Scooby Doo! Betrayal at Mystery Mansion Review with Tom Vasel

[@bloodrunsclear]

I'd love to see someone combine the Betrayal games... "Zoinks, Scoob! Daphne has a bloody sacrificial dagger!"

[@justinehercthehuman]

You just gave me another reason to buy this game despite owning the original one already.

[@isaacalien]

Good, Hashro, good. The transformation has begun. Now fulfill your destiny and create Scooby Doo & Dragons!!!

[@Carlordau]

It's a shame they kept the crappy markers that track your stats and wreck the cardboard - AH had years to change this. Small dials would even be better.

[@matthewkolell5888]

I have a friend who owns BaHotH, they put a clear packing tape on the edge of the cardboard for the markers to slide on and it works well. Shame you have to resort to coming up with hacks though

[@ccggenius]

But if they put good components in the box, they couldn't upsell you the premium ones. They make dials for the original HotH, but it's like a $15-20 add-on. It DOES come with more dice though, so that's helpful.

[@goyasolidar]

I used a less rigid plastic standee clip that I repurposed from the BattleTech board game. I say "used" because we've since gotten rid of Betrayal because we realized it's a crap game.

[@fireant202]

How have they STILL not fixed the stat clips issue?! It’s been a problem since version one!

[@TheTrout9000]

This is something I 100% didn't realize I needed. I currently do not have my own copy of Betrayal, and I think this is going to be perfect.

[@keel1701]

My daughters and I love it so much! And your point about choosing the bad guy is a HUGE deal. The first time I played original Betrayal was with my wife and a group of strangers. She wasn't really feeling the game and got stuck as the bad guy, and she didn't get it and had to just stop playing, so I took over for her. If this rule were in place, I could have just taken the job right away.

[@chalkboy8]

My friend played the invisible man and had to shoot down his wife in the original BToH.

[@Foxtrot_Woof]

I got Betrayal at House on the Hill cheap on clearance. I haven't gotten it to the table yet due to "reasons". But just as Tom mentioned in this video, one thing that struck me was BaHotH also had really cheap components. Like disappointingly cheap, that must be an Avalon Hill thing. All the cardboard felt thin, minis were terrible, and the player boards (like these) were poorly designed and the pointers damage the boards. That said, I do really love Scooby Doo, and I still kind of want to get this game. The theme will make it easier to get to the table with my family than some of the themes in BaHotH. If I find this cheap enough I'll have to pick it up.

[@retroarcadefan]

Slide the stat pointers in from the corner and you wont damage anything. It still would have been great to have dials or something better, thanks for the review!

[@misterbxiv]

I’m surprised more people haven’t figured this out. Also, I had to clamp a bunch of them in my version to make then snugly hold on to the boards without falling off. But now they work great for me

[@StormCrow42]

I'd been calling the original Betrayal, "Scooby Doo, the Board Game" for ages, now you can really play it that way. :)

[@chalkboy8]

Hee he hee

[@douglochery8641]

We've been teaching it on that basis, too. Really makes sense quickly to folks when you frame it this way

[@AthexTube]

Scooby Dooby dooooooooooooooo!

[@pixxelwizzard]

This is a masterclass in what makes a great review. Hit every point I was interested in in less than 15 mins. I get to play this today, and at first I was put off by the rumored simplicity, but now I'm excited! Thanks, Tom!

[@mtrithart]

Another game I thought that would be good for Scooby Doo theme is Horrified.

[@sortehuse]

Every time asked about what game I wanted rethemed with a IP this was my top answer. It's so great the made this. Now I just want the Puppy Power! Expansion ;-)

[@IamVerilance]

Scrappy will always be the betrayer...

[@Bee-Rye]

The creators literally hate scrappy so much that he hasn't appeared since scooby movie and that was only to get rid of him permanently. Idk if we'll see him again since his last real appearance outside of that movie was like the 80's iirc.

[@maxxmittelstadt4979]

Betrayal is a game I play once a year or two during October and love scooby-do. Another plus is that it appeals to more casual players. Meaning that this will be my edition of betrayal I’m going to put in my collection.

[@dreddric]

I feel it's unnecessy to show the characters surnames, it never mattered in the cartoons.

[@wombat10002000]

They could have had clear clips for the character boards, instead of the black ones.

[@MoragTong_]

Too bad Ravensburger didn't produce this one...they've been killing it.

[@tempestfury8324]

Seems like a really fun family game! Hey they fixed Betrayal! One of the greatest dilemmas in life....... Ginger or Mary Ann? Daphne or Velma?

[@tempestfury8324]

@@heroprime7599 : Tell that to all the girls that cosplay as Velma! Historically, Daphne would now be about 68 years old and Velma, 65 They are cartoon characters! Get over yourself!

