I work in a boardgame shop in London, and I remember my jaw dropping when Spice walks in whilst I'm talking to a customer about magic aha. Got to suggest a bunch of boardgames for them to try out and a couple even made it into this video! Was very cool meeting them irl
One of your complaints about Final Girl is always knowing where the killer is. One of the boxes, the one with the Evomorph, has a mechanic where the killer will disappear and you need to hunt them down before they ambush you and murder you to death.
@@Spice8Rack unfortunately it doesn’t do much to address your other criticisms, so I can’t really recommend that you spend more money on it, but hopefully the info can help others decide on their purchase.
@@Spice8Rackonestly, every expansion plays a little differently and have their own quirks. The carnival box that you have is notable for how often large amount of bystanders can be randomly wiped from the board (as you’ve noticed). Other boxes might give you a different enough experience to change your mind about the game. The Bird mini-expansion, for example, starts with low terror but benefits from early movement, which can change the first turn strategy you mentioned. But at the end of the day, I will have to agree that the general “shape” of a play remains very similar to one another regardless of the scenario, and your core issues like component fiddlyness, solo book keeping and pure random BS are core to the experience. If you are so inclined and have the opportunity, giving another box (except the haunted house…) a play might change your impression. It did for me when I thought that I “solved” the game by getting used to my first scenario.
As per tradition I will have to have multiple different people explain the rules of this video to me while talking over each other. This explanation will take more time than just playing the video.
It hasn't even been a year and I've already lost 2 of the custom dice and the last page of the rules, so I'm going to have to wing it when I get to the outro.
I agree completely. Being a blind person who relied on a friend over Discord to read dialogue, describe the map and interactable objects, and carry out the plays I told him during matches, created the immersive experience Spice was seeking out during this video until he found The Night Cage. Even more so, because the first act feels relatively minimalistic visually: all you have to go off of, until you are told to get up from the table--and hell, even after you know that you can--are what you see and what you're told. The first few minutes, where all you have are your starter deck, and the narration delivered by someone you can't even see, are so effective. Watching sighted LPers experience Inscryption for the first time made me realize how the opening makes you feel blind.
This is one of the most generous, thoughtful, and engaged reviews I’ve seen of The Night Cage. I love how clearly and completely you grokked its design goals. I’m so glad you enjoyed it, and we’re excited to share more of it with y’all very soon.
This video sold me on getting a copy of it! Amongst my friends I'm notorious for loving co-op games, and have been trying to expand the diversity of my collection. Plus have some younger folks in my life that will eventually be getting old enough for facing spookier things like dread, existential horror, and capitalism.
Not the topic I expected from Spice, but one I am super ok with. And by ok I mean " Oh my, this is exactly my kinda video. And it's two hours? By my fav tuber!?" I really needed this.
i feel like the night cage would very well benefit from online integration with voice-only calls, at least with complete silence rules active. nothing feels more isolating than being in a discord call where everyone is muted, it feels like playing a game by yourself, surrounded by NPCs, until one of them comes to life for a brief second.
The Night Cage sounds like exactly the kind of thing I would want to subject my friends to - I mean play with them. And now I am VERY curious about Escape the Dark Castle, please do make a video about that! Have you ever played the TTRPG Mörkborg? It's a very good apocalyptic fantasy game, where your character feels genuinely fragile and helpless, and like you're in WAY over your head at all times, would recommend as a sorta-kinda horror RPG.
Ey, I live in Sweden, and my uncle knows one of the designers of Mörk Borg, I'm always happy when people in completely different communities just mention that game. Like, it feels so unreal to first hear about a project like this casually, and not knowing if it will go anywhere, to seeing it mentioned online, when playing League of Legends, and when watching a Spice8Rack video.
It’s a weird and special feeling knowing creators you enjoy like other creators you enjoy. I’m glad we share an appreciation of Brennan Lee Mulligan, Spice
This is the first new video you’ve released since I discovered you through the professor, really looking forward to watching it! Hope you are feeling better Spice
Betrayal at House on the Hill is great. My friend in high school had an uncle that worked on the game, and we got to sit down and play a beta version in lieu of our normal D&D session. D&D night became Betrayal night for a while. Edit: The Babadook/Bluey joke was amazing and let no one tell you differently.
Please please please tell us about escape the dark castle. It would be an absolute treat to hear about your favorite board game. I'm glad that you are feeling better as well! All good health to you and your nights of inescapable board game induced horror
2:17 The Royal Game of Ur is a mesopotamian board game estimated to be almost 5000 years old, so I'd say you're about in the ballpark with your statement.
Easily one of the best videos you've ever made Spice, would love to hear you talk more about board games horror related or otherwise (especially warhammer) and hope you're feeling better
Would love to see the follow up featuring Dark Castle, but I would also be very interested in a companion video that delves as deep into Horror TTRPGs such as Ten Candles, Call of Cthulhu, Mork Bork, and Kult.
I'll be honest the scariest thing so far is hearing that you have a unfinished silent king model. That boi doesn't belong unfinished, and a flayed one king sounds fantastic. If you need inspiration I highly recommend reading the novel series Twice Dead King; the premier novels for flayed one lore
hello spice8rack thank you for the video i hope you are feeling a bit better and going through less stuff. i am now going to inhale this 2 hours of video alongside my breakfast this morning
The video I didn't know I desperately needed Edit: When you revealed one of my all-time favorite board games, I legit jumped with excitement, I've always played it off for dark humor but god, the paranoia and fevered desperation of knowing the police are coming and digging yourself into an ever deeper hole of madness and morbidity, *chef's kiss*
I always love how you break things down in your videos so I am led to actually think about what you're talking about while grinning like a fool at your jokes and antics. You struck to the core of what I found unsatisfying in the Betrayal games, then pointed me directly to the exact kind of games I have been craving. Also, nice catch! I've done the same thing while vacuuming!
