Avalon Hill – Betrayal at House on the hill – Board Game
Avalon Hill – Betrayal at House on the hill – Board Game
Vast Re-Playability
With 50 haunts and numerous danger-filled rooms to confront, experience a different suspense filled game each time you play. What will the tiles have in store for your first game?
Danger-Filled Rooms
Lead your explorer through the house tile by tile aiming to make your character stronger. In each room you might find something… or something might find you!
The Haunt
Explore the haunted house until enough mystic misadventures happen that one of the players turns on the others. Race to complete your victory conditions first.
 |  |  |  | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Key difference | Original Base Game | Expansion (Requires Base Game) | Dungeons & Dragons Themed | Legacy Edition |
| Number of players | 3-6 | 3-6 | 3-6 | 3-5 |
| Duration | 60 minutes | 60 minutes | 60 minutes | 75 minutes |
| Age | 12+ | 12+ | 12+ | 12+ |
| Dimensions: | 26.67 x 26.67 x 8.13 cm; 1.4 Kilograms |
| Model: | AH26633 |
| Material: | Cardboard |
| Colour: | Multicolor |
| Pack Quantity: | 1 |
| Batteries Required: | No |
| Batteries Included: | No |
| Age: | 12 – 12 months |
| Assembly: | No |
| Dimensions: | 26.67 x 26.67 x 8.13 cm; 1.4 Kilograms |
| Material: | Cardboard |
| Quantity: | 1 |
Great game, but my version that arrived was missing the black plastic clips for the player cards
Lots of different game options so repeat play is good.
Feels like the game is always tipped towards the traitor but it’s still fun to play. Some of the quests are better than others, we found one particularly annoying but mostly they are good fun.
Me and the housemates have enjoyed this game during lockdown. Drawing random room tiles helps mix each game up considerably but what helps more so is different scenarios that can occur during a game. So far we’ve had to contend with a mad scientist, a blob monster and a dragon. While the instructions do a good job of explaining most rules, each scenario is different and it can be somewhat difficult to determine what some rules imply, this is made especially difficult as the traitor cannot discuss these uncertain rules with other players as it may reveal a hint.
Overall though we have really enjoyed playing and look forward to playing more games in the future. The only other downside is that we are only three people and I can see this game being more enjoyable with 4+
I’m totally new to these kind of games, so apologies to seasoned gamers.
This game is quality, feels well made and clearly a lot of time has gone into the feel and look.
It is atmospheric and you have to use your noodle to get your head around everything. I think the playing pieces are a nice touch adding to the atmosphere and your imagination. My daughter is 11 and she loved it though it took us a lot of rule checking and head scratching to work out what to do. This is to be expected as we were all new to this type of game but the instructions tell you everything you need.
This was a gift and we all had a great time playing it. So if you’re new to games like these, take a punt. It’s well made, clever, imaginative and just plain good old fashioned fun.
This is a one of the best board games I’ve played. So far I’ve only played three times but would really recommend it. I would suggest watching a youtube video or two to get the hang of the rules before you get people over to play as it’s not a simple game to learn, but once you get it, it makes sense and you’ll be happily adventuring. The haunt rolls are really tense moments! The different ‘haunts’ (end game scenarios) we played were totally different and unexpected. Each game seems unique and look forward to playing again. If you want a game with a bit more substance than your regular counter-pusher you can’t go wrong with this brilliant, well written, well presented game.
Fun once we got going but initially difficult for everyone to get what was going on. Not recommended for players whose first language is not English – the cards and instruction books assume pretty good English literacy.
Great fun and excellent replayability, our group has had some fantastic board game nights playing this game. The game unfolds into one of 50 different unique scenarios (of which we’ve now played about 10) and due to this each ’round’ has remained different, unique and exciting.
Some complex mechanics but once we’d played the first though completely we understood what to do. Set up and progression is now quick and smooth.
You get a lot on the box for your money, lots of tokens, dice, character minatures and cards.
Highly reccommend trying this out.
