Horrified

2019

Step into the world of Horrified, a cooperative board game featuring seven iconic monsters. Work together using unique strategies to defeat each creature.

60
minutes

1 - 5
player(s)

10+

Medium

About the game

Welcome to the thrilling world of Horrified, a cooperative board game that plunges you into the heart of classic horror movies. Set in the spooky town, you and your fellow players will face off against some of the most iconic monsters in cinematic history.

The setting of Horrified is steeped in the eerie atmosphere of classic horror films. From the foggy docks to the ominous laboratory and the haunted crypt, each location on the beautifully illustrated board sets the stage for your terrifying encounters.

Game components Unboxing the fun!

Horrified is a popular board game that involves players working together to defeat classic monsters. The game contains various components, which are described below:

1. Game Board:

The game board represents the village in which the game is set. It includes different locations for players to move around and interact with. The board also has spaces for placing the Monster cards and Terror marker.

2. Monster Mats:

There are 7 Monster Mats, each representing a different monster – Dracula, The Creature from the Black Lagoon, Frankenstein, The Bride of Frankenstein, The Mummy, The Invisible Man, and The Wolfman. Each mat shows the monster’s special abilities, how it moves, and how to defeat it.

3. Monster Figures:

Each of the 7 monsters has a corresponding figure. These figures are placed on the game board and moved around according to the Monster cards and dice rolls.

4. Hero Badges:

These are the player tokens. Each player chooses a Hero Badge at the start of the game and uses it to move around the board. Each Hero Badge also has a special ability that can be used during the game.

5. Monster Cards:

These cards are drawn at the end of each player’s turn. They dictate how the monsters move and attack during that turn. The cards also show which monsters are in play for the game.

6. Perk Cards:

Perk cards provide players with special abilities or items that can help them defeat the monsters. They can be collected by visiting certain locations on the board.

7. Item Tokens:

These tokens are scattered around the board at the start of the game. Players can collect them by moving to the same location. Item Tokens are used to defeat the monsters.

8. Terror Marker:

This marker is used to track the terror level in the village. If the Terror Marker reaches the end of the track, the players lose the game.

9. Dice:

The dice are rolled to determine the outcome of certain actions, such as fighting monsters. They are also used to determine the movement of the monsters.

10. Villager Tokens:

Villager tokens represent the villagers that players need to protect and escort to safety. If a monster reaches a villager, the Terror Marker is moved up.

Game setup Lay it out, line it up, let’s go

Setting up the board game ‘Horrified’ involves several steps, from determining player roles to placing the board and distributing initial resources. Here is a detailed, step-by-step guide:

First, unfold the game board and place it in the center of the playing area. The board represents the village where the game takes place, with locations such as the Lab, the Barn, and the Mansion.
Choose a number of Monsters to include in the game. For beginners, it is recommended to start with two Monsters. More experienced players may wish to play with three or more. Monsters include Dracula, The Mummy, The Wolfman, Frankenstein and the Bride, The Invisible Man, and The Creature from the Black Lagoon. Each monster has its own miniature figure, which you should place on the board on its specified starting space.
Set up the Monster Mats. Each Monster chosen has a corresponding Monster Mat. Place these next to the game board. Each Monster Mat has specific instructions and details for that Monster, including its special abilities and weaknesses.
Prepare the Monster decks. Each chosen Monster has a corresponding deck of cards. Shuffle each Monster deck and place it face down near the relevant Monster Mat.
Place the Monster Figures. Once the Monster Mats and decks are in place, set the corresponding Monster figures on their starting locations on the board.
Determine player roles. Each player selects a Hero to play. Heroes include The Explorer, The Scientist, The Archaeologist, The Inspector, and The Priest. Each Hero has a specific starting location and special ability. Give each player their Hero’s badge and place the corresponding Hero figure on its starting location on the board.
Distribute initial resources. Shuffle the Perk cards and Item tokens, then distribute three Perk cards and a number of Item tokens equal to the number of players plus two. Place these face up on the board in their respective locations.
Prepare the Villager tokens. Shuffle the Villager tokens and place them in a pile next to the board. These will be used to represent the villagers that the Heroes must protect.
Set up the Terror Marker. Place the Terror Marker on the zero (0) space of the Terror Track on the board. This marker will move along the track as the Monsters scare the villagers and Heroes, potentially ending the game if it reaches the end of the track.
Prepare the Monster deck. Shuffle the Monster deck and place it face down next to the board. This deck contains cards that will activate the Monsters during the Monster phase of each turn.

With these steps completed, you are now ready to play ‘Horrified’. Remember, the goal of the game is to defeat the Monsters and save the village. Good luck!

Game flow Round and round we go

In the board game ‘Horrified’, players work together to defeat classic monsters that are terrorizing a town. The game progresses in a series of rounds, each of which is comprised of two phases: the Hero Phase and the Monster Phase. It’s important to note that players do not take individual turns, but rather act collectively during the Hero Phase.

