Betrayed

Day 59 - Betrayal at House on the Hill
Designed by Rob Daviau, Bruce Glassco, Bill McQuillan, Mike Selinker, and Teeuwynn Woodruff

"Betrayal" is a very unique game in which 3 to 6 players enter a very spooky house and go exploring. At first, the players are working together to explore the house and to try and collect items for future use. Eventually, something happens in the house that causes a player to become a traitor. At this point ("The Haunting"), the game becomes the traitor and the house (along with any other evil help that is given him/her) against the rest of the explorers (whom we will call heroes). One of the greatest elements of the game is the replay value. As players move throughout the house face down tiles are shuffled and chosen when walking through an open door. The house is very different each time the game is played. The Haunting could happen very early in the game or after a lengthy exploration period. Each triggered "Haunting" is usually different because there are lots of different stories or scenarios to be played out (each game the traitor will have a different goal with different help from the house and the heroes will have a certain way of winning as well). This game is especially fun to play a few times for a Halloween party, but is fun any time of the year. A lot of the scenarios are based off of horror movies or classic books and it is really fun to see who turns out to be the traitor and to find out what the game is going to be like after "The Haunting." The components are pretty good, but the game's room tiles tend to warp and the little plastic pieces that keep track of player's trait values are either too tight or way loose. I really enjoy the story feel of the game and the excitement of not knowing what's going to happen next. I myself became the traitor during tonight's game and was successful in using my demons and demon lord to kill off all the other players (sorry about that guys, nothing personal). So, the game definitely has a horror type ambiance that you will have to be comfortable with in order to enjoy the game. The scenarios are well done and you might just get a bit spooked - and that is How Lou Sees It.