Back from the dead

Did you know that despite my passion for Nintendo products, my favorite game is not a video game?

That honor goes to "Betrayal at House on the Hill," a board game Avalon Hill published in 2004. If you're unfamiliar with the deliciously creepy game, you might be interested in this demo. Criminally underappreciated when it first released for $40, the game has since achieved such reputation that copies still in good condition command ridiculously inflated prices. The love that we and our friends have for the game has been matched only by the sadness that "Betrayal at House on the Hill" long ago fell out of print.

But the game is soon to prove a lesson that its monsters often illustrate: Sometimes things come back from the dead.

Bruce Glassco, the game's creator, has revealed a second edition of the game is in the works and set to publish this fall. Annie and I were fortunate enough to meet Bruce, who's seated at Annie's left in the picture here, a few years ago at PrezCon in Virginia. At that time, Bruce told us he was developing an expansion set for the game that would offer new rooms for players to explore and more scenarios for them to enact. Sadly, that expansion set was not published, but it looks like the ideas are now being rolled into the game's second edition.

I'm thrilled that Bruce is getting another chance to share his game — and that gamers everywhere will again have the chance to enjoy this fantastic diversion!