The Presence

About this board game

The Presence is a strategic Victorian-era horror game for 2–5 players, with games lasting around 90 minutes. Each session is either fully cooperative or one-versus-all, but the players do not know which until the spirit’s intentions become clear.

One player takes the role of a spirit with unknown goals, while the others become visitors trapped in a haunted house. The visitors must work together to discover whether the spirit is helping them and determine what it wants, all while facing darkness, isolation, and constant haunting.

Trust is central to every side of the conflict. A benevolent spirit needs the visitors’ trust to use its more powerful actions, but may turn against them if it believes they will not succeed in time. A vengeful spirit can secretly sabotage their efforts, encourage them to expose themselves, and reveal its true nature when they are vulnerable.

• Uncertain allegiance: discover whether the spirit is an ally or an enemy.
• Asymmetric movement: visitors navigate doors and passageways, while the spirit moves ethereally and can occupy multiple locations at once.
• Communication under pressure: separated visitors cannot speak, leaving them to face perilous choices without support.
• Clues and revelations: the spirit’s actions and the house’s gradually revealed secrets may challenge what the visitors think they know.

As visitors struggle to stay together, the spirit surrounds them and influences events from beyond the limits of the house’s physical paths. The Presence builds tension through uncertainty, hidden intentions, and difficult choices, creating a horror story in which trust may be the visitors’ greatest resource—or their fatal weakness.