Betrayal At Baldur’s Gate Blends D&D and Horror

There have been some spectacular horror-themed board games published in the last twenty years. But when people ask me about my favorite horror game, I tell them Betrayal at House on the Hill, and if you love role playing games like me, definitely the new game Betrayal at Baldur’s Gate.

Why you ask? Pull up a chair.

Last year, I was invited by Wizards of the Coast to attend a play-testing, only for press, at a gaming convention. With me was four other individuals. Three of them were twenty-year old males who never really played board games but love and have extensive knowledge on the latest PC games. The fourth, who I’ll call Bob, was an older looking, local newspaper journalist from the area and I couldn’t help thinking he looked out of place.

The game we were to play was Betrayal at House on the Hill with the Widow’s Walk Expansion, which was released late last year.

This was my first time playing Betrayal at House on the Hill. And I loved it. The other three video game journalists and I had a blast with how much versatility and surprises this game had for us.

But not Bob. Halfway through the game, once the Haunt was revealed, Bob got up and walked backwards into the corner. Bob refused to play anymore and would rather watch from where he was standing. All of us had quizzical looks on our faces, not sure how to proceed from this awkwardness. There was this strange look on his face, and I couldn’t tell if it was fear or hate on his face. We continued to play and finish the game, with each of us not sure how Bob would take it that our “betrayer,” one of the PC gamers, was a werewolf and successfully hunted us down. As we spoke about how much fun we had, Bob disappeared and I never saw him around the convention again. One thought stayed with me from that experience.

I must buy this game.

I have now played the latest version of the series, Betrayal at Baldur’s Gate, which is an amalgamation of Betrayal at the House on the Hill and Dungeons & Dragons and nails both worlds perfectly. This time, instead of a house, you get to explore the city of Baldur’s Gate and see if your team can survive the hideous threats, as well as the betrayer in your midst.

Betrayal at Baldur’s Gate includes (note: “new” indicates new since Betrayal at the House on the Hill):

•       50 brand new scenarios set in the world of the Forgotten Realms
•       47 new location tiles, including buildings, streets, and catacombs
•       86 new cards, including 22 items, 45 events, and 13 omens
•       18 new monsters to encounter including minotaurs, beholders, and dragons
•       12 D&D adventurers including a dwarf barbarian, half-orc paladin, and human sorcerer
•       6 plastic adventurer figures

You don’t need a knowledge of D&D or need any experience playing Betrayal on the House on the Hill to play this game. You can play Betrayal at Baldur’s Gate independently from the other sets. It’s a three- to six-player game and takes between 90 minutes and two hours to complete. And although it’s a great game to play on Halloween, this game will bring your group joy anytime of the year.

Betrayal at Baldur’s Gate was released on Oct. 6.