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Good & Bad Ghosts

Hide which of your ghosts are good, bluff, and either lose your evil ones or capture theirs.

Good & Bad Ghosts (1980) is a quick duel of bluff and memory for two. Each of you has four good ghosts and four evil ones, and only the owner knows which is which, much like the pieces in Stratego. They start in the back rows of a 6x6 board with the corners cut off. On your turn you move one ghost one square orthogonally, and walking into an enemy ghost removes it. You win by getting rid of your own evil ghosts, by capturing all of your opponent's good ghosts, or by slipping one of your good ghosts off the board from a corner of the opponent's side. It takes about fifteen minutes and is a fine first bluffing game for kids of about eight and older.

Four good and four evil ghosts per playerHidden identities as in StrategoThree different ways to win

Who it's for

You want a short two-player bluffing game that kids of about eight can learn and adults can still enjoy.

Not for you if…

You play with more than two or dislike bluffing. It is a pure duel and the tension comes from reading your opponent.

Vibe's take

Short, sly and surprisingly tense for such a small board. Every capture is a gamble, because you never know what you just ate.

#4,400 on BGG

of over 30,000 ranked board games

Published 1980 · 46 years ago

older than 98% of games

In 2,575 collections

collected more than 37% of games

2 players · ages 6+

Best with 2 · publisher: 8+

about 15 min

shorter than 93% of games · typical 30–90 min

Complexity: light

Explained in 5 minutes · 1.3 out of 5 · lighter than 79%

Opinions: usual spread

A normal range of ratings

Language: no text

Playable without the language

Play style: competitive