For the next couple of weeks, we’ll be sharing highlights from Lair employee Ricardo’s 2020 Guide to Horror Gaming! Ricardo is a Lair employee board game expert, and highlights a number of new horror games released this past year that you’ll want to be sure to check out this Halloween season. Here are some excerpts from the guide highlighting the games Horrified and Grindhouse.
HORRIFIED: There is a small group of people that will tell you that a “game using licensed properties isn’t really a good game at all” hasn’t given this one a good look. Horrified is a game based off the classic Universal Monsters properties such as Dracula, the Wolf Man, The Invisible Man, Frankenstein and his Bride… you know the drill. This game brings it in the art style. When you open this box you are greeted by a fantastic statement that looks like it was taken from a silent film. This is a game that will take your breath away in art style. The goal of the game is very simple, you are a group of Investigators trying to stop the monsters from overrunning the town and scaring off the villagers. This miniatures game has you solving unique puzzles based off the creature’s character and personality. You can mix and match each monster to your liking to increase the difficulty. This is a great lighthearted game that isn’t very scary or gory, with some beautiful artwork for the whole family that you will want to play again and again! Great Co-operative action and plays in about 1 hour. 1-5 Players.
GRINDHOUSE: Fans of 80’s horror pulp will feel right at home here, Alas! Take the Saw films and marry it with the plot of The House on Haunted Hill and you have Grindhouse by Everything Epic. In Grindhouse you play a character 10 million dollars in debt and your only lifeline to get out of it is a mysterious letter sent by an even more mysterious host inviting you to spend the night at his mansion…if you survive you win 10 million dollars. The point of the game is to survive 5 rooms, with as many limbs attached as possible to score victory points at the end. This is a luck based game that has a certain gameshow quality to it. You might be asked to nominate players to attempt a task, only to have the tables turned against the others just as quickly. This game does provide some fun nods to classic horror tropes that a horror fan would find very amusing but the art style might put off more sensitive people with depictions of bloody severed limbs everywhere. This game comes with a very nice play mat and components are very good quality! This game will do well for competitive gamers looking for a fun and quick fix. Plays around 15-30 minutes. 2-6 Players.
If you can’t wait until next week for more of Ricardo’s recommends, check out the full article online now! We hope you’ll enjoy these detailed breakdowns of some of this year’s hottest horror games. These games and more are waiting for you to pick up and play – come get ‘em!
