There Will Be Favorites - Top 5 Halloween Games

It's that time of year where we pretend like this is the only time of year we watch and play cool horror stuff. So what are your Top 5 all-time greatest Halloween-season board games? No runners-up or honorable mentions.

Edit: Will post mine soon. Need to think about it.

1. Psycho Raiders
2. Betrayal at House on the Hill


These are really the only two that see regular rotation at Halloween game night. I was hoping to add Nemesis to the list this year but I don't think it will show up in time for Halloween.

edit - Nemesis has shipped to me, so it WILL be on the table for Halloween.

1. Arkham Horror 2nd - All the trappings of Lovecraft redone as an adventure game with horrific elements. With all the expansions in the mix, the game offers near infinite replay value.

2. Camp Grizzly - Easy to learn and fun to play, and always offering a strong semblance of a narrative. Non-gamers love Camp Grizzly, and most gamers also enjoy it.

3. Fury of Dracula (2nd or 3rd) - Hide and seek across Europe with production values that really deliver the gothic horror setting.

4. Psycho Raiders - The board game equivalent of a Rob Zombie movie set in 1978. Low budget components and horrific outsider art nail the grindhouse horror atmosphere.

5. The Gothic Game - By modern board game standards, this should be a terrible game. But the lurid artwork and creepy cards make this memorable game that nearly everyone enjoys.

Whatever happened to the KS for a new Gothic Game?

I was curious about the Gothic Game kickstarter just recently, so I went looking. There didn't seem to be any recent updates, so I wonder if they ran into an issue. Maybe they are waiting out the trade war with China?

A Touch of Evil
Eldritch Horror
Rise of the Moloch
Arkham Horror
Court of the Dead :Mourners Call( currently in play)

So long since I did a Halloween session (one group is restricted to specific days and the other one is predominantly euro-centric) but the games we used to do:

Betrayal at House on the Hill (one of the best for that day)
Last Night on Earth (some good scenarios in this game)
Arkham Horror 2E (I like this monstrosity even though I play Eldritch Horror more these days but it's on for Halloween)
Fury of Dracula 2E
Buffy the Vampire Slayer

Shellhead wrote: I was curious about the Gothic Game kickstarter just recently, so I went looking. There didn't seem to be any recent updates, so I wonder if they ran into an issue. Maybe they are waiting out the trade war with China?

Nope, launching this month.

I play spooky games year round, buy them in mass quantities and I think many of the go-to picks actually suck out loud. Narrowing a list down to just 5 is going to be tough. Give me some time though. As the co-resident horror expert on the site, I know my shit. Might just do a blog.

Ghost Stories. Base only. None of this “haunter blocking” nonsense. We lose our villager tiles and like it.

All Wound Up.

It's just silly fun.

My gaming group is coming over on 10/30 for a session of Fury of Dracula (3rd ed).
We'll do it again the following week to celebrate the Count's death date.

FoD replaced Psycho Raiders for our spooky autumn game. I like Psycho Raiders. A lot. But the other players felt some situations can pop up that aren't clearly explained in the rules.

Until then, the Mrs. and I have a Dracula puzzle to solve and I suspect Escape from the Dark Castle will make a few appearances.

Fury of Dracula 3rd Ed.
Camp Grizzly
anything by Nate Hayden, even the ones I haven't played
Arkham Horror 2nd Ed.
Darkness Comes Rattling

I'm a basic bitch when it comes to my spoopy games. Horror isn't something board games invoke really well so I just pick stuff that's themed correctly and has good tension. Honorable mention to good old fashioned Werewolf. It's not the best game, but it's fantastic for a party.

My list would have to be (in no particular order):

Psycho Raiders
Camp Grizzly
Mansions of Madness 2e
Fury of Dracula
Nyctophobia

I realized while trying to make my list that I haven't actually played very many horror-themed board games.

Betrayal at House on the Hill - A haunted house that everyone creeps around in together. I'm not actually a fan of this game but I wouldn't turn it down during Halloween season.

Witches Brew - I suppose Broom Service would also work here. Witch's are classic Halloween "monsters" and I can't think of a better witch-related game I've played.

Castle Ravenloft - The artwork certainly doesn't do this game any favors, but it is about exploring a gothic castle and fighting a vampire. So now I've got witches and vampires covered.

Ghost Stories - Another co-op and while the setting isn't someplace I associate with Halloween it does have ghosts. Witches, vampires, and ghosts are the three monsters that seem most prevalent at Halloween.

Escape the Dark Castle - I feel like this is too new to me to be put on a list, but it was either this or a zombie game and this is definitely better than any of those I've played.