Ordered this for a Christmas/birthday present for my Brother in law. We have had several games with it since and always enjoy figuring out how to win and who to team up with. You have many many options for how the game develops and so can be played multiple times without the same story happening twice which is so refreshing for a board game! May need to order one for myself to keep at home now!
The game is great fun to play, the cardboard tiles are sturdy and the cards are good quality.
Delivery was prompt, arriving earlier then expected, made a great present for my friend.
The only problem we had was with the miniatures included in the box, the miniatures were poorly packaged and resulted in two of the characters being bent out of shape permanently due to the material causing them to spring back into the bent shape (see attached photo)
4/5(would have been 5/5 had the miniatures not be bent out of shape.)
Reading the rules and having all the pop-out card pieces can be a bit overwhelming and because you’re not allowed to read the Hero & Traitor books, context is a real issue. Best way is to set up the game and start playing – you’ll get how things work as you go. Don’t play this game too drunk when trying to learn it ;-P
Overall it’s a fun strategy game with some great scenarios – it is a new game every time you play but lasts 3-4 hours when you’re learning (not 1 hour as advised). Still enjoying it though.
Then buy this! Thats exactly why I did!
At first, upon opening a box, I thought I may have made a mistake. As though I knew I would like it – would the rest of the fam’ be able to cope with more advanced rules than the above mentioned ones…
But after a few test runs with Eleven year old son (sharing the 3rd player – at least 3 are necessary, and beneficial, in the long run though – I found it very easy to learn the basics for that full on; 3 to 6 player experience.
Really good fun if you have the patience and imagination to accompany it – you can play it many, many times and it be a different story and board layout. Genius!
(Needs a large-ish dining table or floor space to play it)
This game is one friends bought camping and the kids (13 and 10 year olds) had to have. It is engaging and every game is different.
It can seem a little complex until you get into it and there is some reading involved when you reach the point of starting the haunt (however a non playing parent can help out here if needed). My kids are fairly hardy so like the gore and scary aspects. These are in descriptions and in the idea of it being a haunted house.
Board and pieces are good quality and seem like they will last a lot of games and there is an expansion pack.
Nice to see actual little figures for the characters rather than meeples too!
I love this game! There’s like 52 different ways it can pan out, and all of them with a spooky or sci-fi theme. Great atmosphere as you run around opening the rooms, then an Event happens and you have to run away from the monster or defeat the situation or whatever. Oh and one character plays the betrayer, who makes things worse secretly and everyone has to work out what’s happening. I love it… Which is why it pains me to point out the flaws – the pacing is all over the place. Often it’s over too quickly, or too slowly. It feels like the kinks in the gameplay haven’t been ironed out. On the plus side, there’s so much variety to this game. I think if you accept that going into it, then it’s OK. It’s my fave boardgame at the moment. But it isn’t the favorite of my friends, due to the pacing, so maybe I’ve got in-the-minority tastes.
It was useful to have someone who knew the game to help us get used to it. The nice thing is the way that the game can have so much variety due to the way you pick the ‘traitor’ and all the different characters. so do persist with it. It’s not as complicated as it first seems.
I bought this as a present and was a little disappointed as the bottom of the box had been significantly dented. If I had bought it ‘in a store’ I would have picked another one, or asked for a discount. If this is the reason it was a good price (reduced compared to most sellers) then they should have said. It didn’t look like it was due to the delivery, as it was like the bottom had been pushed in (bent upwards in a curve) then the cellophane tight wrapping put on afterwards, as the cellophane wasn’t dented and was unbroken! ie it had somehow happened during manufacture.
Luckily it hadn’t damaged the contents and as it was for the family we kept it. This was one of those things that annoy me about online purchases, I was intending to buy this in a store, but they didn’t have it in stock.
Working together then revealing a traitor among you in each of the 50 scenarios in this core game set is supported by the tile-laying exploration of a spooky and rediculously large house. Tension is racked up as more Omen cards are revealed.
