HorrorClix is a

collectible miniatures game Collectible miniatures games (CMGs) are a form of miniatures game that is also similar to collectible card games (CCGs) — the primary difference being that while CCGs are card-based games, CMGs feature miniature figures. A popular theme for CM ...

. Released on August 30, 2006, it uses

WizKids NECA/WizKids, LLC (commonly known as simply WizKids) is an American company based in New Jersey that produces tabletop games. WizKids is best known for its collectible miniatures games (CMGs) Mage Knight, HeroClix, MechWarrior, and HorrorCli ...

' Clix system. The

game A game is a structured type of play usually undertaken for entertainment or fun, and sometimes used as an educational tool. Many games are also considered to be work (such as professional players of spectator sports or video games) or art ...

tagline In entertainment, a tagline (alternatively spelled tag line) is a short text which serves to clarify a thought for, or is designed with a form of, dramatic effect. Many tagline slogans are reiterated phrases associated with an individual, so ...

is "wicked fun." The product was discontinued in November 2008 when WizKids' new owner

Topps The Topps Company, Inc. is an American company that manufactures trading cards and other collectibles. Formerly based in New York City, Topps is best known as a leading producer of Baseball card, baseball and other sports and Non-sports tradi ...

shut down the compan

In September 2009, collectible toy producer National Entertainment Collectibles Association, NECA announced it had purchased WizKids'

intellectual property Intellectual property (IP) is a category of property that includes intangible creations of the human intellect. There are many types of intellectual property, and some countries recognize more than others. The best-known types are patents, co ...

from Topps, including HorrorCli

Gameplay

Similar to HeroClix, HorrorClix offers players the ability to construct teams of

monster A monster is a type of imaginary or fictional creature found in literature, folklore, mythology, fiction and religion. They are very often depicted as dangerous and aggressive, with a strange or grotesque appearance that causes Anxiety, terror ...

s that cross horror

genre Genre () is any style or form of communication in any mode (written, spoken, digital, artistic, etc.) with socially agreed-upon conventions developed over time. In popular usage, it normally describes a category of literature, music, or other fo ...

s, allowing them to create a "dream team" of favorite characters.

Vampire A vampire is a mythical creature that subsists by feeding on the Vitalism, vital essence (generally in the form of blood) of the living. In European folklore, vampires are undead, undead humanoid creatures that often visited loved ones and c ...

werewolves In folklore, a werewolf (), or occasionally lycanthrope (from Ancient Greek ), is an individual who can shapeshift into a wolf, or especially in modern film, a therianthropic hybrid wolf–humanlike creature, either purposely or after bei ...

zombie A zombie (Haitian French: ; ; Kikongo: ''zumbi'') is a mythological undead corporeal revenant created through the reanimation of a corpse. In modern popular culture, zombies appear in horror genre works. The term comes from Haitian folkl ...

s, and

demon A demon is a malevolent supernatural entity. Historically, belief in demons, or stories about demons, occurs in folklore, mythology, religion, occultism, and literature; these beliefs are reflected in Media (communication), media including f ...

s are available in the game's first release, as well as a number of

vigilante Vigilantism () is the act of preventing, investigating, and punishing perceived offenses and crimes without legal authority. A vigilante is a person who practices or partakes in vigilantism, or undertakes public safety and retributive justice ...

s who fight for the side of good including a vampire hunter, ghost finders, priests and military men. HorrorClix introduces several new

game mechanics In tabletop games and video games, game mechanics define how a game works for players. Game mechanics are the rules or ludemes that govern and guide player actions, as well as the game's response to them. A rule is an instruction on how to play, whi ...

Plot twist A plot twist is a literary technique that introduces a radical change in the direction or expected outcome of the plot in a work of fiction. When it happens near the end of a story, it is known as a twist ending or surprise ending. It may change ...

cards,

scenario In the performing arts, a scenario (, ; ; from Italian , "that which is pinned to the scenery") is a synoptical collage of an event or series of actions and events. In the ''commedia dell'arte'', it was an outline of entrances, exits, and actio ...

play,

fiction Fiction is any creative work, chiefly any narrative work, portraying character (arts), individuals, events, or setting (narrative), places that are imagination, imaginary or in ways that are imaginary. Fictional portrayals are thus inconsistent ...

