Spotlight October 2021 | Spooktober
Horror comes in many flavors and genres, as do games! This Spooktober, we’d like to take at different games that can satisfy whichever horror niche gives you a delicious fright!
Spooky Aesthetic
Let’s be real - half the fun of Halloween is the dark and sinister aesthetic. We live for a spooky style moment! The Exorcism at the House of Monkton Falls is a gorgeously puzzle game about escaping the nightmarish spirits haunting an old manor. In The Night Cage is a cooperative tile placement game where players work together to escape - but they can only see a tile away, by the light of their candle! Gloom is a competitive game where players collect as many family tragedies as possible!
All three games have delightfully dark artwork that sets them apart!
Zombies!
Zombies - a classic staple of the horror genre! Inject zombies into your game night, with simple fun, luck based games like Zombie Dice and Zombie Fluxx. These games are both small, fun and easy to learn!
For a more immersive zombie adventure, check out Dead of Winter or Night of the Living Dead. Dead of Winter is a story-driven game about the survivors of a zombie apocalypse, where you all work together but also try to fulfil secret goals. Night of the Living Dead, inspired both by the classic film and the game Zombicide, is another game of survival that lets you switch between play modes to truly face the horror of the zombie apocalypse. Want something in between? Tiny Epic Zombies is a robust board game with multiple gameplay options in a teeny box for gaming on the go!
Coming of Age
Some stories, like Stranger Things and E.T., add elements of horror into coming of age stories for a unique tale of how fear manifests through the eyes of the youth. The Kids on Bikes series lets you and your friends jump into the thrilling misadventures of kids and teens from a small town where terrible things happen! Will you explore haunted houses, or escape alien abduction?
Kids on Brooms offers a witch take on the Kids on Bikes roleplaying game for those who like magic. In the mood for something with less prep than an RPG? Check out the Kids on Bikes Snallygaster Situation board game!
Escape!
Most horror movies end with an escape scene, where our last survivor must get out of the maze/cabin/woods/spaceship before the monster catches them!
Exit and Unlock games both capture the excitement of an escape room - in Exit, you’ll crumble, tear, and destroy pieces to put together the evidence, whereas Unlock has a companion app that leads you through the action! For a more in depth, replayable escape room style game, check out the Coded Chronicles Scooby Doo and The Shining games!
Movie Trivia
Every horror aficionado likes to show off their knowledge with some horror movie trivia! We have both a pocket-sized horror-themed trivial pursuit, as well as the Ultimate Edition for those looking to give their friends a fright with just how much they know!
And more!
There are so many games that are inspired by horror that we couldn’t fit them all! Looking for Vampires? Meet Strahd von Zarovich! Is your favorite part of your costume the mask? Maskarades has you covered! Are you more of a Cthulthu fan? Check out the Arkham Horror line or one of the Lovecraftian roleplaying games!
Check out all of our horror inspired games over in our Staff Picks section and stay spooky!
Written by Johnni Medina