I believe that the first half of the game is supposed to be your team exploring and trying to build up your stats and collect items, but in the few times through so far we have hardly touched the item card deck, and our stats have barely survived to get to the second half of the game – The Haunt. I’m not sure if this is by design or more due to our bad luck, but either way it does not make the game less fun!
Looking forward to working though the scenarios and will probably get the expansion as I can see the card decks and tiles getting slightly stale before then.
A large game with lots of replayability, very good value for money.
Lots of fun to play, especially as you’re never quite sure as to when the game will change completely or who will suddenly turn on the rest of the group. Lots of replayability with a book full of different betrayer scenarios to play through. The game is dead easy to learn and quickly becomes involved and challenging! Always fun to play!
I bought this game by oone of my friends suggestion. And we played it like 5-6 times since we bought it. Its a very good option for those who want a piece of change from the common games like Monopoly, Cluedo etc. It has numerous scenarios with 80’s horror movie themes like spiders, werewolves and such. And since the game layout reveals itself while the players explore, the layout changes with every other game. It gives you a high replayability. And if you are bored of the scenarios (there are like 32 in the main pack) you can always buy the expansion with new scenarios too (I think the expansion has new 32 scenarios too). I am not a complete board game geek but I can say I have played a fair share so far, and I can say this one is my favourite so far. The game mechanic is what it makes it exciting to play over and over.
I bought this with the intention of playing it with my 10 year old son and 9 year old daughter however it soon became apparant that this was not your average board game. The basic rules are fairly self explanetary but there are a huge number of variations as it is never the same game twice. It is a lot of fun though if you can get your head around it all and with some patience you can have a great game with friends. There are around 40-50 different stories that you can play through and each is quite different, and I really liked the play mechanic where you start off as a team but one of the players randomly becomes an opponent. A very different and unique type of game, but best played with adults and teens rather than younger kids.
I almost sold it, but its the sort of game that gets under your skin and will no doubt be out every Halloween. My advice is to play it with dimmed lights, candles and creepy music. It has great components, and for someone who is not so much a fan of modular boards, this one works well. It’s like ‘Mansions Of Madness Lite’, in a lot of ways, and that’s not a criticism. You can get the same effect with this game with far less fiddling.
Personally, I found a workaround so that I was able to keep it in the collection. I threw the wife out and told her she can come back when she is being more sensible. Luckily for her, I’m open for forgiveness.
There is one downside. The developers should of made more room tiles as after three games, I’ve revealed all of the rooms which kind of damages the illusion of exploring a new environment. I think they’ve addressed this in expansion packs which is sold separately.
Overall it is a lot of fun and I thoroughly recommend it to any fan of board games.
A great game, with simple rules and enough variability to last quite some game sessions. It has two parts, the first where the entire player group cooperates to explore a House on a Hill and the second where one of the characters is designated as an agent of evil (it betrayed the rest of the group by luring them to the house, hence the name) and he must compete against the rest of the players in an asymmetrical game, both in terms of abilities and knowledge. The betrayer is assigned depending on the room and the artefact found when the reveal (“Haunt”) occurs, so no ones knows from the start who it will be and there’s one different story, with slightly different mechanics for each room/artefact combination. When the Haunt occurs the betrayer gets a book telling him his objective to win and the rest of the players get another book with theirs objective. The information about the objective of the opposing force (and its strengths/weaknesses) is not the same to each group. Best played in 4 to 6 groups, but fairly scaled for smaller teams.
I picked this game out for a Christmas present for myself, and I haven’t been disappointed- as a huge fan of horror movies and quirkiness, it’s probably one of the most fun games I’ve ever played.
The fact that the house is generated differently each time and you are unlikely to have the same hero find the same omen in any singular room each play through really helps for replay-ability.
If you’re not the attentive or reading sort, you may not enjoy this quite so much as though the rules are simple, they require the attention to pick up and put into practice- this game CAN be learned by simply playing, but I will admit if you’re a fidgety sort, it might not be your thing.
The haunts are deliciously wonderful and one of my favorite features is how the game suddenly switches from an exploration to a survival game- the traitor twist is also fantastic, as literally no-one can be sure of just WHO it’s going to be before it happens.
