The Scariest Kids Board Game? | Ghost Castle, Haunted House, Ghost Busters & Which Witch
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- Опубліковано 19 сер 2024
- Classic family board game Ghost Castle has had plenty of names over the years - Which Witch?, Haunted House, Mr Creepy!, even The Real Ghostbusters Game - but a few things have always be true: it uses a 3D board, dynamic traps, and the whammy ball! Oh and it's always been terrific fun!
Join me as I trace the history of this classic board game from it's 70's origins at toy powerhouse Marvin Glass & Associates to the Ghostbusters of the 80s and the paranormal investigations of recent editions.
Note: I had a few technical difficulties in the making of this video so there are a few shots that are a little blurrier than usual - sorry, it was probably all the ghosts!
#boardgames #ghostcastle #ghostbusters #witches #ghosts #hauntedhouse #whichwitch #mbgames
Join my Patreon! (If you interested in that kind of thing and can spare the cash!) / jordansorcery
Corrections:
I mistakenly refer to the Danish version of Ghost Castle being called "Spookslot" when in fact it was called "Spogelsesslottet". It is the Dutch version of Ghost Castle that is called "Spookslot".
Chapters:
00:00 Open
00:30 Intro
01:42 Marvin Glass & Associates
03:04 Which Witch? & Joseph M. Burck
06:20 Denys Fisher & Haunted House
08:20 Ghost Castle
09:30 Real Ghostbusting
10:22 Other Haunted Ghost Witch House Castles
12:27 Summary
14:37 Glew in the Darkd Skull!
Links & Sources:
J.W. Ocker's Odd Thing's I've Seen - www.oddthingsi...
Cob Webbed Bedroom Blog - cobwebbedroom....
Old Board Games - www.oldboardga...
Board Game Geek - www.boardgamegeek.com
Music:
Jordan Sorcery Theme by Joylin Music
Copyright:
Images used belong to their respective copyright owners
Jordan Sorcery Coat of Arms and Theme copyright @jordansorcery
I had Ghost Castle as a kid, it was an Argos catalogue staple for years!
The amazing thing is that it could actually out last Argos at this point!
Hello, you!
That bit with you fumbling over the, "Who ya gonna call?" was comedy gold - Bravo
I am afraid of those ghosts!
Of whom will you be in contact with?
I'm 50 and I remember playing Which Witch at a friends house as a child. Absolutely wonderful!
That’s lovely! It’s such a well designed little game
I'm an 80s kid, had no idea what you were talking about until the pic of the ghost castle version, then the nostalgia hit was Real. Never played but definitely recognised that cover art! probably from the argos catalogue lol
The hours lost flicking through those catalogues and jotting down reference numbers! Christmas and birthday lists looked like the enigma code!
When I was a kid, I played the "Which Witch" version of the game. The only problem I had with it is that the chimney that the "Whammy Ball" rolled down was off a bit. as long as you were out of the specific quadrant, you were fine.
Post Script: they make a "Scooby Doo" version of this game, but I don't think it ends with a "I would have gotten away with it" comment.
The true game was all the whammy balls we lost along the way!
I looked into that Scooby 3D game, but it wasn’t a clear reimplementation - they kept their cards close to their chests! In retrospect I definitely should have mentioned it though!
The Fur Beast has returned to participate in the retrospective 🤣🤣 love how classic games evolve over time with changes with each edition.
It’s super interesting I think, seeing what evolves or gets cut completely vs what remains almost unchanged!
That “the real ghostbusters, the game!” Just gave me some nostalgia vibes…
Every time I see art from that cartoon I am instantly a little boy watching Saturday morning TV!
I got Ghost Castle for Christmas many many years ago, i was fascinated by the pictures more than the game, the realistic looking skulls on the spinner, the huge bats, great stuff
A true classic, thank you Jordan!👌
My pleasure! Thanks for watching!
Hadn't heard of this game before but that MB logo certainly takes me back. I love how the game maintained that core board design through so many versions!
I think some of those versions make terrific use of a pretty simple set up by using some lovely art. The first edition is especially fun!