I finished this video and it was really good!! Honestly as someone who's fallen off of Magic I really appreciate seeing your channel move in a different direction!
I kinda ended up falling off of MtG a while back so seeing you cover something like this was a very pleasant surprise. Would love to see you cover more topics relating to non-MtG games, as this was brilliant!
Only the Arkham Horror Card Game can achieve the meta-textual terror of me realizing how much time and money I spend to sleeve, sort, and binder my collection
Never heard of the night cage before this, definitely going to add it to my board game collection, my friends wont see it coming. Hope you get over this string of illnesses soon and it would be great if you did more board game content in the future.
My favorite tabletop horror experiece is Dread, which is an rpg, but I think it does the horror game idea in a perfect way. The first time I ran a Dread story, I worried I won't be able to pull it and fall short; but during the climax of the story players were in visible fear of proceeding forward, and was an overall success (even if I made some mistakes).
@@Spice8Rack it was wonderful. I'm certainly going to be watching it again. If you want the main game I create content in/about. It's Kingdom Death: Monster, which has a Cronenberg horror vibe.
Having now watched the video due to the magic of 1.5x Speed, I would absolutely love to hear about Escape the Dark Castle! Favourite board game is quite a title and it looks intriguing. I also generally greatly appreciate the thematic variety and am interested in more board game content in general! You've certainly sold me on trying The Night Cage and I'll suggest it to my friends. Fantastic Video!
"Horror Boardgames | The Anatomy of Terror's Least Likely Home" oh that sounds neat, i'll probably watch that later. "spice8rack" oh, that's what I'm doing now then. "over 2 hours" fuck YES. love content from my favorite fellow it/them/any
I haven't even started the video, but I love seeing spooky content with enough time to get the games before October instead of smack in the middle of it.
Hey Spice, my partner and I are long-time watchers of this channel and we love your work. As we grow further from WOTC and the mighty grip of Hasbro over our favorite card game, we’re incredibly excited by this upload and greatly anticipate future board game media analysis from you. Speaking personally, dressing up as Dracula every Halloween is making me want to look into Escape the Dark Castle myself. I’d love to see more of this.
1) “Everyone loves a brave lion but no one has ever seen a rat-skin rug” was such a brilliant line that I shared this vid immediately just for that. 2) I spent the latter parts of this video with ‘Escape from the Aliens’ and ‘The Night Cage’ in a shopping cart waiting for the moment where I could feel confident that yes these would be amazing experiences.
This was amazing. Thank you, ordering Night Cave and Escape from etc today! I love horror boardgames, but they're rarely actually spooky(hasn't stopped me from sinking days into the 80 different versions of Arkham Horror). Please please do a companion piece on your favorite horror game!
Update - both games are such a joy, and you did not lie about the creeping dread of the night cage. When I asked the people I introduced the game to if it held its promise of spookyness their answers were medium, but then noone wanted to go to the bathroom without previously turning on all the lights on the way, so I'd say mission accomplished 😸
I find this preferable to MtG content, it feels a LOT more personal, and I would love to see more things like this! On the topic of horror, I kind of feel like Sheepy Time has an unintended "horror" aspect kind of like Final Girl, where you're trying to avoid a kind of automa, but it's multiplayer and you're all in this big game of chicken trying to avoid the threat while making sure you don't fall behind.
In terms of Horror games that play on Betrayal, Nemesis springs to mind as an interesting example. Nemesis is a Alienish board game where each player has a secret win condition dealt to them at the start of the match, which can range from escape with a specific item to murder a specific player to blow up the ship. This element of inconsistent social deduction leads to games where you can very much be effectively betrayed, or have the shifty guy you don't trust turn out to be benevolent before getting violently torn apart by aliens.
i was so intrigued by the title of the video alone and it’s length, THEN saw it was spice8rack and clicked immediately. great video! i’ve been getting into horror literature lately so your analysis of horror came at the perfect time for me. ❤
We play Betrayal whenever we get 4 or more of us together. My favorite haunts are the ones that aren't player controlled like the flooding or the one where a bird just takes the entire mansion.
I'm around 1:15:00, and this talk about how you in many ways cease to exist outside of your turn's action in a game about secret movement and aliens reminded me so very much of the original three Xcom games, and their "hidden movement" screens where you just heard the alien's sounds with a still picture of somebody stalked by an extraterrestrial creature that wants to give them a big hug full of teeth.
I almost can't believe Nemesis didn't get in. Admittedly, it's incredibly expensive, but also, it's easily The horror board game experience, provided noone in the group hates Alien. And it works because it's a huge and a very dangerous environment that you most likely won't be able to deal with alone... But the secret goals necessary for victory will also immediately put you at odds with other players. Funnily enough, one rule that actually elevates it is the rule that you can't attack other players directly, meaning that even actively hostile moves can often seem impersonal, while moves that are actually impersonal perceived with intense paranoia. And that is coupled with the main action mechanism that's really smart, and *incredibly* anxiety inducing even if the game around it wasn't actively trying to kill you. Nemesis is genuinely a board game masterpiece, a horror masterpiece, AND a board game horror masterpiece.