, and individual character cards for each monster place the game's emphasis firmly on the

fantasy Fantasy is a genre of speculative fiction that involves supernatural or Magic (supernatural), magical elements, often including Fictional universe, imaginary places and Legendary creature, creatures. The genre's roots lie in oral traditions, ...

writing Writing is the act of creating a persistent representation of language. A writing system includes a particular set of symbols called a ''script'', as well as the rules by which they encode a particular spoken language. Every written language ...

or directing a

horror story Horror is a genre of speculative fiction that is intended to disturb, frighten, or scare an audience. Horror is often divided into the sub-genres of psychological horror and supernatural horror. Literary historian J. A. Cuddon, in 1984, defi ...

rather than a game of fighting and

combat Combat (French language, French for ''fight'') is a purposeful violent Conflict (process), conflict between multiple combatants with the intent to harm the opposition. Combat may be armed (using weapons) or unarmed (Hand-to-hand combat, not usin ...

. Innocent victims play an important part of the game, with monsters protecting them, eating them, or both. HorrorClix demonstrations and special events were announced at the

Origins Origin(s) or The Origin may refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media Comics and manga * ''Origin'' (comics), a Wolverine comic book mini-series published by Marvel Comics in 2002 * ''The Origin'' (Buffy comic), a 1999 ''Buffy the Vampire Sl ...

game convention in

Columbus, Ohio Columbus (, ) is the List of capitals in the United States, capital and List of cities in Ohio, most populous city of the U.S. state of Ohio. With a 2020 United States census, 2020 census population of 905,748, it is the List of United States ...

, and for the

Gen Con Gen Con is the largest tabletop game convention in North America by both attendance and number of events. It features traditional pen-and-paper, board, and card games, including role-playing games, miniatures wargames, live action role-playing ...

game convention in

Indianapolis Indianapolis ( ), colloquially known as Indy, is the List of capitals in the United States, capital and List of municipalities in Indiana, most populous city of the U.S. state of Indiana and the county seat of Marion County, Indiana, Marion ...

Indiana Indiana ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Midwestern United States, Midwestern region of the United States. It borders Lake Michigan to the northwest, Michigan to the north and northeast, Ohio to the east, the Ohio River and Kentucky to the s ...

. Additionally, WizKids announced at the GAMA

trade show A trade show, also known as trade fair, trade exhibition, or trade exposition, is an exhibition organized so that companies in a specific industry can showcase and demonstrate their latest products and services, meet with industry partners and ...

Las Vegas, Nevada Las Vegas, colloquially referred to as Vegas, is the most populous city in the U.S. state of Nevada and the county seat of Clark County. The Las Vegas Valley metropolitan area is the largest within the greater Mojave Desert, and second-l ...

, that

Cthulhu Cthulhu is a fictional cosmic entity created by writer H. P. Lovecraft. It was introduced in his short story "The Call of Cthulhu", published by the American pulp magazine ''Weird Tales'' in 1928. Considered a Great Old One within the pantheon ...

was the premiere figure for the launch of the game.

HorrorClix releases

*HorrorClix: Released August 30, 2006, this initial release is often referred to as the Base Set and featured 96 figures. The "Buy it by the Brick" exclusives included a

Jack the Ripper Jack the Ripper was an unidentified serial killer who was active in and around the impoverished Whitechapel district of London, England, in 1888. In both criminal case files and the contemporaneous journalistic accounts, the killer was also ...

Limited Edition figure, a coupon for the ''AVP: Aliens'' collector's set and a coupon for the Great

colossal figure. In addition, '' Wizard'' gaming magazine had a special mail-in offer for a Morgana figur

*The Lab: ''The Lab'' was released January 31, 2007 for the U.S. and the rest of the world, mid-August 2007 for Europe, and had 96 figures. The first expansion set has a

sci-fi Science fiction (often shortened to sci-fi or abbreviated SF) is a genre of speculative fiction that deals with imaginative and futuristic concepts. These concepts may include information technology and robotics, biological manipulations, space ...

/ horror theme and includes alien Greys,

dinosaur Dinosaurs are a diverse group of reptiles of the clade Dinosauria. They first appeared during the Triassic Geological period, period, between 243 and 233.23 million years ago (mya), although the exact origin and timing of the #Evolutio ...

s, misshapen experiments and

zombies A zombie (Haitian French: ; ; Kikongo: ''zumbi'') is a mythological undead corporeal revenant created through the reanimation of a corpse. In modern popular culture, zombies appear in horror genre works. The term comes from Haitian folklore ...

. The By-the-Brick exclusives were an LE

Cloaking Cloaking is a search engine optimization (SEO) technique in which the content presented to the search engine spider is different from that presented to the user's browser. This is done by delivering content based on the IP addresses or the ...

