Nyctophobia

About this board game

Nyctophobia is a cooperative tactile maze game for 3–5 players, with sessions lasting about 45 minutes. Most players wear blackout glasses and must navigate a pitch-black forest entirely by touch, while one sighted player takes the role of the Hunter.

The blinded players form the Hunted team. Together, they must find the car space on the board and survive until the police arrive to rescue them. Their challenge is to build a mental sense of the forest through touch while working together to escape the predator.

The sighted player controls the Hunter, who pursues the Hunted through the forest. The Hunter wins by reducing one of the Hunted to zero health before the police arrive, creating a tense contest between cooperation, navigation, and pursuit.

Nyctophobia includes two distinct Hunter experiences:

• The axe murderer: A basic, direct predator who moves forward and chops down the trees separating the Hunter from the Hunted.
• The mage: A trickster who manipulates the forest and confuses the blinded players by rotating the map and moving trees around it.

Because the Hunted cannot see the board, every movement depends on touch and communication. The Hunter, meanwhile, can observe the situation and use the forest itself to make escape more difficult. This unusual hidden-information format makes Nyctophobia an experiential game centered on the fear of the dark, shared survival, and tactile discovery.

Released in 2018, Nyctophobia offers a striking cooperative experience for groups looking for a game where the board is not simply viewed, but felt.