I think the discussion of the definition of horror helped me articulate something that I couldn't really articulate in the Lorwyn video. Namely, that I think I like Innistrad because I don't think of it as horror. It is a setting that contains various spooky creatures, but I see them as less like the monsters in horror fiction that they are obviously supposed to emulate, and more like a Creature Commandos comic. They stop being monsters and start being goofy superheroes and villains with an aesthetic I enjoy. This is helped along by how, at least recently, a lot of references to Innistrad focus on how normal all the plane's residents are to each other. The Phyrexian invasion in recent lore, for example, doesn't cause the same kind of disruption it does in other planes because the sky yawning open to spew forth oil and abominations doesn't strike the typical Innistradi resident as anything more than a somewhat unusual bit of weather. It's turned into a joke, and it's a joke I enjoy. (That being said, this does also make Innistrad a poor choice for attempting to tell a genuine cosmic horror story, so the whole Emrakul saga does fall down a bit there. The aftermath where the moon is now haunted, however, does absolutely improve the vibes of the plane)
Id love to see a video that dives into Into the Dark castle. Plus it could be fun of you doing a run through of it with the premise of you trying to escape it as you desperately look for a room that is safe and has good acoustics to continue your discussion of board games. Though you just going through a run of the game while talking about board games in general would be also veey engaging.
Went to my local used bookstore, which at this point is basically just a thrift store without clothes, and found a copy of The Night Cage for $25. A day after watching this video, which I thoroughly enjoyed. I bought it and am now looking for a way to get it to the table.
So, I got to meet the lead designer for this game at my local LGS. I was the lead for our board game department and this was the game he brought to demo so we would carry more of them. It was starkly different from all the other games he had and was a smash hit at the store. I absolutely love it and glad to see it getting some well deserved lime light!
this was excellent, i have paid betrayal but now i really wanna play night cage! would love more board game videos, or even some coverage of horror TTRPGs! Dread and Heart the City Beneath are both excellent games that are always stuck in my brain despite not having much opportunity to actually play them. And now I have added 10 Candles to that list. Cheers and hopefully your health decides to be less wacky going forward
Never thought I'd come across a Chungle-down Bim reference in a horror video, but it fits so perfectly for this video. We all relate to fabian in one way or another
I deeply enjoy your Dutch-angled take on philosophical concepts. So often I'm not sure whether to raise eyebrow at the fractally intricate nuances, or to take some of the more absurdist lines as surface jokes. Either way, I appreciate you, Spice.
Oh boy! I get to see a long essay just after it's dropped! Now, a dilemma. Do I watch all of it, before thinking of something witty and profound to say? Or do I just fire off a funni and not at all stale joke before the intro's done? Maybe a fun and totally original remark about that damage vs. infect video?
loved this video!! also have you listened to The Magnus Archives? its a super good narrative fiction horror podcast that leans on late-stage capitalism to evoke horror, it kinda reminds me of your whole **gestures vaguely** brand
How unsurprising, the person using Meeple Puppet is excited about a thing about board games. You've sold me on wanting to pick up the Aliens game. I tend not to be so hot about games that involve lying/bluffing but that one sounds absolutely lovely!
I'm glad you made this video. I'm a big board game guy and TH-cam threw this video into my recommendations. I want several of these games, and I've been able to watch through most of your other fun videos too. Glad to have found this channel!
So excited to finally see this! When you released the script to patrons my partner went out and bought Aliens and Night Cage immediately and we've been absolutely loving Night Cage ever since. Would love to hear more board game breakdowns.
Spice, your content enraptured me with Magic the Gathering as it was always very acessible despite never knowing what the game was about. That was, in part, due to the broader topics you chose with some videos, but it was mostly due to your charisma, well written scripts and amazing humor. After seeing your games in the Professor's channel back when they first released because of you, I got into actually playing Magic, and have thus introduced it to my s/o and friend group, and we all love it. After watching this video and your last one (as a psych major I was thrilled! Loved the books you used there.), I have realized how I have fallen in love with your content once more, for a total of three times now. From your content helping me when I was in one of the lowest points of my life and forever changing it, to making me laugh loudly at your silly humor and funny references, I just want to thank you, you lovely, spicy person. I hope whatever you decide to do in the future brings you only the warmest of joys there are to be found.
that last gag really tickled me pink 😂 i super loved this video and will be sure to recommend it to my cowboy goth friend that's running the D&D campaign i'm in!
The best horror game I've played is Dead of Winter. The other players and I were huddled inside a bunker, maintaining it, fending of zombies trying to get it, and sometimes sneaking out to forage for supplies. We suspected a traitor in our midst, someone sabotaging our efforts. They turned on me. They were convinced I was the traitor and cast me out into the cold terror of the outside, left to fend for myself in the zombie-infested streets. And so, as I stumbled through tall drifts of snow, I swore vengeance on them. I found a gas station, long abandoned, and made it my safe house. Every day, I would go outside and make a ruckus as I dug through trashcans, the noise attracting the zombies to their bunker. Then I would flee to safety. It got to the very end of the game and I snatched victory from them, fulfilling my personal win condition (I don't remember the details because it was years ago, but you get the point) Also, there was no traitor. They convinced themselves there was, cast out an innocent woman, who then took vengeance on them. Now THAT is horror
Shocked this video has only 150K views. It's a masterpiece and I am really grateful for being able to widen my view on horror in boardgames this way and with such delight. Thank you.
i haven't realized Spice was a board gamer as well. it's always a welcome surprise that content creators I'm subscribes to feature board games out of nowhere. the hobby is currently at it's golden age and it still remains niche.
