Board Game Arena

You may know this game by many different title names: Ghost Party, Midnight Party, Escape from the Hidden Castle, or HUGO.
And for a good reason: the game designed by Wolfgang Kramer was first released in 1989 under different names, titles and graphic art in most countries.

Now is the time to play it on Board Game Arena!

Although billed as a children's game, it is enjoyable for adults as a light, fun game.
Each player controls a number of guests at a party, with the number of guests dependent on the number of players. These guests start the round in the spaces of the gallery on the game board, one guest per space; this initial placement is a large part of a player's strategy.

The Phantom (or "Hugo the ghost" in earlier versions) starts in the cellar, then climbs the stairs towards the gallery where the guests circle. The mechanism for the Phantom's movement is simple: on a player's turn, they roll a special die. If they get a number, they moves their pieces; if they roll a ghost, the Phantom moves. This means that with more players in the game, the Phantom moves a lot more frequently, and you must adjust your strategy accordingly.

Once the Phantom has reached the gallery, the guests can start ducking into the adjoining rooms to avoid him, but only one guest per room! A couple of rooms are special in that they add or subtract extra "fright points" from your score. As the Phantom catches up with the remaining guests, they are sequestered on the stair steps, then in the cellar. The first guest caught "earns" the most fright points, with those caught later in the round earning less and less.

Once all the guests have been caught, the fright points are tallied. After playing a predetermined number of rounds, the player with the fewest fright points wins!

You can play it right now, from 2 to 8 players, by clicking here:
https://boardgamearena.com/gamepanel?ga ... ddencastle

Board Game Arena would like to thank Wolfgang Kramer for this nice addition to the platform, and of course the publisher, Amigo, for their autorization.
The game has been developed by VinceS and like usual, he did marvelously, so you can play the game from any devices, anytime, anywhere.

Enjoy the spooky nights, we are close to the end of the Summer of Games Calendar... and many, many surprises await you...

Boo!

The game is a lot of fun. Any word on a physical US release for the new version?

This silly game is a blast - way more fun than I expected!

babylonsean wrote: ↑25 August 2021, 14:17 The game is a lot of fun. Any word on a physical US release for the new version?

It's actually already available for less than $12.
https://www.amazon.com/Escape-Hidden-Ca ... B07CRGVJ5B
This is one of the first boardgames I bought almost 10 years ago and I always pull it out during Halloween. It's a favorite and because it can seat 8, it's a great one to start a party with.

My children's favourite game when they were young, and actually fun for the adults too!

dexdouglas wrote: ↑26 August 2021, 00:04

babylonsean wrote: ↑25 August 2021, 14:17 The game is a lot of fun. Any word on a physical US release for the new version?

It's actually already available for less than $12.
https://www.amazon.com/Escape-Hidden-Ca ... B07CRGVJ5B
This is one of the first boardgames I bought almost 10 years ago and I always pull it out during Halloween. It's a favorite and because it can seat 8, it's a great one to start a party with.

The problem is that version is kind of totally terrible?

After playing here I've ordered a copy from Amazon.de for around $32 USD shipped to Canada

CanuckEddie wrote: ↑26 August 2021, 15:47

dexdouglas wrote: ↑26 August 2021, 00:04

babylonsean wrote: ↑25 August 2021, 14:17 The game is a lot of fun. Any word on a physical US release for the new version?

It's actually already available for less than $12.
https://www.amazon.com/Escape-Hidden-Ca ... B07CRGVJ5B
This is one of the first boardgames I bought almost 10 years ago and I always pull it out during Halloween. It's a favorite and because it can seat 8, it's a great one to start a party with.

The problem is that version is kind of totally terrible?

After playing here I've ordered a copy from Amazon.de for around $32 USD shipped to Canada

Thanks for the info!

At first I thought this was going to be an implementation of Haunted House? (I think that was the title), also a children's game, but more haunted by witches than ghosts. As I recall the idea was to get somewhere or other in the house, but if certain things happen, then a ball gets dropped down the chimney (by Evil Dirty Gertie), which can cause chaos, as it randomly triggers a number of traps and bad things (such as a sweeping broom). It was a bit like mousetrap, IOW, but without having to build the trap.

This also sounds fun, but I would pay to play Haunted House again for fun and nostalgia!