The Game of the Month series highlights one of the many games in our libraries at Ravenwood Castle and The Malted Meeple. We will briefly describe the game, how to play it, and why we like it. This month’s Game of the Month is written by The Malted Meeple’s Head Game Master – and former Ravenwood Innkeeper – Karington Hess.

Game: Betrayal at House on the Hille

Publisher: Wizards of the Coast

In Betrayal at House on the Hill players take on the role of explorers who are investigating a creepy abandoned mansion. This unique board game invites players in with fantastic components and captures their imagination with a strong horror theme.

During their turn, each player will add room tiles to the mansion, expanding the house’s floorplan. As players venture further into the mansion they will pick up various items, encounter terrifying events, and be faced with omens foretelling their doom. Eventually one of the explorers will turn traitor and try to kill his fellow explorers. The remaining players become heroes trying desperately to stop the Traitor’s sinister plan.

Each explorer takes a miniature and the matching explorer card, which contains four different traits including: strength, speed, knowledge, and sanity. On a player’s turn they can move through rooms up to their speed and explore one new room. They can also use the items that they picked up along the way. When they explore a new room they add a room tile to the house corresponding to the floor that they are currently on. Then they draw either an event card, omen card, or an item card corresponding to the tile they drew. The card may ask the player to make a trait roll to avoid the bite from a giant spider, avoid amnesia, or go a little mad from encountering the paranormal.

As the house is explored one of the players, determined by the omen card drawn, will betray the other players and try to kill them. This special end game scenario is called “The Haunt”. Once the haunt begins one player takes the Traitor’s Tome and leaves the room allowing the other players to conspire. The remaining players become heroes trying desperately to survive. There are 50 haunt scenarios each with their own unique flavor, monsters, and ending goals. Some scenarios have the players running from a horde of zombies, banishing baleful spirits, or contending with hell itself.

One of the things that makes this game unique is its nearly limitless replay value. The game contains: 12 different characters, 50 unique scenarios, and a house that is never the same twice. With all of this variation, you can be sure that you will always have a good time with this brilliant horror game!

Jim Reed

Jim Reed is a lifelong gamer who started with the original red box Dungeons & Dragons. After spending 20 years in the corporate world, he decided it was high time that work be fun and struck out on his own. Jim now owns and operates Ravenwood Castle, and spends his days ensuring his guests have as much fun as he does.