House Rules
for
"Betrayal at House on the Hill"

General rules question guide: Many of the rules and scenarios are poorly worded. Therefore, do not necessarily seek an interpretation that adheres strictly to the letter of the rule. Where possible, seek an interpretation that is conducive to game balance; for some of the rules, taken strictly, do this very poorly.

If the traitor is identified as "Missy Dubourde (swimming) or highest speed," does this mean "Missy Dubourde if she's in play (because she likes to swim), otherwise the player with the highest speed," or whichever of the two is closest to the left of the haunt revealer (as would be done for tied scores, and as is indicated by the wording (though perhaps not the intention) of page 10 of the rulebook)?

We're not sure, but we went with the former because Missy was singled out for her swimming ability (though it had no gameplay effect), making her special to the scenario. Game balance might indicate the latter, however, because high stats make for more viable traitors. (While the characters start the game balanced, they may not be by the time of the haunt.)

36) Better with Friends

The "Secrets of Survival" and the "Traitor's Tome" contradict each other about whether the attic is immediately put into play!

Do not immediately put the attic into play (assuming that it hasn't already been found). If the attic is still not in play when the traitor advances the turn track to 4, the traitor should search the room stack and put it into play. (These rules should reduce the chance that a win for the heroes is too easy, or that it is impossible.)

If a character carrying the rowboat is reduced to moving one space per turn (by flooding and/or other penalties), and "while you're carrying it, each room you enter counts as two spaces," is that character immobilized?

No. Read "You can always move at least one space each turn" as "You can always move at least one room each turn." (Not being able to move would be no fun at all.)

Can the traitor attack the rowboat while a hero is carrying it?

Tricky question. We decided "No," based mostly on balancing the scenario as it happened to play out the first time. The traitor would have to attack to steal the rowboat first. But the heroes were particularly unlucky in that game, and so the traitor might, on average, need the advantage of being able to attack the rowboat in a hero's possession.

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