DejiThis title is a board game that was published in 2004 by Avalon Hill. It was designed by Bruce Glassco and developed by Bill McQuillan, Rob Daviau, Teeuwynn Woodruff, and Mike Selinker.
It’s a perfect option to plan your evening when you’re seeking something that fits the theme of a spooky game night. Players all start the board game as allies and will explore a haunted house that is full of traps, dangers, omens, and items.
As players move to new parts of this mansion, room tiles are selected randomly and positioned on the game board. The implication of this is that during each session, the game is different.
Let’s look at Betrayal at House on the Hill rules.
Betrayal At House on the Hill Rules
Items in the Box
Here are things you will find in the box for Betrayal at House on the Hill:
- 1 Rulebook
- 1 Entrance Hall Tile: This is a 3-tile long hallway that functions as the starting tile for the map you’re to play on.
- 2 Haunt Books: the Traitor’s Tome & the Secrets of Survival. Consider setting these aside as you won’t be needing them until you get to the second half of the game.
- 44 Room Tiles: You will make use of these tiles to build the house dynamically as the game proceeds.
- 6 Character Cards & Plastic Miniatures (Minis): With these cards, you can tell each character’s starting skill levels. Each of the Minis corresponds to a Character Card and has a matching color scheme. The minis symbolize your character on the map during a game of Betrayal at House on the Hill.
- 8 Dice: The numbers on these dice are unusual, with some sides blank. The blank sides are taken as a roll of 0 on that die.
- 3 Decks of Cards: These comprise 13 Omens, 22 Items, and 45 Events. At times, the cards will be drawn while exploring a new room, and they could help or hinder you. If you draw an Omen, you might also trigger the Haunt.
- Assorted tokens: You won’t utilize most of these in any given game as many of the assorted tokens are only used in specific Haunt scenarios or events.
- 30 clips: These clips are used for tracking your ability scores on your Character Card.
Objective of the Game
Betrayal at House on the Hill takes you through the world of B-movie horror. The game has 2 distinct phases.
In the first, you and the other people playing with you will explore the house, place tiles down and sometimes pick up cards from the 3 decks (Omens, Items, & Events).
The game enters the second phase, where the horror aspect of Betrayal at House on the Hill gets more intense as your intrepid heroes are required to band together to survive 1 of 50 Haunt scenarios.
All of you must do so except one person as the game is co-operative most of the time. 1 lucky player will become the traitor and will receive their own set of goals.
You won’t have an idea of who this player will be until one of the participants triggers the Haunt scenario. This means it’ll be hard putting too much trust in each other in the early part of the game.
Any player might be the person that will attempt to kill you when the Haunt starts!
Setup
- To get started, lay out your game area.
- Split your 3 decks into Omens, Items, and Events, making a pile for each division.
- Place the starting tiles in the center and ensure you leave more than enough room for the map to grow.
- In the House on the Hill, you’ll find 3 floors, which are an upper level, a ground level, and a basement.
- The starting tile for the ground level is the three-tile long hallway that we mentioned above.
- Also, you’ll see an Upper Landing and a Basement Landing, both of which are the starting tiles for their corresponding floors.
- Put those tiles left face-down in a pile.
- Throughout the game, you’ll draw from this pile as you explore the house.
Let’s Look at the Explorers
It’s time to select your characters. In Betrayal at House on the Hill, six (6) Character Cards (two-sided) are available, with each of them having 2 explorers that you can select from.
Look for the mini corresponding with your Character Card (the color has to match) and put it on the Entrance Hall tile. Each character shows four primary abilities: Might, Speed, Knowledge, and Sanity.
The starting ability scores of your character are listed on the Character Card. This game offers markers a player can attach to the Character Cards for tracking the scores as they change.
In case the markers are hard to use for you (as you most likely will), you can also get paper and pencil for tracking your ability scores.
Betrayal at House on the Hill Rules: Entering the House
The character that has the next birthday (you can find it on the Character Card!) will go first and will move clockwise around the table from the starting point (the front door).
On your turn, move your character a number of Room Tiles matching your Speed precisely. You’re allowed to pass through doors, marked with yellow outlines on the Room Tiles.
Draw a Room Tile when you move through an unexplored door, and place this tile next to the room you’re moving from.
How to Draw and Place the Tiles
- You have to draw a Room Tile that is suitable for the specific floor you’re on. The backs of these tiles will show you which of the floors they can be used on.
- If the top tile isn’t appropriate for use on the floor you’re on, you can set it aside and shuffle into a new draw pile if required later.
- You have to place the tile so the door in the Room Tile you’re moving from touches a door in the new Room Tile.
Explained above are some Betrayal at House on the Hill rules. This board game is exactly what you need for campy horror in your next game night. Also, it’s one of the best mystery board games to enjoy with Family & Friends.