Predator Predation is a biological interaction in which one organism, the predator, kills and eats another organism, its prey. It is one of a family of common List of feeding behaviours, feeding behaviours that includes parasitism and micropredation ...

and a coupon for the second collector's set, ''AVP: Predators''. In Europe an additional BiBtB figure was made Available LE Zombie Astronaut. *Freakshow: Another 96-figure set released in May 2007, ''Freakshow'' has a strong

carnival Carnival (known as Shrovetide in certain localities) is a festive season that occurs at the close of the Christian pre-Lenten period, consisting of Quinquagesima or Shrove Sunday, Shrove Monday, and Shrove Tuesday or Mardi Gras. Carnival typi ...

theme with

clown A clown is a person who performs physical comedy and arts in an Improvisational theatre#Comedy, open-ended fashion, typically while wearing distinct cosmetics, makeup or costume, costuming and reversing social norm, folkway-norms. The art of ...

s, wild animals and a variety of sideshow freaks. The By-the-Brick exclusive was an LE Carousel Ghost. This set also featured the promotional Pierced Zombie, the first "New Guy Night" figure, obtained by being a new player at a venue. A first HorrorClix "Chase Figure" called ''Wacko Jacko Lantern'' was found in limited booster packs. This set featured unique names for the Veteran versions of figures and was also the last to support the original REV (rookie/experienced/veteran) setup. *Nightmares: Released March 12, 2008, ''Nightmares'' is heavily influenced by classical literary sources and the reported fears of survey participants. Originally the set was to be released on Halloween 2007 but due to production issues it was delayed several months. It includes

Grendel Grendel is a character in the Anglo-Saxon epic poem ''Beowulf'' (700–1000 AD). He is one of the poem's three antagonists (along with his mother and the dragon), all aligned in opposition against the protagonist Beowulf. He is referred to as b ...

, the Ancient Mariner,

Nessie NESSIE (New European Schemes for Signatures, Integrity and Encryption) was a European research project funded from 2000 to 2003 to identify secure cryptographic primitives. The project was comparable to the NIST AES process and the Japanese Go ...

, and

Santa Claus Santa Claus (also known as Saint Nicholas, Saint Nick, Father Christmas, Kris Kringle or Santa) is a legendary figure originating in Western Christian culture who is said to bring gifts during the late evening and overnight hours on Chris ...

, among others. With only 60 figures, it is the first expansion to use Wizkids' revised set structure and rarity layout, featuring a single miniature for each figure rather than the rookie/experienced/veteran versions of previous sets, and organized into common, uncommon, and rare tiers, with super-rare figures replacing the uniques. The "New Guy Night" exclusive was a

Poltergeist In German folklore and ghostlore, a poltergeist ( or ; ; or ) is a type of ghost or spirit that is responsible for physical disturbances, such as loud noises and objects being moved or destroyed. Most claims or fictional descriptions of polter ...

Clix Bricks

To help "

brick-and-mortar Brick and mortar (or B&M) is an organization or business with a physical presence in a building or other structure. The term ''brick-and-mortar business'' is often used to refer to a company that possesses or leases retail shops, factory produc ...

" stores compete against internet retail stores HorrorClix, like HeroClix, used the popular "buy it by the brick" configuration. A ClixBrick consisted of 12 shrink-wrapped boosters that included a special

coupon In marketing, a coupon is a ticket or document that can be redeemed for a financial discount or rebate when purchasing a product. Customarily, coupons are issued by manufacturers of consumer packaged goods or by retailers, to be used in ...

for consumers who purchased HorrorClix at their local retailer. Consumers who sent in 12 UPC codes, the coupon, and the receipt from that one-time retail purchase received a special free figure, only obtainable through the ClixBrick offer, as well as another coupon that allowed the customer to purchase the Collector's Set associated with each release at a 25% discount. The first set also included a second coupon allowing the customer to purchase The Great

colossal figure for $85.

Starter sets

* HorrorClix - The base set starter included six exclusive figures (Blood Vamp, Bane Wolf, Chainsaw, Outpatient, Lynch Ghost, and Skeleton), a two-sided map of a

cemetery A cemetery, burial ground, gravesite, graveyard, or a green space called a memorial park or memorial garden, is a place where the remains of many death, dead people are burial, buried or otherwise entombed. The word ''cemetery'' (from Greek ...

and a

haunted house A haunted house, spook house or ghost house in ghostlore is a house or other building often perceived as being inhabited by disembodied spirits of the deceased who may have been former residents or were otherwise connected with the property ...

