Five Scary Horror Board Games For the Halloween Season

Nemesis

For many folks out there, ‘Horror board game’ and Nemesis might as well be synonyms. Not only is it a highly-rated, multi-award-winning board game for the gameplay alone, but it’s equally great at creating a looming sense of fear among the players.

Players work together to survive after they awake from hibernation on their malfunctioning spacecraft. They must repair the ship and figure out who might be a saboteur, if there even is one at all. Meanwhile, also trying to figure out what those mysterious noises deeper in the ship could be. Spoilers: it’s aliens.

Hunt a Killer

There’s been a murder! It’s up to you (and as many friends as you want) to rifle through documents, photographs, receipts, and more scraps of documents and trash to piece together what happened. Hunt A Killer is part of a long series of games, each with its own mystery to solve.

I’ve done several of these myself and can personally guarantee that they are a great time. They are just in the right spot of difficulty, so each time it feels like a trail is going cold, another clue pops up. I’ve done Death at a Dive Bar, Renfaire Regicide, and Supernova and would absolutely play more, given the chance.

Arkham Horror: The Card Game

It wouldn’t be a complete list of horror board games without some Cthulhu in the mix. Arkham Horror: The Card Game has been going strong for a while now and has a very avid fan base, including our own Adam Harrison, who’s been playing the game for years.

Players work together to fight off the minions of the Great Old Ones. Each investigator will have their own set of cards to use and pros and cons as a party member. It’s up to the team to maintain a grip on their sanity as they complete the multitudes of scenarios available through expansion and scenario packs.

Final Girl

Perhaps the most literal understanding of “horror” in this list of board games, Final Girl, is about surviving in a slasher-style movie. It’s a full solo game, but once you’ve got the core box, there are plenty of other scenarios to play through. You’ll play the odds by knowing what cards to discard when, and press your luck with dice rolls. Each success will feel great, but each failure will weigh heavy. Can you survive the night?

Betrayal at the House on the Hill

I absolutely love Betrayal for so many reasons. Players work together to explore a haunted mansion until one of them suddenly snaps and betrays the rest of the group. How exactly that happens is based on a few different factors. But outside the game, players literally split into separate rooms while they figure out and discuss how to deal with the traitor. No hidden roles here, which makes the betrayal all the more satisfying.