Beyond Solitaire
  • Home
  • Blog
  • Public History
  • Solo Reviews
  • Work With Me

Board Game B Movie: Betrayal at House on the Hill

1/2/2017

0 Comments

 
Picture
When I think about the quality of a game, I often start out by thinking about whether the game is strategically deep, whether the design and components are nice, whether the game is well-balanced. 

But some games, like Betrayal at House on the Hill, are fun against all odds. The premise of the game is that you and your friends are exploring a creepy house, picking up random items and experiencing random events. Eventually, however, a haunt will begin, and one of you will turn into a murderous traitor. The exact circumstances of this betrayal are unknown at the start of the game, and there are 50 different possible scenarios for you and your friends to experience. 

The truth is that as a board game, Betrayal is awful. If the haunt doesn't start soon enough, the exploration phase of the game will drag. If it starts too soon, the betrayed players are usually screwed. You can't guarantee that you'll get good items during the game, and sometimes terrible events keep happening to your character that mess you up long before the actual betrayer appears. If you're the betrayer, you won't even know that until the haunt begins, so all of your investment in the team can suddenly go up in smoke. There is no set strategy that will keep you alive, and there is no guaranteed path to success. This is not a game for people who like to develop strategic paths to victory. Even the components are pretty bad—the little clips that go on your character card to track your current stats slide all over the place and are essentially useless. 

If any (or all) of these things keep you from playing Betrayal at House on the Hill, however, you've missed the point of the game. Every my friends and I pull it out, we have an amazing time, no matter what happens or who wins. This is because Betrayal is more of an experience than a game, and if you're open to having a goofy horror adventure with your game group, you're going to have a ton of fun with it. My gaming buddies still talk about the time that one of us turned into a giant snake, or the time one of us blew the house up with everyone still in it. Also, because the rules are very simple, it's easy to play Betrayal with an inexperienced gamer (although it can be more difficult if that person turns out to be the traitor). 

Just like the B–movies to which it is a loving homage, Betrayal at House on the Hill is more than the sum of its low-budget parts. It's fun, and it's the sort of game that will hit the table again and again over the years. As long as you go into it with the right expectations, it's worth your time and money, because you'll have fun every time you play. 

0 Comments

Your comment will be posted after it is approved.


Leave a Reply.

    Author

    My name is Liz Davidson, and I play solo board games. A lot of solo board games...
    ​
    YouTube:
    Beyond Solitaire
    Twitter:
    @beyondsolitaire
    Instagram: 
    @beyondsolitaire
    Facebook: 
    @beyondsolitaire

    Archives

    August 2021
    July 2021
    June 2021
    May 2021
    October 2020
    September 2020
    August 2020
    July 2020
    June 2020
    May 2020
    April 2020
    March 2020
    February 2020
    January 2020
    December 2019
    November 2019
    October 2019
    September 2019
    August 2019
    July 2019
    June 2019
    May 2019
    April 2019
    March 2019
    February 2019
    January 2019
    December 2018
    November 2018
    October 2018
    September 2018
    August 2018
    July 2018
    June 2018
    May 2018
    April 2018
    March 2018
    February 2018
    January 2018
    December 2017
    November 2017
    October 2017
    September 2017
    August 2017
    July 2017
    June 2017
    May 2017
    April 2017
    March 2017
    February 2017
    January 2017
    December 2016
    November 2016
    October 2016
    September 2016
    August 2016
    July 2016
    June 2016
    May 2016
    April 2016
    January 2016

    Categories

    All
    Apps
    Books
    Commentary
    Conventions
    Education
    Fun
    Game Accessories
    Kickstarter
    Movies
    Podcasts
    Reviews
    Video Games
    YouTube

    RSS Feed

Proudly powered by Weebly
  • Home
  • Blog
  • Public History
  • Solo Reviews
  • Work With Me