Horrified Games - Universal Monsters

Got this as a birthday gift for 11 year old nephew. It was close to Halloween so the theme and timing were in sync. Played it with my brother and other nephew aged 6. My brother is pretty good at picking up game rules quickly so he helped teach us all how to play and we had fun! The game is complex but the rules were easy enough to grasp so the kids caught on quickly and even I did too. There are a lot of variables and you can pick different combinations of monsters as opponents. Each monster requires different methods and strategies to defeat them and you can raise difficulty by playing against more monsters as you get better at the game and seek more of a challenge. It was fun working together as a team and even though we started in the “easy” mode, it was not a slam dunk… it was definitely a challenge. Seemed to be a hit with my brother’s family and I think they will play it a lot.

I'm sixty-four. To me, board games are, "Life", "Pay Day", "Monopoly", etc... I was initially intimidated by this game. I'm used to rolling dice or using a spinner to play a board game. This game has players taking "actions" instead of rolling dice. The game is a cooperative game and takes a little time to setup, but it's very easy to setup. The game walked my wife, my granddaughter (ten-years-old), and me through what we needed to do. It went surprisingly smoothly. We enjoyed playing the game. The game beat us the first time but we won the next game. The game is great for having everyone work together to defeat the monsters. I had searched for reviews of starter/gateway family games and, "Horrified", was always listed with every search. I understand why now. I highly recommend this game. Granddaughter also approves.

I really like this game. I ordered it for a gift I. The past and now ordered it again as a gift for someone else. I’m looking forward to being able to play it again. I’m not a big tabletop gamer but this is definitely fun to play. It took me and 1 other person about 2 hours to complete a round against 2 monsters. If it was just 1 it would have taken half that time. It has all the classic universal monsters and side characters from the movies. The instructions are easy to follow. It’s a high quality game and worth the price tag for sure.

This is a cooperative game where all players collaborate to defeat the monsters. I prefer these games as easier to teach and everyone is a winner (or loser together). I really like this game. Not too difficult to learn but the game mechanics keep the game fun and challenging. I would recommend this game for ages 10 and up. This game has solid art on the board, and cards, and pieces (called items). There are also pieces for the characters that are simple plastic (dracula, frankenstein, bride of Frankenstein, invisible man, and the wolf man. Nothing fancy but totally fine. My only recommendation would to use better card stock. Not bad, but some games have more solid feeling card stock. Overall the developer did a nice job with the overall components, themes, and art. Lastly, the actions and instructions are generally easy to understand. I enjoy this game and theme.

I'm not a fan of "coop" type games. Most are designed in such a way that an "alpha" gamer type will usually surface and bend everyone else to their will. That doesn't happen so much with Horrified. Somehow, they've managed to design a game that discourages that style of play while being fun. It's currently the only coop game I'll willingly play. As a bonus it has a solo mode that's excellent. The theme is very well done and integrated into the game play - a rarity in this age of pasted on themes. The graphics and game play evoke the feel of the old Universal horror movies with tension from chasing, or being chased by, the monsters. It's very easy to learn as well as teach making it a very good choice for group gatherings or times when you want to play a game but most of the people present are just not "heavy" gamer types. With a maximum of 5 players it's not a true "party game" but works quite well in such settings. I've played a half dozen games solo and 4 more with 1 or 2 other players. Games were done with the recommended "easy" variant (2 monsters) for the first game or two but quickly moved to "standard" (3 monsters) as we quickly figured out 2 monsters is a cake-walk. Fighting 3 monsters is better but we've not yet lost a game and none have been in danger of being lost. With that in mind, we feel 3 monsters is great for novice players as long as they have a more experienced gamer as a guide. Our next game will be with 4 monsters. The solo game feels just a bit more difficult than with more players but not significantly so. Due to the recommended random monster and hero pulls you can get lots of variety in the games. We've yet to find a hero combo that's just not that good, even with the "lesser" ones. Some of the heroes almost feel overpowered (especially one who can "bounce" around the board at will as a special power). The biggest con I have is the quality of the miniatures. While they *look* good they're rather cheaply made. Something along the line of a cheaper plastic army guy. Several of ours came bent. While this can easily be fixed it's the cheap, thin, plastic that's the ultimate cause. The player pieces and "villagers" are standees (and really should have been plastic as well). I'm not a fan of standees. However, these are thicker cardboard and fit tightly into their stands. As long as you put them in their base and leave them alone I don't foresee any issues. The box really needs a better insert to properly hold the various components. It's OK but just OK. You'll want to bag some things and sleeve the cards. At least the card storage part of the box is large enough to accommodate sleeved cards. Player/hero boards, items, and standees are thicker cardboard and there's a nice velour type drawstring bag for the items (they're put on the board via blind draw). The monster "boards" are the thickness of a standard playing card. It'd have been nice if these, too, were cardboard. The cards for the game are fairly standard playing card style - no linen finish (and you'll want to sleeve them for easier shuffling). The solo mode is very fun and requires only slight changes for play. Essentially there's a hero you don't use and 2 "perk" cards you either remove or just draw again should they surface during play. No "automa" player/setup/guide needed. It plays identically to multi-player games. 4 stars as experienced/eurogamer types may find it a bit simplistic and too easy at the "standard" level and several of the components could be better. Highly recommended for anyone looking for a fun family or gateway game.

