Publisher Ravensburger has unveiled a fourth installment in its award-winning Horrified series of co-op board games, which adds four new legendary monsters to the game, along with a brand new setting and backwards compatibility with the previous three titles.
Revealed to the press on Monday, strategy board game Horrified: World of Monsters swaps its predecessors’ cinema and mythology themes for a more eclectic, steampunky setting which – unlike earlier Horrified titles – allows you to play with all the monsters from previous editions. We’re still getting four new monsters to play with, though – the Sphinx, Yeti, Jiangshi, and Cthulhu – but we don’t yet have any details yet on how they’ll play.
World of Monsters is a cooperative board game for one to five players that plops you and your teammates in a mysterious town built around The Void, a doorway that unites the human world with a number of (considerably more hostile) worlds. Naturally, you’ll be in charge of defending it from all the transdimensional nastiness that spills out of the rift, from ancient temple ruins to mysterious technology – and, of course, a cavalcade of monsters.
Ravensburger says it’s put this together so players can use World of Monsters’ setting as a ‘base’ for dipping into the monsters and content from the other Horrified editions – with The Void allowing creatures from the 2019 original; 2021’s American Monsters; and 2023’s Greek Monsters to emerge from beyond and confront you.
Returning fans will notice cameos from previous editions, but also some changes this time around, including the first ever multi-phase puzzle. The depth of lore and legend surrounding Cthulhu inspired the game’s creators to branch out for that, developing a puzzle that breaches the divide between realms.
“For World of Monsters, we really wanted to use every inch of real estate on the components to grow the Horrified universe,” said Sam Dawson, Art Director at Ravensburger in the publisher’s press release.
“This iteration started as ‘steampunk light’ where analog technology meets magic, but then we added the concept of the Void in the center of town. This acts as a gateway to infinite worlds and timelines. In addition to old tech, you’ll also spot Greek columns and a decaying airliner to impress on players that anything is possible.”
Horrified: World of Monsters will be available from August 1 at Target, Amazon, and many local game stores for $29.99 (£23.66).
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