Tabletop Game Review - Horrified: Greek Monsters

Tabletop Game Review – Horrified: Greek Monsters

Horrified: Greek Monsters by Ravensburger
Price: ~$35
Players: 1-5
Playtime: 60 minutes
Perfect for: Groups of Greek mythology aficionados who enjoy cooperative problem solving and resource efficiencies.

Horrified: Greek Monsters is a game of monster hunting! Pandora’s Box has been cracked open, spilling out a slew of mythological beasts including Medusa, the Basilisk, and Cerberus. Players must team up to defeat these wretched villains before they overrun the world. But it won’t be easy as each monster has its own unique defeat condition, so working together is paramount.

To begin Horrified: Greek Monsters, one to five players choose how many monsters they want to battle against (2 for easy mode, 3 for medium, 4 for difficult). They then choose a starting character at random, with each person having a special power at their disposal. On a turn, players first complete the Hero Phase. Here they can take several actions such as move, pick up items, share items, or advance towards the win condition as it pertains to each monster. For example, to defeat Cerberus, players must first discover its lair, hidden on one of four spots on the board. After moving there, players can then trade in any three items to reveal which monster owns the lair. Once the hunters find Cerberus’ lair, players can spend blue items to roll dice using certain resulting combinations to unlock the doors back to the underworld. Once the gateway has been opened, the heroes can banish Cerberus and focus on the remaining monsters.

Once a player has completed their actions in the Hero Phase, next is the Monster Phase. Players draw cards which indicate how many new items come onto the board, if an event occurs, and which monsters move and attack. Some events are monster-specific and only trigger if that type of villain is on the board. In some instances, players will reveal Legends—Greek heroes who give the heroes power-ups if they can be escorted to their destination. The team wins if they beat all the monsters, but evil reigns if heroes (or Legends) sustain too many defeats or the players take too long to fulfill the win conditions.

What works in Horrified: Greek Monsters is the balanced teamwork mechanics and the unique win conditions. The abilities of each character can be leveraged in very specific ways in order to best benefit the team. The powers all feel very complementary, which helps foster communication between players naturally. Furthermore, Horrified: Greek Monsters has excellent replay value given that each monster is completely different in terms of how they must be approached. Furthermore, the design and thematic representation of each beast is a thoughtful reflection of their lore and mythos. Finally, because monsters are coupled together in groups, the strategy changes with each playthrough. With six villains to choose from, the combinations are plentiful.

Individuals who don’t enjoy cooperative games with high levels of strategic compromise may not enjoy Horrified: Greek Monsters as much as others. Players must pay close attention to the entirety of the board at all times, while also considering a slew of abilities and power-ups at their disposal. Failure to do so will almost certainly mean defeat and/or frustration. Also, Horrified: Greek Monsters has the chance to allow alpha-play, where one individual (intentionally or not) begins directing the actions of others.

Horrified: Greek Monsters is a great game for upcoming Halloween parties (and beyond!). It’s perfect for people excited to work on a team to defeat a common enemy. Plus, the cooperative nature of the experience means that people less familiar with the game mechanics can jump right in and enjoy.

Recommended if you like: Forbidden Island, Pandemic

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Fox Troilo

Fox serves as an entertainment journalist in the Washington, D.C. When not covering cinematic news for LRM, he critiques films as a member of the Washington D.C. Area Film Critics Association. Fox also has a Ph.D. in Higher Education and Strategy from Indiana University Bloomington.

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