Love all of this video, but I'm so delighted we had the same experience with the night cage, for me it was in a cafe's open play library, saw it in the dusty corner and I knew it had to be something special
I'd argue that the horror in Betrayal comes from not knowing when the monster will arrive, not knowing the nature of the monster until it is upon you, and having the explicit knowledge that it will likely be one of your friends who becomes the monster. To be cliched, I think Betrayal is a game that gets better the more you play it. Because then you have a better idea of how much trouble you're in, while also knowing how bad it could get. But I think your analysis is very solid. I like this video.
having a brother who, even when not playing a cooperative game, likes to backseat game, the optional rule in the night cage honestly sounds so nice lol
The algorithm requires engagement, Spice8Rack! (In more positive news, I may have posted early about not being able to keep supporting on Patreon-ya girl’s got the spare cash to keep going! I’m so, so excited ❤)
Bless you both materially and emotionally for the comment! I appreciate the support and, provided you're looking after yourself first and formost, welcome it
@@Spice8Rack 31:10 I hadn’t looked at this since the first draft and the sheer *mention* of Chungledown Bim got me shivering and slammed my mouth shut out of fear. What a wonderful crossroads between two of my favorite properties, also *god* I want to hear your thoughts on Crown of Candy and/or Neverafter.
the dirge is such an unbelievably powerful game piece - as soon as you showed it and mentioned its name, i was on the edge of my seat to hear how it worked for basically the remainder of the video. i kept glancing at it, staring up from the table off to the side. it seems like the mechanical experience of it might be a bit deflating, but god, the effectiveness of the piece's visuals might just make up for it.
I clicked on this video bc I adore game theory and was like “yeah sure” and hadn’t checked the channel, so spice popping into frame was such a pleasant surprise
My favorite horror game is Dread. It's basically Jenga, but as a role playing game. Your characters do their thing, and whenever they do something difficult, or when the game master pushes them into something dangerous, they have to take a Jenga block from the tower. And if the tower falls, that action will lead to their death.
This was amazing, I hope the algorithm doesn't bury this since it's really neat! Though I imagine it will sadly since youtube hates when creators try new things...
Board games ARE one of the oldest forms of interactive media. They date back to (at least) 2600 BC and Ancient Egypt, where people used to play a game called Senet. That makes them only a thousand years younger than *written language*.
This video is utterly fantastic. The only one of there board games that I've played was Betrayal, but The Night Cage and Escape the Dark Castle have both substantially peaked my interest. I hope that you can justify talking about the latter, once you've escaped being the nightmarish wheel that is illness.
Spice hiding the game like we don’t know their greatest fear is capitalism so it’s obviously Monopoly
I'm so far left I don't even OWN a copy of monopoly!
@@Spice8Rack It's owned collectively by the commune.
@@Spice8RackNo one buys Monopoly. Copies of it just manifest into dusty corners and forgotten cabinets.
I was really expecting a monopoly reveal at the beginning from behind the sheet
@@Spice8Rackwasn't monopoly initially made as a critique of landlords? It's actually very commie
"All games are just battleship" is the boardgame equivalent of Magic's "all mechanics are just kicker"
I'm so glad you agree with the truth x
As an addition, all card games are just poker. Like horsemanship
This isn't true. All magic mechanics are either kicker, flashback, or horsemanship.
@@FrommermanFlashback is just a kicker cost to allow you to cast from the graveyard.
@@Frommerman flashback is kicker from graveyard
I work in a boardgame shop in London, and I remember my jaw dropping when Spice walks in whilst I'm talking to a customer about magic aha. Got to suggest a bunch of boardgames for them to try out and a couple even made it into this video! Was very cool meeting them irl
Ayy! I remember that day. Thanks for making me seem REALLY cool and famous in front of my girlfriend's family
@@Spice8Rack Oh that's actually so sick aha, any time chief 👏👏😤
As a weirdo that wants to make games. Ya got me thinking. Do you know of any game where you have to discover the rule?
@@kevindaydreamerwell, the card game mao comes to mind
Iluminatti, if you are ovini
One of your complaints about Final Girl is always knowing where the killer is. One of the boxes, the one with the Evomorph, has a mechanic where the killer will disappear and you need to hunt them down before they ambush you and murder you to death.
Now THAT is sick! Dang, wish I'd picked up that expansion now!
@@Spice8Rack unfortunately it doesn’t do much to address your other criticisms, so I can’t really recommend that you spend more money on it, but hopefully the info can help others decide on their purchase.
@@Spice8Rackonestly, every expansion plays a little differently and have their own quirks. The carnival box that you have is notable for how often large amount of bystanders can be randomly wiped from the board (as you’ve noticed). Other boxes might give you a different enough experience to change your mind about the game. The Bird mini-expansion, for example, starts with low terror but benefits from early movement, which can change the first turn strategy you mentioned. But at the end of the day, I will have to agree that the general “shape” of a play remains very similar to one another regardless of the scenario, and your core issues like component fiddlyness, solo book keeping and pure random BS are core to the experience. If you are so inclined and have the opportunity, giving another box (except the haunted house…) a play might change your impression. It did for me when I thought that I “solved” the game by getting used to my first scenario.
As per tradition I will have to have multiple different people explain the rules of this video to me while talking over each other. This explanation will take more time than just playing the video.
Pfffffft
Veteran game player, I salute thee.
It hasn't even been a year and I've already lost 2 of the custom dice and the last page of the rules, so I'm going to have to wing it when I get to the outro.
I know this isnt really a board game but Inscryption's ability to use digital tools to enhance what would be a tabletop game is really sweet
Spice if you haven’t played it yet you MUST.
OOOH YES! It's so good, I promise
It's a great core game, with an amazing delivery on everything else as well
Inscryption was nice and spooky.
