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You are here: Home / Gaming Advice / Horror Board Game Suggestions for your Themed Game Night – Ask The Bellhop

Horror Board Game Suggestions for your Themed Game Night – Ask The Bellhop

October 27, 2018 by Moe T. 2 Comments

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Horror game suggestions for your themed game night. #Advice #GamingAdvice #GameNightPlanning #HorrorGames #Halloween #TabletopBellhop #boardgames #tabletop

This week I’m going to be looking at some great horror themed board games, offering spooky suggestions for a terrifying tabletop game night.


With Halloween hitting next Wednesday and episode 14 of The Tabletop Bellhop Live podcast dropping on that day I thought it would be good for Sean and I have to have some appropriately themed games to talk about.


We also discussed this topic on Ep 14 of Tabletop Bellhop Live, Ghastly Game Nights.

Disclosure: Some links in this post are Amazon affiliate links. As an associate, I earn from qualifying purchases.


The Short Answer

Mansions of Madness Second Edition is a fantastic cooperative game great for playing on HalloweenBack when we were talking Tech on the Table I got to finally play Mansions of Madness Second Editionir?source=bk&t=tabletopbellhop 20&bm id=default&l=ktl&linkId=30e64d82db6c91e797121c05250a49c0& cb=1540674244836 - Horror Board Game Suggestions for your Themed Game Night - Ask The Bellhop. I really dug that game and right now it’s my number one recommendation for a game to play when celebrating the creepiest night of the year.

Due to most of the game being controlled by an app, that also means you should be able to turn the lights down real low. There’s not a lot of reading needed after figuring out your character abilities. The soundtrack built into the app should also be great for increasing the immersion.


The Long Answer

Similar to my last article about solo games, I’m no real expert when it comes to ghastly game nights. I’m not into the whole Cthulhu theme and haven’t played all that many great terrifying tabletop games. I’m not really into Horror movies or novels or the genre in general. I do dig Halloween though and I’m all for spending the night gaming after being done handing out treats or going out with the kids.

Ghastly game components for Horror themed Halloween game night.Here’s a short list of games with an appropriate theme that I actually do enjoy. This should be interesting as I doubt my list will overlap with many other Halloween themed lists. I don’t tend to enjoy the games that people usually have on these lists.

This time I think I’m going to break the list up into categories. This way I can recommend a wide variety of games for a wide variety of gamers.


Creepy Kids Games

q? encoding=UTF8&ASIN=B00D7HMHSG&Format= SL110 &ID=AsinImage&MarketPlace=US&ServiceVersion=20070822&WS=1&tag=tabletopbellhop 20&language=en US - Horror Board Game Suggestions for your Themed Game Night - Ask The Bellhopir?t=tabletopbellhop 20&language=en US&l=li1&o=1&a=B00D7HMHSG - Horror Board Game Suggestions for your Themed Game Night - Ask The BellhopVampires of The Nightir?source=bk&t=tabletopbellhop 20&bm id=default&l=ktl&linkId=1667c36dd901370f0849460c0d4fadcb& cb=1540674190636 - Horror Board Game Suggestions for your Themed Game Night - Ask The Bellhop – This is a very unique dexterity game that my kids have owned for many years and still play. You use a “magic” wand to try to move your vampire around and knock garlic off the board. It includes a very eye-catching 3d board and the components even glow in the dark. This one is great for really little kids and pre-schoolers.

q? encoding=UTF8&ASIN=B00ASCSFSE&Format= SL110 &ID=AsinImage&MarketPlace=CA&ServiceVersion=20070822&WS=1&tag=thewingamresa 20&language=en CA - Horror Board Game Suggestions for your Themed Game Night - Ask The Bellhopir?t=thewingamresa 20&language=en CA&l=li1&o=15&a=B00ASCSFSE - Horror Board Game Suggestions for your Themed Game Night - Ask The BellhopMy next recommendation is another one my kids love and that’s Monster Factory from Rio Grande. This is a great tile-laying game where you build monsters. If you manage to build a complete monster you score points based on how many eyes it has, then you can start building minion monsters. Unlike Vampires of the Night, this one is fun for more than just kids. My wife and I first played the game at Origins and played a few rounds ourselves before picking it up for the girls. I break it out on nights when we want to play something silly or light.

