Game Review #1

Board games have been a form of entertainment for over a hundred years. If you asked someone fifteen years ago what their favorite board game was, they most likely would have said something along the lines of a classic game such as Monopoly, Life, Clue, etc. Recently the popularity of board games have been spiking up. Just over these past eleven years some of the board games released have overtaken Monopoly, Life, Clue, etc. as people’s all time favorites. One board game that has become a favorite for me alongside the main classics is Betrayal at the House on the Hill.

The game starts with all the players choosing one of the six premade characters who each have their own respective stats. (speed, might, sanity, knowledge) Each game starts in the foyer of the house, but what made this game special for me was there is no set board to play on. As you go through a door a new random tile is placed down thus you’re making your own board. This made the game less repetitive and the more I played the more excited I was to see a room that I had never seen. In the early stages of the game the group is working together to prepare for the betrayal. Throughout the exploration of the mansion the player will find find items, experience events, and possible trigger an omen which can start the betrayal.

This is the most fun part of the game, the betrayal. When the betrayal is started one person will have an objective they must do in order to win. These objectives are all in a booklet that consists of fifty different scenarios while the remaining group has their own objective to do in a different booklet. Each playthrough you will more likely than not have a new person who is the traitor and experience new scenarios.

Betrayal at the House on the Hill is a top board game from the past decade, but like many games there’s definitely flaws to it. The game can be chaotic. The rules aren’t the best at explaining everything and at times it does not feel fair for the survivors in the house. Many playthroughs have felt unfair due to the betrayers easy objective, but the experience of the game was still fun to play.

There are many dramatic choices you have to make throughout the game. Whether that be choosing a direction to go in the house or possible sacrificing a friend in order to win. But overall Betrayal at the House on the Hill is a must play for anyone who likes board games. Although there may be a few flaws to parts of the game, it still is fun and exciting to play each time.