Boxtop Pinball: Haunted House

• Designer: Zach Connelly (+ Alex Cutler)
• Publisher: Pandasaurus
• Players: 1-4
• Age: 8+
• Time: 30 minutes 
• Amazon affiliate link: https://amzn.to/40jr03p 
• Played with review copy provided by publisher

Get ready to flick your dice, and roll to victory in this spooky game of haunted house pinball! Take down monsters, uncover hidden clues, and dodge trap doors as you try to rack up as many points as you can.  Each turn in Boxtop Pinball: Haunted House, you flick one of your dice from the launch pad into the cardboard pinball machine to earn points. For each die that remains on the machine at the end of the round, you score the number of points indicated on that die, plus additional points for various bonuses. Earn points by hitting monsters, gathering clue tokens, and staying in haunted realms. Landing in the summoning circle gains you an additional die!  Whoever scores the most points after three rounds wins.

To start, setup the boxes to make the three level pinball table – putting the walls and stoppers into the right places.  Three monsters are added to the board, Medusa on the top, Frank in the middle and Bob in the bottom.  A clue token is placed facedown on each of the locations.  Each player gets the 4 dice in their chosen player color.

In a round, starting with the starting player and then going clockwise, each player flicks a die into the pinball table.  You may move the launch pad left and right to change your angle.  Once you flick your die, you don’t touch it again for the rest of the round.  In general, you want your die to stay on the table through the entire round – if it does so, you’ll score the points showing on the die. (If your die is sitting in a multiplier area, you would multiply as shown in that space).  If the die falls off the table or goes through a hole, you won’t score for it.

If your die (or a die you strike) hits a monster on your turn, mark this on the score sheet – then move the monster to its location on the next level.  If your die (or a die you strike) lands on a Clue, take that clue and use it for endgame bonus points.  If your die lands in the Summoning Circle, you get to launch another die immediately.  If you hit another die into the Summoning Circle, that player takes a die of their color and holds on to it – they will launch both their regular die and their extra die on their next turn.

When all players have launched their dice, the round is over.  Now, all dice on the board are scored (remembering to multiply if necessary).  Players also score a monster bonus of 2/5/10 pts for hitting 1/2/3 different monsters this round.  Place the monsters back in their starting locations and replenish the clue tokens.    At the end of the game (after 3 rounds), players add in all the points from the clue tokens they have picked up.  The player with the highest score wins, ties broken in favor of the player with the best 3rd round score.

My thoughts on the game

This is a very thematic flicking game which appears to possibly be based on an actual pinball table?  Here, you get your fingers ready and propel your dice down the table.  Do you go for high scoring areas? Do you try to get an extra die?  Do you shoot for the monsters and hope for a nice bonus?  

Is there a lot of strategy in the game?  I honestly didn’t find too much – but this isn’t the sort of game that needs it.  It’s about flicking the dice, seeing what happens and then laughing with your friends about it.  This is a game that is, for me at least, more about the playing than the winning.  It’s just fun to see those monster standees go down or to watch the dice fall into the holes.  If you do think someone is winning, it’s also plenty of fun to try to target their dice with your own…

Because it’s mostly just flicking and seeing what happens, this is good for gamers of just about any age.  I had it set up at a recent event and plenty of people stopped by to give it a try. A round of the game only takes 5 to 10 minutes, so it’s easy to play.  This will likely only be played around here on themed nights, but it will stay in the closet to come out for those occasions.

Amazon affiliate link: https://amzn.to/40jr03p 

Thoughts from other Opinionated Gamers

Mark Jackson (1 play): I like dice-flicking games… and this one works. But there’s nothing particularly special to set it apart from the classic of the genre, Tumblin’ Dice. (Is this the appropriate time to tell my story about how I got an original edition Tumblin’ Dice set from a thrift store for $5?)

Matt Carlson (2 plays): I also like dice flicking games… and this one works. :) The objectives (hit the monsters and dislodge the clue tokens) set this one apart from other flicking games. (Yes, super-jealous of Mark’s thrift find, but at least I already have a complete Tumblin Dice set.) However, I feel like the extremely rounded dice make it difficult to control where they stop. Thus, the game seems to end up focusing on hitting monsters, maybe hitting clues, but not so much on stopping in any given area. The clues, by the way, are extremely swing-y. They range from 1 to 6 points. I won a game where my clues were 4,5,6 and my opponent had a 1 & 4… The holes in the board are “interesting” but when something goes down them (like a monster) you have to lift up the box to get it – which can dislodge everything on top. I’m going to put it down as “I like it” when it stands by itself but Tumblin Dice is the better game. Pinball only gets the nod as it is much easier to store. However, since I already have (the more expensive) Tumblin Dice, I don’t think Pinball will stay in my collection in the long term.

Nate Beeler (0 plays): As an owner of both Tumblin’ Dice and a Haunted House pinball machine, I clearly need to check this out.

Ratings from the Opinionated Gamers

• I love it!
• I like it. Matt C., Steph H
• Neutral. Dale Y, Mark Jackson, John P
• Not for me…