Haunted House

I was a weird little girl, into some weird shit, like taxidermy, taking photos of roadkill and horror movies, and because of this I often didn't have a ton of female friends (or really many friends at all) because the stuff I liked was just too "icky" and "strange" and "dark". Because of my strange obsession with all things macabre, it's very sad that I wasn't aware of Haunted House as a child, because holy shit would I have loved it. Just look at the graphics on this box, look at that ghoulish face in the little box at the bottom, and the beautiful black and blue combination of shading on the house itself. The font, the sky and sun. This is an absolute work of art worthy of being framed and hung on a wall.

And the game itself, for a change, doesn't fail to live up to the hype the box creates! At least, design wise, as I can't say from personal experience whether or not this game is fun seeing as I've never actually played it. Released in 1962 by Ideal, and designed by...once again...Marvin Glass, the game offers four players a tour through a spooky mansion filled to the brim with traps and ghosts. One of the most interesting aspects of it is that it doesn't include dice, but instead opted to have an plastic owl spinner that hoots when the lever is pulled. I love just how balls deep in they went with this concept, not turning a blind eye to something even as small as their move randomizer. They really went whole hog with this thing, and committed to the concept, and I can 100% appreciate that level of dedication.

Some doors you open will move you forward to a new spot, furthering your approach to the hidden Jewel in the fireplace that is needed to win the game (between this and Fireball Island board games really liked jewels apparently), and some doors will open to a frightening spook that sends you back in the house, further away from the game winning jewel. This is a very neat way to have a board game that lacks a clear board with a clear route to the destination.

I really love when games don't just have a standard board with a multicolored winding route that leads to the end. I love these big clunky 3D boards like this and Fireball Island. And while there's nothing inherently wrong with a standard board with a standard design layout, I just prefer things with enormous set pieces like this that really prove just how much a work of art a board game, especially one made by such talented designers who care, can be. Games like this, with sets like this, really hammer home just how unlike anything else board games are, and how nothing else, even video games, will ever come close to their artistry, and I say that as a longtime video game player. These are so much more immersive simply because you're actually engaging with a physical aspect instead of a digital aspect, and as someone who makes a living creating things for digital spaces, that might sound a little weird coming from me, but whatever. My point is, board games are art, and games like Haunted House and Fireball Island are absolute perfect examples of why they're art.

So while Haunted House isn't your fairly standard "board" game (in fact one could potentially even argue that it's not even a board game as it doesn't really have a proper board), it's still a super unique piece of game history. Marvin Glass might have been sort of a bastard, and inadvertently become the nemesis of this blog, but I'll be damned if even I can't admit his genius and level of craftsmanship when it came to creating things of pure art.

For gods sake, the colors alone in this thing are a sight to behold. The house itself is black, but the walls are teal, and the interior of the doors are yellow. Just perfect combinations all around. I looked into getting a copy of the game, but the few that are available on eBay run about 150-500 dollars, so that's definitely a no go, sadly. A real shame because I think this would be an absolute blast to play. I dig anything with a real set piece, and this one - though clearly not anywhere near as extensive, expansive or even as detailed as Fireball Island would be 20 years later - is definitely a strong contender in the category. Maybe someday I'll find one at a yard sale though, who knows.

All in all, Haunted House may not be considered a classic, and, hell, it might not even be remembered by those of us outside the sphere of board game geekdom, but it's a beautiful work of art that deserves to be not just admired but also respected. The craftsmanship, for the year this was, is through the roof, and the concept alone is worthy of it being acknowledged more than it is. But that's the way capitalism works, I suppose. Far be it from me to parrot my peers, especially since we don't generally hold all the same beliefs on the matter, but I can't deny the fact that even if you create a true work of art, if it isn't marketable and doesn't make you flush with cash money, you'll likely be forgotten, no matter how good it was. We've allowed capitalism to dictate what is and isn't art, and that's really sad.

Haunted House is a treasure, and I would love to one day one it and put it on a shelf somewhere in my house just as a decorative piece, but alas, until then, my home will never be haunted.

But a girl can dream, can't she?