Goth: The Game of Horror Trivia, also known as Goth: A Game of Pure Gothic Horror, is a board game where progress is determined by a player's ability to answer horror-related trivia and popular culture questions. The game was invented by Matthew Nuccio, designed and developed by Design Edge Inc, and manufactured in 2002 by McNutty Games. The board is a graveyard with four plots representing each of the four player's starting points. It contains 200 double-sided trivia cards with five questions per side, providing a total of 2,000 questions. A die, four playing pieces, and 52 tombstones are included.
Gameplay
The object of Goth is to answer questions correctly in order to get a tombstone for your graveyard plot. The player must get 13 tombstones to win the game. The players start in one of the four corners of the board, represented by a pool of blood. The graveyard plot directly in front of the pool of blood becomes the player's plot where they will place the tombstones they earn. The player rolls the die and moves in a counterclockwise direction from their respective plot. A correct answer awards the player a tombstone which they place in their plot. An incorrect answer does nothing, unless the player is on a "Full Moon" square.
Questions
The number the player rolls on the die indicates the category of the question the player must answer. For example, if the player rolls a one and lands on a blank square, they must answer a "Movie Mayhem" question. There are five different categories of questions, positioned on the trivia card to correspond to the number the player rolls. The categories are arranged on each card in the following order:
Movie Mayhem - Questions about horror movies, such as actors, directors, release years, and scene specific questions.
Alchemy - Miscellaneous questions, dealing with anything from real-life serial killers to autopsy terms.
Music Macabre - Questions about music, usually staying within the hard rock and metal genres, dealing with band names, song recognition, and band members who have died.
Bloody Tales & Poetry - Questions about old horror poems and horror novels.
Stiffs - Questions from any of the above categories, however these questions are very specific and usually very difficult.
Wildcard - If a player rolls a six, it is a wildcard and they get to choose the category of the question they want to answer.
Special squares
The game features four special squares that the player can land on, varying the gameplay and what the player must do.
Dead - A 'lose a turn' square, signified by a skull with bat wings. The player does not get to answer a question if they land on a Dead square and gameplay goes to the next person and then continues normally.
Full Moon - This square is on the board in two places and only changes the right/wrong answer consequences. It is signified by a full mooncoming out of the clouds. If a player lands on a Full Moon square and answers the question incorrectly, they lose a tombstone that they have already earned. However, if they answer a question correctly, nothing happens and no tombstone is rewarded. If the player has no tombstones to lose, the square is treated as a normal question square.
Grave Robber - This square is both a blessing and a curse. It is signified by a shovel digging into a grave. If a player lands on a Grave Robber square, they get to steal another player's hard-earned tombstone. If there are no players with any tombstones to steal, the square is treated as a normal question square. Note: A player may NOT grave rob the winning thirteenth tombstone.
Pool of Blood - While also the player's starting point, the four pools of blood also vary which question is asked. If a player lands on another player's pool of blood, that player gets to choose the category the current player must answer. They must choose the category before reading the questions. However, if a player lands on their own pool of blood, it is akin to rolling a six, and they get to choose the category.
Occupying the same square
If a player lands on a square that another player is currently occupying, three things happen. First, the player that just landed on the occupied square must give up a tombstone to the person occupying the square. Second, that player loses their turn. And lastly, that player must move back one space so that the two players do not occupy the same square. If the player lands on a 'special square' when they are forced back one space, they are not affected by it. For example, if you are forced back one space onto a Grave Robber square, you do not get to steal another player's tombstone.
