Witch of Salem — How to Play, and Why It's a Gem

This week's board game gem is Witch of Salem, from Michael Rieneck and Kosmos in 2008. A cooperative board game set in the Lovecraft horror universe, in which players try to seal rifts around Arkham and ultimately banish the Great Old One. Hmm, sounds a bit like Arkham Horror, right? It sort of is, if Arkham Horror was from Germany. It has a number of contemporaries, like Pandemic and Ghost Stories (2008 was a big year for co-ops), but this stands on its own as a fun and very challenging experience. Don't be afraid to house-rule it to make it easier!

00:00 Intro
03:45 Setup
08:37 How You Will Definitely Lose
12:43 What You Do On Your Turn
23:29 Endgame
27:14 Why It's a Gem

There's also a Rating Rebuttal posted!    • Witch of Salem — Rating Rebuttal  


I know the last few games I've done haven't been all that old. These last two, this and Pyramid, I wanted to do in time for Hallowe'en. The next games I plan to do will be pre-2000!


Board Gems is a weekly video series highlighting board games that aren't talked about much any more — maybe they're a bit old (though not usually crazy old), or maybe they didn't make a big splash when they came out — but are still great games today, and deserve to not be forgotten!