Never heard of this game but you presented it well! Very entertaining, looking forward to more of these retro board game videos
Thank you! Will definitely be covering more classics in the future!
I had Haunted House as a Christmas present in 1971. Loved it!
Classic stuff!
My gods, sir, I wasn't expecting to click this video and get hit with Lite-Brite nostalgia, and Spirograph! If you can work in Colorforms next you'll really get me in the early childhood.
Tragically I have no memory of this game ever being on shelves where I was in any incarnation, and for the ghost obsessed child that I was that's unfortunate. It sounds like an absolute blast, though, and you've done a great job showing why it lives on....or why it still haunts us perhaps. 👻
In any case, excellent video and looking forward to the next one!
Edit: Mansion Crawlers is absolutely a genre.
It’s amazing to me just how interconnected so many of these classics were behind the scenes! Glad you enjoyed this one too, especially as it was so different!
I had this game as a kid and when i got my own child I got my hands on a used copy. My daughter loves the game and we play it from time to time:) She scream: Döskallen! (The Skull) when she drops the skull :)
Amazing! Love to see it living on from generation to generation!
I hope you do more reviews of classic boardgames. Maybe one about Scooby Doo games. Also: Martha rasing her paw to "ask a question" was hilarious.
She’s a curious one is Martha!
"It originally glew in the darked" The "darked" that followed the glew I didn't expect and found rather funny :)
What was Mather’s question?
I think mansion crawlers is definitely a thing. Mansion of madness instantly jumps to mind as does Betrayal at house on the hill :)
I always wanted to play Mansion of Madness, looked so cool, but I was already all-in on Imperial Assault and couldn't fall into another FFG expansion trap haha, I know that's my own OCD fault, not theirs. I do have betrayal 2e I got recently with the expac very cheap, but haven't got it to the table yet, looks fun.
Betrayal is very high on my list to play! I’m pretty sure Martha was keen to find out where Wanda the Wicked had sent all those mice!
"Spookslot" was also the title in Belgium and the Netherlands. It got some pretty cool and creepy artwork and one of the booby traops is a falling axe! You could get kicked by a skeleton or wobbled on the creaky floor, but catching an axe to the head is something else.
The axe is particularly brutal! They came up with some inventive little traps I think
Nice video Jordan! Loved Ghost Castle when I owned it as a kid. Great to see you doing something you love here!
We had Haunted House when I was a kid. Oh the sweet memories. Best channel on UA-cam!
Mighty kind of you to say this!
My most enduring memory is the skull rolling off the table or getting stuck on the stairs
Sometimes it even got stuck in the very top of the chimney and nothing happened at all! Good times
Oh I absolutely love how this game looks. I love the vintage Halloween aesthetic, and the older versions of Haunted House, Ghost Castle and Which Witch look right up my alley!
And yes, you did mispronounce Kummituslinna, but then Finnish ain't easy.
I really shouldn’t have tried to pronounce it, I can’t even blame the ghosts or witches!
I think many of the editions had wonderful art and graphic design especially the first couple. The later attempts haven’t aged well, but it’s nice to see the latest version try to be a bit creepier!
You have stumbled on my primary hobby. Board games are indeed fun!
No doubt about it!
I was lucky enough to receive th 1985 version aged 6 in 1985! What a game. I am looking for a copy on Ebay right now for mym own kids, as a result of this memory-fest. Great video- the history especially. I had no idea that the game had been around so long! 80s version def had the most evocative artwork, for sure!
The 80s version had that classic ‘not afraid to be scary to kids’ style art that was so great!
Jordan, I don’t know if you’re familiar with my favorite childhood mansion crawler from the ‘80s, “Shrieks & Creaks”. Probably not as I would be surprised if it was released outside of the US and maybe Canada. The gimmick was that it used a cassette tape with spooky sounds. There was this plastic tombstone that plugged into the headphone jack. You’d travel around the mansion collecting plastic keys which you would insert into the tombstone. If it was silent, you were safe, but if it wasn’t, you’d have to take whatever penalty the tape told you. I don’t remember the goal of the game, maybe reach the attic? But it was loads of spooky fun!
