Betrayal at House on the Hill

I have been meaning to do a post about Betrayal at House on the Hill since the blog began all those years ago, err well months is more accurate. Unfortunately it is really a bit cruel because in the unlikely circumstance that this post makes you want to purchase the game, you can't. Betrayal is currently out of print so a copy on amazon is roughly $260, yikes! Fortunately if you wait till the end of the year I believe another print run is being undertaken.

Please note some of the things said below could be considered spoilers but I don't really think it will ruin your experience of playing the game. Read on at your own discretion. 

So what is Betrayal? It is a game for 3-6 player tile laying game where you explore a haunted house, after 30ish minuets of exploring a random haunt begins involving (in most cases) one player betraying the rest of the investigators. There are 50 different scenarios such as one player controlling a raft of zombies or becoming a demon lord. One scenario involved the betrayers body splitting right open and a two headed snake emerging. My all time favourite scenario involved gigantic 747 sized eagles plucking the house from the ground to feed you to their kin, of course there are less parachutes (yes parachutes in a haunted house) than the number of players so you have to fight for them to jump out first.

This game over the last few weeks has become a bit of a hit with my flatmates and neighbours so it has been given a good run. Here are some photos from a recent game where Ben ended up betraying us, becoming a zombie lord and ripping us apart.

Top left is the basement; centre is the ground floor; bottom right is the upper floor

The game board towards the end of the game. The haunt started when Ben summoned the Zombie lord with the Ring of King Solomon. Our goal was to steal the ring which gave us the needed strength to kill the Zombie Lord. (Please note the game actually called them demons but one in our group wasn't so fond of demons (naturally) so we just changed the villeins to zombies).

I was playing Father Rienhardt a 70 or so year old preacher who's hobby was (yes past tense) exploring haunted houses... Unfortunately after wounding the Zombie Lord once he got his comeuppance and I got killed first. 

Flash who's hobbies are running and Shakespeare died next, its worth noting Flash was the Betrayer so he deserved what was coming! 

Little Miss Mazey died next, the creepy kid holding a teddy bear. She died from an event card, thats what you get for running away from the Zombie lord! 

The kid died next, who ever thought it was a good idea to take a kid into a haunted mansion, his hobbies are sticks and collecting bugs. Ben finished the game victorious and no doubt took over the world. Oh here is the end flavour text if the bad guy wins

The Hellgate is open. You scrub the blood from your eyes with the heel of your palm. Th sickly sweet tang in the air is just like that in your dream. The tangled bodies of your fellow explorers form a throne of flesh for the demon lord. The screaming has only just began. Just as you've always dreamed. 

Now no doubt I love this game, heck, who doesn't like acting out a good old B-Grade horror. I got it after I acquired and promptly sold the decidedly average Mansions of Madness as a replacement. It certainly doesn't disappoint and 50 different scenarios and the random nature of the house make it a totally different game each time.  The game isn't equal however, the scenarios are often weighted in one sides favour but in the end skill and strategy are only a small part of the game, the role playing element prevails making this game a real treat each time it comes of the shelf. 

Rating?

PG for pretty good.