Quick Links
Betrayal at House on the Hillis the perfect Halloween board game. It’s creepy, terrifying at times, and perfect for B horror movie lovers of all kinds. In the game, you’ll first work cooperatively as a team to explore a macabre mansion fittingly positioned on a hill. Then, midway through the game, a betrayal will occur, and players will end up on opposite teams.
The game’s concept, on its face, is simple enough. But, truthfully, Betrayal is a complicated game. That’s why we’ve created this guide to break down everything you need to know about Betrayal at House on the Hill.
What’s Different Between Editions?
There are three editionsof Betrayal at House on the Hill, as well as various off-shoots. Overall,most of the core mechanics of the games are the samebetween editions.
However,there are some differences, though the below adjustments have mainly to do with balance, and don’t affect the overall turn of play.
New Rules In Third Edition
If you’ve played the second edition before, and are new to the third edition, which is the most recent version of the game,here’s a breakdown of the new rules.
Details
Scenario Cards
The haunt is determined by a Scenario Carddrawn at the top of the game, rather than randomly via the Haunt Matrix.
Different Haunt Rolls
When determining if the Haunt begins, you nowroll one diefor each Omenon the board, andif the result is five or higher, the Haunt will begin.
New Terms
There are some new termsexplained on the cards and in the rulebook, includinggeneral damage, heal, bury, critical, special actions, and line of sight.
No Stealing
You may no longer steal itemsunless the Haunt rules say so directly.
Turns End Differently
While you may end your turn at any time voluntarily,your turn now ends automatically when you discover and place a new room tile.
When you discover a new room, you must resolve any effects on the room tile, draw a card if you are required to do so, and resolve the effects on that card.
Read Intros First
Before the Haunt begins,both Survivors and Traitors will read their introductions before splitting off into separate rooms.
Actions Are Open Info
When you take actions, the other team can ask you to explain what you are doing; no information can be kept secret in this manner for the purposes of strategy.
Corpses
When you die during the Haunt, your explorer remains on the tile where you died, and other explorers may take Items and Omens.
How To Set Up Betrayal
To set up a game of Betrayal at House on the Hill,follow the below steps.
How To Play Betrayal
The gameplay of Betrayal at House on the Hill isbroken up into two phases, one of which is cooperative and one of which is competitive.
Exploration Phase
Before the Haunt begins,players are all on the same side and play cooperatively. You cannot die, and your stats cannot be reduced below their minimum to the skull.
Throughout the game, your stats will change, so make sure to use the trackers given to you and place them on your character card.
In this phase, youtake turns exploring the houseand discovering rooms. To do so, simplymove any number of spaces equivalent to your speed stat.
When you reach a doorway, you may ‘discover’ a room by flipping over a room tilefrom the stack that corresponds to the level of the house you’re on, either basement, ground floor, or upper floor.
Place the room, connecting the doorways on each tile to one another, and move into the room. From there,follow the steps below.
In this phase,players will take turns discovering or building the house room by room, gaining Items and Omens, adjusting their stats as so, and making haunt rolls.
On your turn,you can also trade with charactersin the same room as you,or use any special actionsgranted to you by your Items or Omens.
Lastly, during this phase,when you draw an Omen, you’ll have to make a Haunt roll.
Simplyroll the number of dice equal to the number of Omensthat players have drawn, and, if the die landson a five or higher, the Haunt will begin.
The Haunt Phase
Once the Haunt is triggered,the game becomes competitive. One player, known as the Haunt Revealer, will determine which haunt will be played.
The Haunt can begin very early in the game if you get unlucky, so prepare for the worst but hope for the best.
Take the Scenario Card that you selected and find the name of the last Omen drawn on the cardwhich helps to determine the following:
Overall,there are four different kinds of Hauntsyou will play.
These arecharacterized by the number of Traitors, and who takes on the role of the Traitor, if anyone.
How The Haunt Works
Every single Haunt ruleset in Betrayal is different from one another, and each one has special victory and loss conditions. In some Haunts, you’ll work as a team, while in others, you’ll all be out for yourself.
If you have played the Haunt you selected before, you can always pick another one at random by drawing another Omen card from the deck.
But, all Haunts have one thing in common, you will need toread the rule set for the Haunt carefully after it is revealed.
Here’s a breakdown ofwhat you should do once the Haunt is revealed.
Determine Haunt
As mentioned above, firstuse your Scenario Card to determine both who the Traitor is and what kind of Haunt you’re playing.
Separate Traitors And Survivors
Next,read the introductions from both the Traitor’s Tome and the Secrets of Survival(handed out to the Traitor and Survivors, respectively).
After introductions are read,separate into two roomsor separate spaces. Survivors should read their instructions together, while the Traitor should read theirs individually.
Set Up Haunt
After the rules are read and understood by both sides, the Traitor should return andmake any adjustments to the house or board.
For example, some Haunts require additional tokens to be placed, a time tracker to be installed, and more.
In the case of there being no Traitor players may all stick togetherin the same room and read the rules together.
How To Win As Survivors
Ultimately,winning a game of Betrayal as the Survivors is going to depend on the rulesyou’re given. Most Haunts, however, require at least one Survivor to stay alive to win.
With that in mind,here are some basic tips and tricks to win:
How To Win As The Traitor
Similarly to winning as the Survivors,winning as the Traitor will always depend on the victory conditions laid out for you.However, usually, your goal is to accomplish a task within a time limit or kill the Survivors.
