You’re trapped inside a haunted house. Explore room by room, find items and omens — until someone triggers the Haunt, one player may turn traitor, and the game completely transforms.

The starting room tiles that begin the house in Betrayal at House on the Hill

3 – 6Players
60–90 minPlay Time
12+Age

Our full review: Betrayal at House on the Hill Review

Note: These simplified rules help you get started quickly. Read the full rulebook before your first play — there are 50 different Haunts, each with unique objectives.

The Big Picture

Betrayal has two phases:

Phase 1 — Exploration: Everyone cooperates, exploring the house tile by tile, collecting items, and surviving Event and Omen cards.

Phase 2 — The Haunt: When triggered, the game reveals which player (if any) is the Traitor. Traitor and Survivors read separate rulebooks with secret, usually opposing objectives.

Setup

1
Each player chooses a character card (each has two sides). Place four starting room tiles: the Upper Landing, Basement Landing, and Main Floor Entrance.
2
Shuffle the Event, Omen, and Item decks and place them face-down. Take out all the dice.
3
Set your character's stat markers (Speed, Might, Sanity, Knowledge) on the starting values shown on your card. Track these on paper or use the companion app (search "Betrayal Character Stats").
4
The player with the next upcoming birthday goes first.

The character cards and trait clips in Betrayal at House on the Hill

Exploration Phase

1
Move up to as many rooms as your Speed stat allows. You can move through any open doorway.
2
When you enter an unexplored doorway, draw a room tile. Place it on the matching floor (rooms are labelled Upper, Middle, or Basement). If the tile doesn't fit the current floor, set it aside and keep drawing.
3
If the new room has a symbol, draw the matching card (Event, Item, or Omen) and follow its instructions.
4
After drawing an Omen card, make a Haunt Roll: roll 6 dice (faces 0–2). If your result is lower than the total number of Omen cards drawn so far, the Haunt begins.

Omen cards that drive the Haunt Roll in Betrayal at House on the Hill

If your stat reaches the skull-and-crossbones, you die and are out of the game.

Starting the Haunt

When the Haunt is triggered:

1
Open the Traitor's Tome and cross-reference the room where the Haunt started with the Omen that triggered it. This tells you who (if anyone) is the Traitor.
2
The Traitor leaves the room and reads their secret objective in the Traitor's Tome. Everyone else reads their objective together in the Secrets of Survival book.
3
Objectives are usually directly opposed — the Traitor wins if the Survivors fail, and vice versa.
4
Some Haunts introduce monsters. These are moved by the Traitor each round using the rules in their section of the Traitor's Tome.

The monster figures and tokens used once the Haunt begins

Tips for New Players

  • Track stats on paper — the card markers slip easily.
  • The Haunt Rolls start low-risk but become likely after the fourth or fifth Omen card.
  • Each of the 50 Haunts has completely different objectives. Read yours carefully before the battle phase begins.
Is there always a Traitor?

Not always. Some Haunts have no Traitor — the Survivors face a monster or scenario without anyone going evil.

Can dead players still participate?

No — if your stat reaches the skull, you're out. Some players use dead characters to observe and offer neutral commentary.

Can the Traitor lie to the group before the Haunt?

Yes — the Haunt assignment is secret until the roll, but there's nothing stopping you from being a suspicious character during exploration.

Thumbnail image artificially generated for illustrative purposes.

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