q? encoding=UTF8&ASIN=B01FLADSW0&Format= SL110 &ID=AsinImage&MarketPlace=US&ServiceVersion=20070822&WS=1&tag=tabletopbellhop 20&language=en US - Horror Board Game Suggestions for your Themed Game Night - Ask The Bellhopir?t=tabletopbellhop 20&language=en US&l=li1&o=1&a=B01FLADSW0 - Horror Board Game Suggestions for your Themed Game Night - Ask The BellhopMy strongest recommendation for a horror themed kids game I first mentioned on our Kids co-op game article and that is Ghost Fightin’ Treasure Huntersir?source=bk&t=tabletopbellhop 20&bm id=default&l=ktl&linkId=18940d7a075ddabfc5887f24e38d1216& cb=1540675294836 - Horror Board Game Suggestions for your Themed Game Night - Ask The Bellhop. The entire family still loves this game. The kids play it on their own. My wife and I grab it to play with friends. We all play together. This is the kids game that gets played the most in our house and it also fits the theme well.  There’s now an expansion out for the game as well, The Creepy Cellar Expansionir?source=bk&t=tabletopbellhop 20&bm id=default&l=ktl&linkId=44c28356e5ab8822fd66773d00913d52& cb=1540675372711 - Horror Board Game Suggestions for your Themed Game Night - Ask The Bellhop, but I haven’t had a chance to try it yet.


Chilling Card Games

q? encoding=UTF8&ASIN=1556347170&Format= SL110 &ID=AsinImage&MarketPlace=US&ServiceVersion=20070822&WS=1&tag=tabletopbellhop 20&language=en US - Horror Board Game Suggestions for your Themed Game Night - Ask The Bellhopir?t=tabletopbellhop 20&language=en US&l=li1&o=1&a=1556347170 - Horror Board Game Suggestions for your Themed Game Night - Ask The BellhopYears ago my parents bought me a horror-themed trick-taking card game from Steve Jackson games called Spooksir?source=bk&t=tabletopbellhop 20&bm id=default&l=ktl&linkId=92899e60f36d4772aa3adea8ecd3465e& cb=1540676909119 - Horror Board Game Suggestions for your Themed Game Night - Ask The Bellhop. The goal is to play all the cards in your hand by matching numbers or suits. Suits include Spiders, Ghosts, Goblins, Skeletons and Bats. Each suit has a special power that messes with the trick taking. It’s a very fast light game that’s simple enough most kids should be ablet to play it. (The box says ages 12+, BGG says 8+, I would side with BGG). The other thing I dig about Spooks is that it plays up to 6.

q? encoding=UTF8&ASIN=B01MDQF5X8&Format= SL110 &ID=AsinImage&MarketPlace=US&ServiceVersion=20070822&WS=1&tag=tabletopbellhop 20&language=en US - Horror Board Game Suggestions for your Themed Game Night - Ask The Bellhopir?t=tabletopbellhop 20&language=en US&l=li1&o=1&a=B01MDQF5X8 - Horror Board Game Suggestions for your Themed Game Night - Ask The BellhopI don’t play a lot of word-based games, mainly because my wife is way better at them than I am. That’s probably why I dig Unspeakable Wordsir?source=bk&t=tabletopbellhop 20&bm id=default&l=ktl&linkId=c05434f0e543e7f6ef1568e3c3e29576& cb=1540677095176 - Horror Board Game Suggestions for your Themed Game Night - Ask The Bellhop. It’s not about how large your word is, but rather how many angles the letters have. You can try to play big words but every word you do you have to roll a D20 and if it rolls less than your word score you lose sanity. Lose enough and you are out of the game.


Cobweb Covered Cooperative Games

q? encoding=UTF8&ASIN=B011MIVWV4&Format= SL110 &ID=AsinImage&MarketPlace=US&ServiceVersion=20070822&WS=1&tag=tabletopbellhop 20&language=en US - Horror Board Game Suggestions for your Themed Game Night - Ask The Bellhopir?t=tabletopbellhop 20&language=en US&l=li1&o=1&a=B011MIVWV4 - Horror Board Game Suggestions for your Themed Game Night - Ask The BellhopZombies are a very popular theme for board games. Heck, it seems they are a popular theme for everything right now. Of all the Zombie games out there the one I had the most fun with is Zombicide Black Plagueir?source=bk&t=tabletopbellhop 20&bm id=default&l=ktl&linkId=015c21d50d48000c0e4726ad03f55107& cb=1540677505917 - Horror Board Game Suggestions for your Themed Game Night - Ask The Bellhop. This takes the popular franchise and puts it into a generic fantasy setting. There’s no patient zero here, instead, it’s evil necromancers that are raising the dead. This one plays with 1 to 6 players and ends up being mostly a puzzle solving game once you figure out all the mechanics and the way the undead move.

