all of the visuals within Dead by Daylight will give you nightmares. From the masked killer on the front cover of the game box to the 200-year-old banshee that wants to suck your soul out of your body. This board game is full of frightening pictures.

That said, it’s an incredibly fun game of cat and mouse. Where up to four players play as survivors on the run from the fifth player who’s out to capture and murder them.

To win, the survivors must power four generators and find the exit. The killer, on the other hand, is hunting them down with an arsenal of special abilities at their disposal.

Almost all of the information is open on the table, meaning there’s no way you can hide your plans. This only adds to the peril you feel, as it all comes down to who can outsmart who. And whether the survivors can live through the night. Or if they’ll be Dead by Daylight.

Arkham Horror (Third Edition)

Publisher: Fantasy Flight Games (FFG)

Arkham Horror (Third Edition) is one of my favourite board games I’ve yet to review. You start by picking out an elder god from the works of HP Lovecraft. Then enter a town where things aren’t quite right. Frogs are falling sky and people have mysteriously started to disappear.

To figure out what’s happening you must solve the mystery by going to different locations, finding clues, killing monsters and gaining items. Preparing for a confrontation against someone… or something.

I love the narrative through-line within this game. Compared to the earlier iterations of this system in Eldritch Horror and Arkham Horror 2nd Edition which felt too random. Specific story cards are fed into the different location decks and as such it really ties the story together.

Of course, it’s the same type of game, so you know there’s going to be a whole host of otherworldly beings, people going insane, and tough choices for you to make. All in all, a perfect Halloween board game.

Mansions of Madness: Second Edition

Publisher: Fantasy Flight Games (FFG)

Mansions of Madness is a similar concept to Arkham Horror 3rd Edition, except zoomed in. Instead of figuring out the mystery of the town, you’re solving the mystery of a location. Be it a mansion, a bog, or someone other place unwelcoming venue.

What sets Mansions of Madness apart is its App for your device. Like the one found in Journeys in Middle-Earth it narrates the story and a lot of the behind-the-scenes legwork for you. Basically a Dungeon Master for your mobile phone. Additionally, it has the perfect ambient music to set the scene and drag you kicking and screaming into the world it presents.

Now given it’s a Fantasy Flight game, you’re of course fighting against a series of Lovecraftian horrors. However, unlike Arkham Horror, you’re not a kick-ass adventurer with a shotgun and endless ammunition. You’re more limited by the equipment you find, which gives Mansions of Madness a very Resident Evil feel to the game. Adding to the horror you feel, as sometimes running away is your only option.

Escape from the Aliens in Outer Space

Publisher: Osprey Games

Escape from the Aliens in Outer Space supports up to 8 players, making it the only party game on this list. It starts with half of the players as humans on a derelict spacecraft trying to make their way to the escape pods. While the other half of the players start as carnivorous aliens looking for their next feed.

At this point, no one knows who’s who, or where everyone is. Instead of playing on a central board, play takes place on private notebooks every player owns. It’s only on your turn that you must tell everyone where you currently are. However, depending on the card you draw, you can also lie.

So as much as you’re focused on your movements, you must also track other players. Not only because they might be aiming to eat you, but they might otherwise be racing towards the same escape pod you are.

Games where you’re being hunted mercilessly like Letters from Whitechapel are always great at putting you on edge. However, without a board and not knowing who to trust, Escape from the Aliens in Outer Space ups this tension ten-fold. So if you want to be scared on Halloween, then look no further than this board game.

Nemesis

Publisher: Awaken Realms

Speaking of aliens on derelict ships, we need to talk about Nemesis. The closest board gaming has come to replicating the Alien movie. All without uttering the word Xenomorph.

You begin trapped on a spaceship infested with aliens. At the start of the game, they’re young and only capable of chewing off a wayward toe or a careless finger. But as the game goes on they grow into viscous monsters ready to break apart your bones and drink the marrow within.

But they’re not the only thing you must watch out for. Everyone in Nemesis wins or loses the game as an individual. So you need to work together to complete your different missions. If there’s ever a choice between you or them, then make sure you have a backup plan.

That all being said, the scariest thing about Nemesis might just be its price tag. With its gorgeous miniatures and deluxe components, you can expect to spend a horrifying amount of money on this one.

Sub Terra

Publisher: Naylor Games

Sub Terra is a cooperative tile-laying game taking place deep beneath the surface of the Earth. As a group of amateur spelunkers, you begin to notice all sorts of hazards. Tunnels start collapsing in, parts of your path begin to flood, and then there’s the pounding of footsteps following your every move.

No board game has got my heart pounding as much as Sub Terra did the first time I played it. Its dark, claustrophobic world immersed me completely. Wanting to escape the tunnels, but finding new challenges every time you draw a tile. Then, just as you think it can’t get any worse, a murderous monster begins giving chase.

In trying to escape, you take chances you otherwise wouldn’t. Entering unexplored areas of the cave by drawing tiles and not knowing if the next tile will be a dead end or the exit. It’s as exciting as it is stressful. Making it a wonderful board game for when you want to add a bit of fright to your night.

Dread

Publisher: The Impossible Dream

OK, so Dread isn’t necessarily a board game but we can make one exception right? Because if we can, Dread sounds like a dreadfully good time. While it has no official setting, you are expected to roleplay through a scenario in which it’s unlikely for anyone to survive. So think of a cabin in the woods or Drew Barrymore’s house.

However, the big difference with Dread, and why it perfectly caps this list, is its use of a Jenga tower for skill checks. Whenever someone wants to do something risky, they must pull a block from the tower. If anyone ever knocks the tower over… they’re dead and their character is removed from the game.

I can’t imagine the stress this puts on players. Just thinking about a wobbly tower during the climax of a story is enough to send me under the covers. But that kind of emotional involvement is mighty enticing though, which is why Dread is the only role-playing game on my bucket list.