Something a Little Different…
I’m a dad. Single dad, to be specific, to three wonderful daughters. My 17-year-old has really found herself, knows what she likes, and chases what is good for her without much assistance from me. My 11-year-old is still as sassy as ever, and she loves to be included in anything that’s going on. Then there is my 13-year-old.
More than the other two, my middle daughter reminds me of me at that age. Tall and scrawny? Check. Into music that makes her parents cringe? Check. Awkward goth phase? Check. Difficult time discovering where, exactly, she fits in? Check. So, imagine my lack of surprise when she began falling in love with heavy metal and horror. And one of her number one celebrity crushes? Michael Myers.
Really, she digs any dangerous looking dude in a scary mask, but Michael Myers is different because, according to her, he’s “smart, big, and carries that ginormous knife.” So, when the opportunity arose to write a review for Halloween II the Board Game by Trick or Treat Studios, the only thing I could think of was how much my daughter would flip out upon seeing this game. That’s also why, for a good portion of this review, I’ll be interviewing her to get her opinion.
The Concept
Father: Describe what the game is about.
Daughter: Three victims are trying to move around the map in order to find key items and weapons. While searching for these objects, they have to try to not get caught by Michael Myers. Meanwhile, Michael is secretly moving around the map undetected while hunting the players. He can also attack and kill the player characters.
F: How would you say the game compares to the source material?
D: Pretty similar, and just as intense. Players are always cautious of moving around, because, like the movies, Michael can just pop up out of nowhere.
F: Who would you say the game was made for?
D: People who like board games that make you suspicious of another player, and people who are fans of those movies. Also, if you like board games that are challenging and scary, but not too scary, you’d like this game.
The Gameplay
F: Describe the victims’ turns.
D: Players have two actions. They can move around the map, search, or attack. They can also take an Exert token to be able to move faster. The characters also have special abilities which can sometimes give them additional actions.
F: Describe Michael’s turn.
D: Michael has a lot of actions, and as long as he is not in line of sight of the victims, he can do these actions undetected. He can move around in any direction, move long distances in a straight line, and he can attack.
F: What mechanisms did you like?
D: I liked having abilities that allowed you to reroll dice. Michael’s hidden movement was cool. I also liked abilities that gave you additional actions.
F: Which ones did you not like?
D: Some of the weapons required additional cards to use. For example, the gun card needed an ammo card to use it. You could also only have four cards in hand, so needing an additional card to activate another card seemed like it took up a lot of space. The victims also didn’t have much health compared to Michael.
F: What would you have done differently with the gameplay?
D: I would have had better balance between the victims and Michael, increased the hand size, and increased the Exert token limit.
The Production
F: Describe the artwork.
D: The artwork is very detailed. Very comic book style. It looks like lots of effort was put into it.
F: How do you feel about the components?
D: They were pretty average for a board game: tokens, dice, cards, etc. Nothing really stood out except for the dry erase board map and included dry erase marker and eraser.
F: What would you have done differently with the production?
D: What would make this game boomshakalakin’ would be minis. Michael also needs to be hotter. His neck is too long. I also think there should be a player screen for the Michael player, to keep that player’s play area secret.
Final Thoughts
F: Would you play this game again?
D: Yeah
F: Would you recommend this game to a friend?
D: Yeah
F: Overall, on a scale of 1 to 5, how would you rate this game?
D: 4
So, there you have it. My 13-year-old’s opinion on the game is pretty good. What’s my opinion? I think the game was fun. Did I think it was as fun as some other hidden movement games, such as Letters From Whitechapel or War of the Ring? No, but it still delivers a good time. I think the game is simple enough to get going without constantly referring back to the rulebook, yet not so simple as to be boring. It definitely holds its own, and I would definitely play it again.
Halloween II details
- Designer: Emerson Matsuuchi
- Artists: N/A
- Publishers: Trick or Treat Studios
- Release Date: 2024
- Player count : 2 - 4
- Age range : 14+
- Time range : 30 - 60 minutes
- Mechanism(s): Action Points, Hidden Movement, Team-Based Game
- BGG Geek Rating: 8.23684 - converted to Meeple Mountain scale: 4.0.
- More articles about Halloween II.
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