‘Horrified: Greek Monsters’ Brings Classical Beasts to Your Tabletop

Horrified haunted tabletops beginning in 2019 with its collection of monsters from Universal movies such as Dracula, the Wolfman, and Frankenstein’s monster. Two years later, Horrified; American Monsters was released. This time the monsters were famous cryptids from the various regions of the United States including Big Foot, the Mothman, Chubucaabra, and more. However, some of the most famous and well-known monsters are those who terrorized people and were defeated by great heroes in the mythology of ancient Greece. Now players can work together to take on these dangerous creatures in the latest game in the Horrified series: Horrified: Greek Monsters.

What Is Horrified: Greek Monsters?

Horrified: Greek Monsters is a cooperative game for 1–5 players, ages 10 and up, and takes about 60 minutes to play. In this game, players take on the roles of heroes who must defeat classical monsters from Greek mythology. It’s currently available from Target, local and online game stores, and from Amazon. and sell for $34.99 for a copy of the game. Horrified: Greek Monsters was designed by Mike Mulvihill and published by Ravensburger, with illustrations by Ann-Sophie De Steur, George, Doutsiopolous, Raph Herrera Lomotan, Victor Maristane, and Tom Moore.

As you open the box, this message awaits you. Photo by Michael Knight.

Horrified: Greek Monsters Components

Here is what you get in the box:

— 1 Gameboard

— 6 Monster figures

— 6 Monster mats

— 30 Monster cards

— 26 Monster tokens

— 20 perk cards

— 7 Hero tiles

— 7 Hero standees

— 10 Legend standees

— 60 Item tokens

— 1 Item bag

— 1 Terror marker

— 1 Frenzy marker

— 4 Lair tokens

— 3 Dice

— 5 Reference cards

The gameboard is a map of an island. Photo by Michael Knight.
The gameboard represents a map of a Greek island divided into 24 different locations. These locations are connected to each other by paths. The terror track is positioned across the top of the gameboard.

The monster miniatures. Image courtesy of Ravensburger.
The six monsters in the game are represented by detailed miniatures, each in their own color.

Three of the monster mats complete with their tokens for the challenges. Photo by Michael Knight.
Each monster has their own monster mat. At the top ae three symbols that correspond to monster cards. If these symbols match the active monster card, then that monster activates that turn. Below the symbols is a brief summary of how to defeat that monster. The text beneath the ‘!’ describes the monster’s power which activates when that symbol is rolled on a die during attack. Each monster also has a unique frenzy order number from 1–6. The lower half of the mat is used when advancing a challenge and requires tokens to be either placed or removed from the mat as part of step 1. Then step 2 describes what a hero just do to finally defeat the monster after the challenge has been completed.

The monster cards can have legends or monsters on them. Photo by Michael Knight.
A monster card is drawn each turn during the monster phase. It is divided into three parts. The number at the top is the number of items that are drawn from the item bag and placed on the map. The middle text is the event that must be resolved during that phase. Finally the row at the bottom provides information to determine which monsters activate, how far they can move, and how many dice they roll during an attack.

Perk cards can really come in handy. You will need to use them to win the game. Photo by Michael Knight.
Perk cards can provide powerful effects for the heroes. Every player begins the game with one perk card and they can earn additional perk cards by escorting legends to their designated locations on the map.

Some of the standees for the heroes and the legends. Photo by Michael Knight.
Heroes and legends are represented on the board by standees. Players take on the roll of a hero while legends come into play as an event on a monster card. The players must protect the legends from the monsters and help them get across the board to their destination.

Here are samples of three of the hero tiles. Photo by Michael Knight.
There are seven different heroes and each has their own hero tile. These list the name of the role of the hero, the number of actions they may take during the hero phase, the location where they start the game, and their favor of the gods ability which they can use as an action during their turn.

The four lair tokens. Not all monsters have a lair. Photo by Michael Knight.
Four of the six monsters have lairs. These are represented by lair tokens and are placed facedown in four different locations on the gameboard. Players must spend items with a total of 3 strength in order to flip over the lair and reveal to which monster it belongs.

The item bag and the 60 item tokens. Photo by Michael Knight.
The sixty item tokens are divided into three colors representing different types of items. There is an image of the item, a location where it is placed, and a number which represents the strength of the item. Though each token is unique, the items act generically since their color and strength are what are used during the game. This is similar to the two previous Horrified games. One issue I had with the item tokens was the color choices: yellow, blue, and teal. Since color is the only thing that divides up the items, having blue and teal as choices could be an issue for players who are color-blind. The game includes a vinyl bag with printing on it. I liked that it is stiff so it can stand upright so it is easy to draw tokens from it.