My one complaint would be the fiddleyness of some of the components- the figures themselves came somewhat bent and squashed, which was a huge shame, and the little ‘markers’ for stats fall off far too easily to be reliable- you’d be better just writing them down.
In any case, I’ve played this game many times now and am still finding new things to do with the haunts and enjoying it!
I have to give this game 5 stars as I have been playing this for months and generally it has not failed to disappoint. There are so many different scenarios to play that it keeps this game fresh and exciting.
The only criticisms I can find is that, in parts, I feel the rules can be a bit vague at times and do not help explain some scenarios. And the markers used to keep track of your stats do not grip to your character development card (so we write and keep track of this on paper).
Apart from these little things, once you have familiarised yourself with the general rules, this game is a very fun and not so demanding strategy game! And who doesn’t enjoy searching a haunted house?!
I would like some better quality figurines and the box could do with some better storage compartments for the various small pieces. On first play through though, everyone in my group really enjoyed this game. It was great fun and unpredictable in that you never knew what was going to turn up in the next room. We got through 7 omens before the haunting began and then two of us died almost immediately (though heroically I might add) but we still enjoyed watching and shouting directions at our remaining hero companion while he tried to stop the house collapsing! It got quite tense waiting for the haunt roll to begin and in the end the outcome of the game came down to a single failed die roll! Would definitely recommend.
Played with many different people of different backgrounds and almost all have loved it (only had one person not get to grip with rules so far).
Best played with one person who knows the rules well and let them handle any math. Let everyone else get into the story and you’ll have a great time (unless of course you play with people who like the mathy bits).
Only downside was that the plastic pieces that “grip” to the character dials are often too loose and most of them simply slip off so you may want to play with some blue tac handy. Did not find this enough of a negative to deduct a star though.
So you have seen the movie. A group of people for no apparent reason head off to visit the creepy house that no sane person would ever venture into. The front door closes and you have to work out how to get out of the place! In true Scooby Doo style the party splits up. You travel through rooms revealing new room tiles as you go, looking for clues or items maybe you find a gun or a charm. Maybe you see something so scary you start to loose your sanity. Or maybe you find omens! Omens are the key to triggering the 2nd half of this game as once someone fails a dice roll after finding 1 omen to many the real reason as to why your there comes to light as one person suddenly becomes a traitor with an evil plan…
The strength of this great game is that the betrayer alluded to in the games title is not aware of this until the omen test is failed. Then the betrayer and the betrayed get to read from separate story books what they need to do to win! The betrayer may be trying to kill them all or summon some demonic creature. The rest of the group may have a task to do to stop whatever nefarious plan this new found evil doer has in mind. The game has 50 variations on this so you have a lot of replayabilty in the game. The Nature of the Descriptive card text makes this game unsuitable for younger players so be warned! My only negative is that the quality of the components is not brilliant but the game play makes this minor negative disappear for Me, much like the poor party members if they are not careful 🙂
TL:DR Betrayal is a fun game for 3 – 6 players and can be learned with patience and practical examples. Its easy once learned and has tons of replay ability, and is built very well.
Betrayal as we’ve come to call it, for ease due to the extensive use that it receives is a procedurally generated adventure game with a twist.
One of the players is going to betray you. Why? Because they’re insane.
This game has received over 10 hours of use in the short time that I’ve owned it. (About a month) And that is due to a couple of reasons.
1. Though it’s a difficult game to learn for younger or less experienced players, it’s still fun for them, and the more they play the better it will become for them.
2. Its build quality is fantastic, the tiles, the cards and the miniatures are all very well made. I am disappointed by the paint on the miniatures, I feel it could have been done better, but you can repaint them if you wish. (I’m not very good yet, and will post a photo when I’ve practiced and done this myself.)
3. It has fantastic replay ability due to the ever changing set-up of the house tiles and scenarios for the survivors’ and traitor’s success. Once you’ve exhausted these, there is nothing to stop you from making your own. I would advise sitting these out though, as it will be easy for you/the creator to win, as they will know the win conditions of each side. I am currently making my own scenario for my friends to play.
