10 Best Horror Board Games for a Frighteningly Fun Game Night

In 1920s Arkham, Massachusetts, strange storms coincide with mysterious disappearances of the townsfolk—and the appearance of terrifying creatures. It’s up to a band of investigators (1 to 6 players) to stop the Ancient Ones from destroying the town. This is a cooperative game based on H.P. Lovecraft’s writings. Complete with immersive storytelling, unique characters with special abilities, and breathtaking artwork, this is one of the best horror board games available.

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Inspired by Arkham Horror, this game supports even more players, allowing for up to 8 people to join in on the fun. Players take on the role of unlikely heroes, risking their sanity and safety to defeat a dark and ancient evil. These brave adventurers travel across the globe—and even into Other Worlds—solving mysteries and battling horrors from Azathoth to Cthulhu. With a dozen characters to choose from, multiple Ancient Ones to take down, and numerous other monsters waiting to consume you, every playthrough is unique.

Mysterium is an absolutely delightful game with gorgeous artwork, fit for 2 to 7 players. There’s been a murder in Warwick Manor, and it’s up to psychic investigators to learn the truth from the ghost that lingers in the estate. One player is the ghost, delivering visions to the psychics, while everyone else is acting as the mediums trying to use image cards to determine the who, what, and where of a murder. Cooperation is key in this immersive storyline if the players want to uncover the truth before time runs out!

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This is a simple, cooperative, story-based game made for 1 to 4 players. While the playthrough lasts around 30 minutes, the mechanics of this game mean that you’ll never have the same experience twice! The players are acting as prisoners trapped inside an ominous castle, and they’re working together using dice and item cards to navigate the traps and monsters within the estate. The group tells a story together as each illustrated chapter card requires them to make decisions and create their own path of escape.

The game also includes several expansions, like Scourge of the Undead Queen and Cult of the Death Knight.

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This terrifying game is a must-play for zombie horror lovers. Two to six players divide into teams to play as “heroes” and “zombies,” with the former group trying to strategize a way to make it through the night alive, while the latter attempts to sate its hunger and spread disease. This game embraces the hero archetypes we’ve all come to know and love from survival horror movies, and has several different scenarios to play through to keep the game fresh. Part cooperative and part competitive, this game will pull you in with a tense sense of high stakes.

For those board game aficionados who prefer longer playtime, this classic Gothic horror board game lasts roughly 2 to 3 hours and can involve 2 to 5 players. One player takes on the role of Dracula, moving covertly through European countries to sire an army of the undead and leave behind traps for anyone who follows. The rest of the players take on the role of hunters, tracking Dracula down to kill him and end his dark reign. With a different player experience with each character, this is a horror board game that boasts phenomenal replay value.

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One Night Ultimate Werewolf is a social deduction game similar to the camp game favorite Mafia. Each player is given a card with a specified role, such as villager, troublemaker, or werewolf. Once the game starts, the goal is for the “villager” team to discover which player is the werewolf by questioning those around them. Some cards have special abilities to help either team, but players have only five minutes to either sleuth out the beast or slip by undetected.

This game is meant for 3 to 10 players, but the more is certainly the merrier for the best experience.

This game features the old school Universal monsters that classic horror movie fans will love. One to five players work together to fend off the likes of Frankenstein and his Bride, Dracula, the Wolfman, the Mummy, the Invisible Man, and the Creature from the Black Lagoon. As heroes, you’re trying to save the village before these monsters destroy it for good. You can choose your difficulty, and each monster requires a different means of defeat.

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Nyctophobia is a unique and chilling game that will strike the fancy of slasher movie lovers. A homicidal maniac prowls through a pitch-black forest. Up to 4 players must cooperate if they hope to survive. But there’s a catch—each player navigates the game board while wearing blackout glasses, using touch alone to decide their path. What will get to you first, the fear of the dark, or the predator following one step behind?

For even more fun, check out the vampire expansion pack.

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Betrayal at House on the Hill is by far one of the best horror board games out there. Three to six players take on the role of explorers. Together they enter a house and place tiles to build out the rooms. As terrors rise around them, the unthinkable happens—a haunt awakens in the house, and one of the players just might become a traitor. As the explorers work together to escape their surroundings, the chosen monster and its traitor companion unfurls an evil plan within the maze-like walls of the home you’ve built.

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The base game comes with 50 different haunt scenarios, in addition to a Widow’s Walk expansion to make the world of the game even more terrifying and unique. For truly high stakes, check out the blood-curdling legacy edition, featuring a 13-episode campaign of terror.