Horrified is a magnificent game. Each turn consists of relatively simple choices, mainly movement or direct actions against a villain. However, when considering the villagers on the board, 2-4 monsters running amok, and numerous items to pick up, every turn is full of potential.

What makes Horrified really stand out is that the theme and mechanics synergize in a way that just makes sense (Dead of Winter is another game that does this well). You won’t have to spend your time looking up ambiguities or memorizing small rules, because each action just makes sense. Even more, each monster has their own actions and their own defeat conditions that provide satisfying variability with every move. You won’t get tired of picking up disease cube after disease cube, because you will be destroying coffins, moving a boat across the lagoon, and humanizing Frankenstein’s monster instead.

In each of my games, Horrified has managed to keep things engaging and tense as the game goes on. Even though you may defeat one or two monsters and remove them from the board, the addition of villagers who are at risk from the remaining  monster(s), as well as the escalation terror track create a growing sense of horror that never lets up until the last move.

Just like the monsters were when they hit the big screen, Horrified is an instant classic.

You may also like: Pandemic, Wonder Woman: Challenge of the Amazons, Disney Villainous, Jaws

Information for this review is based on my plays with 2 players (..given the pandemic).