[@beneisen6982]

The clips have always had that issue. i put a clear piece of tape over each edge to keep them in better quality. Looks like it is to Betrayal as Clue Jr is to Clue, where it is a bit lighter and more family friendly. The Scooby theme fits on well there, and i'm glad that Velma (or any of the gang) doesn't end up being a traitor.

[@bennu547]

Scooby-Doo and Shaggy start at a level 4 speed?🤨 That doesn’t sound right to me. Many times the gang would say that Scooby-Doo and Shaggy are the fastest of the group. Usually when who was gonna be bait

[@drewcoaustralia]

I love Betrayal and so I bought my own copy second hand but it came without either rulebook so it's essentially useless. I might pick this up though because Scooby Doo is such perfect theming and it's really cool! Also in future can you please timestamp the components section in the description too? As soon as I realised this was just a reskinned Betrayal I wanted to skip to components and final thoughts.

[@kellybrown7172]

We use small paperclips for markers & they work great. We get the different colored ones. It makes it easier to see the numbers too.

[@GameVinereviews]

Hey looks pretty solid. Great review, thanks for the hard work Tom :)

[@chalkboy8]

Jinkies, can this be played with two meddling kids?

[@thedicetower]

With a meddling adult, sure! Three is a great number.

[@jameswoodard4304]

It also looks like the clips chew up the cardboard, kind of like standee stands do sometimes. I hate that! I would rather not have to destroy the game components with use unless it's an actual game mechanism.

[@1gkn1ght]

These clips are WAY better than the original in the fact that they don't move. The problem with that is they don't move. And you are right, I see them destroying the cardboard, which is really cheap too.

[@BlueGoblin1]

The fact we can choose who becomes the bad guy is HUGE! and looking at what you showed and explained means I did not make a mistake with buying this game for my brother and their family.

[@smoker420la]

I just thought about rubber bands what if you criss cross rubber bands for the markers instead of the plastic the tears up the cardboard

[@aimeeandDito]

New here great vid great explanation and will pick this game up looks mad fun

[@Slyfox1775]

Not sure why after all these years they can’t make a game with good components.. every copy has had bad components...

[@johnpaullogan1365]

the upgrade character cards for base aren't bad but they don't seem to make them for the spinoff themes

[@Strandvideo]

Sounds like family fun!

[@Baldricksturnip]

I hate, haaaaate Betrayal games. If I remember well Sam also didn't like this kind of games. I didn't agree with him on many things, but on this I did. After Risk this is for me one of the most miserable experiences in board gaming. I don't like games where your progress depends on a random number you get from a die. Well in this kind of games if you're the betrayer and the dice don't like you, you can just pack your stuff and leave. Because everyone else will be so much ahead of you you'll lose anyway. Yes, it can be fun, but for everyone else.

[@chalkboy8]

Will Hot Dog Water be in the expansion with Scooby Dum and Scrappy Doo?

[@chalkboy8]

@@heroprime7599 Heeee he he

[@firekram]

Expansions for this game would be fantastic as there is no shortage of Scooby-Doo content to draw from If I had to add a player character I would want to go with the Hex Girls or maybe Crystal and Amber

[@jeffjackson283]

Wish the series had more seasons. It was fantastic.

[@nezukoshop]

tired of this betrayal system already, not interesting, not engaging. clunky.

[@sm5574]

Also good for parents who grew up with the original Mystery Mansion and want something slightly more complex to play with their children.

[@JeffGoris]

My daughter (and I, TBH) really like Scooby Doo. My son does to, but he wouldn't admit it. I bought this game after seeing this review. Played it with my family of 4 and it was a complete flop. The first part of the game feels like an extended random setup. There is no objective or mystery to solve as you explore the mention, as the theme would suggest. When you explore a new tile you are randomly rewarded or penalised. My family kept asking me what they are supposed to be doing. It's just thumb twiddling until the haunt begins. The haunt begins. Yay! Now everybody has to read or learn extra rules for the second part of the game. Their patience was already worn thin and they lost it at this point. This was my worst gaming experience, ever.

[@dreamwarrior3d]

Thank you for the detailed reviews,you've sold me. I wanted a game that wasn't super complicated, and something for adults and older tweens/teens could enjoy, plus my family loves scooby.

[@snaggy13]

Thanks, Tom! Bought this for my daughter for her birthday, in part because of this review, which I watched in the summer. The game went over very well. I appreciate your perspective as a dad when it comes to reviewing games that are more child friendly. Please keep it up!

[@SPACEB0YZER0]

Only ever played betrayal legacy and absolutely hated it...made it through 5 scenarios before we decided that the game beneath the legacy was garbage. My kids love scooby doo but the haunts in legacy were so fiddly and broken that it made me not want to ever play one of these again. Components in it were trash as well and it was $80, so it was a huge disappointment. The scooby ip doesn’t look like it saved this one.