4. The beauty of betraying your friends because you love plants, or found Frankenstein’s monster and notes, or you’ve been turned into an amorphous blob monster by an infectious bite. These are the moments you’ll recall when thinking of this game. Or as the survivors, you’ll remember the terrible fear of being near death when the haunt happens, and the panic as you escape the exploding house with one turn left, or the feeling of utter hurt when the person you just saved comes back to kill you on their next turn.
I love this game. Easy to setup, explain to new players and so many different scenarios for people to play.
You start by exploring the house, finding artefacts (called omens) and running into different events. Once the doom happens then things get really interesting. Some of the scenarios are quite gruesome so may not be good for smaller gamers (though you can always tweak them if you need too).
The games never last too long so you don’t have time to be bored. Definitely good for board game party or as with us, New Years eve with friends.
The only slight niggle with the game is that some of the clips don’t grip the character tiles well but that is ever so minor and not worth rating the game any lower than a 5.
An amazing and creative board game. The depth and detail this board game goes into is astonishing, just the shear replay ability this game offers is fantastic. The game offers over 50 possible end game events, basically changing how the game plays each time you play. We’ve played Betrayal at house on the Hill countless times and have only replayed an event once.
I’ve played a lot of different boards game all my life, from the classic to the odd ones and this is by far the best one I’ve played. The art work used in the tiles are great and a long with the character art is amazing. Each game lasts about 30-60 mins (based on the games I’ve played) so expect to play multiple games in a session as its hard to walk away after one game.
This is a relatively straight forward game which would be easily accessible to a large number of people. Whilst me and my friends play quite a games (from the family friendly such as cash and guns and camel up through to the pure awesomeness that is twilight imperium) this is a game that I would feel comfortable bringing to the table to play with people who haven’t played much beyond the classic games such as monopoly and cluedo.
The game itself is quick to set up (we took less than 10 minutes) and just as quick to get in to. The rules are pretty self explanatory and definitely suit the game and also aren’t overly complicated. The game starts with all the players exploring the house which is randomly generated by tiles as they go. The explorers discover new rooms, complete events, gather items and hopefully upgrade their character before a haunt is triggered.
The haunt, for me, is the selling point of this game. Once the haunt hits, the whole game flips from an exploration game to a battle for survival. One played (in our game) became a betrayer, who was out to kill the others via a brilliant horror movie staple – which was executed fantastically. The only point i’d raise here is that the player who is the betrayer has to go off and read a special rules book with rules for each haunt on their own. For most players this wont be an issue at all, but there is a chance younger players or even some adults may not fully understand these and they can’t really discuss them with the other players as most of this information is kept secret. The other explorers also consult a special rules book for the haunt which tells them how they can win but, as in our game, may be a bit vague about how to do so, requiring players to think a bit as well.
Overall my group had a brilliant first game. Even the player who initially came to the game thinking he wouldn’t like it and that it wasn’t very well designed said he enjoyed it and is looking forward to playing again.
The game itself has amazing re-playability. There are 50 different haunts that can be triggered. Yes 50. The house itself will also be different each time you play adding further fun to playing again. This is definitely not a game where once you’ve played it you know where everything is and how to win. For some people, this might be a negative, but for me it’s the games biggest positive. In this one box you get up to 50 games (thats 50 – 100 hours!) of completely different game experiences.
Positives –
The board – the tiles are of excellent quality.
The gameplay – something very different to other games, even other “traitor” games i’ve played and incredibly fun.
Speed – quick to set up and just as quick to get in to. In a world where some board games can take an hour just to put on the table! Betrayal at house on the hill takes under 10 minutes. And that’s the first time you play, having to punch out all the tokens. Future games will likely take less than 5 minutes.
Negatives –
The pieces – as with a few people a couple of my pieces were damaged. The models themselves are great and fun, but two were slightly bent. Still perfectly playable, but just not as they should be. However as they’re more than playable they didn’t spoil the game at all so I’m not knocking anything off here.