q? encoding=UTF8&ASIN=B001J77UUQ&Format= SL110 &ID=AsinImage&MarketPlace=US&ServiceVersion=20070822&WS=1&tag=tabletopbellhop 20&language=en US - Horror Board Game Suggestions for your Themed Game Night - Ask The Bellhopir?t=tabletopbellhop 20&language=en US&l=li1&o=1&a=B001J77UUQ - Horror Board Game Suggestions for your Themed Game Night - Ask The BellhopOne of the most difficult cooperative games I own is Ghost Storiesir?source=bk&t=tabletopbellhop 20&bm id=default&l=ktl&linkId=e76e6d61f23fdca5016de41a80d8ff76& cb=1540677897706 - Horror Board Game Suggestions for your Themed Game Night - Ask The Bellhop. This is a devilishly hard Asian themed game that pits up to four Taoist monks against an incarnation of The Lord of Hell, Yu-Feng and his legions of ghosts. The players need to protect the town and hold off the ghosts long enough for Yu-Feng to manifest and then banish the demon himself. The fact that I’ve never actually won this game but keep coming back to it for more is a good indicator of how much I enjoy the very team-based gameplay.


Mutilated Multi-Player Games

q? encoding=UTF8&ASIN=B00XVIJNRY&Format= SL110 &ID=AsinImage&MarketPlace=US&ServiceVersion=20070822&WS=1&tag=tabletopbellhop 20&language=en US - Horror Board Game Suggestions for your Themed Game Night - Ask The Bellhopir?t=tabletopbellhop 20&language=en US&l=li1&o=1&a=B00XVIJNRY - Horror Board Game Suggestions for your Themed Game Night - Ask The BellhopBring Out Yer Deadir?source=bk&t=tabletopbellhop 20&bm id=default&l=ktl&linkId=079909c32d5749d71a465c93f50e4390& cb=1540678303785 - Horror Board Game Suggestions for your Themed Game Night - Ask The Bellhop is a very unique area control game. In it you are the head of a family in Medieval France and you are in charge of getting your “dying” family members into the best grave plots in order to maximize your name’s reputation. It’s a mix of action selection, coffin placement, and area control. Simple to learn and easy to teach it’s a neat somewhat morbid filler game.

q? encoding=UTF8&ASIN=B00N3012GU&Format= SL110 &ID=AsinImage&MarketPlace=US&ServiceVersion=20070822&WS=1&tag=tabletopbellhop 20&language=en US - Horror Board Game Suggestions for your Themed Game Night - Ask The Bellhopir?t=tabletopbellhop 20&language=en US&l=li1&o=1&a=B00N3012GU - Horror Board Game Suggestions for your Themed Game Night - Ask The BellhopIt seems one vs. many player games are popular in the horror genre. I’m not a big fan of the various Arkham games but I do really enjoy Tragedy Looperir?source=bk&t=tabletopbellhop 20&bm id=default&l=ktl&linkId=ee09b6a4181073e539f4f6d61491582d& cb=1540678953012 - Horror Board Game Suggestions for your Themed Game Night - Ask The Bellhop. That is when I have a group that knows how to play, as this game is a real beast not only to teach but also to learn. It’s a unique time travel game where one player plays the GM like Mastermind and the other players are stuck in a time loop. Each day the players take actions and at the end of the day depending on their actions a tragedy might happen. If it does the day repeats itself and they try again. If the players manage to get through enough time with no tragedy they win. Meanwhile, the Mastermind is trying to make sure the tragedy happens. As you can tell it’s not really easy to describe here either.

q? encoding=UTF8&ASIN=1589946510&Format= SL110 &ID=AsinImage&MarketPlace=US&ServiceVersion=20070822&WS=1&tag=tabletopbellhop 20&language=en US - Horror Board Game Suggestions for your Themed Game Night - Ask The Bellhopir?t=tabletopbellhop 20&language=en US&l=li1&o=1&a=1589946510 - Horror Board Game Suggestions for your Themed Game Night - Ask The BellhopI didn’t think of my last game at first. I had to go downstairs and look at my game collection to make sure I wasn’t missing anything before I considered it. At first, I had to think whether it fits the theme or not, but then I realized that a game about four gods of chaos battling over a map of the world penned on human skin was pretty damn horrific. I’m talking about the classic Eric Lang game Chaos in the Old Worldir?source=bk&t=tabletopbellhop 20&bm id=default&l=ktl&linkId=905b4d922676286f947f547c7499566c& cb=1540679236507 - Horror Board Game Suggestions for your Themed Game Night - Ask The Bellhop. One of the best asymmetric folk on a map games ever made, set in the Warhammer Fantasy universe, a world I’ve been a fan of since my teens. I really dig this game. I’m actually tempted to go back to the top of this article and swap this for Mansions of Madness as my top recommendation. I’m not going to do that though as this game is long out of print and probably never coming back due to licensing issues between Fantasy Flight and Games Workshop.


Revolting Recommendations from Others

I know my list is kind of out there when compared to many other Halloween lists. I figured it wouldn’t be right if I didn’t give the games I saw on list after list a quick shout out. So here’s a few games that it seems like everyone but me loves to play during the most spooktacular of holidays.

