8 Best Paranormal Activity Board Games to Play in 2026
Unleash paranormal activity in your game nights! These board games put you in the thick of mysterious and spooky adventures.
8 Spooky Board Games That Bring Paranormal Activity to Your Table
If you’re like us, you love a good scare that doesn’t involve actual ghosts hiding in your closet. We’ve played more games about haunted houses and restless spirits than we’d care to admit, and honestly, we’ve never screamed this much over cardboard. For this list, we picked games that deliver true paranormal activity vibes, keep new players engaged, and turn game night into a supernatural adventure. Whether you want to solve mysteries, outwit poltergeists, or just laugh at your friends pretending to be psychic, there’s something spooky here for everyone.
On this list:
8 Mysterium
We picked Mysterium because it makes you feel like psychic detectives on a bad day at work. One friend plays the ghost, trying so hard to get us to guess clues using baffling art cards, but we still somehow manage to pick the wrong suspect and laugh at each other’s wild guesses. If you like paranormal activity with just the right amount of arguing about dream interpretation skills, this is a good start. Every game is different, and the teamwork keeps things engaging, especially when someone gets stuck in the spirit world and the rest try to help—by shouting. The game is simple for new players but doesn’t talk down to you, which we like.
7 Betrayal at House on the Hill
We had to include Betrayal at House on the Hill because we’ve never felt more like we were starring in a cheesy haunted house movie. You build a spooky mansion tile by tile and wait for things to go sideways—which they always do. Someone in your group usually becomes the traitor, and the rest of us have about ten seconds to figure out what’s going on. There are ghosts, secret cults, and more than enough paranormal activity to raise the hair on your arms. It’s heavy on theme and goofy fun, with enough surprises to keep everyone howling (sometimes literally).
6 Paranormal Detectives
Ever wanted to ask a ghost about their last moments, but with more puns and less actual danger? Paranormal Detectives delivers some of the funniest supernatural grilling we’ve ever done, with one player as the spirit and the rest poking around for answers. You’ll use string, tarot cards, and even draw in the air to get clues for the murder. The replayability is high because every ghost is different, and some of us still giggle every time someone tries to mime a crime scene. Great for parties, and the game brings just enough paranormal activity to make everyone feel a bit extra psychic.
5 Lucidity: Six-Sided Nightmares
We picked this one because it comes packed with paranormal activity and a healthy dose of fear. In Lucidity, you and your friends try to survive a night packed with nightmares. The creepy theme is strong, and the dice rolling keeps everyone guessing if they’ll wake up—or become a nightmare themselves. We played this at 2 am with the lights off and had plenty of laughs, plus a few shivers.
4 Ghost Stories
You’ll need nerves of steel and maybe a lucky rabbit’s foot to win Ghost Stories. We’ve spent many nights trying (and failing) to save a village from evil spirits, and it always ends with us blaming each other for the ghosts getting through. This cooperative game is tough, fast, and full of paranormal activity, with every tile and card adding new spooks. If you like a challenge and want to yell ‘exorcism’ at your friends for real, give Ghost Stories a whirl. It rewards teamwork and clever moves, but be ready to be spooked out by relentless ghost attacks.
3 Obscurio
We keep coming back to Obscurio for its clever blend of picture-guessing and betrayal. You’re all wizards trying to escape a haunted library, but one of you is a traitor trying to confuse the group. The ghostly atmosphere is thick, and the art is full of strange clues and mysterious hints. We love shouting over each other as we try to figure out what the grimoire is showing us, and the sense of paranoia and paranormal activity makes every session fun. If you like group games with a touch of hidden roles and spookiness, this is a hit.
2 EXIT: The House of Riddles
If you’ve ever wanted to solve your way out of a haunted house, EXIT: The House of Riddles gives you a brain-twisting taste of paranormal activity. This escape room in a box has all sorts of riddles and surprises, and each puzzle feels like it’s haunted. We actually argued for 20 minutes about a ghostly code, and in the end, nobody could remember why we started yelling. Great fun for small groups who don’t mind tearing up a few game pieces for an immersive experience. The sense of mystery is strong and the theme holds up from start to finish.
1 Arkham Horror: The Card Game
We picked Arkham Horror: The Card Game as the best because it has the most intense paranormal activity, hands down. The story pulls you in, and every playthrough feels like a season of your favorite supernatural show—with you as the main character. The game is tough, mysterious, and every choice matters. In our group, we’ve seen alliances break over cursed cards and have spent hours replaying just to solve bigger mysteries. It has tons of expansions, so you never run out of haunted adventures. Best of all, nothing beats the feeling of outsmarting the eldritch horrors and surviving (mostly) with your sanity intact.