I’d not heard of this, but after looking it up… I am amazed! This looks awesome!
Brilliant video I had this game as a kid in the 70's from memory I think it was the new haunted house version, great memories!
It’s such a classic!
I had the 80's Ghost Castle with the glowing Skull. The art on that version was great, very creepy & memorable.
My Nephews actually had the "licenced version" of Ghost Castle you couldn't find much detail about (bought for them because we all remembered the version I had as a kid).
That version was basically an almost direct copy of the 80's version (the traps and board spaces were all the same layout from what I can remember - and the framing story, the spinner & getting "scared stiff" were all in there I think - different coloured footprints too).
The big difference I remember was the art changed - everything was made more cartoony (I'd say "kid friendly" - in that it took a bit of the edge off some of the art) compared to the 80's version.
I remember is the mirror trap / secret door was improved - in the 80's version getting the Skull out of the "basket" used to be a bit tricky - I think they just made the Skull smaller & it didn't glow in the dark anymore in the newer version.
I think it might even have used the same plastic tower mould (or very, very close) but they changed all the art on the cardboard parts.
Other than that it was probably closer to a like for like remake than any of the other 2 versions of the game you showed, other than the first two (the version Which Witch to the renamed version that otherwise kept all the same art).
Thanks for this, glad to finally know a little more about the ‘lost’ edition!
Actually, now I think about it a bit more, I think they swapped the spinner for a die, to roll along with the one for movement. So that, the skull and the art would be all the changes.
You had me interested in "Mansion Crawlers". A mousetrap video would be neat!
Yes: one step closer to getting Mansion Crawlers recognised as an official genre! Love a bit of Mousetrap!
Absolutely loved Ghost Castle (Sppokslot in Dutch) as a kid and I need to get this out of the attic again!
It’s still a fun and quick little game, especially with kids!
Love your content, your delivery, and the effort you put into your research. Great stuff and enjoyable to watch
I’m really glad! Thanks for saying this, Marcel!
Jordan is an ENABLER! lol Everytime i watch his videos i end up buying the damn game he is talking about!! Damn youse Jordan *shaking fist* lol
You think you’ve got it bad, you should see how many random vintage games I’ve ‘accidentally’ acquired from eBay lately! My postman is furious!
@@jordansorcery LOL my wife always says sthe same thing. LIke i will order games that i see online during My bands touring dates, and i come home and its like a mountain of packages waiting there lol
Hi Jordan, recent subscriber here. Found the channel via your fantastic Warhammer editions videos, but I also greatly enjoyed the Heroquest and Space Crusade vids, as well as others.
Since we Finns tend to gosh over "Finland mentioned!!" I can just say I loved your take on Kummituslinna😄
Thank you for all your great videos!
I know my Finnish needs a lot of work! Thank you for the nice comment!
Never had these games as a kid. But discovered 'Ghost fightin' treasure hunters' a few years back which is a great little haunted house co op game.
I’d not seen Ghost Fightin’ Treasure Hunters before, but that’s a great name! And after a quick google it looks like a lot of fun!
@@jordansorcery The roll and move mechanics feel a little dated, but it is fun and has options for difficulty balancing. Had to download English rules from BGG, though!
Keep this top notch content coming Jordan. You are fast becoming one of my fave channels to watch. 😊
Now when are you going to cover the history of GW Orks? 🤔
Oi! Wotcher mate!
Thanks Stevo! I’m going to do what it takes to get to that top spot, including making a history of Orks! (At some point!)
Game of Dracula was my family's classic Mansion Crawler!
I’ve still never played it! Another one for my list!
my neighbur had that game and i was fascinated by it
It looks impressive when it’s set up and ready to go!
I still have the original Which Witch? large box edition. I keep it assembled. It's difficult to align the old cardstock so the Whammy ball bearing drops randomly. Fireball Island is a similar mechanism. I did a creative fun video of Which Witch? And Evel Kneivel jumping his Scramble van you can check out. I bought the Buffalo Games Ghost Castle from Target. It seemed odd trying to escape instead of adventuring into the haunted house to dispell the magic. I created my own 6-sided die for Cursed house rules. It's something I'l have to revisit.
