HORRIFIED: AMERICAN MONSTERS Is Monster Hunting Fun
Horrified: American Monsters is the latest Horrified game from Ravensburger that was sent to me to review. This new one takes the same basic mechanics but introduces a new board, cast of characters, and of course distinctly American monsters. Basically, players work together to defeat the monsters before they destroy the town and everyone in it.
The game itself is the same great quality I’ve come to expect from Ravensburger. The artwork is lovely, the board, pieces, and cards are all solid construction, and the minis of the monsters are great. I did appreciate that this board is more fitting of the time period for these monsters, instead of being stuck in the past like you are for Universal monsters, this one takes you further into the future and has a more 80s and 90s feel. It makes me feel like I’m playing an adventure from a supernatural Goonies or something like that.
The monsters are the reason to play this game. You get a choice between the Chupacabra, the Banshee of the Badlands, Mothman, the Ozark Howler, Bigfoot, and the Jersey Devil. The suggestion of starting with the Chupacabra and the Banshee is good for those brand new to the game, but veteran players like myself should feel free to jump right into any two monsters you would like to start with. All of them are really distinct from the previous Horrified which I really appreciate, this isn’t just a reskin of the old monsters but has entirely new mechanics. For example, the Jersey Devil requires the players to figure out which citizen it is by uncovering clues about its identity. Each clue can be found in the picture on the citizen card and is completely randomized so that it will change up every game. Once I got the hang of how to play against it, I loved having the Jersey Devil as an adversary. It was challenging but fun as it kept destroying and replacing clues to its identity.
Now for the one real criticism I have for this game, the one really confusing rule. Bigfoot is a pretty fun monster to play with, but it’s monster mat that is used as a reference for the game contradicts its writeup in the rulebook. Bigfoot leaves footprints for players to pick up to reveal parts of the picture that will expose it to the world. But it is very unclear if picking up a footprint will also reveal the picture in the same action, or if you need to spend another action in order to uncover the photograph piece. When each player only has a few actions in a turn, it is a really important distinction to make, so hopefully they will come out with a clarification. But just know going into a game where you track down Bigfoot you will want to make a ruling about that at the start to avoid confusion.
Overall, this game is really fun. Cooperative games are my favorite and this one, though simple, is very fun. It makes for a pretty chill game night and is a nice easy introduction to somewhat more complex games. The first game I played with it we could not get the citizens to safety as they would spawn directly next to a monster and be immediately attacked. While a little frustrating, it turned out to be pretty funny after it happened the third time. And that’s what’s really nice about this game, even though certain aspects get frustrating, it will still end up being a fun game. I give it an 8/10, it is just as fun as the original Horrified but gets a deduction for that confusing rule.