The custom dice, the movers, and the reference cards. Photo by Michael Knight.
The terror marker is used to keep track of the terror level for for the game while the frenzy marker is placed on one of the monster mats to show which monster is currently frenzied. The three dice have blank faces as well as hit or power icons on the other faces. They are used when a monster attacks as well as during some of the challenges the heroes must complete to get to where they can defeat the monster. Finally, the reference cards are quite useful as one side lists the actions which can be taken during the hero phase while the reverse side lists the steps to be taken during the monster phase.

How to Play Horrified: Greek Monsters

The Goal

The goal of the game is for the players to defeat all of the monsters on the gameboard.

Setup

Start off by setting up the monsters. Position the gameboard in the middle of the play area and shuffle the four Lair tokens face down before placing them on the gameboard in the spaced with the ‘Lair Token’ icon them them. Place the Terror marker on the 0 space on the terroir track at the top of the gameboard. Shuffle the Monster cards and put them in a face down pile to the side of the gameboard. After deciding which monsters to play with, place the corresponding monster mats next to the board in order of their frenzy level and place the Frenzy marker on the monster with the lowest frenzy value. Now follow the individual setup instructions for each monster which is located on the back of all the monster mats.

Now it is time to setup the players. Put the 10 legend standees off to the side of the board. Each player chooses the hero they would like to play and takes the corresponding hero tile, standee and a reference card. Place the standees in the starting location listed on the hero tiles. Next shuffle all of the perk cards. Deal one to each player and place the remaining in a face down pile near the gameboard. Put all of the item tokens in the item bag and shake it to mix them up. Finally, draw 12 item tokens and place them in the locations listed on the tokens. You are now ready to begin the game.

A three-player game setup and ready to play. Photo by Michael Knight.
Gameplay

The game is played in turns with each player taking a turn and then proceeding to the player to the left. Each player’s turn is divided into two phases: the Hero phase and the Monster phase. Let’s take a look at each individually.

Hero Phase

During this phase, a player can perform the number of actions listed on their hero tile. They can perform actions in any order can even perform the same action more than once. The Move action lets a player move along a path to an adjacent location. If any Legends are in the same location as the hero, they may move along with the hero as part of the move action. Guide allows a player to move one Legend from the hero’s location to an adjacent location or from an adjacent location into the hero’s location. Players can use a Pick Up action to take any number of items from the hero’s current location. When more than one hero is at the same location, the Share action lets them exchange any number of items they may have. When a hero is at the location of an unknown lair, they may use the Reveal Lair action to flip over the lair token. The Advance action allows a player to use their items to advance a monster’s challenge. Then once the challenge has been completed, they may take a Defeat action to use items to defeat a monster. Finally, players can use one action to perform their Favor of the Gods special action listed on their player tile.

Legends may appear at various locations around the gameboard during a game. The heroes must help them get to the location listed on their standee. They will be rewarded with a Perk card. However, if a monster gets a hit on a Legend, they are immediately removed from the board and the terror marker is moved up one space.

The Mariner returns Jason safely to the port and receives a perk card as a reward. Photo by Michael Knight.
Four of the monsters have a lair. The other two do not have lairs. Before advancing a challenge, the lair of those four monsters must be revealed. There may be lairs revealed for which there are no monsters. In those cases, just remove the lair token. Otherwise follow the directions on the monster mat. Each monster has some type of challenge the players must complete. These challenges will usually require several turns to complete and involve using items. After the challenge is completed, then players can try to defeat the monster by using items. While advancing a challenge can take place over several turns, the defeat action requires the player to use all of the items needed to defeat the monster in one action. This may take some preparation and sharing so that the player has the right types of items to finally defeat the monster. Once a monster is defeated, it is removed from the gameboard.

The heroes defeat the basilisk by depositing items at the four temples. They can then use those, each with a +2 value, along with what ever items they have to get a total strength of 30 while in the same location as the monster. Photo by Michael Knight.
Monster Phase

After a player has expended all of their actions, it is time for the monsters to act. During this phase, the active player draws the top card from the monster deck and resolves the three parts of the card from top to bottom. First look at the item icon at the top and draw that many items from the bag and place them in the locations listed on the item tokens. Second, read aloud the event text below the image and resolve it. It may direct you to take an action with a monster, a legend, or even a hero. Finally, follow the directions for the monster attack found at the bottom of the card. The symbol or symbols let you know which monster or monsters to activate, how far to move them, and how many attack dice they roll if they end up in the same location as a hero or legend.

