The Hunger is a board game designed by the renowned game creator Richard Garfield (famous for Magic: The Gathering, King of Tokyo, and Bunny Kingdom). It’s a deck-building game with a unique theme and mechanics that combine vampire hunting, card management, and risk-taking.

In the game, you take on the role of a vampire who ventures out at night to hunt humans and earn points, but you must return to the castle before sunrise. If you fail, you burn in the sun—regardless of how many points you’ve collected. The game features a humorous, caricatured vampire theme that is playful and fun rather than scary.

Each player starts with a basic set of vampire abilities. During the game, you add new cards to your deck—mostly humans, who give you points but slow down your movement. Each round, you determine your speed (based on your cards) and move across the map. You can travel farther from the castle to find more valuable cards, but you risk not making it back in time. Hunting humans earns you points, but these cards usually lack speed. There are special locations where you can “digest” humans—removing them from your deck while keeping their points. The game lasts 15 rounds. If you’re not back at the castle by the end, you lose. This creates tension and strategic decisions—how many humans will you eat, and when will you start heading back?

The deck-building mechanic with a negative feedback loop (more points = weaker deck) is a fresh twist. You can play aggressively and take risks or play cautiously and safely—every game feels different. It’s lighthearted and suitable for a wide range of players. 🦇