This si not a children's game, but there's nothing horrifying in it--it's all good fun. Definite cooperative strategy. Takes a little learning (especially for some people) but definitely not overly complex.

I love Horrified and I’ve been playing it for awhile trying different monsters and heroes. At the moment I have only played alone so I haven’t had a chance to play with friends. Still it is fun and challenging game that I highly recommend. First I must say that Horrified is, in many respects, very similar to another popular co-op game Pandemic. In Pandemic you try to cure diseases whereas in Horrified you are trying to defeat the classic Universal Studios Monsters. What makes it different from Pandemic is that each monster must be defeated in a different way, but all of them requires turning in color items. For example to defeat Dracula you need to destroy 4 coffins (each 1 at a different location) with red items and then use yellow items to defeat Dracula. The game also introduces villagers that you must protect or ,if killed by a monster, the village Terror track rises bringing you closer to losing the game. In my personal opinion, I do like Horrified a little bit more than Pandemic for a couple reasons: 1. Each monsters unique way of defeating them 2. The theme itself. 3. It offers solo play. I don’t have many friends to play with and I have trouble getting friends to play this game, so I’m happy the game offers a solo mode with few changes that doesn’t severely hurt gameplay experience. Plus it feels awesome to defeat the monsters and save villagers on your own. There aren’t any problems I can think of with the game except maybe the villagers. I really like the villagers in the game, but the issue can be that when they are played they always spawned at the same location. Often locations fit from which they spawn, but the more you play the more you remember the locations they spawn in. Thus you can prepare when they are played. Great for players but doesn’t offer much variety. Only suggestion I can think of to remedy this is dice (any kind) that equals the number of locations on the board each being assigned a number. That way the villagers can spawn in different locations. While playing the game, I have thought of another difficulty setting you can play which I call “Van Helsing.” The maximum difficulty is 4 monsters but instead add a 5th, 6th, or all 7 of the monsters. Game plays normally with these differences: 1.Do 2 rounds with the monster deck 2. If any villagers die in the 1st round and are drawn again in the 2nd round, do not play them on the board. Instead place 2 items instead of the normal 3 from villager events. 3. For 2-5 players: start with 4 (maybe 5) items in your inventory so players don’t get killed easily by one or more monsters at the start of the game. Solo: start with no items. I did actually do this solo with all monsters and manage to win. Not sure how great this would be for 2-5 players but it might work. Give this a try if you like. Otherwise, Horrified is great to have if you like co-op, Pandemic, and horror like games and would be great to play during the Halloween season.

I was very pleased with this game. I've been an avid tabletop and board gamer for 30 of my 40 years, and I love strategy, tactics, and roleplaying. My wife enjoys playing games, but is definitely what you would call a casual gamer. So, often the games I love are too complicated for her tastes. We've played two games of 'Horrified,' one on the novice setting (two monsters) and one on the standard setting (three monsters). During both games we had a blast! Presentation/ Subject Matter: 5/5. The game looks fantastic. The artwork is beautiful and the layout of everything is easy and intuitive, and c'mon, who doesn't love the Universal Monsters? Quality: 5/5. The colors are vibrant and all the components feel durable. Nothing looks or feels cheap. The minis are nicely detailed and the cardstock is heavy weight and substantial. Rules: 5/5. Very clearly written and laid out, with quick reference cards. The game seems well play tested and nicely balanced. A challenge, but not frustrating. Replay value: 5/5. With many different monster combinations, this game has lasting potential, and isn't repetitive. Strategy level: 3/5. While the strategy and tactics aren't going to blow away seasoned gamers, it's complicated enough to hold their interest, while being easy enough to understand easily for casual gamers. Overall: 4.8/5. A very pleasant gaming experience. Highly recommend! Kudos to the designers for a job well done!