An Actually Creepy Game

 Happy Halloween!!!

This week I'm offering up a game that is a departure from our cute, fun ghosties. This game actually leans into the whole "creepy, spooky" vibe, and actually largely succeeds. The game is...

That's right. In 1995 Mattel (of Hot Wheels and Barbie fame) released a game for teens through adults that didn't try to make spooky things cute. Let's look inside, shall we?

The bottom of the box....

There are a LOT of written instructions to this game, which is weird because the "official" instructions are on video (more on that later).

This is what you see when you first open the box. It gives a pretty good rundown of how things are set up and the general idea of the game, which is this:

 You are a spooky spook or a creepy creep. You have to journey to the Well of Fears and not pull out your own "worst fear" to win the game. If you pull your own slip, you start over. The real kicker? The whole thing is on a strict timer, and if time runs out, you lose. 

Here is an overview of those creeps you might choose to be...

And if you want more written instructions, here we have the "graphic novel" version.

After all of that, we get to the actual parts of the game...

Here is a (kinda) set up game board. It's pretty big. Those six sections flip over. The "sewers" are on the other side. The Soul Rangers hang out there...

A top down view...

You collect keys as you travel. These keys give you abilities. Not all player's abilities are the same, so everyone gets one of these cards.

Oh, and remember that I said you're not supposed to be cute? Here's what this character looks like...

Each character also has this nifty Quick Reference Card. It sums up things rather nicely.

This is an example of a "Fate" card...

And dueling cards. High card wins, of course.

The Well of Fears. You're supposed to write your worst fear on those slips of paper, but everyone I know just puts their name. It works the same way and you don't have to think...

And this is the kicker. You see, the entire game is overseen by The Gatekeeper, who not only keeps time, but also butts in by yelling "STOP!!!" at weird times and then messing up people's turn. He's on video, so it can be pretty jarring. You don't want it to be your turn when he pops up, so there's some stress there. Also, when he's not around, the tape plays weird music and noises which tend to get to you after a while.

Now, I'm sure all of that was clear as mud, so I found this video to explain it better...

Instructions

Got it? It's really not hard. The actual game instructions are on the videotape, but there's a lot of theatrics so this one was a little clearer.

How does it play? Well, it's fun...but it's also pretty creepy. The background sounds and the Gatekeeper suddenly popping in and not being even slightly cute or nice can wear on you after a while. By the way, they also have the Gatekeeper on DVD and even on You Tube so you don't need a VHS machine any more. 

All in all, although I like this game, I think I prefer the more lighthearted offerings. I guess I'm more of a kid at heart.

Until next time, keep searching for treasure!