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7 Great Horror-Themed Board Games You Should Be Playing

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Horror and table-top gaming have always gone hand-in-hand, making “game night” a term that transcends images of sitting around a card table with your family accusing each other of cheating at Monopoly.

Here are some of my personal favorites.


Dead of Winter (Plaid Hat Games)

The Game: In this co-op game, you and up to four friends must work together to survive the zombie apocalypse in the harshest weather conditions. While this may sound like a reductive premise, the game keeps things fresh with the inclusion of the possibility that one person in your group is not what they seem. This game is not for novices and the first few plays may be a little rocky (you will lose multiple times, and that’s okay). But once you get the hang of things, you’ll want to start playing on the harder setting.

Who should play: Your friends who bitch about how The Walking Dead has killed the zombie genre.


The Bloody Inn (Asmodee)

The Game: Set during the nineteenth century in the French countryside, players take turns shuffling guests in and out of the titular inn in hopes to accumulate the most money by the end of the game. However, the means through which said money is earned is deception and murder. This game is a blast, but it takes a lot of patience. The rules are pretty straightforward, but each turn is limited in actions, which makes each decision vital. This game is not “action-packed,” but the tension is palpable. Getting caught red-handed is always something that can occur, and trying to watch out for yourself while screwing over the other players is continuously engaging.

Who should play: Your friends who joke about the best way to hide a dead body (but secretly they’re not joking).


Letters from Whitechapel (Fantasy Flight Games)

The Game: Letters from Whitechapel is broken up over the course of four nights in London in 1888, during which Jack the Ripper stalks the streets, on the hunt for victims. This game can be played by up to six players, with one player taking the role of Jack and the others as detectives trying to stop the murder spree. This game is all about strategic movement and deception. The player controlling Jack has a slight advantage as his player card is hidden from his rivals, making his moments unpredictable in the on-going investigation. Each night within the game is broken down into several phases that make the ostensibly overwhelming pacing flow pretty well. Working together with the other detectives to stop Jack from killing five victims before the end of the fourth night is exhilarating. But playing as Jack is almost more rewarding…if you can get away with it.

Who should play: Your creepy friends who sincerely ask the question, “who is your favorite serial killer?”


Smash Up (AEG)

The Game: Okay, this is a bit of a cheat because technically Smash Up isn’t a horror-themed game in the traditional sense. But what it is, is a battle card game where you can play as every movie monster imaginable. In Smash Up, players are dealt two decks of cards known as “factions.” Each faction has a special ability based on the monster (or fantasy creature) its cards represent. For example, vampire faction cards drain the power of other players’ cards; the zombie deck resurrects cards from your discard pile; and so on. Players use cards to destroy bases placed in the middle of the table, gaining the points they hold until one player reaches the preset point limit. What makes Smash Up so much fun is how versatile it is. Point limits can be raised or lowered depending on how quickly you’d like the game to move along. And selecting the right pair of factions is an ever-evolving process.

Who should play: Your friends who love monsters and are good at simple math.


Eldritch Horror (Fantasy Flight Games)

The Game: In this Lovecraftian co-op role playing game, you and up to seven friends take the roles of investigators trying to stop an impending apocalyptic doom. Eldritch took everything that was great about it spiritual predecessor, Arkham Horror and condensed it down to a tighter, faster game that doesn’t lose any of Arkham’s charm or intricate play-style. Theme and story-telling take the forefront here, making this a great experience for Lovecraft nuts and RPG-lovers.

Who should play: Your friends who argue over the spelling and/or pronunciation of  “Cthulhu” will be enthralled.


The Walking Dead Risk: Survival Edition (USAopoly)

The Game: Sometimes all it takes is a small tweak to make a classic game feel fresh again. While a lot of licensed property versions of board games offer nothing but new paintjob, The Walking Dead Risk injects new threats and tactics to what is arguably the king of all table-top strategy games to create something special. While games like Dead of Winter focus on the micro transactions and inner-personal tension found within a zombie apocalypse, TWD Risk focuses on the macro-aggressions of a turf war (and dealing with the pesky undead fucking up your strongholds).

Who should play: Your friends who felt ripped off when they realized their copy of Star Wars Monopoly was just regular Monopoly with X-Wings instead of thimbles or whatever.


Betrayal at House on the Hill (Avalon Hill)

The Game: This game kicks so much ass. In “Betrayal,” players take turns building a haunted house, filled with multiple levels, secret rooms, and terrors waiting around every corner. Once the house is built and the haunts are put into place, one player takes the roll of the traitor and is given their own rule book on how to completely destroy the other players in the game. What sets this game apart (and why it’s number one on this list) is its complete unpredictability and the anticipation of which of your friends will become the nightmare in the game and which of the myriad scenarios you’ll have to survive.

Who should play: Your friends who say Ghost Hunters is dumb, but secretly DVR it.

So there you go. What’s your favorite horror-themed board game?

Editorials

‘Leprechaun Returns’ – The Charm of the Franchise’s Legacy Sequel

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leprechaun returns

The erratic Leprechaun franchise is not known for sticking with a single concept for too long. The namesake (originally played by Warwick Davis) has gone to L.A., Las Vegas, space, and the ‘hood (not once but twice). And after an eleven-year holiday since the Davis era ended, the character received a drastic makeover in a now-unmentionable reboot. The critical failure of said film would have implied it was time to pack away the green top hat and shillelagh, and say goodbye to the nefarious imp. Instead, the Leprechaun series tried its luck again.

