Gloomier: A Night at Hemlock Hall

Players portray ill-fated members of eccentric households in a gothic country manor and try to create the most tragic life stories. Transparent cards are stacked over character cards to change visible traits, score modifiers and fate as the narrative evolves. Modifier cards add misfortunes that lower a character’s score, while untimely death cards end a story and trigger scoring. Players manage when to worsen their own characters and when to protect opponents’ characters to control timing and maximize misery. Components include new guest and story cards that integrate with prior editions; plays with simple drafting and hand-management mechanics and resolves when an entire family has been extinguished.

Players: 2–5 best 5
Playing time: 45–60 min
Age: 14+