As a horror movie buff and a board game afficionado, the intersection of the two always catches my interest. In 2019, I played Horrified for the first time, and it featured some of my favorite Universal Monsters like The Bride of Frankenstein, Dracula, and Creature from the Black Lagoon. Players take on classic horror-movie roles like the Archaeologist, the Scientist, and more as they work to defend the remote village from the monsters.  I remember the experience around my table was undeniable – this game is going to be a mainstay at game nights all around the world.

Next came Horrified: American Monsters.  Released in 2021, now players faced off against American cryptids like Bigfoot, Mothman, Chupacabra, and the Jersey Devil.  Drawn to the town of Cross Creek by some mysterious force, these monsters wreak havoc as the Federal Bureau of Paranormal Investigation (and others) attempts to turn the tide and keep the townspeople safe. 

Then, in 2023, the world of Horrified travelled back in time 3000 years to the age of mythology.  In Horrified: Greek Monsters, players must confront such iconic foes as Medusa, Cerberus, the Minotaur, and the Chimera! That’s not all; unlike previous offerings, in Greek Monsters, some of the creatures’ lairs must be discovered and do not have a set placement on the board.  This additional challenge makes this Horrified offering even more harrowing on the tabletop!

Now, 5 years after the original Horrified release, we have Horrified: World of Monsters. Set in a new, mysterious arcane-punk world centered around the Void, this chilling co-operative game has players working together as a member of the Stewards of the Shrouded Void or the SSV for short. “Working towards what?” you may ask; to defeat the 4 brand new monsters that has slipped into this realm: the Sphinx, the Yeti, the Jiangshi, and even Cthulhu. 

As with the other Horrified games, each of these monsters have their own puzzles and objectives to try and resolve all while balancing out the well-being of the Citizens and the ever-looming dreaded Terror Level Track. Let’s take a quick look at the 4 monsters the SSV will be dealing with:

Sphinx
Outwit the Sphinx or be eaten: Solve this number riddle by lining up items to equal the sum listed on both the columns and rows.

Yeti
Keep calm and cool or feel the rage: Find the Yeti’s cave and bring the Yeti’s children there before you get frozen in fear in this pick up and deliver mini-game.  Finding the Yeti’s Lair should be priority number 1 with this monster!

Jiangshi
Slasher under the moonlight: Construct a sword made of Chinese coins in a spatial puzzle to defeat the corpse.  strength of the item you discard matches the coin token you’ll receive to construct the sword; you’re also able to remove it with the same strength token, but try to have some foresight so this doesn’t happen!

Cthulhu
From the Void to R’lyeh: In the first multiphase puzzle introduced in Horrified, you must decipher the ruince carvings to open the portal to the Void before the daring feat of binding the tentacles of Cthulhu and unite to lock it in its vault... (for now...).

These horrifying new monsters come with chilling new puzzles, but worry not, there five new heroes that have special actions which will lend themselves into working towards sending these monsters back where they came from.  Here’s a closer look at two of them:

The Parapsychologist: 4 actions – the Parapsychologist is another great support character, with the special action of distributing any items they have to other players. A good tactic for this character is to go around the board collecting as many items as possible to distribute to the other heroes.

The Investigator: 4 actions – The Investigator is good at getting specific items for those puzzles that require unique colors or numbers you’re looking for; the power allows the player to discard two items to pick one item from the discard pile and keep it. The Investigator and Parapsychologist is a great duo to have in a game!

For both new and veteran Horrified fans, it is well known that the gameplay is highly thematic, and the art and story provide an expansive narrative experience. I had to reach out to Lysa Penrose, Head of New Games Marketing at Ravensburger, as well as one of the narrative designers on Horrified: World of Monsters, to give us a few threads that tie the Horrified games together and easter eggs you can find in World of Monsters while you’re discovering this dreadful steampunk dreamscape. Lysa, take it away! 

Building a unique setting for World of Monsters and filling it with a whole slew of weird characters was truly a scream come true. Art Director Sam Dawson, Developer Mike Mulvihill, and I collaborated and hid references to other Horrified games, favorite horror media, and links and relationships between characters who watch over the Void. To name a few...

• All the narrative text from the game is written from the perspective of Howard T. Owlman, historian, raconteur, and a Citizen you can save in the game.
• There is a floofy friend hidden amidst the green Arcane Items... How did Stanley the cat get in there?
• Citizen Mari from Horrified: American Monsters makes a cameo appearance. The small-town soda jerk now works the Roaming Wolf bar, which has a Cross Creek drink on the menu as an ode to their former home.
• You might recognize the Investigator Hero from Horrified: Universal Monsters, where she was the Inspector. She’s been through some (paranormal) stuff and is quite the expert now.
• James and Betty, the conductors of the Night Train, are inspired by a certain 1930’s cartoon. The “maudlin tunes” they sing is a reference to the St. James Infirmary Blues.
• Mary’s Mill is inspired by the iconic windmill in Frankenstein (1931), and named after the classic novel’s author, Mary Shelley.

Danny Quach (he/him) is the North American Games Marketing Manager for Ravensburger during the day, and the internet’s emotional support himbo by night. He’s the author of Digital Thiccness, a newsletter dedicated to making information about marketing, social media trends, and community building as accessible as possible, sprinkled with personal musings of pop culture and other projects from a queer lens. When he’s not writing or collaborating on TTRPG projects, Danny can be found lifting heavy things, eating tasty things, watching scary movies, and listening to 2000’s emo/screamo music.