Real horror on the tabletop is a very difficult challenge. The best board games demand meaningful decisions and planning, which are anathema to making players uncertain and uncomfortable enough to deliver the scares. As such, most entries in the genre aim either for rich thematic trappings and the attendant complexity, or they go for a more hokey version of horror fun. Spooktacular is in the latter camp, but the way it riffs on popular horror movies gives it a head start on its peers in terms of delivering on a scary theme.
