Ravensburger's Horrified series has spent years sending players after famous monsters, and its next stop is one of the most quietly terrifying corners of Dungeons & Dragons: Ravenloft. Horrified: Dungeons & Dragons - Ravenloft lands on 19 July, turning the co-op monster hunt loose in the mist-shrouded land of Barovia.
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Find events near youIf you have not played one before, Horrified is a cooperative game where everyone works together to bring down a roster of monsters before they overwhelm the map. The original, Horrified: Universal Monsters, built by Prospero Hall and released in 2019, became a go-to "everyone can play this" pick because it is tense and thematic without being a brick of rules. Ravenloft is a standalone expansion in the Horrified: Dungeons & Dragons line, playable on its own or folded into the existing D&D box, and it swaps Dracula and the Wolf Man for the Forgotten Realms' own nightmares: the vampire dark lord Strahd von Zarovich, the murderous living doll Carrionette, the swamp witch Baba Lysaga, and the sentient, malevolent Gulthias Tree, each with its own sculpted miniature.
The D&D dressing goes deeper than the villains. You pick from five hero classes, the Ranger, Druid, Sorcerer, Paladin and Warlock, and trigger their abilities by rolling a chunky custom d20, with the number you roll deciding which power fires. It is playable by 1 to 5 and pitched as a co-op the whole table can learn in a sitting.
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Set up your group for freeThe timing is sharp. It lands just weeks after Wizards' own Ravenloft: The Horrors Within sourcebook put Barovia back in the spotlight, so Strahd's domain is having a real moment. It retails for $34.99, around £28. Co-ops like this are some of the easiest games to introduce people to, since nobody is getting crushed by a veteran, so it is a natural pick for a learn-to-play night. Gather a few friends, hunt a vampire, and if you want a bigger table, list a game night and see who turns up.
Sources: BoardGameGeek | ICv2