The various Fantasy Flight Cthulhu games: Arkham Horrorir?source=bk&t=tabletopbellhop 20&bm id=default&l=ktl&linkId=46fe75cb29fac8f8d355442305f51b39& cb=1540679845621 - Horror Board Game Suggestions for your Themed Game Night - Ask The Bellhop, Arkham Horror The Card Gameir?source=bk&t=tabletopbellhop 20&bm id=default&l=ktl&linkId=d8324bda3236fb845a72c9d55d2f8add& cb=1540679867805 - Horror Board Game Suggestions for your Themed Game Night - Ask The Bellhop, Eldritch Horrorir?source=bk&t=tabletopbellhop 20&bm id=default&l=ktl&linkId=573c73da0d455decee137066e4f42934& cb=1540679877429 - Horror Board Game Suggestions for your Themed Game Night - Ask The Bellhop and Elder Signir?source=bk&t=tabletopbellhop 20&bm id=default&l=ktl&linkId=9926879318cc90ef5234b2aa445f2b7f& cb=1540679883646 - Horror Board Game Suggestions for your Themed Game Night - Ask The Bellhop. Also from Fantasy Flight: Fury of Draculair?source=bk&t=tabletopbellhop 20&bm id=default&l=ktl&linkId=6f36ccfe14354d437846025c0502601e& cb=1540679890993 - Horror Board Game Suggestions for your Themed Game Night - Ask The Bellhop a one vs. many game about catching the Prince of Wallachia.

Everyone seems to love Dead of Winterir?source=bk&t=tabletopbellhop 20&bm id=default&l=ktl&linkId=954d21d52b3484254abdf0b865f4e48d& cb=1540679904065 - Horror Board Game Suggestions for your Themed Game Night - Ask The Bellhop, a semi-cooperative, hidden role, zombie game. People continue to play Betrayal at House on the Hillir?source=bk&t=tabletopbellhop 20&bm id=default&l=ktl&linkId=128087f8b1c6f3db4a5750e06a85797b& cb=1540679914448 - Horror Board Game Suggestions for your Themed Game Night - Ask The Bellhop despite the fact that many of the scenarios are broken and even more are unclear.

Then, of course, are all of the social deduction games everyone knows I love so much. Werewolfir?source=bk&t=tabletopbellhop 20&bm id=default&l=ktl&linkId=5fe12f976f24fe7d3481008232e80dde& cb=1540679933523 - Horror Board Game Suggestions for your Themed Game Night - Ask The Bellhop, and the faster One Night Ultimate Vampireir?source=bk&t=tabletopbellhop 20&bm id=default&l=ktl&linkId=1bb70daaa4071a4cb242d1049f8b23b2& cb=1540679946646 - Horror Board Game Suggestions for your Themed Game Night - Ask The Bellhop/Werewolfir?source=bk&t=tabletopbellhop 20&bm id=default&l=ktl&linkId=28ca3fd4cc9b544211e2f7b0846817ef& cb=1540679952032 - Horror Board Game Suggestions for your Themed Game Night - Ask The Bellhop/Alienir?source=bk&t=tabletopbellhop 20&bm id=default&l=ktl&linkId=9c93806a7f0785df4d1d46c10ed547d8& cb=1540679968328 - Horror Board Game Suggestions for your Themed Game Night - Ask The Bellhop versions.

I’m sure there are more I missed. Feel free to mention them in the comments.

Filed Under: Gaming Advice Tagged With: Bring Out Yer Dead, Chaos in the Old World, Ghost Fightin' Treasure Hunters, Ghost Stories, Mansions of Madness, Monster Factory, Spooks, Tragedy Looper, Unspeakable Words, Vampires of the Night, Zombicide Black Plague

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Comments

  1. Phil Hatfield says

    October 28, 2018 at 12:13 am

    A good one that is not well known is “Ghosts Love Candy”. It is great for Halloween, as it is about kids out trick-or-treating and the ghosts entering their bodies to make them eat the candy but hopefully not make the kid sick while doing so.

    Then, my personal favorite is “A Touch of Evil”, with it’s great gothic horror theme and wonderful B-Movie feel to it. The cards set the them, and the villains are all wonderfully different. Plus, you have a large number of heroes to pay, so the replay value of the game is immense! Add in you can play the came Competitively, Cooperatively, or in Teams, and from solo all the way up to 8 in just the base game alone, it is a game that checks ALL of the boxes for great Halloween game for me.

    Reply
    • Moe T. says

      October 28, 2018 at 12:36 pm

      Ghost Love Candy sounds like it may be great for my kids.

      I really should give Flying Frog a chance. I will admit I’m one of those people that was scared off by the art style. A silly thing as it has nothing to do with the gameplay.

      Reply

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