I agree completely. Being a blind person who relied on a friend over Discord to read dialogue, describe the map and interactable objects, and carry out the plays I told him during matches, created the immersive experience Spice was seeking out during this video until he found The Night Cage. Even more so, because the first act feels relatively minimalistic visually: all you have to go off of, until you are told to get up from the table--and hell, even after you know that you can--are what you see and what you're told. The first few minutes, where all you have are your starter deck, and the narration delivered by someone you can't even see, are so effective. Watching sighted LPers experience Inscryption for the first time made me realize how the opening makes you feel blind.
2 hours of Spice on board games? cool, I wasn't planning on working today anyway.
Reject labour. Embrace me(?)
I wasn't planning on sleeping anyway.
It's lucky I am unwell today
I am working, when I get home tho 🎉🎉🎉🎉
@@leftwingdragon6235 i don't know about LUCKY if you're unwell
This is one of the most generous, thoughtful, and engaged reviews I’ve seen of The Night Cage. I love how clearly and completely you grokked its design goals. I’m so glad you enjoyed it, and we’re excited to share more of it with y’all very soon.
Oh hello! Your game is sick as hell
More? 😱 I can't wait to see what you have in store for us! 😃
This video sold me on getting a copy of it! Amongst my friends I'm notorious for loving co-op games, and have been trying to expand the diversity of my collection. Plus have some younger folks in my life that will eventually be getting old enough for facing spookier things like dread, existential horror, and capitalism.
Not the topic I expected from Spice, but one I am super ok with.
And by ok I mean " Oh my, this is exactly my kinda video. And it's two hours? By my fav tuber!?"
I really needed this.
And here it is! For you especially!
A reasonable pick for favorite potato!
i feel like the night cage would very well benefit from online integration with voice-only calls, at least with complete silence rules active. nothing feels more isolating than being in a discord call where everyone is muted, it feels like playing a game by yourself, surrounded by NPCs, until one of them comes to life for a brief second.
Oh hell yeah, multiple hours of board game coverage? This is gonna be damn good.
The Night Cage sounds like exactly the kind of thing I would want to subject my friends to - I mean play with them.
And now I am VERY curious about Escape the Dark Castle, please do make a video about that!
Have you ever played the TTRPG Mörkborg? It's a very good apocalyptic fantasy game, where your character feels genuinely fragile and helpless, and like you're in WAY over your head at all times, would recommend as a sorta-kinda horror RPG.
Ey, I live in Sweden, and my uncle knows one of the designers of Mörk Borg, I'm always happy when people in completely different communities just mention that game.
Like, it feels so unreal to first hear about a project like this casually, and not knowing if it will go anywhere, to seeing it mentioned online, when playing League of Legends, and when watching a Spice8Rack video.
Congratulations, Spice, "Ba-ba-ba-ba-babadook" is now going to be my personal earworm for the next six to eight months.
I'll never be able to watch Bluey the same again...
It’s a weird and special feeling knowing creators you enjoy like other creators you enjoy. I’m glad we share an appreciation of Brennan Lee Mulligan, Spice
This is the first new video you’ve released since I discovered you through the professor, really looking forward to watching it! Hope you are feeling better Spice
Ayy! Welcome to the channel then :D I hope you enjoy what I've got in store!
Betrayal at House on the Hill is great. My friend in high school had an uncle that worked on the game, and we got to sit down and play a beta version in lieu of our normal D&D session. D&D night became Betrayal night for a while.
Edit: The Babadook/Bluey joke was amazing and let no one tell you differently.
Please please please tell us about escape the dark castle. It would be an absolute treat to hear about your favorite board game. I'm glad that you are feeling better as well! All good health to you and your nights of inescapable board game induced horror
It sounds like The Night Cage is mechanically similar to Forbidden Desert, but the vibe is so different. What an achievement!
2:17
The Royal Game of Ur is a mesopotamian board game estimated to be almost 5000 years old, so I'd say you're about in the ballpark with your statement.
SICK! Dumb luck wins again!
I can’t wait to rewatch this 30 times in the next 3 weeks
Reposted
YES! YES! CONSUME!!
@@Spice8Rack Oh? Asking for people to endlessly consume? Very communist of you! /s
i've never heard of Escape from the Aliens in Outer Space before, but this video really, really sold me on it. this sounds so rad
amogus
Easily one of the best videos you've ever made Spice, would love to hear you talk more about board games horror related or otherwise (especially warhammer) and hope you're feeling better
Bless you
Would love to see the follow up featuring Dark Castle, but I would also be very interested in a companion video that delves as deep into Horror TTRPGs such as Ten Candles, Call of Cthulhu, Mork Bork, and Kult.
I'll be honest the scariest thing so far is hearing that you have a unfinished silent king model. That boi doesn't belong unfinished, and a flayed one king sounds fantastic. If you need inspiration I highly recommend reading the novel series Twice Dead King; the premier novels for flayed one lore
hello spice8rack thank you for the video i hope you are feeling a bit better and going through less stuff. i am now going to inhale this 2 hours of video alongside my breakfast this morning
Enjoy the cereal & my cereberal analysis!
@@Spice8Rack Mmm, cerealberal.
@@Spice8Rack same but replace gender concepts with communism
ay spice just wanted to let ya know that seeing you and ur content inspired me to start exploring my gender more, and now im trans. Thanks :)
Yay! Oh what a lovely thing to read! Solidarity and best of luck in how your path unfolds
in other words, YOU are the evil marxist who is secretly transing the kids that conservatives keep fearmongering about.
common being trans w
Congratulations!
Cringe
Fuck man I rewatched mill vs discard and Lorwyn YESTERDAY and then you just drop a new 2 hour video on me. Blessed are we, the spicy people
I was actually waiting for you to do just that before I uploaded this.
