Halloween is a great excuse to do fun things like dressing up in silly costumes and gorging on lollies until we make ourselves sick. It's also an opportunity for some awesome horror themed gaming!
Regardless of your social situation, gaming experience or playing style you will find something on this list to keep your games night from turning grim.
Child's Play
Who's it for: Check out these titles for kids looking to play something a little spooky without the risk of nightmare inducing horrors or psychological scarring!
Zombie Kidz Evolution ($33.95)
Zombie Kidz Evolution is a "legacy" style game for kids, this means that as you progress through the game you will unlock new rules, abilities and scenarios to explore. Each new secret unlocked permanently changes the game play and those changes carry over from one game to the next. If your kids are a little older and require a more challenging game, check out Zombie Teenz Evolution with more advanced rules and scenarios that will require a little more strategic thinking.
Ghosts Love Candy ($29.95)
In this fun little game each player takes the role of a ghost trying to haunt kids out trick or treating for the purpose of taking their candy! Be careful though, if you scare the kids too much you will end up with negative points at the end of the game. The artwork in this game is nice and fun and shows a range of cool costumes on the kid cards. Each kid has a special ability that activates when you take their candy which makes this game engaging for older players too.
Ghost Blaster ($17.95)
Players work together in Ghost Blaster to try and trap all of the ghosts in the haunted castle. Players move their team of ghost hunters to reveal the ghosts. Once three matching ghosts are revealed, use your green goo to trap them! Be careful though, if a player accidentally uncovers a keyhole card, they are sent to the dungeon and must be rescued by another ghost hunter. Capture all of the ghosts before midnight to win the game!
A Light Fright
Who's it for: While we want to be a little scared on Halloween, that feeling of dread shouldn't be brought on by a weighty tome of rules or mind-bending mechanical complexity! These games are suitable for the whole family to enjoy or maybe even an ideal gateway game for your non-gamer friends to sink their fangs into.
Scooby Doo: Escape from the Haunted Mansion ($44.95)
Work together as Scooby and the gang to decode clues and find your way out of the haunted mansion in this co-operative "Coded Chronicles" game. More than fifty clues are hidden in the pieces and interactive game board to help you discover what happened in the haunted mansion! Players read from five narrative booklets to fill in the story's missing details and solve the mystery. As you unlock the clues secret envelopes are opened to reveal the answers to the mystery! If you're a big fan of those meddling kids (and who isn't?), also check out Scooby Doo! Betrayal at Mystery Mansion for a fun family favourite.
Quacks of Quedlinburg ($89.95)
In The Quacks of Quedlinburg, players are competing to make the most fantastic potion over a series of rounds. You each add ingredients one at a time to your own secret brew, take care with what you add, though, for a pinch too much of this or that will spoil the whole mixture! This is a push your luck game where each round you simultaneously draw ingredients from a bags and add them to your pots. The more ingredients you add (each with a special ability), the more points your potion will be worth but make sure to stop before drawing too many cherry bombs or your pot will explode! It's an incredibly tense experience trying to get the most out of every ingredient pull but also not too devastating when you pull that 1 chip that pushes your potion over the edge, the game features a consolation reward system that keeps you in the game and an effective catch-up mechanism which means you're never too far out of contention.
Zombie Fluxx ($20.95)
Most people have played a version of Fluxx, a card game where the cards themselves determine the current rules of the game. By playing cards, you change the rules of the game such as how many cards to draw, how many cards to play, and even how to win! There are many editions of Fluxx available with different themes and rules, Zombie fluxx introduces Ungoal cards where everybody loses!.
I See Dead People (Medium)
Who's it for: Got your regular gang of ghouls and ghosts around for some halloween themed gaming? Look no further, these are all tried and true hits with almost any gaming group. These games all include enough strategy and game-play to keep everyone involved but still light enough to keep everyone's spirits up!
Horrified ($67.00)
Imagine living in a place so wretched that it's not plagued by one, two, or even three monsters — but seven of the most horrifying fiends! In Horrified you work together to rid the town of Frankenstein, The Bride of Frankenstein, The Wolf Man, Dracula, The Mummy, The Invisible Man, and the Creature from the Black Lagoon. You can vary the difficulty level of the game to suit your playing group by adding more or less monsters to the mix. The rules are easy-to-learn and the cooperative gameplay allows more experienced players to assist new comers. Each monster is unique, and will require different strategies and tactics to be defeated.
Mysterium ($70.95)
Mysterium as a family favourite in our house. One player takes the role of a ghost and communicates with the other players (who are acting as psychic detectives) through the use of visions to try and solve their murder! The visions on cards feature amazing, beautiful and strange imagery that tries to point the players to a particular person, place and object involved in the murder. If the team of detectives can successfully translate the cryptic visions given to them before the night is over they can finally bring peace to the restless spirit. While it's best to start the most experienced player in the ghost seat, it wasn't long before the kids wanted to jump in and have a try. They get a great sense of pride in being the centre of attention for a table full of adults!