The general consensus for the Leprechaun films was never positive, and the darker yet blander Leprechaun: Origins certainly did not sway opinions. Just because the 2014 installment took itself seriously did not mean viewers would. After all, creator Mark Jones conceived a gruesome horror-comedy back in the early nineties, and that format is what was expected of any future ventures. So as horror legacy sequels (“legacyquels”) became more common in the 2010s, Leprechaun Returns followed suit while also going back to what made the ‘93 film work. This eighth entry echoed Halloween (2018) by ignoring all the previous sequels as well as being a direct continuation of the original. Even ardent fans can surely understand the decision to wipe the slate clean, so to speak.

Leprechaun Returns “continued the [franchise’s] trend of not being consistent by deciding to be consistent.” The retconning of Steven Kostanski and Suzanne Keilly’s film was met with little to no pushback from the fandom, who had already become accustomed to seeing something new and different with every chapter. Only now the “new and different” was familiar. With the severe route of Origins a mere speck in the rearview mirror, director Kotanski implemented a “back to basics” approach that garnered better reception than Zach Lipovsky’s own undertaking. The one-two punch of preposterous humor and grisly horror was in full force again.

LEPRECHAUN

Pictured: Linden Porco as The Leprechaun in Leprechaun Returns.

With Warwick Davis sitting this film out — his own choice — there was the foremost challenge of finding his replacement. Returns found Davis’ successor in Linden Porco, who admirably filled those blood-stained, buckled shoes. And what would a legacy sequel be without a returning character? Jennifer Aniston obviously did not reprise her final girl role of Tory Redding. So, the film did the next best thing and fetched another of Lubdan’s past victims: Ozzie, the likable oaf played by Mark Holton. Returns also created an extension of Tory’s character by giving her a teenage daughter, Lila (Taylor Spreitler).

It has been twenty-five years since the events of the ‘93 film. The incident is unknown to all but its survivors. Interested in her late mother’s history there in Devil’s Lake, North Dakota, Lila transferred to the local university and pledged a sorority — really the only one on campus — whose few members now reside in Tory Redding’s old home. The farmhouse-turned-sorority-house is still a work in progress; Lila’s fellow Alpha Epsilon sisters were in the midst of renovating the place when a ghost of the past found its way into the present.

The Psycho Goreman and The Void director’s penchant for visceral special effects is noted early on as the Leprechaun tears not only into the modern age, but also through poor Ozzie’s abdomen. The portal from 1993 to 2018 is soaked with blood and guts as the Leprechaun forces his way into the story. Davis’ iconic depiction of the wee antagonist is missed, however, Linden Porco is not simply keeping the seat warm in case his predecessor ever resumes the part. His enthusiastic performance is accentuated by a rotten-looking mug that adds to his innate menace.

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Pictured: Taylor Spreitler, Pepi Sonuga, and Sai Bennett as Lila, Katie and Rose in Leprechaun Returns.

The obligatory fodder is mostly young this time around. Apart from one luckless postman and Ozzie — the premature passing of the latter character removed the chance of caring about anyone in the film — the Leprechaun’s potential prey are all college aged. Lila is this story’s token trauma kid with caregiver baggage; her mother thought “monsters were always trying to get her.” Lila’s habit of mentioning Tory’s mental health problem does not make a good first impression with the resident mean girl and apparent alcoholic of the sorority, Meredith (Emily Reid). Then there are the nicer but no less cursorily written of the Alpha Epsilon gals: eco-conscious and ex-obsessive Katie (Pepi Sonuga), and uptight overachiever Rose (Sai Bennett). Rounding out the main cast are a pair of destined-to-die bros (Oliver Llewellyn Jenkins, Ben McGregor). Lila and her peers range from disposable to plain irritating, so rooting for any one of them is next to impossible. Even so, their overstated personalities make their inevitable fates more satisfying.

Where Returns excels is its death sequences. Unlike Jones’ film, this one is not afraid of killing off members of the main cast. Lila, admittedly, wears too much plot armor, yet with her mother’s spirit looming over her and the whole story — comedian Heather McDonald put her bang-on Aniston impersonation to good use as well as provided a surprisingly emotional moment in the film — her immunity can be overlooked. Still, the other characters’ brutal demises make up for Lila’s imperviousness. The Leprechaun’s killer set-pieces also happen to demonstrate the time period, seeing as he uses solar panels and a drone in several supporting characters’ executions. A premortem selfie and the antagonist’s snarky mention of global warming additionally add to this film’s particular timestamp.

Critics were quick to say Leprechaun Returns did not break new ground. Sure, there is no one jetting off to space, or the wacky notion of Lubdan becoming a record producer. This reset, however, is still quite charming and entertaining despite its lack of risk-taking. And with yet another reboot in the works, who knows where the most wicked Leprechaun ever to exist will end up next.


Horror contemplates in great detail how young people handle inordinate situations and all of life’s unexpected challenges. While the genre forces characters of every age to face their fears, it is especially interested in how youths might fare in life-or-death scenarios.

The column Young Blood is dedicated to horror stories for and about teenagers, as well as other young folks on the brink of terror.

Leprechaun Returns movie

Pictured: Linden Porco as The Leprechaun in Leprechaun Returns.

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