An ancient presence has stirred after 27 years and lurks once more in the shadows of the Neibolt House in the town of Derry, Maine. This savage shapeshifter delights in taking the form of Pennywise the Clown and other monsters–and it yearns to feed on our fear and feast on your flesh! As you and other survivors of the creature’s last feeding frenzy are drawn back to the house, It will play nightmarish tricks on your mind, blurring the line between what is real and what is imagined. Ultimately, It seeks to lure you home to the murky, fetid sewers beneath the town, where you’ll float…forever. Will you go their willingly and turn on your friends? Or band together to defeat It once and fo all. 

–from the back of the box 

I have been a fan of Betrayal at House on the Hill since the first edition was released in 2004. It has had a couple expansions released since the third edition of the core game was launched in 2022. Now a third expansion, Betrayal at the Neibolt House: The Evil of Pennywise, is now available with new components to add to the core game that brings Pennywise and other monsters from Stephen King’s It into the game. For more information about Betrayal at House on the Hill, 3rd edition, see my earlier review of the game. 

Betrayal at the Neibolt House: The Evil of Pennywise is an expansion for Betrayal at House on the Hill, 3rd edition. This time the game takes place in the town of Derry, Maine from the movie of Stephen King’s It and players interact with monsters from that story. The core game is required to play thee five new haunts. The expansion is designed for 3-6 players, ages 17 and up, and takes about 60 minutes to play. It is currently available for $24.99 from the Hasbro website. It is also available from Amazon. The expansion is published by Avalon Hill and Hasbro.

Here is what you get in the box:

Betrayal at the Neibolt House: The Evil of Pennywise comes with three highly detailed miniatures featuring Henry Bowers as well as Pennywise the Clown and a Pennywise spider monster. These are used in some of the haunts included with this expansion. 

The expansion as a character overlay for Henry Bowers to place over the player’s character who starts a specific haunt. There are also unique tokens used for the haunts for the Neibolt House. 

In addition to the scenario card for the Come Home to Evil scenario, there are also ten Pennywise Encounter cards. These are used when playing the new scenario. When a player enters a room with an Omen symbol and would drawn an Omen card, they instead draw a Pennywise Encounter card. Some of them may then have the player draw an Omen card as well. 

The expansion also includes four new room tiles inspired by It Chapter Two. These are added to the room tiles from the base game.

There are two manuals included with the expansion. The Secrets of Survival manual contains instructions on how to play the new haunts as well as specific information on each of the five haunts that are only read once a haunt begins. The Traitor’s Tome manual is used by the player who is the traitor for the haunt. The text for the haunts should not be read until the haunt begins. 

The five haunts for the new scenario included in Betrayal at the Neibolt House: The Evil of Pennywise play similar to the haunts in the core game. While the base game is suggested for players 12 and up, this expansion has an age rating of 17+ due to the theme which is based on a rated R movie. However, teenagers will most likely be able to handle the content of the game since the material is not as violent as the movies. 

I have really enjoyed playing Betrayal at House on the Hill over the years. I like how each game is different and the map of the house is created by the players as they explore. Then when the haunt is activated, you never know who will be the traitor. Betrayal at the Neibolt House: The Evil of Pennywise adds a whole new theme to the core game based on the It movies. Since the scenario takes place 27 years after the first movie, players are essentially taking the role of the survivors of the first movie as shown in It Chapter 2. In the new scenario, some of the haunts have no traitor and all of the players must work together to defeat the haunt. If you are already playing Betrayal at House on the Hill, then I recommend adding Betrayal at the Neibolt House: The Evil of Pennywise to your collection. If you have not yet played the core game, then now is a great time to start and add the monsters from It to the mix. 

For more information, visit the Betrayal at the Neibolt House: The Evil of Pennywise page!

Disclosure: GeekDad received a copy of this game for review purposes.

Source: geekdad.com