Betrayal - Introduction

The upcoming posts will be related to one of my honors projects. This project is attempting to record and look at the response on the board game Betrayal at House on the Hill.

As we analyze how setting has a psychological impact on characters within the horror genre in the Haunted America course, I thought it was important to take a look at how Betrayal intertwines the mental traits "sanity" and "knowledge" into the board game.

From the moment we started the course, I knew this board game was a perfect way to explore how a physical setting can impact a person's mind and spirit.

This is my favorite board game and with fifty scenarios, the game is never the same.

I have seen the house the explorers build kill characters before the monsters do. I've also seen a variety of events that can either help characters or seriously damage them. They've dug up skeletons, answered telephone calls from creepy old ladies who either leave a positive message with them or hurt them, and I've even seen the character's future self reach through mirrors to hand helpful items without being prompted.

This game is a mess of things that change the physical and mental traits of each character. You're left to face the betrayal of a friend as the haunt begins, and you watch as the game turns from one of exploration to one of survival. It reminds me a lot of the Haunting of Hill House (which is why I believe the names must be so similar). 

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For those who are unfamiliar with the game, here is a (somewhat) short description:

Betrayal is a board game where the setting is never quite the same. Each game starts with four standard rooms (what is essentially a hallway and a staircase) and is built upon throughout the duration of the game. This means that the setting of the house is never the same, as room tiles are drawn randomly.

The player's first objectives are just to explore this "haunted" house with their friends. This game starts as a cooperative game, but while players build the house they find items and trigger events and omens that eventually start the "haunt."

The haunt is the turning point of the game, as someone in the group becomes a traitor. The game then turns competitive, with the traitor reading one set of haunt rules and heroes reading another. There are fifty possible scenarios, so you never know what scenario you'll be placed in.

For more information, view the following video from "Teach the Table." 

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These blog posts will profile seven different players who each have different levels of expertise in the game. With three different games and three different scenarios, each player experienced something different within the game.

I will begin by outlining the scenario of each game and then by highlighting the players. Following that, I will be posting short video interviews with the players about their experiences and the outcome of each game.