General House on the Hill stuff

[Zephyr]

From what I've seen of the mechanics so far, I like the way it looks :)

The semi-random structure of the house appeals to me. I like that the house would be different every time.

AH always had lighter games, if people are looking for historical precedent. I think it's just good that AH puts out interesting games, period.

I think many people agree that MB and later AH got Axis and Allies right, so they don't necessarily need a sequel (but they're there anyway :)).

I like that there are 50 different betrayals, and I imagine tweakers like myself will probably invent more.

So, anyone want to talk about their favorite horror movie?

Mine would have to be Carpenter's The Thing, because I think it really captured the paranoia of Campbell's original short story.

-Z

[series]

I'd like to eventually design my own characters, such as myself and my friends. That could be interesting.

[RuHurt]

Favorite horror movie would absolutely be The Ring; that's the scariest movie I've ever seen in my life, and I include House on Haunted Hill and The Sixth Sense among those!

[series]

My favorite horror movie was "The Village". That movie was AWESOME! I couldnt believe how great it was! Nobody could! Best movie... ever!

[holywolfman]

However I too like "The Ring" but.....I liked the Cantonese/Chinese thriller: "The Eye" a bit more... It is just as scary as "The Ring"...(In fact I think the Director even took some elements from "The Ring" -which was a remake from a Chinese thriller)

I think "The Grudge" looks pretty scary too! (This is another Chinese made movie turning American-style")

I can't wait to play "BHotH"...it reminds me of the classic horror/comedy movie: "The House"- you don't know what lurks in each corner or closet!- :D

[...Hey Mike, do you know what would be cool for this game (House on the Hill)- if there would be a "special" edition that would have pieces/ tiles that glows in the dark....and even dice that would glow in the dark (*This way you can play the game in a poorly lit room and get the FULL effect of the "Haunted House" with all the creatures and scenes, characters, etc. that would "glow-in-the dark" creating a more SPOOKY effect for the game)- :eek:]

[maelic001]

The game definitely seems like a light, fun, "beer and pretzels"-type game with possibilities for house rules and mixing with other game systems like Zombies!!!.

As far as favorite horror movies, I go more for the comedy/horror flicks like the Evil Dead Trilogy or Dead Alive (aka Braindead).

[Mike Selinker]

[...Hey Mike, do you know what would be cool for this game (House on the Hill)- if there would be a "special" edition that would have pieces/ tiles that glows in the dark....and even dice that would glow in the dark (*This way you can play the game in a poorly lit room and get the FULL effect of the "Haunted House" with all the creatures and scenes, characters, etc. that would "glow-in-the dark" creating a more SPOOKY effect for the game)- :eek:]

That would be cool. I have an Ouija board set that glows in the dark. It became the inspiration for one of the cards in the game.

When we first started developing the game at Wizards, we had everyone on our team make a list of their favorite horror films, just like this. Then we assigned people to develop some of the haunts based on what they said they liked. I said "Psycho."

Mike

[elbowmaster]

good times!! is this game already out??


sounds like a good time for halloween!!!

hmmm...i would have picked the old "B" movie...

THE RETURN OF GORE!!!!

anyone ever see that??? crazy B movie about revenge and battery acid !! :eek:

-cheers

-elbowmaster

[holywolfman]

...As far as favorite horror movies, I go more for the comedy/horror flicks like the Evil Dead Trilogy or Dead Alive (aka Braindead).


Yeah- for a comedy/sci-fi/horror...I like Army of Darkness (3rd Evil Dead movie)- myself!

[Zephyr]

HolyWolfMan, the Japanese Ring was a remake of a Chinese thriller? What was the title of the Chinese film?

I haven't seen the movie, but the book series Uzumaki is one of the creepiest horror novels I've read.

[The Rat King]

This has become my most wanted game this year. Quick play time and and interesting play mechanics are the main reason.

I used to only play war games, but these days I like more variety in my gaming.

[holywolfman]

HolyWolfMan, the Japanese Ring was a remake of a Chinese thriller? What was the title of the Chinese film?

I haven't seen the movie, but the book series Uzumaki is one of the creepiest horror novels I've read.

-Ok...I apologize- I am mistaken, you are right! It is a remake from the Japanese movie: "Ringu"-1998 (Not Chinese)- SORRY! :p

[elbowmaster]

This has become my most wanted game this year. Quick play time and and interesting play mechanics are the main reason.

I used to only play war games, but these days I like more variety in my gaming.
i agree, and did you check out how nice the painted units are in that game, was checking out the articles, strange not by MS...sniff sniff...

actually miss reading those...

looking forward to the reviews...

-cheers

-elbowmaster

[Kit Darkholm]

This has become my most wanted game this year.

Same here. I've been searching for a good haunted house game for ages and I think this one is going to fit the bill.

I've played "Chill: Black Morn Manor" but didn't like the fact that the characters didn't have different strengths and weaknesses. I pinned my hopes on SPI's "Nightmare House" and was certain it was going to be the definitive haunted house game. But after trying to wade through their undeciperable rules I finally gave up on it. A pity too, since the backstory and all the different characters you could play really added a lot of atmosphere and depth to it.

I think I've driven my local game store crazy with all the times I've called them asking when they will have it in stock. Congrats on an awesome game, Avalon Hill!

[Mike Selinker]

i agree, and did you check out how nice the painted units are in that game, was checking out the articles, strange not by MS...sniff sniff...

actually miss reading those...

Appreciated, EM, but Bruce is the right guy to write these. He's been working on this game since the mid-1990s, and deserves the attention on this game a lot more than I do.