@@Spice8Rack HE GOT ME AGAIN, THE BASTARD
The video I didn't know I desperately needed
Edit: When you revealed one of my all-time favorite board games, I legit jumped with excitement,
I've always played it off for dark humor but god, the paranoia and fevered desperation of knowing the police are coming and digging yourself into an ever deeper hole of madness and morbidity,
*chef's kiss*
I always love how you break things down in your videos so I am led to actually think about what you're talking about while grinning like a fool at your jokes and antics. You struck to the core of what I found unsatisfying in the Betrayal games, then pointed me directly to the exact kind of games I have been craving.
Also, nice catch! I've done the same thing while vacuuming!
I'm so glad I pointed you in a new direction for games! I hope you have as much fun playing them as I did talking about them :D
I finished this video and it was really good!! Honestly as someone who's fallen off of Magic I really appreciate seeing your channel move in a different direction!
I kinda ended up falling off of MtG a while back so seeing you cover something like this was a very pleasant surprise. Would love to see you cover more topics relating to non-MtG games, as this was brilliant!
The Night Cage popped in my head from the moment you said "horror board games". Absolutely loved the video!
Only the Arkham Horror Card Game can achieve the meta-textual terror of me realizing how much time and money I spend to sleeve, sort, and binder my collection
Love horror media and have been trying to become a horror writer, so definitely checking out the book you mentioned at the beginning
Sick! I'd also reccomend the book I cite as well. Lots of little nuggets of the "why" of how things scare us!
PBS Idea Channel did a great video on that book too. It's called "Do All Horror Monsters Fit Into 5 Categories?"
I started watching you just this Sunday. Your Discard Vs Mill video was great.
Oh bless you! Welcome to the channle
Never heard of the night cage before this, definitely going to add it to my board game collection, my friends wont see it coming. Hope you get over this string of illnesses soon and it would be great if you did more board game content in the future.
My favorite tabletop horror experiece is Dread, which is an rpg, but I think it does the horror game idea in a perfect way. The first time I ran a Dread story, I worried I won't be able to pull it and fall short; but during the climax of the story players were in visible fear of proceeding forward, and was an overall success (even if I made some mistakes).
So happy to see you doing content in my area of work.
I hope it lives up to your expertise!
@@Spice8Rack it was wonderful. I'm certainly going to be watching it again. If you want the main game I create content in/about. It's Kingdom Death: Monster, which has a Cronenberg horror vibe.
Having now watched the video due to the magic of 1.5x Speed, I would absolutely love to hear about Escape the Dark Castle! Favourite board game is quite a title and it looks intriguing. I also generally greatly appreciate the thematic variety and am interested in more board game content in general!
You've certainly sold me on trying The Night Cage and I'll suggest it to my friends. Fantastic Video!
"Horror Boardgames | The Anatomy of Terror's Least Likely Home"
oh that sounds neat, i'll probably watch that later.
"spice8rack"
oh, that's what I'm doing now then.
"over 2 hours"
fuck YES. love content from my favorite fellow it/them/any
Ba-ba-ba-ba-ba-babadook is gonna be my new ring tone. Thanks.
I will also be adding "trouser-browning" to my personal lexicon. Thanks.
Watching bluey with the kids is going to be different now
I haven't even started the video, but I love seeing spooky content with enough time to get the games before October instead of smack in the middle of it.
wasn't expecting 2 hours of Spice on my birthday but thats pretty nice
Ayy happy birthday!!
Hey Spice, my partner and I are long-time watchers of this channel and we love your work. As we grow further from WOTC and the mighty grip of Hasbro over our favorite card game, we’re incredibly excited by this upload and greatly anticipate future board game media analysis from you.
Speaking personally, dressing up as Dracula every Halloween is making me want to look into Escape the Dark Castle myself. I’d love to see more of this.
1) “Everyone loves a brave lion but no one has ever seen a rat-skin rug” was such a brilliant line that I shared this vid immediately just for that.
2) I spent the latter parts of this video with ‘Escape from the Aliens’ and ‘The Night Cage’ in a shopping cart waiting for the moment where I could feel confident that yes these would be amazing experiences.
This was amazing. Thank you, ordering Night Cave and Escape from etc today! I love horror boardgames, but they're rarely actually spooky(hasn't stopped me from sinking days into the 80 different versions of Arkham Horror). Please please do a companion piece on your favorite horror game!
Update - both games are such a joy, and you did not lie about the creeping dread of the night cage. When I asked the people I introduced the game to if it held its promise of spookyness their answers were medium, but then noone wanted to go to the bathroom without previously turning on all the lights on the way, so I'd say mission accomplished 😸
Spice is truly the Jim Sterling of analog gaming.
I find this preferable to MtG content, it feels a LOT more personal, and I would love to see more things like this!
On the topic of horror, I kind of feel like Sheepy Time has an unintended "horror" aspect kind of like Final Girl, where you're trying to avoid a kind of automa, but it's multiplayer and you're all in this big game of chicken trying to avoid the threat while making sure you don't fall behind.
In terms of Horror games that play on Betrayal, Nemesis springs to mind as an interesting example. Nemesis is a Alienish board game where each player has a secret win condition dealt to them at the start of the match, which can range from escape with a specific item to murder a specific player to blow up the ship. This element of inconsistent social deduction leads to games where you can very much be effectively betrayed, or have the shifty guy you don't trust turn out to be benevolent before getting violently torn apart by aliens.
i was so intrigued by the title of the video alone and it’s length, THEN saw it was spice8rack and clicked immediately. great video! i’ve been getting into horror literature lately so your analysis of horror came at the perfect time for me. ❤
We play Betrayal whenever we get 4 or more of us together. My favorite haunts are the ones that aren't player controlled like the flooding or the one where a bird just takes the entire mansion.
