Horror board games are harder to come by than some other flavours of game, because a fun strategy game needs to give the players some control – and, once you’ve got control, you’re harder to scare. But that hasn’t stopped designers from putting out all manner of scary board games due to the popularity of the genre – and some of them are… ahem… frighteningly good. Especially for horror fans, this guide profiles the absolute best, scariest board games we’ve tested.
Like many of the best board games, horror tabletop games have to strike a fine balance between genre and gameplay. The best of them expertly straddle the awkward line between tactics and terror, generating unique, uncomfortable moments you might never find in more vanilla couples board games, coop board games, and the like.
So, whether you’re after some board games for Halloween, or are simply a horror aficionado…
The best horror board games are:
Arkham Horror 3rd Edition
Many popular horror board games are based on the works of H.P. Lovecraft, and Arkham Horror 3rd Edition is the latest version of the ‘elder statesman’ game in that oeuvre.
Players take on the role of 1920s characters and work together, exploring the dark secrets of the town of Arkham, defeating eldritch monsters, and closing gates to try and stop the place from being devoured by creatures beyond human understanding.
But even if you can’t understand them, in Arkham Horror you can still blow them up with dynamite or mow them down with a Tommy gun in what’s essentially a horror-themed adventure game.
Arkham Horror: The Card Game
If you want your Lovecraft a bit more eldritch, then don’t confuse the Arkham Horror board game above with this, Arkham Horror: The Card Game. It’s also a coop board game – but that’s where the similarity ends.
This is a more narrative-heavy affair where you delve into a series of linked mysteries, trying to uncover furtive goings-on, and uncovering skeletons in closets which may turn out to be actual skeletons, or something worse.
Each character has a deck of skills and items that can be added during play and fine-tuned or upgraded between scenarios… if they survive. Full of excitement and suspense, this is a great line of games – although once you’ve solved a mystery you’ll need to purchase another scenario pack to keep playing.
Luckily, you’ll be spoilt for choice – Arkham Horror: The Card Game is one of the best card games of all time, and, while publisher Fantasy Flight Games changed the game’s release cycle in 2021, it’s still bringing out new Investigator and Campaign expansions in 2023, seven years after it debuted in 2016.
Fury of Dracula
Bram Stoker’s famous Count Dracula is even more of a horror icon than Lovecraft, so no surprise there’s also an excellent board game devoted to him – Fury of Dracula. One player plays the powerful bloodsucker as he travels in secret across Europe, trying to spread his vampiric curse, and planting traps and minions in his wake.
The others work together as vampire hunters Abraham Van Helsing and friends, piecing clues together to determine where the vampire might be, while accumulating blessed items and weapons to fight the Count’s servants and the dreaded vampire himself. It’s an epic battle, and one of the most beloved horror board games of all time.
Eldritch Horror
If Arkham Horror is about you working together to save Arkham, Eldritch Horror ups the ante by getting you to work together to save the world. Given the higher stakes, it’s perhaps surprising that this is a slightly simpler game than its sibling – but it’s no less fun for all that.
The zoomed-out focus gives it a more epic feel, and lets you delve more deeply into the lore of whatever monstrosity it is that you’re facing – as well as varying the encounters with a truly international, and sometimes interdimensional, feel.
Atmosfear
Gamers of a certain age will remember the novelty of TV-aided horror board game Atmosfear, with an included DVD full of creepy moments that helped guide you through play. There have been multiple editions of Atmosfear down the years, and you can still play the discs on most game consoles. The latest version bought things up to date by moving the action to an app.
The core game still requires you to roll one or two dice to navigate the board, avoiding hazards and collecting keys while hoping the horrible gatekeeper doesn’t pop up on screen and utter pronouncements on your doom.
Mansions of Madness
There’s also a heavy-duty, Lovecraftian app-driven game available in Mansions of Madness. Like the previous Lovecraft games on our list, this sees you working together to peel back the onion layers of a classic horror conundrum.
Unlike the others, the app spoon-feeding you information about the scenario allows it to have a real sense of exploration and mystery as you delve deeper and deeper into the unknown, uncovering horrible secrets and sinister clues one by one on your way to victory or unspeakable demise. There are some classic moments awaiting in the core box and, if you manage to beat all the scenarios, there are plenty of expansions to enjoy.
Betrayal at House on the Hill
One of the oldest and zaniest horror board games is Betrayal at House on the Hill, a mouthful of a title, currently on its third edition. It starts out cooperative as your team explores a classic haunted house, tile by random tile, looking for clues and items. At some point, events will cause the ‘haunt’ to kick in, at which point one player will become an antagonist to the rest, secretly reading hidden, spooky scenario details.
Both sides now have a win condition to race to, putting what they found in the first half of the game to good use. The wide range of haunts included in Betrayal at House on the Hill means this can take up almost any horror trope imaginable, from demonic possession to invisible killers. There’s even a Scooby-Doo-themed version for families, and a campaign-driven Legacy version for hardcore gamers.
For the full (ghost) story, check out our Betrayal at House on the Hill review.
Zombicide
Sometimes you don’t want to be scared by a spooky board game, you just want to kick back and splatter zombie guts everywhere. On those occasions, Zombicide is the game you want to break out. Arriving in a huge box packed with plastic, your team is tasked with fighting an oncoming horde of undead, gaining items and experience, and triggering even more zombies to be unleashed along the way.
What Zombicide lacks in the tactical nuance of the best strategy board games, it more than makes up for in sheer spectacle and drama as you carve your way through wave after wave of shambling horrors, painting the board with blood.
It’s been popular enough to spawn a whole series of offshoots, from Green Horde‘s infected fantasy goblinoids to the excellent Black Plague box, which situates the action in the Middle Ages.
As with all our guides, we’ll be adding shiny new games to this list as we play them, so long as they make the grade. If none of these spooky titles tickles your fancy, however, we’ve profiled the best board games in a bunch of other genres too – you might find something more your speed among the following guides:
Source: Wargamer