Mike

[holywolfman]

In either case....we are looking forward to this one as well, Mike (and) Bruce!- ;)

Can't wait to explore the "House" and unleash the secrets (and evil) lurking inside!- :eek:

[Kit Darkholm]

I have a question regarding the miniatures that come with the game.

I've seen photos of six of the characters but according to the "Cast of Characters" article, there are going to be 12 to choose from. Has anyone seen what the other six look like? Also, will there be miniatures of the haunts? Inquiring minds want to know!

[twonkbot]

Well, that's an interesting question.... again, from info received at GenCon...

The reason that there's six figs and 12 characters is....the characters are printed, double-sided, on the cards that you keep track of the stats with. So, you're either using one side or the other....and so, there's only ONE of the two "little girl" style characters that can be used in any given game, and they've developed the illustrations so that the pics of the characters are close enough to the fig that each fig represents EITHER of those two characters. (For example, the balding older guy in the overcoat is either the mad professor or the elderly priest, depending on which side of the card you're using...and usually, the paired characters have complimentary stats (so one is higher in Knowledge and Strength, but the other is higher in Sanity and Speed, etc.).

But it's a nice way to give you 12 characters to play, but only have to include six figs. If they'd gone with 12 distinct figs, they'd be upping the price a bit, so I think this was also done to keep the cost down.

And as far as the haunts....most of those are done using cardboard counters, not just for the "monster", but also for various other things needed during the haunt (body sections for the giant worm, etc.). If you WANT figs, you could always provide your own...but sometimes, there isn't even a counter necessary for the haunt (our house almost DISAPPEARED during one play... who needs counters when there's no place to put them???). Of course, a nice Halloween expansion for NEXT year would be some haunt figs, new rooms, and an expanded Tome/Handbook for more haunts...<grin>. (That's MY suggestion, not implying ANYTHING from AH in that direction...)

--Tim R., Mayhem Minion

[Kit Darkholm]

Thank you very much for the info, twonkbot. That clears up a lot of things. I wondered how the game mechanic would work to make sure that the traitor is a character who is actually playing the game. Now I'm sure that the double-sided character cards has something to do with it.

Regarding possible expansions to the game, I couldn't agree with you more. New rooms, haunts and Tome/Handbooks would be awesome. Let's hope that the game will be successful enough to warrant them.

[Mike Selinker]

But it's a nice way to give you 12 characters to play, but only have to include six figs. If they'd gone with 12 distinct figs, they'd be upping the price a bit, so I think this was also done to keep the cost down.

Actually, the real reason is that the characters are all based on archetypes (female and male child, young adult, and adult). We wanted each game to have a mix of these characters, so it wasn't desirable to have two young girl figures. But it was desirable to have more than one choice of young girls. So given that Bruce and Rob had come up with the double sided characters, twelve characters and six figures were the only numbers that made sense.

Mike

[holywolfman]

Besides...I think 6 players should be plenty anyways! (even if you have to use the "same" piece for (2) different characters... NO BIGGIE!)- :p

[Kit Darkholm]

Ok, folks...the house on the hill is open!

Just got back from a comic/gaming store and there it was, in all its eerie glory.

Let the hauntings begin!

[series]

Ok, folks...the house on the hill is open!

Just got back from a comic/gaming store and there it was, in all its eerie glory.

Let the hauntings begin!
...OWNAGE!!!!!!

[moppar]

great, let us know what you think.

[MrE]

As said earlier, this is a game that just cries for expantions, so i think these will come afterwards. Did NE1 ever play Hero Quest? The mechanics seem to be roughly the same and HQ came with 5-6 expantions. Imagine playing the game with twice the tiles, omens, haunts and mosters. That would make for an extremely varied gameplay.

[maelic001]

Or different place settings too, like a haunted ship...

[elbowmaster]

Appreciated, EM, but Bruce is the right guy to write these. He's been working on this game since the mid-1990s, and deserves the attention on this game a lot more than I do.

Mike
where is bruce??? or who is bruce here???

come on bruce!! stop by and feel the love!!

-cheers

-elbowmaster

[Kit Darkholm]

Ok, I was looking at all the room tiles and for the life of me, I thought that the "Underground Lake" tile was incorrectly listed as an upper-house location.

Then I took a closer look at the tile and saw that it appears that the lake is at the bottom and there are two floors of ruined/collapsed blocks around the edges, so the upper-house categorization is right...right?

[twonkbot]

Well, the thing that throws me off about the Underground Lake tile, is that it seems to have the same kind of floor/wall style as most of the basement-centric type tiles. I agree that it's an interesting question, and I haven't yet run into any of the scenarios in which this would actually make a difference.

I also have been running into a few "loopholes" (basically, unclear points) in a few scenarios, and I'd like to be able to discuss these..but I don't want to spoil any scenarios for anybody this soon, before they've gotten a chance to discover them for themselves....but if anyone else has played the "Small Change" scenario, I've got questions on movement of the explorers after they've... "gotten together" (that should be misleading enough for anyone who hasn't played the scenario yet, but obvious to those who have...). If anyone else has played this one, send me an email and let me ask a question or two to clarify....

I can see there's gonna have to be an FAQ for this game somewhere, and it's gonna be 50 different pages, one for each scenario, so the others aren't spoiled...<grin>

---Timothy Rose, Mayhem Minion

[moppar]

if you have a question i think you should start a thread. people who dont want spoilers or hints shouldnt read those topics.

[Zephyr]

if you have a question i think you should start a thread. people who dont want spoilers or hints shouldnt read those topics.

I just put up a new thread to serve this purpose.

-Z