Love you, your style and your content, keep it up!!
Thank you! Will do!
I'm around 1:15:00, and this talk about how you in many ways cease to exist outside of your turn's action in a game about secret movement and aliens reminded me so very much of the original three Xcom games, and their "hidden movement" screens where you just heard the alien's sounds with a still picture of somebody stalked by an extraterrestrial creature that wants to give them a big hug full of teeth.
This may be my favorite video you've ever made, competing most closely with Madness, Memory, Mill & Discard.
It's the lid of the box, but it's also the board is why I love the flavour and atmosphere of Blood on the Clocktower so much.
Carrying around the lid and box like a bound tome with the secrets of the game inside is so so fun.
I'm so glad that I decided to stay subscribed to you even as I pulled away from MTG. Truly splendid as always ❤️
I almost can't believe Nemesis didn't get in. Admittedly, it's incredibly expensive, but also, it's easily The horror board game experience, provided noone in the group hates Alien. And it works because it's a huge and a very dangerous environment that you most likely won't be able to deal with alone... But the secret goals necessary for victory will also immediately put you at odds with other players. Funnily enough, one rule that actually elevates it is the rule that you can't attack other players directly, meaning that even actively hostile moves can often seem impersonal, while moves that are actually impersonal perceived with intense paranoia. And that is coupled with the main action mechanism that's really smart, and *incredibly* anxiety inducing even if the game around it wasn't actively trying to kill you. Nemesis is genuinely a board game masterpiece, a horror masterpiece, AND a board game horror masterpiece.
This is as wonderful as ever
Bless you
I think the discussion of the definition of horror helped me articulate something that I couldn't really articulate in the Lorwyn video. Namely, that I think I like Innistrad because I don't think of it as horror. It is a setting that contains various spooky creatures, but I see them as less like the monsters in horror fiction that they are obviously supposed to emulate, and more like a Creature Commandos comic. They stop being monsters and start being goofy superheroes and villains with an aesthetic I enjoy.
This is helped along by how, at least recently, a lot of references to Innistrad focus on how normal all the plane's residents are to each other. The Phyrexian invasion in recent lore, for example, doesn't cause the same kind of disruption it does in other planes because the sky yawning open to spew forth oil and abominations doesn't strike the typical Innistradi resident as anything more than a somewhat unusual bit of weather. It's turned into a joke, and it's a joke I enjoy.
(That being said, this does also make Innistrad a poor choice for attempting to tell a genuine cosmic horror story, so the whole Emrakul saga does fall down a bit there. The aftermath where the moon is now haunted, however, does absolutely improve the vibes of the plane)
Id love to see a video that dives into Into the Dark castle. Plus it could be fun of you doing a run through of it with the premise of you trying to escape it as you desperately look for a room that is safe and has good acoustics to continue your discussion of board games. Though you just going through a run of the game while talking about board games in general would be also veey engaging.
Went to my local used bookstore, which at this point is basically just a thrift store without clothes, and found a copy of The Night Cage for $25. A day after watching this video, which I thoroughly enjoyed. I bought it and am now looking for a way to get it to the table.
I didn't expect that the hidden game would be Labyrinth.
Betrayal at house on the hill is a great horror board game. My whole family and any friends we've managed to play with LOVE it.
Also there is a scooby doo version. And yes, its good as hell
Always time for a spice8rack video~♡
I hope you enjoy it! It's very much unlike my normal stuff!
So, I got to meet the lead designer for this game at my local LGS. I was the lead for our board game department and this was the game he brought to demo so we would carry more of them. It was starkly different from all the other games he had and was a smash hit at the store. I absolutely love it and glad to see it getting some well deserved lime light!
this was excellent, i have paid betrayal but now i really wanna play night cage! would love more board game videos, or even some coverage of horror TTRPGs! Dread and Heart the City Beneath are both excellent games that are always stuck in my brain despite not having much opportunity to actually play them. And now I have added 10 Candles to that list. Cheers and hopefully your health decides to be less wacky going forward
Never thought I'd come across a Chungle-down Bim reference in a horror video, but it fits so perfectly for this video. We all relate to fabian in one way or another
Pumpkin spice? In June?
i intended for this to be a halloween release but time got away from me
I deeply enjoy your Dutch-angled take on philosophical concepts. So often I'm not sure whether to raise eyebrow at the fractally intricate nuances, or to take some of the more absurdist lines as surface jokes.
Either way, I appreciate you, Spice.
Oh boy! I get to see a long essay just after it's dropped! Now, a dilemma. Do I watch all of it, before thinking of something witty and profound to say? Or do I just fire off a funni and not at all stale joke before the intro's done? Maybe a fun and totally original remark about that damage vs. infect video?
I appreciate the fact I can *read* the whole thought process that went on here
a bespoke bluey reference on a 2 hour long documentary about horror in tabletop games? now THIS is why spice is the GOAT
Early Halloween episode!!!
Actually it's an increadibly la-... Yeah! Yeah it's an EARLY episode!
A 2 hour, fascinating, well-made, and funny video essay?? AND it’s by a fellow enby? TH-cam has truly blessed me today
loved this video!! also have you listened to The Magnus Archives? its a super good narrative fiction horror podcast that leans on late-stage capitalism to evoke horror, it kinda reminds me of your whole **gestures vaguely** brand
A podcast written and distrubuted by rusty quill...
How unsurprising, the person using Meeple Puppet is excited about a thing about board games. You've sold me on wanting to pick up the Aliens game. I tend not to be so hot about games that involve lying/bluffing but that one sounds absolutely lovely!
