Game Review: Disney’s Return of the Headless Horseman

I generally review books with the occasional video thrown in. However, I recently had the chance to get an early peek at a couple of Disney-themed boardgames produced by Funko Games. Read on for my review of Disney’s Return of the Headless Horseman Game!

What They Say

After midnight in Sleepy Hollow, the town comes to life with spooky sounds and creepy creatures! Ichabod is frightened and needs your help!

Work together to get him to the covered bridge before the Headless Horseman heads him off! It’s a family game of frightful fun!

The Review

“The Legend of Sleepy Hollow” isn’t exactly one of Disney’s showcase works. The artwork is goofy, and the tone is a weird combination of slapstick and scary. As such, I was quite surprised at the high production quality of Disney’s Return of the Headless Horseman Game. In addition to being an engaging Halloween-themed game, it’s designed like a collectors’ item.

The colors of the box are vibrant. The design of the top half of the box is reminiscent of a fancy photo album, and it’s even embossed to give it that leather-bound texture. On the edges of the box’s bottom half are beautifully rendered scenes from the movie. And when you open the box, the first thing you see is a captioned illustration reminiscent of a storybook opener.

As it turns out, that illustration is printed on the back of the game board. So it serves no purpose other than providing a nice visual when you remove the box lid.

In addition to the board, the game comes with a Headless Horseman figure, an Ichabod figure, a set of cards, Scare tokens, and a speed tile. The Scare tokens and speed tile are of thick cardboard, and each card is printed with its own unique illustration. As with the box, the quality of the card and token artwork really make the game feel like a collectors’ item.

Part of the gameplay includes spinning for numbers. Instead of a regular spinner, this board has a spooky tree-shaped spinner, which is a nice touch. (Plus it spins very smoothly.)

Instructions are provided on a pamphlet, but for those who prefer to watch a video, Funko has one available on YouTube. Both the pamphlet and the video are easy to follow.

The Headless Horseman is a collaboration game. That means there are only two character figures even though up to four can play. In most path-style games, individuals race to finish first, but in this one, all the players work together to keep the Ichabod figure as far from the pursuing Headless Horseman figure while avoiding “Scare” spaces on the board.

The movement of Ichabod and the Headless Horseman are determined by the cards laid down by all the players. Players only have so many cards in their hand, so strategy boils down to which card offers the most advantageous move. (Or, if a hand is terrible, which card minimizes “Scare” exposure.) Each time Ichabod lands on a “Scare” space or gets overtaken by the Headless Horseman, a Scare token is flipped. Four of these Scare tokens are Flaming Pumpkins. If all Flaming Pumpkins are flipped before Ichabod reaches the path’s end, the Headless Horseman wins, and the players lose. However, if Ichabod gets to the end before all four Flaming Pumpkins come up, the players win.

The game is rated for ages six and up, and the rules of the game are age-appropriate. Each player must choose cards on their own for each round, but because this is a collaborative game, a parent can vocalize the advantages/disadvantages of different card values to help younger players reason out their choices. For those who have trouble thinking strategically but still want to participate, the game offers the option for a player to simply draw off the top of the deck rather than maintaining a hand to choose from.

However, I would caution parents before they buy this game for very young children. While the gameplay is age-appropriate, aspects of the game design, such as the Headless Horseman figure and the Flaming Pumpkins artwork, might scare some kids. The movie that the game is based on also contains frightening images, so parents should screen it first if their child wants to watch it. Don’t assume that just because it’s animated that it will be appropriate for your kid.

For adults, however, it is a beautifully produced game that incorporates a lot of classic Halloween images (i.e. cemetery, ravens, spider webs). For those concerned that it might not be interesting or challenging enough for grown-ups, there’s an option to increase the number of spaces the Headless Horseman moves, thereby increasing the difficulty. Moreover, the pursuit aspect provides a constant source of tension to keep everyone engaged.

By the way, the advertised playing time is 15 minutes. I tested out the game with two and four players and the playing time is about right.

In Summary

Disney’s Return of the Headless Horseman Game is the first collaborative board game I’ve played, and for those seeking to foster a sense of team unity rather than individual competition, it does the job nicely. Gameplay is such that children can comprehend it, and the rules can be adjusted for players who want more of a challenge. The components are produced in a way that makes it seem like a collectors’ item. (Indeed, I’m astonished they put so much care into a game based on a relatively obscure Disney film.) The only caveat is that the game’s spooky images might scare younger kids, so parents are advised to exercise their best judgment regarding its suitability for their children.

First published at the Fandom Post.