Still have this. Remember it being a favourite but not often working well. Go for broke and mysteries of old peking were the family favourites.
The whammy ball could get itself stuck more often then it should, that’s for sure! Mysteries of Old Peking is an interesting one, I’m tempted to spend a little time on that at some point
@@jordansorcery I got hero quest and my friend got mysteries of old peking the same Christmas and our two families just used to swap them all the time- speaks to its calibre- shame it is so racist- a sensitive reworking would be great (the new version isn't a lot better) but without the cultural appropriation the game mechanics are pretty flawless
That’s the thing that gives me pause - a lot of dodgy names and puns and such!
Congratulations on the 3k!
Thank you!
It glew in the darked 😂 spat my coffee at that one, brilliant
Great vid. Ghost Castle is still so good.
It’s still a great little family game!
Cool breakdown for what sounds like a cool game. Please tell me we may see Dragonstrike, Battle Masters or Key to the Kingdom videos some day? Those were some great general market classics!
Some of those games are absolutely on the pad!
@@jordansorcery AWESOME! Keep up the good work!
Have never heard of this one before but it would have been right up my alley! Reminds me a little of a game we picked up at the op shop once called 13 Dead End drive. But it's not really a mansion "crawler" more of a mansion "guide other players to obvious booby trap spaces then try and kill them before a detective reaches the front door" kinda thing lol.
Worth the 50c I paid for it for a few laughs anyway!
I'd not heard of 13 Dead End Drive, but it looks great - gonna have to keep my eyes peeled for a copy now!
@@jordansorcery it had a reprint at some point which modernised the contents, which I found out about when I was looking for a couple spare pieces that we were missing, but I think even that version is OOP now which is a shame. I don't think it's crazy rare or anything like some of these old games.. I tracked down a Pac-Man board game for one of the kids after a certain UA-camr popularised it, it was not cheap! Luckily got one missing the original marbles so it didn't make my wallet cry so much.
Great video. I’ve not played this game but I’m really surprised o didn’t have it as a kid. I don’t remember seeing it but it looks like the kind of game I would have liked
I always find it fascinating how different families have their own ‘classics’ based on the games that make it in to the home whilst the kids are young. Some stuff just sails by and some stuff becomes the foundation of a life in gaming!
Yup got this in Sweden back in the late 80´s called Spökslotten, had much fun with it until that little skully rolled into another dimension and vanished.
Keeping those skulls from disappearing into every corner of the house was a game of it's own!
That looks like a fun game.
As a family game with kids it is absolutely wonderful stuff!
Very interesting Jordan. I'm the right age to have seen this game but I have no memory of any version. I certainly remember most of the other MGA products you mentioned. BOO.
Incredible how many MGA games are still big sellers!
Are you going to cover the On the Buses game? "I 'ate you Butler!"
Only if I can spare the time to research every single episode of the show first!
OMG! no one knows about this game, i spent years to get Which Witch, had to buy 2 copies, few are in playable condition. My grandma used to have it. Its a fun experience, but not really a great game, as its unfair and can stall out. But its a wonderful thing to bring out to show people. The art is amazing, the theme is fun, and its just a cool game to have physical boobytraps, and started me collecting trap games like this, dead end drive, and fireball island as a kid.
You’re not wrong about the gameplay issues, but the theming and whammy ball drama made sure they got away with it for me!
Loved this 😂❤😅😊
My classic childhood game was The Lost Valley of the Dinosaurs - with the erupting volcano and T Rexes hunting you down..... This is one game they should remake.
The other game I had was TSR Legend of Heroes (1987) which me and my little brother played soooooo much. I never had Ghost Castle but a friend did and ensured plenty of sleep overs 😂.
That sounds ace, hadn’t heard of that one!