I thoroughly enjoyed this and would enjoy more content of this type
good thing i quit my job and can delve into this tomorrow. always great to see one of your videos on my frontpage, keep it up
The Night Cage felt like the perfect follow up to the Mill v Discard
Commenting to make it abundantly clear I want as much of this kind of content as possible. Thank you!
I'm glad you made this video. I'm a big board game guy and TH-cam threw this video into my recommendations. I want several of these games, and I've been able to watch through most of your other fun videos too. Glad to have found this channel!
So excited to finally see this! When you released the script to patrons my partner went out and bought Aliens and Night Cage immediately and we've been absolutely loving Night Cage ever since. Would love to hear more board game breakdowns.
Spice, your content enraptured me with Magic the Gathering as it was always very acessible despite never knowing what the game was about. That was, in part, due to the broader topics you chose with some videos, but it was mostly due to your charisma, well written scripts and amazing humor. After seeing your games in the Professor's channel back when they first released because of you, I got into actually playing Magic, and have thus introduced it to my s/o and friend group, and we all love it. After watching this video and your last one (as a psych major I was thrilled! Loved the books you used there.), I have realized how I have fallen in love with your content once more, for a total of three times now. From your content helping me when I was in one of the lowest points of my life and forever changing it, to making me laugh loudly at your silly humor and funny references, I just want to thank you, you lovely, spicy person. I hope whatever you decide to do in the future brings you only the warmest of joys there are to be found.
that last gag really tickled me pink 😂 i super loved this video and will be sure to recommend it to my cowboy goth friend that's running the D&D campaign i'm in!
It truly feels like you made this video specifically for me. Every reference, every game. Absolutely wild.
The best horror game I've played is Dead of Winter.
The other players and I were huddled inside a bunker, maintaining it, fending of zombies trying to get it, and sometimes sneaking out to forage for supplies.
We suspected a traitor in our midst, someone sabotaging our efforts.
They turned on me. They were convinced I was the traitor and cast me out into the cold terror of the outside, left to fend for myself in the zombie-infested streets.
And so, as I stumbled through tall drifts of snow, I swore vengeance on them. I found a gas station, long abandoned, and made it my safe house.
Every day, I would go outside and make a ruckus as I dug through trashcans, the noise attracting the zombies to their bunker. Then I would flee to safety.
It got to the very end of the game and I snatched victory from them, fulfilling my personal win condition (I don't remember the details because it was years ago, but you get the point)
Also, there was no traitor. They convinced themselves there was, cast out an innocent woman, who then took vengeance on them.
Now THAT is horror
Shocked this video has only 150K views. It's a masterpiece and I am really grateful for being able to widen my view on horror in boardgames this way and with such delight. Thank you.
I love how the wax eater is sensitive to movement most likely using its hearing to locate you since it’s blind living in pitch darkness.
i haven't realized Spice was a board gamer as well. it's always a welcome surprise that content creators I'm subscribes to feature board games out of nowhere. the hobby is currently at it's golden age and it still remains niche.
Love all of this video, but I'm so delighted we had the same experience with the night cage, for me it was in a cafe's open play library, saw it in the dusty corner and I knew it had to be something special
I'd argue that the horror in Betrayal comes from not knowing when the monster will arrive, not knowing the nature of the monster until it is upon you, and having the explicit knowledge that it will likely be one of your friends who becomes the monster. To be cliched, I think Betrayal is a game that gets better the more you play it. Because then you have a better idea of how much trouble you're in, while also knowing how bad it could get. But I think your analysis is very solid. I like this video.
having a brother who, even when not playing a cooperative game, likes to backseat game, the optional rule in the night cage honestly sounds so nice lol
The algorithm requires engagement, Spice8Rack!
(In more positive news, I may have posted early about not being able to keep supporting on Patreon-ya girl’s got the spare cash to keep going! I’m so, so excited ❤)
Bless you both materially and emotionally for the comment! I appreciate the support and, provided you're looking after yourself first and formost, welcome it
@@Spice8Rack 31:10 I hadn’t looked at this since the first draft and the sheer *mention* of Chungledown Bim got me shivering and slammed my mouth shut out of fear.
What a wonderful crossroads between two of my favorite properties, also *god* I want to hear your thoughts on Crown of Candy and/or Neverafter.
the dirge is such an unbelievably powerful game piece - as soon as you showed it and mentioned its name, i was on the edge of my seat to hear how it worked for basically the remainder of the video. i kept glancing at it, staring up from the table off to the side. it seems like the mechanical experience of it might be a bit deflating, but god, the effectiveness of the piece's visuals might just make up for it.
24:03 Dude, Bluey’s theme has never gone harder than right here.
I clicked on this video bc I adore game theory and was like “yeah sure” and hadn’t checked the channel, so spice popping into frame was such a pleasant surprise
Not only do I NEED to hear you talk about escape the dark castle, I also demand that it be done in your fully uncensored native accent
My favorite horror game is Dread. It's basically Jenga, but as a role playing game. Your characters do their thing, and whenever they do something difficult, or when the game master pushes them into something dangerous, they have to take a Jenga block from the tower. And if the tower falls, that action will lead to their death.
This was amazing, I hope the algorithm doesn't bury this since it's really neat! Though I imagine it will sadly since youtube hates when creators try new things...
Board games ARE one of the oldest forms of interactive media. They date back to (at least) 2600 BC and Ancient Egypt, where people used to play a game called Senet. That makes them only a thousand years younger than *written language*.
This video is utterly fantastic. The only one of there board games that I've played was Betrayal, but The Night Cage and Escape the Dark Castle have both substantially peaked my interest. I hope that you can justify talking about the latter, once you've escaped being the nightmarish wheel that is illness.