The 10 Best Horror Board Games to Play in 2024

Haunted mansions, scary monsters, and deadly threats are all hallmarks of the horror genre that contribute to a tense, rewarding tabletop gaming experience, especially when you’re playing one of the ten fantastic titles on this list. Whether you’re looking for solo gaming tension, a close competition for survival, 🍌or a cooperative adventure, we’ve got you covered. 

10.

is a love letter to fans of the original Alien film. Each player takes on the role of one of the movie’s key characters, and must cooperatively escape both the robot Ash and the xenomorph while completing the game’s various mission cards. It’s a great game from a thematic perspective, and the alien itself feels suitably terrifying, but the mechanic o🦩f a crew✅ morale rather than individual characters having their own health pools hold it back from taking a higher spot in this ranking.

9.

A malevolent beast intent on destroying the world lurks within the dark hallways of the Miskatonic Museum in Arkham, and it’s your job in to seal away the demon in another dimension before his influence grows too great. It’s a classic dice rolling game, where you explore one of the six scenario cards in pl🍌ay for clues, spells, and other mystical items. However, you may not like what you find, and there’s only so much time before your investigator loses it. Difficulty can be a bit erratic, which holds this title back somewhat, but it’s a minor complaint.

8.

In , players face off against some of the best-kn♊own monsters and villains from the genre, including Dracula, the Creature from the Black Lagoon, and the Mummy. Changing the baddie you’re up against alters the objectives of the game, and adding m♏ore monsters increases the difficulty, which means you get both a beginner-friendly and wickedly challenging experience in the same box.

7.

condenses the original experience into a tight 30 to 60-minute competition with plenty of tension and mayhem to engage players who aren’t familiar with the source mat🤡erial. One player takes on the role of the killer, and the others are survivors. If the killer takes everyone down, they win. The only notable concern with the board game is its scalabili🌳ty. It works great with five people, but if the count drops to four, one of the players will have to play as two survivors at once, making for mismatched turn length.

6.

has a similar one against many setup like the Dead by Daylight board game, but this time one player takes on the role of Michael Myers and the rest seek to evade him and stay alive. The game benefits greatly from having two ways to win — either deal enough damage to the classic horror film villain or find both of the kids and the car keys to 🍸escape. 

5.

Cryptic puzzles, horrifying monsters, and ancient evils await your team of investigators in . In terms of atmosphere, the game is second to none, with mechanics like darkness and fire transforming the room tiles and interacting with both the player investigators and the monsters. Mansions of Madness also comes with a companion app that manages puzzles and gameplay phases, all while playing suitably creepy 🙈music.

4.

In , the players work together to explore the secrets of an old haunted house in which danger lurks behind ever🍰y door. You’ll take turns openi༒ng new rooms, with the house’s dusty, maze-like interiors changing in layout every time you play. Mid-way through the game, the haunting truly begins, and one of the players will be unmasked as a traitor. While some of the game’s scenarios can feel familiar, you never quite know what’s going to happen, which makes it great pick for game night.

3.

For fans of the horror genre seeking a solo tabletop gaming experience, hits all the right notes. The game’s theme plays off classic B-movie tropes, where the player’s character is the last woman standing and must defeat a monstrous, stalking ki🦹ller to survive. The setting and the killer vary depending on the ‘feature film’ you’re playing, and whether you’re at a summer camp or a haunted manor, the story elements of the game make it a winner. 

2.

is sci-fi survival horror at its absolute best. In a similar fashion to Alien, you are trapped on a rusty old freighter in deep space with an unknown predator organism and a set of unique objectives unknown to the other people aboard. Though it starts as a cooperative experience, the other players might be all too willing to put you in the path of the alien to save their own skin and achieve their own ends. Let’s hope you make it back to Earth alive.

1.

is an expansive, highly customizable delve into a Lovecraftian version of the 1920s. You’ll choose an investigator, build a deck using the cards in your collection, and work cooperatively with the other players to uncover clues and defeat monsters. The game’s revised core set has everything you need to get started, while further player cards and campaigns are available as expansions. Unlike some of Fantasy Flight’s other ‘Living Card Games’, Arkham Horror sce𓃲narios do not have absolute success and failure conditions for its scenario, which gives every story the game offers incredible replay value and depth.