[@j-rod4600]

This game is garbage and only buy it if you never want to play with a group of people again. The rule book had more errors in it than a 2nd grade book report. They didn't even bother proof reading it. Then you have to spend time on BGG doing research trying to figure out what you're actually supposed to do. You would be better off just assuming what you need to do and making house rules as you play to answer questions that will inevitably come up. This could have easily been a fun quick easy to play game to introduce people to Betrayal type games. Instead it's a hot mess that seems like a cash grab.

[@moltenbullet]

Ah, i would have bought this just for the theme, if only they had used minis instead of standees. I'd even have forgiven the clearly easily damaged status cards and clips.

[@DeltaDemon1]

You can replace the clips with small paper clips and they wouldn't hide the text as much. I've done that on other games.

[@ainsleywithnobrains]

I absolutely love Betrayl, and I was so happy to watch this review to see that owning both games is worth it.

[@JT-mq6oc]

Yes I love that this will be good to play with my family. Thanks Tom

[@RadeTcg]

So are we going to talk about one of the designers name is "Banana Chan"

[@DeltaDemon1]

Ah...but did you gt away with it...

[@Jonathan_Davis66]

Can anyone confirm what the dice is saying in the intro before it falls into the tower? Is it saying anything or is just gibberish?

[@paulanderson7347]

Tom confirmed a while back that it was just gibberish.

[@1gkn1ght]

Played this Saturday with 3 players. I ended up being the 'masked villain' in the first game and felt that the game was 100% set against me. The second game we played another player was the masked villain and it was 100% in his favor. The rules didn't help, it said that if we ran into junk that he placed down we would "roll a die", on a 4+ nothing happened to us. The issue? The dice only have 0 - 2 pips per side. I was ready to give up in both games, where my partner on the second game actually raged quit due to the rules. The 'haunt' also comes out WAY to soon! I think I counted 11 of the 30 tiles that have the clue token. The first game we got 9 total tiles (including the start tiles) befoe the haunt, the second game I think we had 11 tiles. The rules also state that you set the 2 start tiles far apart from each other, this isn't true, you want them next to each other. The Mystery Machine is the start for the outside, and in the tile, you can clearly see the door the mansion, the other tile is the interior (other side of the door). Makes no sense to have them apart, then they state you put your standees (not even miniatures like the original), on the Myster Machine to start the game. But the photo in the rulebook shows otherwise. The rules are garbage. I totally disagree with Tom on this one.

[@jamesolney3456]

You add the pips up on all the dice you’ve rolled

[@1gkn1ght]

@@jamesolney3456 The rules said, "Roll a die", not "Roll dice". AKA, you roll 1, there is nothing to add.

[@chalkboy8]

You can use tiny Clothespins from the hobbystore to clip onto the character cards instead of the lame clips. Ru oh.

[@Psychotron7x2]

I actually prefer to use a Sharpie marker to indicate my current stats then use whiteout and redraw my stats every time something changes. It works surprisingly well.

[@chalkboy8]

@@Psychotron7x2 That works too!

[@johnpaullogan1365]

i 3d printed a thing that the cards sit on that has a border the clips can go on. pretty simple print that looks nice and saves the cards

[@garylangford6755]

Betrayal sucks and is overrated. Scenarios are unbalanced and clunky as hell

[@tiagomarques9822]

Betrayal at House on the Hill needs a version 2.0, revised to balance all scenarios and better components. This would be a fantastic KickStarter, and one I’d back immediately. It’s a pity that a game dripping so much with theme suffers because of such things. This Scooby-Doo version is just a bit too childish for my own taste, but it looks neat nonetheless (except for those components), and I hope it’ll give the editors a push for the BaHotH 2.0.

[@justacynic]

They need a re-write for many scenarios that clearly explains the goals and mechanics of the scenario. Even game geeks get confused and have to seek clarification on a ton of them.

[@LukeE94]

They have. Google Betrayal Legacy.

[@justacynic]

@@LukeE94 Have you played it? We've played the prologue and 5 chapters and there have been two scenarios that mystified people. So their writers *still* have issues!

[@chalkboy8]

They would have suceeded if it hadn't been for those meddling gamers?

[@LukeE94]

justacynic I’ve beat it yes, there’s a steep learning curve but I got it :)

[@MajinWamu]

I just got my copy yesterday. I look forward to playing.

[@heroestcg]

I just order this from Miniature Market tonight for my daughter. She loves Betrayal and said she wanted this game too.

[@BushBumperBaker]

Instead of making a sci-fi one or a more interesting version they make a cringey kiddy version. Gotcha.