Hero Phase:

Action Allocation: At the start of the Hero Phase, each player decides how to spend their action points. Each hero has a specific number of actions they can perform on their turn, typically ranging from three to five.
Action Execution: Players then perform their chosen actions, which can include: moving to adjacent locations, picking up items, sharing items with other players at the same location, advancing the monster’s defeat track, or using a special action unique to their character.

Monster Phase:

Monster Card Draw: During the Monster Phase, players draw a card from the monster deck. This card indicates which monsters will act during this phase, and in what order.
Monster Movement and Attack: Each monster listed on the card moves towards the nearest hero and attacks if they are in the same space. The type of attack and its effects vary by monster.
Monster Effect: The drawn monster card may also include special effects that must be resolved. These can include spawning new monsters, moving monsters, or other game-changing events. Once all effects on the card have been resolved, the Monster Phase ends and the next round begins with the Hero Phase.

Players must strategize and work together to defeat the monsters while keeping the town’s terror level under control. The game ends when either all monsters have been defeated (a victory for the players), or the terror level reaches its maximum (a loss for the players).

Players'turn One turn to rule them all

‘Horrified’ is a cooperative board game that pits players against some of the most iconic movie monsters of all time. The objective is to work together to defeat the monsters and save the town. Each player’s turn in ‘Horrified’ consists of two phases: the Hero phase and the Monster phase. In each phase, players have a variety of actions they can take, which can significantly impact the game’s outcome.

Hero Phase

The first part of a player’s turn is the Hero phase. During this phase, a player can perform a number of actions equal to their character’s ‘Perk’ value, typically ranging from 3 to 5. Here are the possible actions:

Move: The player can move their character to an adjacent space on the game board. Each move counts as one action.
Guide: The player can move any number of Villagers present in their character’s space to an adjacent space. Guiding also counts as one action.
Pick Up Item: If the player’s character is on a space with an item, they can pick up that item. Picking up an item is considered one action.
Share: The player can give or take items from another Hero in the same space. This exchange constitutes one action.
Defeat a Monster: The player can use items to defeat a Monster if they meet the requirements detailed on the Monster’s mat. This is a significant strategic choice, as it directly affects the game’s objective. It counts as one action.
Advance a Task: The player can use items to advance a specific task on the Monster’s mat. Like defeating a monster, this action directly impacts the game’s objective and counts as one action.

Monster Phase

After the Hero phase comes the Monster phase. In this phase, players draw and resolve a Monster card that can provoke Monster strikes, place items on the board, and move Monsters and Villagers. This phase includes the following possible actions:

Place Items: The card may instruct the player to place a certain number of items on the board. These items can later be picked up by Heroes during their Hero phase.
Move Monsters and Villagers: The card may instruct the player to move certain Monsters or Villagers a specific number of spaces.
Monster Strike: The card may provoke a Monster strike. If a Hero is in the same space as a Monster when a strike occurs, the player must draw a number of Frenzy tokens equal to the Monster’s strike value. Each Frenzy token drawn results in one damage to the Hero.

Strategic choices during both the Hero phase and Monster phase can significantly affect the game’s outcome. For example, choosing when to defeat a Monster or advance a task can be the difference between winning and losing the game. Similarly, how a player chooses to move their character or use their items can impact their ability to achieve the game’s objective. Understanding the impact of these choices is key to mastering ‘Horrified’.

End of the game All good games must come to an end

In the cooperative board game ‘Horrified’, players work together to defeat classic monsters who are terrorizing a village. The game concludes under two circumstances: either when the players have achieved all victory conditions or when the terror level has reached its maximum.

Victory Conditions:

The players collectively win the game if they successfully achieve the following two conditions:

Defeat All Monsters: Each monster in the game has a unique set of tasks that must be completed in order to defeat it. The specific tasks for each monster are detailed on its monster mat. Once the tasks have been completed, players can attempt to defeat the monster by rolling dice equal to their current strength and achieving enough hits.
All Survivors are Safe: Throughout the game, survivors will appear in the village. Players must guide these survivors to their safe locations, as indicated on the survivor tokens. If a player ends their move on a space with a survivor, they can move that survivor up to the player’s remaining moves. If a survivor is lead to their safe location, the player draws a perk card.

Actions Before Final Scoring:

Before determining the final outcome of the game, players must ensure the following actions are taken:

Ensure all monsters have been defeated. If there are still monsters on the board at the end of a player’s turn, the game continues.
Check that all survivors are safe. If any survivors are left on the board, players must continue their turns until all survivors are safe.
Check the terror level. If the terror marker has reached the end of the terror track, the game ends immediately and the players lose, regardless of whether they have defeated all monsters and saved all survivors.

