Welcome to the Frightmare House…
Welcome to the Frightmare House, where vampires, werewolves, goblins and ghouls all gather together to test you and your friends’ bravery. How long can you stay in the house before being frightened? Enter the house, face your fears and see if you can outlast your friends!
Objective
In Frightmares, your objective is to outlast your opponents and stay in the Frightmare House for as long as possible. If you run out of courage, you must leave the house (and the game).
Be the last player standing and you win!
But beware, your “friends” will be trying to frighten you and expedite your departure. So, put on a brave face, gird your loins and prepare to face all types of monsters and evil creatures.
Enter, if you dare, and let the Frightmares begin…
How to Play (placeholder video)
A few of our resident monsters and creatures…
Each of our monsters have a Fright Factor in the upper left corner of the card. This is how “frightening” they are – the higher the Fright Factor, the more frightening the creature and the better chance of causing your opponent to have a Frightmare. There are a total of 28 unique Fright cards in the game, ranging in value from 1 to 13. Which one will give you a Frightmare?
Frightmares tips for the unitiated….
Tip #1 – Go Trick or Treating….you can’t win without Fright cards, so don’t fill your hand with nothing but Trick or Treat cards. Allow room for monsters to join your hand.
Tip #2 – Be careful going for the big fright too soon. Playing higher Fright cards while opponents have a full hand is a risk that often backfires. Lure the defense cards out first, especially the dreaded Dead End cards.
Still in the dark? Don’t be afraid of it…
Let us shine a light on any mysteries still lingering. If our Rule Book doesn’t explicitly outline the rule in question, then we leave it to our players. But here are a few extra tips for some of the more complex cards in our game. If you don’t see the answer, ask us a question. We’ll reach out and settle it for you.
The Undertaker
The Undertaker card allows you to take the last played Fright card or cards and move them to the bottom of the discard pile. The Fright Factor then reverts back to the previous player’s Fright card. We mention “card(s)” in the event a card like Cauldron was played that allowed the previous player to play multiple Fright cards. The goal is to go back to the Fright Factor two turns ago.
Dead End
The Dead End card allows you to avoid your turn and reverse the order of play. When you do this, the player who played before you must play again. It’s basically a way to turn the tables on someone who just played a large Fright card on you. You do not have to play a Fright card. Just play Dead End and smile (ghoulishly).
Extra game modes for the veterans….
The Haunting – When any player is eliminated, they may come back in the game as a spirit. Deal them 7 cards. Spirits do not play by the rules and can play out of turn. Fright cards may be played to replace the current Fright Factor. Treat cards may be given as blessings and Trick cards may be played as curses to players still in the game. Spirits are rejuvenated at each Frightmare and get a new set of 7 cards each time a Frightmare occurs. Will you be a friendly ghost or an evil spirit?
Nightmare Mode – No courage cards, play until you give up. May we recommend waging some trick or treat candy each round – player who causes the Frightmare wins the pot.
Buddy Mode – Don’t want to split up? Wise choice. Grab a buddy and play as a team. You and your pal battle it out against other teams of 2. Play continues as normal, except you and your buddy can play for each other. You can’t beat the Fright Factor? Here comes buddy ole pal to save the day…. each team gets 3 Courage cards between the two buddies.