When attacking, the active player rolls the indicated number of dice. The monster’s power is activated for each ‘!’ symbol rolled. A hit is scored for each hit icon. Blank faces on a die are misses. If a legend is hit, it is removed from the board and the terror marker is moved up one. If a hero is hit, they must discard a item for each hit. Otherwise, they are defeated and removed from the board and the terror marker is also moved. A player may choose to take the hits rather than discard an item. At the start of that hero’s next turn, they are placed at the Temple of Nyx location and take their turn as normal. They do not lose any items or perks for being defeated.

Game End

The game can end in three different ways. If the players defeat all of the monsters, they win. However, if the terror level reaches the maximum, then everyone is too horrified to continue and they lose. Also, if the monster deck is empty when a player is required to draw a card, the players also lose because they took too much time.

Why You Should Play Horrified: Greek Monsters

The Christmas of 2019, I gave the original Horrified to both of my brothers and their families and one of them gave the game to me. My family enjoyed playing the game and defeating all of the classic Universal Studios monsters. It has been a couple years since I played that game so when I received a copy of Horrified: Greek Monsters I was excited to try it out and see how it compared to the original. As a child, I enjoyed reading about Greek mythology and the game really took me back to those stories of heroes and monsters. First off, the game looks great. The components are colorful and have nice looking art on them. The monster minis are well-sculpted and in different colors for easy identification during the game. I like the fact that the bag can stand upright so players can easily reach in and grab item tokens with just one hand.

While the game has a nice table presence, the gameplay of Horrified: Greek Monsters is just as good as the original. Those who have played one of the two previous versions of the game will feel right at home with the rules. The main difference is the addition of lairs. Four of the six monsters require you to find their lair and then use its location to help defeat them. This requires heroes to travel to the edges of the map to uncover the lairs before you can begin advancing the challenges. I enjoy cooperative games and Horrified: Greek Monsters provides fun mechanics to allow players to work together. Since escorting legends to their destinations not only provides perk cards, but keeps them from being defeated by the monsters, the ability to guide legends makes it easier to hand off legends to other players. Plus as you collect items, you may need to exchange some with other heroes so they have the types they need to complete challenges or defeat monsters. I found that the perk cards can be quite useful. One lets you move a hero four spaces, while others provide two additional actions or let you skip the monster phase which can come in handy if heroes near the monsters can’t afford to be attacked. Many of the perks allow you to help other players and not just yourself, so communication between players is key.

For our first game, we had three players and followed the suggestion of playing only two monsters: the Basilisk and Cerebrus. Normally you would play with three monsters for a standard game and then four for a greater challenge. During the first few turns, two of our heroes were defeated since they were attacked ferociously before they had enough item tokens to defend themselves. It looked bad as we were moving the terror marker a few spaces right at the start. While we were able to defeat the two monsters, we only had a maximum of three turns left. If Cerebrus had used his special ability as a result of an attack or monster card, those could have causes us to discard monster cards and possibly cost us the game. As we played against three random monsters in subsequent games, we lost one game and barely won the other. I like the balance of the game and that it keeps it challenging. I also like how each monster has their own unique challenges you must complete and then different ways of defeating them. For example, once you open the door to the Underworld, you just need to move Cerebrus back to the doorway to defeat the three-headed canine.

After opening the door to the Underworld at the lair, the heroes use teal items to move Cerebrus to the door to return him to Hades. Photo by Michael Knight.
Since it had been a while since I had played the original Horrified, Horrified: Greek Monsters seemed fresh yet familiar. We had a lot of fun playing it and there was a lot of tension at times when the monsters went on the attack and rolled lots of hits, either defeating heroes or forcing us to discard several items we had spent several actions collecting. I find the cooperative nature of the game helps foster communication among the players and keeps everyone engaged, even when it is not their turn. Plus, the turns go quickly and when it is the monster phase, it could be any hero that the monsters go after. If you enjoyed any of the previous games in the series, then you will have fun playing Horrified: Greek Monsters. If you have not yet played any of these games, then Horrified: Greek Monsters is a great place to start. I really enjoyed the game and recommend Horrified: Greek Monsters. It can be a great game to play during get togethers with friends and family and also makes a great gift.

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