
- BGG rank
- BGG #34
- BGG rating
- 8.1
Root: A Game of Woodland Might and Right
- 2–4 players
- 60–90 min
- Complexity 3.8/5
- 2018

Rules assistance for Halloween
Plain-language explanations of turns, card effects and disputed situations, with official source references and saved question history.

What would you like to know?
Answers come from the official rulebook, with the page to check.
Halloween is a board game released in 2017 for 2–4 players, 45–90 minutes per game, and ages 12 and up. It was designed by Angelo de Maio and its main mechanics are Variable Player Powers, Area Movement, and Dice Rolling.
It's Halloween — time to haunt poor unfortunate humans who think the holiday is all fun and games, but wait until you unleash ghosts upon this little town. Use your knowledge and wit to summon ghosts, move them around town, scare people, and even fight other ghosts because only one demon lord can boast of being the scariest demon lord of them all. Halloween is a tactical game for 2 to 4 players in which you take on the role of a demon lord that controls the many ghosts on the board. Carefully plan your actions through a unique mechanism that allows you to manage multiple ghosts to try to outwit your opponents. Summon ghosts, move them round the board, fight other ghosts, or use one of the numerous action cards that can give you great tactical advantage. During each player’s turn, that player will perform three of the actions available on their Player Board. Each player can activate any Ghost on the main board, provided that its requirements are met. Players can also, at any time during their turn, occupy one or more Action Cards. These greatly enhance players’ options in the game. The game proceeds clockwise from the first player until the end of the game is triggered; this will happen when a player has completely run out of Haunt Tokens or if they occupy five Action Cards. A final scoring then happens, and the player with the most Haunt Points (HP) wins.
Halloween supports 2–4 players according to the catalogue. This range comes from the publisher’s listed player count, so the game can be set up for any group size within it. Some setups, rules and scoring details may still vary by player count, so check your edition’s rulebook for the exact configuration.
The listed playing time for Halloween is 45–90 minutes. This is the publisher’s estimate for a full game. The actual duration depends on the group, the player count and familiarity with the rules: first sessions usually run longer, while experienced groups often finish faster. Setup and teaching time are not included in this estimate.
The catalogue lists Halloween for ages 12 and up. This is the publisher’s recommendation and reflects reading demands, rule complexity and small components rather than theme alone. Younger players can often join with help from an adult, so check the age guidance on your edition and consider your group’s experience with board games.
Halloween has a complexity rating of 2.9 out of 5 from BoardGameGeek players, which makes it a medium-light game. The rating reflects how much rules knowledge, planning and decision-making a typical game demands. Expect a longer first teach for heavier games, and use a preparation guide before game night.
Halloween belongs to these categories: Horror and Miniatures. Its main mechanics are Variable Player Powers, Area Movement, and Dice Rolling. Categories describe the theme and setting of a game, while mechanics describe what players actually do on their turns. Each mechanic links to a catalogue hub with similar games, which helps when you want something comparable.
The credited designers of Halloween are: Angelo de Maio. These credits come from the published game data and name the people responsible for the game’s design, not its illustrators or publishers. Designer pages on MeepleRules collect other titles by the same designers, which helps when you enjoy a game and want to find similar ones.
The catalogue lists Halloween as a base game. It can be played on its own with the components in the box and does not require any other title. Expansions, if any exist, add new content or rules on top of it and are listed separately in the catalogue with a link back to this base game.