, 3D terrain including

tombstone A gravestone or tombstone is a marker, usually stone, that is placed over a grave. A marker set at the head of the grave may be called a headstone. An especially old or elaborate stone slab may be called a funeral stele, stela, or slab. The us ...

s and a tree of the damned, two red dice, a rulebook, exclusive plot twist cards, and 12 victim tokens. * The Freddy vs. Jason Action Pack ee belowcontained "simplified" rules and new maps, and so can be seen as a revised starter of sorts.

Collector's sets and action packs

For 2006 and early 2007, licensed properties for HorrorClix were released in the form of Collector's Sets, which were direct-marketed online. After winning an online poll, '' AVP: Alien vs. Predator'' became the first movie for which WizKids acquired the rights. Licensed properties were later made available through regular commercial channels, and renamed Action Packs. Similar to the HorrorClix starter set, these packs featured a number of pre-selected figures, Plot Twist cards, and maps, from across the horror entertainment spectrum. * Aliens: Released as the Collectors' Set for the HorrorClix base set, this contains 7 figures, Plot Twist cards, victims, and a map. *

Predators Predation is a biological interaction in which one organism, the predator, kills and eats another organism, its prey. It is one of a family of common feeding behaviours that includes parasitism and micropredation (which usually do not kill ...

: Released with ''The Lab'' expansion set, this set contains 6 Predators and a human Apprentice Predator, as well as Plot Twist cards, victims, and a map. * AVP: Alien Queen - Released on February 21, 2007, this action pack features a two-stage Queen, usable with attached egg sack or without, as well as an exclusive Alien figure, an exclusive Predator figure, a map, Minion tokens, and Plot Twist cards. * B.P.R.D. - Released on April 4, 2007, this Action Pack features seven figures representing characters from the Dark Horse comic book series

Hellboy Hellboy is a superhero created by Mike Mignola and appearing in comic books published by Dark Horse Comics. The character first appeared in ''San Diego Comic-Con Comics'' #2 (August 1993), and has since appeared in various miniseries, one-shots ...

and the B.P.R.D. (

Bureau for Paranormal Research and Defense The Bureau for Paranormal Research and Defense (the B.P.R.D. or BPRD) is a fictional organization in the comic book work of Mike Mignola. The B.P.R.D. originally appeared in the ''Hellboy'' comics and has since become a major part of its Hellbo ...

Liz Sherman Elizabeth Anne "Liz" Sherman is a fictional character appearing in the '' Hellboy'' comic book series created by Mike Mignola. A firestarter, she becomes a ward of the B.P.R.D. at age 11 after burning her family to death in a traumatic accid ...

Abe Sapien Abraham Sapien, born Langdon Everett Caul, is a fictional character in the comic book series ''Hellboy'', created by Mike Mignola. He takes his name from "''Ichthyo sapien''", the fanciful species designation chosen for him by his colleagues in ...

, Hellbaby, Johann Kraus, Ben Daimio, and Roger the Homunculus. This was the first officially "dual-branded" set released under the HorrorClix label, being designed for use in both HeroClix and HorrorClix. The dials feature HeroClix symbols and powers, as well as monster cards that make the figures usable in HorrorClix games. The action pack was released with numerous errors including missing numbers and Johann Kraus mistakenly having a flight stand; although

eventually put forth a program for exchanging the defective Johann for a corrected version and included a new ticking clock card for HorrorClix and a new battlefield condition card for HeroClix. *

Freddy vs. Jason ''Freddy vs. Jason'' is a 2003 American slasher film directed by Ronny Yu and written by Damian Shannon and Mark Swift. It is a crossover between ''A Nightmare on Elm Street'' franchise and ''Friday the 13th'' franchise, being the eighth in ...

- Released March 12, 2008, to coincide with the release of the Nightmares expansion set, this features

Freddy Krueger Freddy Krueger () is a fictional character and the antagonist of the ''A Nightmare on Elm Street'' horror film franchise. Created by Wes Craven, he made his debut in Craven's '' A Nightmare on Elm Street'' (1984) as the malevolent spirit of a ...

, a Freddy worm creature,

Jason Voorhees Jason Voorhees () is a fictional character and the antagonist of the Friday the 13th (franchise), ''Friday the 13th'' series. He first appeared in ''Friday the 13th (1980 film), Friday the 13th'' (1980) as the young son of camp-cook-turned-kil ...

, a Freddy vs. Jason double figure, and a Jason vs. Freddy double figure. It also includes one new double-sided map, four new Plot Twists, and two Special Objects (a boiler and an open grave).

