‘Fury of Dracula’ board game review
By Ed Appleby
4.5/5
In many games, there is a clear delineation between the hunter and hunted, with the players filling either role. It’s rare to find a game where the players get to be both, for each other.
Fury of Dracula (2015) is an explore and hunt style board game for two to five players designed by Frank Brooks, Stephen Hand, and Kevin Wilson and published by Fantasy Flight Games. This is the third edition of the game originally published by Games Workshop in 1987. In the game, one player plays Dracula, and the other players play the various hunters from the book by Bram Stoker. Dracula attempts to survive by secretly moving about the map and ambushing the others, while they attempt to track him down and kill him before time runs out.
Unlike many one-versus-all games, there is no secret or surprise as to who the traitor is. This eliminates the diversion or subterfuge of Deception (2014) or Shadows over Camelot (2005), or the uncertainness of Betrayal at the House on the Hill (2004), but in this case, it works. It does away with the terror in favour of psychology and outright action. Players sometimes are faced with risky actions and subtle traps, but Dracula has to fear exposure because, despite his strength, he is still vulnerable to the tools of the hunter.
All in all, I think that Fury of Dracula is a great blending of mystery and action, of cooperative play and player-versus-player. I would recommend tracking down a copy if you can—because just like Dracula himself, this game can be hard to find.