Once all of these conditions have been met, the game ends. If the players have defeated all monsters and saved all survivors before the terror level reached its maximum, they win the game. If the terror level reached its maximum before all monsters were defeated and all survivors were saved, the players lose the game.

Scoring Did you outsmart your rivals?

Horrified is a cooperative game where the objective is to defeat classic monsters terrorizing a town. Players work together to defeat the monsters and save the villagers. The scoring system is based on the monsters defeated, villagers saved, and the overall performance of the team. Below is a detailed breakdown:

1. Defeating Monsters:

Frankenstein & Bride: Players earn 6 points for bringing both monsters’ humanity to maximum before defeating them.
The Wolf Man: Players earn 6 points for curing the Wolf Man’s lycanthropy and then defeating him.
Dracula: Players earn 6 points for smashing all of Dracula’s coffins before defeating him.
The Mummy: Players earn 6 points for solving the Mummy’s puzzle and then defeating him.
The Invisible Man: Players earn 6 points for gathering evidence against the Invisible Man and then defeating him.
The Creature from the Black Lagoon: Players earn 6 points for navigating the Creature’s lagoon and then defeating him.

2. Saving Villagers:

Players earn 2 points for each villager they successfully escort to a safe location.

3. Remaining Items:

At the end of the game, players add up the item values remaining in their collective inventories. Each item counts as 1 point.

4. Overall Performance:

Players earn 10 points for winning the game.
Players lose 1 point for every time the terror level increased.

After all points are totaled, the higher the score, the better the performance. In the case of a tie, the tie-breaking rules are as follows:

The player who used the least number of items wins.
If there is still a tie, the player who played fewer special action cards wins.
If a tie persists, the player who went first in the game wins.

Please note that since Horrified is a cooperative game, the concept of “winning” as a single player doesn’t typically apply. All players either win together or lose together, but the scoring system allows players to gauge their performance.

Particular Cases and Exceptions Wait… is that legal?

Horrified is a cooperative board game where players team up to defeat classic monsters that are terrorizing the town. Though the game is fairly straightforward, there are a few special rules, exceptions, and clarifications that are important to understand:

1. Monster Movement: During the Monster phase, each monster moves according to the roll of a dice. However, if the symbol on the Monster card matches the symbol of a monster on the board, that monster does not move, but instead performs its special action.

2. Monster Defeat: Monsters are not permanently defeated in Horrified. When a player defeats a monster, it is simply returned to the Monster mat and can re-enter the game later.

3. Multiple Monsters: When multiple monsters are in the same location, the player can choose the order in which to encounter them. This can be important for strategic planning.

4. Special Abilities: Some characters have special abilities. These abilities can be used at any time during their turn, and do not cost an action unless specifically stated in the ability description.

Item Limit: Each player can only hold a maximum of 5 items at any one time. If a player would gain more than this, they must immediately discard down to the limit.
Villagers: Villagers cannot perform actions or be targeted by monsters. They only move when a player uses an action to guide them.
Peril: If the draw pile is empty during the Peril phase, the discard pile is shuffled to form a new draw pile.

Monster Phase: If a monster is defeated during the Monster phase, it does not perform its action later in the phase. The defeat takes immediate effect.
Terror Level: The terror level increases by 1 each time a monster attacks a hero or villager. If the terror level reaches the maximum, the players lose the game.
Endgame: The game ends immediately when the terror track is filled, or when all monsters are defeated. The players do not get an extra turn or phase to finish up actions.

Tips and tricks Play smarter, not harder!

Advanced Strategies

Planning Ahead: Always think a few turns ahead. Try to predict where monsters may move based on their cards and plan your actions accordingly.
Balance Tasks: Don’t focus solely on defeating monsters. Also, pay attention to other tasks such as saving villagers and collecting items.
Use Characters’ Abilities: Each character has a unique ability. Make sure to utilize these abilities to your advantage.

Beginner Tips

Start by playing the game with fewer monsters. This will help you understand the game’s mechanics before adding more complexity.
Make sure to collect items. They are crucial for defeating monsters and completing tasks.
Don’t forget about villagers. Saving them can provide valuable rewards.

Common Mistakes to Avoid

Ignoring Villagers: Some beginners ignore villagers to focus on monsters. This can be a costly mistake as villagers can provide useful bonuses.
Not Using Abilities: Each character has unique abilities. Ignoring these abilities can make the game much more difficult.
Not Planning Ahead: ‘Horrified’ is a game that requires strategy. Failing to plan ahead can lead to being overwhelmed by monsters.

Optimizing Gameplay

Communicate with your fellow players. Coordination can be key to defeating monsters and completing tasks more efficiently.
Try to be efficient with your actions. Every action counts, so make sure each one contributes to your overall strategy.
Keep track of the monster deck. Knowing what monsters are likely to come up can help you plan ahead.