Betrayal at House on the Hill ($67.95)
Betrayal at House on the Hill starts with players exploring a haunted mansion, encountering spirits and frightening omens that foretell their fate. After a sufficient number of omens have been revealed one of the players will betray the rest of the party, and the innocent members must band together to defeat the traitor in their midst before it’s too late! Betrayal at House on the Hill will appeal to any game player who enjoys a fun, suspenseful, and strategic game.
A Heavy Haunting
Who's it for: So, you've gathered your most trusted allies for a night of epic adventure. Together you will wield arcane knowledge, conjure powerful magic and face a dark tide of unspeakable horror. Bring one of these heavy hitters to the table for an immersive all hallows' eve!
Approaching Dawn: The Witching Hour ($92.95)
In Approaching Dawn: The Witching Hour, players are coven members who are blood bound, meaning that what one witch does affects another member of the coven. Each witch starts with spells that they know, but throughout the game can learn new spells and gain familiars and artifacts. But how they choose to use these new cards each hour — whether as Black or White magic — will determine the successful completion of the scene. Scenes can be played in order to form a story arc, or but you can play any scene in any order as a stand alone game.
Arkham Horror ($92.95)
Arkham Horror (Third Edition) is a cooperative board game where one to six players take on the roles of investigators trying to rid the world of eldritch beings known as Ancient Ones. Based on the works of H.P. Lovecraft, players will have to gather clues, defeat terrifying monsters, and find tools and allies if they are to stand any chance of defeating the creatures that dwell just beyond the veil of our reality.
Alchemists ($69.95)
Mandrake root and scorpion tail; spongy mushroom and warty toad — these are the foundations of the alchemist's livelihood, science, and art. In Alchemists, 2-4 budding alchemists compete to discover the secrets of their mystical art. Points can be earned in various ways, but most points are earned by publishing theories. This game features a mix of interesting mechanisms including action and card drafting, bidding, deduction and hand management to make a highly strategic and competitive game.
Poltergeist Party
Who's it for: If your ideal halloween is having all your friends around for a raucous riot of horrific hijinks, these games will provide a howling good time!
Ultimate Werewolf Deluxe Edition ($27.95)
Ultimate Werewolf is an interactive game of deduction for two teams: Villagers and Werewolves. The Villagers don't know who the Werewolves are, and the Werewolves are trying to remain undiscovered while they slowly eliminate the Villagers one at a time. A Moderator (who isn't on a team) runs the game. Ultimate Werewolf takes place over a series of game days and nights. Each day, the players discuss who among them is a Werewolf and vote out a player. Each night, the Werewolves choose a player to eliminate, while the Seer learns whether one player is a Werewolf or not. The game is over when either all the Villagers or all the Werewolves are eliminated. If you're planning an epic halloween party, Ultimate Werewolf Deluxe Edition can be played with up to 75 people!
Obscurio ($79.95)
Obscurio is an original mix between an image-based communication game (think Detective Club or Dixit) and a secret role game (think Werewolf or Avalon) The presence of a traitor creates constant doubt and paranoia as players work together following clues to try and find the exit to the arcane library before the sorcerer traps them. A traitor amongst the players makes communication difficult and tries to lead them astray!
MonsDRAWsity ($37.95)
MonsDRAWsity is a fun and frantic drawing game where up to 8 players work as a police sketch artist trying to best illustrate a monster being described to them. One player known as "the Witness", has twenty seconds to examine a picture of a bizarre-looking creature, then they must describe it to the rest of the players who will attempt to draw it. At the end of the round, the witness awards points to the artist who was able to most closely match the monster seen by the witness!
Alone in the Dark (Solo)
Who's it for: Stuck in iso? Brave enough to go it alone? These options all provide an amazing solo play experience for those up to the challenge.
Mansions of Madness ($111.95)
If you're looking for an epic experience that you can really sink your teeth into, Mansions of Madness: Second Edition is a fully co-operative, app-driven board game of horror and mystery that plays amazingly well for one (and it goes up to 5 players for when you do get the rest of the crew around!). The game takes place in the same lovecraftian universe as Eldritch Horror and Elder Sign. The immersive app will guide you through the veiled streets of Innsmouth and the haunted corridors of Arkham's cursed mansions as you search for answers and respite. Eight brave investigators stand ready to confront four scenarios of fear and mystery, collecting weapons, tools, and information, solving complex puzzles, and fighting monsters, insanity, and death.
Graphic Novel Adventures: Lilly Van Helsing ($29.50)
Graphic Novel Adventures game books are unlike any game books you have seen before. Within their pages you'll become an active participant in exciting stories that unfold in each of our many beautifully illustrated graphic novels. In Lilly Van Helsing you’ll take on the role of a young Monster Hunter working for the Silent Night security company. It is up to you to keep your clients safe from werewolves, vampires, and other things that go bump in the night.
Choose Your Own Adventure: House of Danger ($37.95)
The classic Choose Your Own Adventure series provides a great option for spending an evening making risky choices, collecting items and exploring. Face off against dire challenges and play again and again to uncover more secrets and different endings! If you enjoy House of Danger you can also try going to War with the Evil Power Master!