Publisher: Ravensburger
Age: 10+
Players: 1 – 5 players
MSRP: $29.99
Release: Available exclusively at Target (Mass retail to follow)
Last year, Ravensburger cleverly combined their monster-filled co-op board game series, Horrified, with the monster-filled IP of Dungeons & Dragons. Now we’re getting a second entry in the D&D Horrified series, and the sixth Horrified game overall, with Horrified: Dungeons & Dragons – Ravenloft.
Ravenloft is a solid improvement over the previous D&D Horrified outing, with a much stronger Gothic Horror theme that fits perfectly within the Horrified system.
Read on for our review of Horrified: Dungeons & Dragons – Ravenloft!
Curse of Strahd
In Horrified, players take on the role of heroes fending off nasty monsters. In this case, the players are D&D player classes, such as Druid, Ranger, and Paladin, and the monsters are inspired by the Dungeons & Dragons Fifth Edition campaign, Curse of Strahd, headlined by the classic Vampire Lord himself, Strahd Von Zarovich.
This is an action-based, open information cooperative game, with players taking turns spending actions to move around the board, collect items, and use those items to advance the objectives that ultimately defeat the monsters.
Each monster features its own unique system of taking it down — though some have certainly overlapped over the years.
Ravenloft has a great batch of monsters
The Carrionette, the only monster rated as ‘low’ complexity, has players discarding items onto his Spare Parts board, then rolling the d20 to see if they remain. Bonuses are applied if the items match the numbers, and/or colors. Once all the items have been swapped in, the creepy clown-like creature can be defeated.
The Gulthias Tree doesn’t move at all, but uses its roaming twig blights to spread out and attack. When facing Baba Lysaga, players must battle through her hut mat, uncovering and defeating her minions before exposing her gem.
I was most impressed with Strahd himself, whose tasks are inspired directly from the beloved D&D campaign: reveal the locations of three critical relics (read: McGuffins) from Madam Eva, journey across the land to gather the relics, then head to Castle Ravenloft to destroy the Heart and defeat the cursed vampire once and for all.
Unlike the previous double-length monsters, Strahd isn’t too fiddly or challenging, but still provides an epic encounter. In fact, all the monsters require some form of rolling the d20, a nice nod to D&D. And like D&D, the party has a few ways to modify the rolls in their favor, either though Perk cards, player abilities, or discarding certain items.
Mists of Barovia
The Horrified series always provides gorgeous game boards, and Ravenloft’s is particularly exceptional. The locations and layout are once again inspired by the Curse of Strahd campaign, from the large, multi-space Castle Ravenloft overlooking the village of Barovia, to the central city of Valaki, and the flooded ruins of Berez.
The item tokens are shaped like mini coffins, the player character boards appear as gothic stained glass windows, and the perk cards resemble creepy paintings. I found all the components far more immersive and artistically pleasing that the previous D&D Horrified entry.
Barovia is a perfect setting for Horrified
Those cool-looking player class boards are also double-sided. In a first for Horrified, and a fun nod to the dark overtones of Ravenloft, players can optionally choose to ‘accept their Dark Gift,’ and flip their board, gaining a new ability with some added risk and reward. For example, the Sorcerer can block the first attack that would hit them, but any villagers that die from then on raise the Terror level by twice as much.
One of the Monster event cards even forces a player to accept their Dark Gift! The event deck in general doesn’t feel quite as brutal as previous entries, though Villagers can still be killed as soon as they spawn, and players can be attacked without much they can do. Horrified still shines at lower player counts (2-3) when players have more chances to respond to the constantly changing game state between turns.
Thankfully the Perk cards are far more powerful, and player abilities are more consistent and useful. Activating a player’s special ability still requires spending a precious action and rolling the d20, but generally the action is a good outcome — as long as you don’t roll a 1! For example, the Paladin gains extra bonuses to the next d20 rolls (great for advancing most monster objectives) while the Sorcerer can move monsters (great when you’re not ready to advance!).
The Rating
The Horrified series has a recommended age of 10+. The co-op game features open information, making it easy to help younger or newer players. There is no player elimination, though defeated players raise the Terror level, which can eventually lead to a game over.
The Takeaway
I enjoyed seeing my beloved D&D license applied to a fun board game format in last year’s Horrified: Dungeons & Dragons, though it wasn’t perfect. But Ravenloft isn’t just a reskin follow-up, but a rich evolution, with better balance, more immersive components, and a perfect theme. The Horrified system may be growing a bit long in the tooth, but that suits Count Strahd Von Zarovich just fine.
Horrified: Dungeons & Dragons – Ravenloft is currently available exclusively at Target.