Betrayal at House on the Hill is a fantastic game for a wide audience. It’s a little more complicated than more luck based games such as monopoly, cluedo etc as it requires players to think and their actions determine whether they win as much as the roll of the dice. There is also quite a bit of text to be read, both in the multiple books and on the cards themselves. For some this may be a negative but for me it only enhanced the feel of an already great game.
One i’d highly recommend to a very wide audience.
I love this game – every game is different due to the 50 scenarios included.
This is a game of two halves – the first being the exploratory phase. You work together to discover new rooms gaining items, companions and omens over time. The second takes place after the Haunting when one of your number is exposed as the traitor. You then split off to read your respective manuals giving you each your goals and winning condition.
The box says this takes about an hour which might be true if everyone has played before and everyone is familiar with all the rules however on the occasions I have played it has taken 2 hours or more. However it is a very fun 2 hours!!
This game is amazing, it’s a VERY different game than what I’d expect, the rules LOOK complex, but they are easier the more you play, you start in the entrance and begin to build up this spooky scary mansion, collecting items, running into various events, and then there are the dreaded omen cards, when you get one, you have to roll 6 of the die, and if the number rolled is smaller than the amount of omen cards that have been used, well, then the REAL game begins, you begin a scenario, whether that be zombies or an alien virus or EVEN a dragon, the game turns into a race for survival with one (or more, or even less!) traitor as your enemy, it’s a fun game, only hindered by its complicated rules at times
Gameplay starts with each player picking a character. These character having starting stats – Speed, Strength, Knowledge and Sanity – which can be changed by events throughout the game. If any of these stats are reduced to 0, that player dies.
The players take turns exploring the house – moving as many tiles as their Speed stat allows them to. As they enter a room, the player draws a card from the deck and adds it to the house. Some rooms hold events which may benefit the player, or impede on their progress.
Some of the rooms have a crow tile. When this appears, the player must roll six dice. If at any point the number rolled is less than the amount of crows in play, an event called the haunt begins. This is a good mechanic as it prevents the haunt coming too early if the players are taking the game slow.
The haunt is the selling point of the game. When it occurs, anything could happen. One player could become a madman, trying to kill the other players. Or maybe a giant blob may begin to consume the house, leaving the players to fight it – or be devoured. Perhaps all the players will be shrunk down and hunted by cats, or the house lifted up by an eagle… with only one parachute left inside.
Many of the haunts are samey, standard horror plots: one character has lured the others into the house in order to kill them for [insert reason here]. There are 50 of these haunts, so there’s plenty that could happen, but several feel a bit dry and uninspired.
You don’t decide the haunt; the game decides, based on what tile the player who revealed the haunt is on, and what card they picked up as a result. You match this combination to a grid, which tells you the haunt number you’ll be carrying out. Once you know this, the good characters take the booklet to read their objectives – whilst the traitor(s), if there is one, take theirs to another room to read. The two teams will have a vague idea what the others are up to, but not entirely, meaning that you usually have the element of suprise by your side.
Often, to win you either have to kill the traitorgood guys, obtaindestroy an artifact or pull some switch and escape the house, or something along those lines. Once this happens, the chase is on. The traitor is trying to prevent the good guys from getting away, whilst the good guys are trying to stay alive in the process. Considering five minutes previous you were all on the same side, it makes things pretty tense.
Betrayal is a great game to play, just not too often; the similarities between haunts becomes apparent and some games just feel exactly the same as others. Sometimes the odds feel too stacked against one side too; this seems to come down to how many players you’re playing with. It’s a brilliant game to experience, especially if you like thematic games.
My daughter, who is 34 & her husband (37yrs), myself (68yrs)my wife (??yrs) and grandsons 13 & 10 played this virtually non-stop for most of Boxing Day and went back to it again over the Xmas Hols. Suits all age groups.
My only grip is that the card panels are rather flimsy and some of the additional card peices are rather small, that stopped the 5* award.