Designers: Brett Clements, Phillip Tanner

Publishers: Flying Bark Productions 

Genre: Horror

Number of Players: 3-6 Players (Best with 4) 

Release Date: July 8, 2004 

Difficulty: Easy-Medium 

SCORE: 5.5 / 10

It is time to set the Atmosfear. This horror board game, along with its DVD companion, sets the stage for some pure chaos. Known as Nightmare in its native Australia, the game forces players to unlock the aforementioned “Well of Fears” to be able to face your own personal fears. Here’s the catch, you have less than sixty minutes to unlock the well. Will you be able to confront what scares you most?

Welcome to “The Other Side”.

Just like most board games released during the late ’90s and early ’00s, there is very little of plot found in Atmosfear. Each player has to write down their individual fears and place them in the “Well of Fears.” The game is hosted by “The Gatekeeper,” an individual whose sole job is to manage the souls in his realm. He forces the players to collect six different keys, one from each of the Harbingers territories. This will provide the player access to the “Well of Fears” where they have to pull out their written fear out of the well. When the game begins each player picks one of the Harbingers to take on their adventures.

Pick your Harbinger! Each of the Harbingers (excluding Hellin) are supposedly based off of historical figures.

• Gevaudan: A werewolf, based off of the first man who allegedly suffered from Lycanthropy.
• Hellin: A spirit, her name is an anagram for “In Hell”
• Anne de Chantraine: A witch, based off of one of the first witches burned at the stake during the Salem Witch Trials.
• Khufu: A mummy, based off of the Fourth Dynasty Egyptian Pharaoh.
• Baron Samedi: An Ioa, based off of the Ioa of the Dead in Voodoo.
• Elizabeth Bathory: A vampire, based off of the real-life serial killer who allegedly murdered and drank the blood of six hundred virgin girls.

On the flip side…

Now what exactly is your goal in Atmosfear? As one of the aforementioned malicious spirits, your goal is to reach the “Well of Fears” and escape back to the real world from your current residence “The Other Side.” In order to reach the Well though, you have to collect six different colored keys by landing on the key space in the particular territory that you need. Make sure you hold onto your keys, as they can be dropped or stolen by the other players. Also make sure you avoid the Black Key like the plague, as it resembles influence from “The Other Side” and the player can’t win with it. So on a typical turn, where you end up is left to the fate of a simple dice roll. Where will the evil dice take you? It could be anywhere, but be quick…those sixty minutes do not last very long.

Time is running out!

What definitely makes Atmosfear completely bearable is the companion DVD. The DVD has two main purposes: to put a clock on the gameplay at only 60 minutes, and add colorful commentary along with hosting from the Gatekeeper. The stock video included in the DVD is actually well done, as if the right mixture of horror sounds and atmospheres filled with dread happen to clash just at the right moment. The Gatekeeper (portrayed by actor David Whitney) brings just the right amount of sarcasm and avarice to each round that you will either completely hate him or absolutely laugh at his authority after the hour is up. I swear the Gatekeeper is bi-polar, as some rounds he wants to punish you as much as possible. Other times though, he doesn’t really care if you escape “The Other Side” or not.

Due to the incorporation of the DVD, Atmosfear has much more replay-ability than expected…at least when you are in your early teens. The DVD adds a number of random events and rules to the game at the Gatekeeper’s whim, changing each playthrough. I found that after about six or so plays, once for each Harbinger to be selected, you will be able to see most if not all of the random events. Still, a game that is fun for at least 10 games? Just through my personal experience, I quickly grew bored of the game itself. On the contrary though, I have friends that long to continue playing until this very day…

Can’t wait to see you again!

For the most part, I remember Atmosfear quite fondly from my childhood. It was one of the first games I encountered that came with a DVD companion, Atmosfear was a quick childhood favorite that filled my late nights with friends with plenty of horror. This was the first board game that grabbed my interest in character backstories and development as a whole. Does it stand up to my standards over ten years later? Sadly, it definitely doesn’t. While key elements, mainly the characters, still appeal to me, this one will be one to sit on the shelf until nostalgia kicks in once again.

Interested in more tabletop games like Atmosfear? Be sure to watch out for the next issue and follow my Bacon Bits for a sneak peak at what the next issue might hold. Be sure to also check out everything else Nerd Bacon has to offer over in Beyond Bacon.