Betrayal at House on the Hill Complete Guide: Horror Exploration Game

Betrayal at House on the Hill is a horror exploration board game where 3-6 players explore a haunted house by placing room tiles one at a time. Midway through, a haunt is triggered and one player becomes the traitor, turning the game into a scenario-based conflict. Designed by Bruce Glassco, it has sold over 1 million copies.

Game Components

What's in the Box

• 1 starting tile (entrance hall, upper landing, basement landing)
• 50 room tiles (ground floor, upper floor, basement)
• 80 cards (omens, items, events)
• 6 character cards (double-sided with different stats)
• 30 plastic clips (for tracking stats)
• 6 colored figures
• 1 haunt booklet (with 50 haunts)
• 1 traitor tome + 1 secrets of survival
• Dice (standard 6-sided)
• Designed for 3-6 players (best with 4-5)
• Typical game duration 60-90 minutes

How to Play

Setup

1. Each player chooses a character card (8 characters, pick one side). Characters have 4 stats:
   • Speed: How many rooms you can move through.
   • Might: Physical strength for combat.
   • Sanity: Mental fortitude.
   • Knowledge: Intelligence.
2. Set clips to starting values on each stat track.
3. Place the Entrance Hall, Upper Landing, and Basement Landing tiles on the table.
4. All figures start on the Entrance Hall.

Phase 1: Exploration

Taking a Turn

1. Move: Move your figure up to your Speed in rooms through connected doors.
2. Discover rooms: If you step through a door with no tile, draw a room tile and place it:
   • Must connect to the door you came through.
   • Must be on the correct floor (ground, upper, or basement).
   • Some rooms have event, item, or omen symbols — draw the matching card.

Card Types

Making Haunt Rolls

After drawing an omen card, roll dice equal to the number of omen cards drawn so far (by all players). If the result is less than 6, the haunt is NOT triggered. If you roll 6 or higher... the haunt begins!

The more omens drawn, the harder it is to avoid the haunt.

Phase 2: The Haunt

When the haunt is triggered:

1. Consult the haunt chart — cross-reference the room where the haunt started with the omen card that triggered it. This gives you a haunt number (1-50).
2. The traitor is determined by the haunt rules (usually the player who triggered the haunt or the one in a specific room).
3. The traitor takes the Traitor's Tome and reads the traitor's version of the haunt scenario in private.
4. The other players (the heroes) read the Secrets of Survival version.
5. Both sides set up according to their instructions.

Haunt Scenarios

The 50 haunts cover diverse horror scenarios:

• Vampires, zombies, werewolves, cultists
• Escaping a collapsing house
• Defeating a demon or ghost
• Surviving a flooded basement
• Stopping a ritual sacrifice

Each haunt has unique rules, win conditions, and special mechanics.

Haunt Gameplay

• The traitor and heroes take turns alternately.
• Movement, combat, and exploration continue.
• The traitor may control monsters or have special abilities.
• Each side has hidden objectives from their booklet.
• Combat: Attacker and defender each roll dice equal to their Might. Higher total wins; the loser takes damage to a stat.

Winning

• Each haunt has specific win conditions for both the traitor and the heroes.
• Some haunts end when a specific monster is killed.
• Others end when heroes escape the house or complete a ritual.
• The losing side often has all their characters killed.

Strategy Tips

1. Stat Management

• Keep your stats balanced — a character with 0 in any stat dies.
• Events often target specific stats — spread your risk.
• Items that boost your weakest stat are extremely valuable.

2. Explore Before the Haunt

• The more rooms explored before the haunt, the more items you collect.
• Rushing into the haunt unprepared favors the traitor.
• Try to discover rooms with item symbols and collect weapons.

3. Omen Timing

• Each omen drawn brings the haunt closer — decide whether to explore omen rooms.
• If you are well-equipped, an early haunt is manageable.
• If you are weak, avoid omen rooms to delay the haunt.

4. As the Traitor

• Separate the heroes — isolate them in distant parts of the house.
• Use monsters to block escape routes.
• The traitor knows the haunt rules before the heroes — use that information advantage.
• Retreat to a defensible room.

5. As a Hero

• Share items and information with other heroes.
• Stay together for mutual protection in combat.
• Identify the traitor's objective and counter it directly.
• Prioritize completing the win condition over fighting the traitor.

Game Variations

Betrayal at House on the Hill: Widow's Walk

• Expansion adding a roof floor and 20 new rooms
• 50 new haunts (bringing total to 100)
• New items, events, and omens
• Requires the base game

Betrayal at Baldur's Gate

• D&D-themed reskin set in the Forgotten Realms
• Same core mechanics with fantasy monsters and spells
• Standalone game

Betrayal at Mystery Mansion

• Scooby-Doo themed version
• Family-friendly with simpler rules
• Standalone game

Game History

Origins

• Designed by Bruce Glassco and published by Avalon Hill (Hasbro) in 2004
• A 2nd edition was released in 2010 with improved components and rules
• The modular tile system creates a different house layout every game

Legacy

• Over 1 million copies sold worldwide
• Known for its narrative storytelling and replayability (50 haunts)
• Popular at Halloween gaming events
• Praised for the "all versus one" mechanic

Statistics

• Designed for 3-6 players (best with 4-5)
• 50 room tiles across 3 floors
• 80 cards (events, items, omens)
• 8 characters (double-sided)
• 4 stats: Speed, Might, Sanity, Knowledge
• 50 unique haunts in the base game
• Haunt trigger: roll 6+ on omen dice
• Combat: roll Might dice vs opponent
• Character death: any stat reaches 0
• Over 1 million copies sold
• Typical game duration 60-90 minutes
• Suitable for ages 12 and up
• Designed by Bruce Glassco
• Published by Avalon Hill (Hasbro)

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