@@jordansorcery lost Valley of the Dinosaurs is an amazing game loads of plastic and cardboard pieces and plastic dinosaurs and explorers.the Legend of Heroes is a board with a plain plastic pawn but you have character cards with the main races and classes and you flip cards and rolling a D20. It's design was to get youngsters into RPGs. It's a quick and easy to learn game - you enter a room - flip a card and it will have a monster which you fight (if you get wounded you have a wounded image on the flip side of your hero card). There are a red dot to tell you what you need to beat the monster card on a D20, then once you kill it there was direction to flip another card and it could be either another monster, a trap, treasure or empty room. And you move on to the next room. It was a fun addictive game - simple but fun.
Both sound like fun, I can definitely imagine enjoying Legend of Heroes at the time!
Hehehe I am danish and I remember the "Spogelse slottet" (Yes you mispronounced the ghost bit but bang on for castle bit) I remember the game and was looking at an updated version the other day and wondered if I should buy for my kids
Getting half right ain’t half bad for someone who knows no Danish!
Just found this video. You really gained on that 3000 subs!
Had it as the real ghostbusters game the top was an “open ghost trap”
I wasn’t lucky enough to have the Ghost Busters one but it looks very cool! Some really good retheming of the board and components from the looks of it.”
Does anyone remember Atmosphere, it came with a vhs and you'd play along with it
STOP! You are banished to the black hole! Yup I do remember it. It was pretty fun for the one time I played it. turns out there are several expansions for it.
Absolute classic, and on the hit list for a future video I think. The VHS game that they made for Star Trek was equally awesome as well!
Like your cat too 😊
She's the best
Oh noooo, Jordan! I'm afraid you're joining the list of Brits and Americans who, for some reason I can't quite figure out, confuse Danish and Dutch! As far as I can find out, Ghost Castle was called Spookslot in Dutch. In Danish the game was called Spøgelsesslottet, which (unlike Spookslot) actually makes sense in Danish :)
Oh dear, this is totally an act of carelessness by me here, apologies! I have added a correction to the description to clarify my mistake
@@jordansorcery no worries, I thought it was funny. For some reason it's far from the first time I've experienced something along those lines :)
what about Murder Myatery Games CLUEDO being the prime example
there are also SLUTH , ORIENT EXPRESS, and 221 B BAKER STREET
with a Sherlock Holmes theme
Subbed!
Excellent!
mouse trap next?
It’s definitely on the long list!
Holy shit, I had Ghost Castle as a kid. I had zero recollection of it until you mentioned the balls trying to knock the players over, then… hidden memory unlocked. No idea what happened to it and that makes me sad.
Also yes, you absolutely butchered the Finnish name. It was fabulous to hear.
Glad I could help unlock a little nostalgia memory! Not glad I subjected you to my terrible mispronunciation!
Odd they never made a Scooby Doo version.
Damn you - Scooby Doo theme now stuck in my head 🤣👍
So a different publisher did do a Scooby 3D Haunted House game that seems to be at the very least inspired by it. But I couldn’t confirm if it was an official remake! In retrospect I should have mentioned it in the video!
@@jordansorcery Just found a video on it: It has the spinner and same victory condition. It's motorized rather than whammy ball/ skull powered. Oh well You could always do a Jordan Sorcery Remastered.
@@Mark-nh2hs Ruh-Roh!
@@godofzombi 🤣👍
Hahahahah....in Denmark it was called SpookSlot ??
it was called "Spøgelsesslottet" wich directly translated would be something like Ghost's Castle or Castle of Ghosts....i personally own the 1985 "Spøgelsesslottet".
Spook would be something like "to scare" and is not a danish word.
In danish that would be "Skræmme".
"Spøgelse" means Ghost.
"Slottet" means Castle.
Stil i love your videos though and A+ for trying the language
...."glew"?
Who knlew?!
Yeah, you certainly screwed up the Finnish pronunciation. A big time too :D
I can only apologise!
None taken xD
I remember seeing ads for the German version - Spukschloß (in contemporaneous orthography), lit. ca. "Haunt Castle" [etymologically "Spook Slot"] - of the '80s edition of Ghost Castle as a wee lad. I was intrigued, but I never got to play it.