Game Review: Horrified by Prospero Hall

Horrified designed by Prospero Hall and published by Ravensburger

Horrified pits one to five players against the movie monsters from Universal's classic horror films--Dracula, Frankenstein's Monster, the Bride, the Wolf Man, the Mummy, the Invisible Man, and the Creature from the Black Lagoon. The monsters all have different ways to be defeated and luckily for the players, only two to four of the monsters will be in play in any given game (though possibly the number of monsters can go to five since Frankenstein's Monster and the Bride always go together).

The game is played on a board representing the village beset by the monsters. Various locations are connected by lighted paths along which the players and the monsters can move. Some of the paths are water paths and can only be used by the Creature from the Black Lagoon. Players need to move around the board, collect resources from various locations, and use those resources to defeat the monsters before they terrorize the locals too much--there's a terror track than can max out, giving the victory to the monsters, not the players.

The board without any pieces on it

Each round has a player phase and a monster phase. One player performs actions including moving, gathering resources, fighting the monsters, and helping the villagers. The players each have individual characters who have special abilities, like moving other characters or adding value to the items collected. Planning ahead is very important because the game is cooperative and players need to coordinate their actions.

The Professor and the Mayor (who gets an extra action since she has no special action)

When an individual player finishes their actions, then the monster phase starts. A monster card is drawn. The card has three parts.

Monster cards

At the top is a number, which is how many items are drawn randomly from the resource bag. The items are placed in specific locations on the board (the locations are written on the items). The items also have a color (yellow for spiritual, blue for intellectual, and red for physical) and a number indicating their strength (a set value from one to six). Each item has a strength number at the top. Adding more resources to the board is essential for players to win the game, so it's always a bummer when a card with a zero is drawn.

Typical items

In the middle of the monster card is a special text. That text either adds a new villager to the board (who needs to move from their start location to a predetermined end location in order to be safe) or one of the monsters takes an action. For the monster actions, if the particular monster is not in this game, then the action doesn't happen. If the monster is in the game, then something pretty bad happens.

On the bottom of the card is the Monster Strike section. The monsters whose icons are listed move and/or attack a villager or a player character. Often the monsters on the Monster Strike are different from the special activation, but not always. Also, one monster is the "frenzy" monster and its movement is indicated by a flame appearing on the card. If the frenzy monster also has its icon earlier on the card, then that monster may activate twice during the monster phase.

No frenzy monster here, just the Creature, the Wolfman, and the Invisible Man

The monster only attacks if it is on the same space as a villager or player. The active player roles dice (the number is determined by the card). Any stars on the dice mean a successful attack. An attacked villager is killed and the terror track advances; an attacked player can discard items, one per star, to avoid being injured. If the player decides not to discard (or has nothing to discard), the player token is moved to their player card and the terror track advances. On that player's next turn, their character is placed at the hospital and their turn starts from there.

Three die faces

After the Monster Strike part of the card is resolved, play moves to the next player clockwise. Play continues until all the monsters are defeated (which is victory for the players) or the terror track goes to seven (players lose because wide-spread panic envelops the village) or the monster deck runs out (the players took too long to get rid of the monsters and wide-spread panic envelops the village).

Defeating monsters requires two steps, though those two steps are different for each monster. For Dracula, the players must first destroy four coffins hidden throughout the village by using red items (physical damage) that added up to six (thus the item's number is important in addition to its color). Once all coffins are destroyed, the players can defeat Dracula by using yellow items (spiritual weapons). For the Invisible Man, players must gather items from different locations as evidence that he exists, then use red items to trap him. The variety of monsters and of ways to defeat them make each game different, especially with different hero powers.

Dracula's card

On my first solo play, I was the explorer. She has the handicap of only three actions but her special action allows her to move to any non-water space on the board. That's a huge advantage as she's able to move quickly around the board, picking up items or delivering villagers to their safe locations. Even so, my terror track was on the brink of failure when I succeeded. The experience was fun but it felt a little too easy. Other solo games with different characters were more challenging/nail-biting.

With multiple players, planning moves is very important. Gathering resources and using them wisely is important because the monsters always go after the nearest hero or villager. If a player's turn does not come around for a while, a monster may have multiple opportunities to hurt an individual player. Players can share resources if they are on the same place but that uses up actions. Communicating with each other is important and rewarding.

The components in the game are very good. The monsters are little plastic pieces shaped like the classic monsters. The players are standees with colored bases that match the character card. The villagers have clear bases. A lot of the details in the game relate to the movies--one of the villagers is called Maria and she looks just like the child that Frankenstein's Monster tossed into the lake. Even Abbott and Costello's characters from Abbott and Costello Meet Frankenstein are part of the game! The items are all familiar and thematic (garlic and torches and scientific equipment and on and on) as are the locations (a dungeon, a tower, an abbey, a graveyard, a barn, a crypt, etc.).

Bride and camera-shy Frankenstein's monster

Dracula guards his coffin!

The villagers

The game is not very complicated but is a lot of fun, especially for those familiar with the Universal horror movies.

Recommended, highly for fans of the films.