Board Game of the Week: Betrayal at House on the Hill

Suspense and horror are amazing themes when used correctly in different mediums. They make sure everyone is constantly paying attention, and at the same time, keep them on their toes for what has yet to come. For the board game this week; Betrayal at House on the Hill, it uses both of those different themes to keep players coming back and playing more.

Betrayal at House on the Hill was a game introduced to me by a couple of friends, and immediately I was amazed at the game eeriness and replay-ability. To give a quick synopsis of the game: you and a group of friends enter a haunted house and must explore its secrets to escape. You start off not knowing anything about the house and explore new rooms to gain information, items and also experience supernatural situations. However, you and your friends are on a timer because as your group explores more and more rooms you’ll eventually start the “hunt” a situation chosen where one of your friends turns traitor and the rest of you must group up and fight back to escape and gain your freedom.

The reason I said Betrayal has a ton of replay value is that there is a total of 50 unique haunts, and with such a large number even veterans of the game might get a new haunt they haven’t seen every once in awhile. However, this also adds to the suspense of the situation; as the game progresses you don’t know who you should trust, or if you should be excited that one of your friends is getting useful items. In one moment your best friend could become your worst enemy.

Betrayal is a fun game that you can play with a couple of friends for a long time. The fact that there are 50 unique situations is astounding and really makes the game suspenseful and unique. And if you ever start to get repeats of the same haunts, they recently came out with an expansion that adds another 50.

Give Betrayal a try. It’s a fun game that will keep you guessing and leave you wanting to go again.