How to Play Betrayal at House on the Hill

Betrayal at House on the Hill (3rd Edition) begins as a cooperative exploration game, then can turn one explorer against the rest. This practical overview covers the shared rules without revealing scenario secrets; for more tabletop guides, visit Play More IRL.

Quick facts

Fact 3rd Edition detail
Players 3–6
Core structure Explore together, then resolve a haunt
Characters Choose from 12 explorers represented by six double-sided character boards
Scenarios 50 haunts, each with its own story and objectives

Objective

Before the haunt, everyone is an explorer on the same side. You investigate the house, reveal rooms, and collect useful effects while managing changing Might, Speed, Knowledge, and Sanity values. When the haunt begins, the scenario determines the sides: usually one player is the traitor and the others are heroes, although some haunts use a different arrangement. Each side wins by completing its own scenario objective, not by following a single universal scoring system.

Setup

  1. Separate the Traitor's Tome and Secrets of Survival books. Do not read their scenario sections before a haunt begins.
  2. Choose an explorer, take the matching figure and character board, and set the four trait clips to the starting values shown in green. Place every figure in the Entrance Hall.
  3. Shuffle the event, item, and omen cards into separate face-down decks. Set the dice and general tokens within reach.
  4. Place the Entrance Hall, Grand Staircase, and Basement Landing starting tiles as directed by the rulebook. Shuffle the remaining room tiles into a face-down stack.
  5. Determine the first player using the character-card birthday rule, then continue clockwise.

Core turn and haunt flow

  1. Move. On your turn, move through adjacent rooms up to your current Speed. You may stop early. Entering an unexplored doorway requires drawing a room tile for the house level you are on and fitting it through matching doorways where possible.
  2. Resolve the new room. A room may instruct you to draw an event, item, or omen card. Resolve that instruction immediately. Drawing an event or omen normally ends movement; follow the specific card or room instruction if it says otherwise.
  3. Attempt tests. Rooms and cards can call for a trait roll. Roll a number of dice equal to your current value in the named trait, then apply the result. Physical traits are Might and Speed; mental traits are Knowledge and Sanity.
  4. Check for the haunt. After an omen is drawn, roll six dice. Compare the total with the number of omen cards currently held by all players. If the roll is less than that number, the haunt starts; otherwise, the next explorer takes a turn.
  5. Reveal the scenario. The haunt revealer uses the omen and room shown on the haunt chart in the Traitor's Tome to identify the scenario. The books then direct the traitor, if any, and the heroes to read their separate instructions. Read only your side's section, follow its setup, and reconvene when instructed.
  6. Play the haunt. Continue taking turns under the scenario's special rules. Monsters, movement, attacks, damage, and other effects are governed by the haunt and the core rules together.

How the game ends

The game ends as soon as a haunt's stated victory condition is met. The heroes may need to escape, defeat a threat, protect a character, or complete another objective; the traitor may have an entirely different task. Some 3rd Edition haunts have no traitor, so do not assume that the haunt always produces a hero-versus-traitor matchup. There is no cumulative campaign score in the base 3rd Edition game: resolve the current haunt, announce the winning side, and reset the components for a new play.

Beginner tips

  • Keep trait values visible and remember that low values can make later rolls riskier.
  • Explore deliberately: revealing rooms creates options, but omen draws accelerate the haunt check.
  • Discuss plans openly before the haunt, then respect the information boundaries in the two haunt books.
  • When the haunt starts, read your complete objective and setup before taking an action.
  • Use the scenario text as the authority when it changes a general rule; ask the group to pause and verify unclear interactions.

FAQs

Is this guide for every edition?

No. It is written for the 2022 Betrayal at House on the Hill 3rd Edition. The second edition and Widow's Walk expansion use different content and may phrase or handle some procedures differently.

Does the haunt always create a traitor?

No. Many haunts assign one player as the traitor, but some scenarios use all players as heroes or otherwise alter the sides. Let the assigned haunt decide.

Can players share items?

Only when the relevant rules allow it. Follow the item's text and any haunt-specific instructions; do not assume that an item can be freely traded or used by another explorer.