Earlier today YouTube star Joey Graceffa shared the big news that his hit series Escape The Night would be getting its own board game thanks to a partnership with Studio71 Games. Escape The Night: The Board Game is live on Kickstarter right now and will have players solving mysteries and collecting artifacts as they work together to try and survive long enough to defeat the evil that lives within the house. ComicBook.com had a chance to talk to Graceffa all about the game, starting off with the biggest challenges that came with adapting the series into a board game experience.
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“With the Escape the Night board game I wanted to give players the chance to experience a bit of the magic that I felt on the set of the Escape the Night series,” Graceffa said. “It was an enormous undertaking but totally worth it given that the days I spent working on the show were some of the most magical days of my life.”
“Now I’m excited for players to be transported into the magical world that we’ve created where players will travel back in time to The Savant’s house and get to experience something they wouldn’t encounter in any other board game out there,” Graceffa said.
While there were a few concepts and ideas that didn’t make the final cut, those cuts led to a final version of the game that Graceffa is thrilled to share with fans.
“I’m constantly dreaming up concepts for the Escape the Night universe, so there are always some ideas that don’t make the cut,” Graceffa said. “I couldn’t be happier with how the final version of this game turned out and wouldn’t change a thing.”
One of the coolest aspects of the game is its replayability, as every time you play will net players a unique experience, and wanted to get a breakdown on how that works.
“Every time you play there will be different monsters and clues you have to face at new points throughout the game,” Graceffa said. “They will be randomized and there are so many clues and monsters, you’ll never be bored. There are also different Death challenges at the end of each turn so no one is safe; even the most influential player can be banished from the game. There are also so many elements and dynamics in this game that people have never seen before. But I don’t want to give too much away, for now, all I can say is that you should assemble your group of friends and prepare for a battle against an ancient evil that will put you to the test and see if you have what it takes to Escape the Night.”
Sounds cool, right? Graceffa then explained how a typical turn in Escape The Night plays out.
“Players will explore the house room by room locating the Society Against Evil’s markers,” Graceffa said. “Once these markers are found, they will fight either a horrifying monster or solve a diabolical clue. Each victory against a monster or clue is rewarded with a relic. Once all the markers have been cleared, players may claim the artifact of the room. However, it’s not that simple as looming in the haunted halls is the mysterious man whose sole purpose is to make the game more challenging for the players. As you continue the game, the overbearing pressures of time, limited players, and devious characters will increase the difficulty making there many ways to lose and only one way to win.”
Death Challenges will play a pivotal role in the game, as they do in the series, and while he loves all of the challenges, there is one that stands out a little more than the others.
“I wanted players to experience the board game in a way that is as similar to my YouTube series as possible, with players being voted off and the group becoming smaller each turn,” Graceffa said. “In order to achieve this, two players vote against each other at the end of each turn, and they will take part in a Death challenge. Only one will survive this spine-chilling challenge, and the other will be banished from the game. It’s hard to choose a favorite, but I really love the challenge called, ‘An Exchange of Lies’. All of the Death challenges will get your heart racing as you fight for your chance to stay in the game.”
We had to ask about future content, specifically if the game does get more content would it come via expansion or a completely new game. Graceffa wasn’t spilling the beans, but he would be game for each season to have its own board game companion.
Graceffa said, “For the time being, this is the Escape the Night board game in its full glory, but I would love to develop a board game for each season!”
Escape The Night: The Board Game is on Kickstarter now, and let us know what you think of the game in the comments. You can also always talk tabletop with me on Twitter @MattAguilarCB!
