- BGG rank
- BGG #14,830
- BGG rating
- 6.5
Vampire Radar
2014
Rules assistance for Vampire Radar
Plain-language explanations of turns, card effects and disputed situations, with official source references and saved question history.
- 2–4 players
- 60 min
- 10+
- Complexity 2.0/5
For 2 players
Rules assistant for Vampire Radar
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Answers come from the official rulebook, with the page to check.
Vampire Radar is a board game released in 2014 for 2–4 players, 60 minutes per game, and ages 10 and up. It was designed by Yuji Kaneko and its main mechanics are Grid Movement, Secret Unit Deployment, and Team-Based Game.
About the game
Vampire Radar is a battle between vampire and humans, with 8-9 human pawns starting the game on the square grid map. The vampire is invisible, so there's no vampire pawn, but he IS somewhere on the map. The only clues are from radars. When a human uses a radar, the humans get to know how far the vampire is from the radar. With the clue from the radar and guessing his moves, humans shoot their guns blindly, trying to damage the vampire. Before all bullets are spent or all humans are killed, if the vampire's life is reduced to zero, the humans win. The vampire wins when he kills all the humans or when the humans are out of bullets. The second edition of Vampire Radar has nine 2x2 tiles instead of 36 1x1 tiles, making for faster set-up, and it includes variant rules for the human players. Instead of each human player taking two actions, then the vampire acting twice, each human player takes one action, then they pass the starting marker clockwise, then each human takes another action, then the vampire acts. This change rotates the turn order among the humans. ヴァンパイアレーダーは、人間対ヴァンパイアの戦いのゲームです。 格子状のマップに8～9人の人間駒を置いてゲームを始めます。ヴァンパイアは目に見えないので、駒はありませんが、マップ上のどこかにいます。 唯一の手がかりはレーダーです。レーダーを使用すると、ヴァンパイアとの距離がわかります。人間はレーダーの手がかりからヴァンパイアの動きを推測し、虚空に向けて銃を撃ち、見えないヴァンパイアを攻撃します。 弾丸が尽きるか人間が全滅する前に、ヴァンパイアのライフを0にできれば人間の勝利です。 (This game was first published with an English title "Vampire Rader". However, the correct translation of the Japanese name ヴァンパイアレーダー is "Vampire Radar", and the second edition of the game features this title.)
Designers
Publishers
- Japon Brand
- かぼへる (Kaboheru)
Questions and answers
Vampire Radar 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 Vampire Radar is 60 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 Vampire Radar for ages 10 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.
Vampire Radar has a complexity rating of 2.0 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.
Vampire Radar belongs to these categories: Fighting, Deduction, and Horror. Its main mechanics are Grid Movement, Secret Unit Deployment, and Team-Based Game. 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 Vampire Radar are: Yuji Kaneko. 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 Vampire Radar 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.