Colossal figures

* The Great

- This 16" figure of Cthulhu comes packaged with a map, a set of instructions, and twenty-four Cultist Victim tokens. Cthulhu has three dials to represent himself and one dial to represent his attendant cultists. Cthulhu is playable in a 600, 1200, or 1800 point scenario where the players attempt to stop the ritual that will awaken him. This is similar to WizKids' earlier use of

Galactus Galactus () is a fictional character appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics. Formerly a mortal man, he is a cosmic entity who consumes planets to sustain his life force, and serves a functional role in the upkeep of the p ...

in HeroClix.

Convention exclusives

* At Wizkids Attended Conventions for the 2007 convention season, a special dual-sided map featuring a Ruined Castle and the Stephens Bros. Carnival was available free with any purchase and a limited edition

Vlad the Impaler Vlad III, commonly known as Vlad the Impaler ( ) or Vlad Dracula (; ; 1428/31 – 1476/77), was Voivode of Wallachia three times between 1448 and his death in 1476/77. He is often considered one of the most important rulers in Wallachian hi ...

figure was available free with a $75.00 purchase.

Limited Editions

* Every series except Nightmares had four ''limited edition'' figures. These were the same as four of the uniques of the series, only their names and values were changed. The only figure with some difference from the original is Billy Stank, with a union instead of a confederation flag and a different color of uniform to reflect his side in the

American Civil War The American Civil War (April 12, 1861May 26, 1865; also known by Names of the American Civil War, other names) was a civil war in the United States between the Union (American Civil War), Union ("the North") and the Confederate States of A ...

, and he is the only one who has the same point value as the unique.

Marvel Zombie figures

* Four ultra-rare chase figures were found in 1 out of every 100

Marvel Comics Marvel Comics is a New York City–based comic book publishing, publisher, a property of the Walt Disney Company since December 31, 2009, and a subsidiary of Disney Publishing Worldwide since March 2023. Marvel was founded in 1939 by Martin G ...

: ''

Supernova A supernova (: supernovae or supernovas) is a powerful and luminous explosion of a star. A supernova occurs during the last stellar evolution, evolutionary stages of a massive star, or when a white dwarf is triggered into runaway nuclear fusion ...

'' HeroClix boosters - the

Marvel Zombies ''Marvel Zombies'' is a five-issue limited series published from December 2005 to April 2006 by Marvel Comics. The series was written by Robert Kirkman with art by Sean Phillips and covers by Arthur Suydam. It was the first series in the ''Ma ...

versions of

Captain America Captain America is a superhero created by Joe Simon and Jack Kirby who appears in American comic books published by Marvel Comics. The character first appeared in '' Captain America Comics'' #1, published on December 20, 1940, by Timely C ...

Wolverine The wolverine ( , ; ''Gulo gulo''), also called the carcajou or quickhatch (from East Cree, ''kwiihkwahaacheew''), is the largest land-dwelling species, member of the family Mustelidae. It is a muscular carnivore and a solitary animal. The w ...

Spider-Man Spider-Man is a superhero in American comic books published by Marvel Comics. Created by writer-editor Stan Lee and artist Steve Ditko, he first appearance, first appeared in the anthology comic book ''Amazing Fantasy'' #15 (August 1962) in ...

, and

Hulk The Hulk is a superhero appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics. Created by writer Stan Lee and artist Jack Kirby, the character first appeared in the debut issue of ''The Incredible Hulk (comic book), The Incredible Hulk ...

. These are technically the first dual-branded figures as they appear in a HeroClix set yet come packed with HorrorClix monster cards, making them fully compatible. ''Mutations & Monsters'', the November 2007 HeroClix release, featured new Marvel Zombies, but they are not officially compatible with HorrorClix.

Reviews

*''

Pyramid A pyramid () is a structure whose visible surfaces are triangular in broad outline and converge toward the top, making the appearance roughly a pyramid in the geometric sense. The base of a pyramid can be of any polygon shape, such as trian ...

'' *'' Rue Morgue'' #62https://archive.org/details/Rue_Morgue_062_November_2006/page/n73/mode/2up

References

{{reflist

External links

HorrorClix
(Official Site) - Contains the game's logo and some press releases concerning Topps' licensing efforts.
It's Wicked Fun
(Fan Site/Forum) - (Defunct) Contains complete information on all components of the game including monster stats/dials, Plot Twists, Victims, Minions and more. Also has a large selection of resources including monthly contests
forums
custom cards, miniatures, scenarios, conversions and more.
HorrorClix Forums
(Defunct) Was the last place left to discuss HorrorClix ideas, mods, rules and strategy until closed after December 2014.
Monster Database
(Defunct) Was an online searchable database of all the HorrorClix monsters, Plot Twist cards, and powers.
El horror de Arckham
Spain HorrorClix Fan Site Clix (miniatures) games Collectible miniatures games WizKids games