Hako Onna

It is a fun game, but you need the write type of players. If you have people who enjoy this type of game, it can be very fun.

Great for Halloween .

The game is so fun. The family loves playing it, but the rules can be a bit confusing. The noise cards can get ruined after a few shuffles, so it's better to laminate or use card holders to keep it nice and neat.

The myth revolves around a poor little girl that met her unfortunate end by being packed away in a box by her father. She now haunts the very house she perished in. And as any good horror movie would offer...a clueless band of visitors enter the home and are locked in by the spirit. The only way out is to search for the keys to the door...which happen to be locked away in a safe on the second floor...OR to find the little girls doll somewhere in the house and return it to her bones...also hidden somewhere in the house! All the while trying to avoid peaking into a shadow where the spirit is lurking. The suspense is real...you truly begin to fear flipping tiles to search for the combination to that safe. During setup the spirit player picks three of six digits (reflected on tiles) that make up the combination to the safe, and also chooses one of three items that is its weakness and can be used to kill her. The remaining numbers, weakness tiles and a slew of other items get randomly placed throughout the house (which was created randomly by drawing room tiles and placing them during the setup) on spaces called shadows. Once everything is placed, the spirit picks what shadow she would like to start in. The game then begins with the visitors taking turns taking a single action. The wonderful catch to this normal game routine is that before each visitor can take an action they must stack a 'noise' disk onto the noise tile...which has a bead glued to it...thus offsetting the disks. To make matters worse...the third disk also has a bead on it. IF the player tips the tower of disks over they have made a noise and the spirit gets to interrupt the visitors moves. The spirit can now try to gain powers, load powers, activate preloaded powers, and move. There are several things that separate the mechanics of this game from others...first is that noise disk mechanic...as long as players don't tip the tower, they keep activating for up to 5 straight turns! Second is that when searching (called peaking into the shadows), the visitors can uncover parts to the little girl's journal...each of these unlocks a special power for the spirit to gain during her turn! On top of that...'peaking' also brings with it the possibility of finding the box that the spirit is hiding in...thus killing the visitor and turning them into another spirit! YES, they become a sidekick to the spirit!! Of all the spooky board games out there,, this one might capture the suspense of the horror movie genre better than any. I can honestly say that after one play, this climbed up to the top of my horror games list. I highly recommend it, and for the price you will surely get your money's worth!

So, first thing...Haka Onna is very, very slanted toward the Haka Onna player. If your character dies, you switch sides and become her minion. Super hard to beat...pretty much luck is the only thing that saves you. But it does give the haunted house feel if you want a game like that that isn't Betrayal.

This game is so incredibly unique and interesting. If you enjoy horror and interesting new game mechanics, I definitely recommend this one. The artwork is stunning as well. All in all, it's a fantastically creepy game!

This is a Christmas gift so I have not seen the contents of the box but I watched the video for the game and it looks like a fun game to play.

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Fun once you understand how it's played.

As the evening begins and beers are cracked open, there's an unmistakable excitement about delving into the world of Hako Onna, a game that promises an atmospheric experience tinged with suspense and dread. This box, though, holds a secret more daunting than the spectral Hako Onna herself: the preparation required before one can even glimpse her shadowy figure. The setup of Hako Onna is an endeavour that rivals the trials of the most patient board gamers. From an array of tiles that form the eerie mansion to the numerous cards and pieces that must be meticulously arranged, one might feel as though they're performing an ancient ritual to summon the board game spirits. The rulebook, dense and cryptic, reads like a tome of forbidden knowledge, with complexities and nuances that demand a group's full attention and perhaps a sacrificial offering of free time. Yet, once the initial barrier is crossed, the game unfolds into a beautifully tense dance of strategy and suspense. The tipping tower mechanic, the cornerstone of Hako Onna's gameplay, is as innovative as it is thrilling. Each player's move adds to the precarious balance of the structure, echoing the delicate balance between hiding from the Hako Onna and completing your objectives. The tower's ever-looming threat of collapse injects a palpable sense of urgency into every action, drawing players into the heart-pounding horror theme.

Apenas ayer puede probarlo, está muy bueno para una noche de juegos de mesa, solo es un poco injusto de parte de Hako cuando se usa la dificultad fácil. También le falta un mejor inserto, el uso de bolsitas es bueno, pero es complicado buscar el acomodo para que cierre correctamente la caja con todos los componentes adentro. Y si se pudiera, unas instrucciones en español.

I really like the horror theme! I will begin to play when I an (when the pandemic ends).

Excelente juego una vez aprendes a jugarlo! Lo único a considerar es que es una gran cantidad de conceptos a entender sólo para el inicio del juego, pero nada como iniciar con el libro en mano durante esa primer partida. Es importante tener paciencia, pero una vez familiarizados con los conceptos es seguro que tendrás muchas más partidas emocionantes, en especial con los niveles de dificultad y versión avanzada.