The Harbingers

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The Harbingers is a horror-themed board game from Australia, released in 1995 and published by Mattel. Designed by Brett Clements and Phillip Tanner, it supports 3–6 players, lasts up to 60 minutes, and is suitable for ages 12 and up. Each player aims to become a Harbinger (or start as a Soul Ranger if they don’t) in a world called The Other Side. A video tape guides the game, featuring The Gatekeeper who keeps the action moving and plays a key role in the game’s atmosphere.

Goal and setup
- The object is to collect six differently colored Keystones, then return to the central hub, roll a six, and draw a fear from the Well of Fears. If the fear matches your written greatest fear, you win; otherwise you must return to your headstone and try again.
- If time runs out (sixty minutes), The Gatekeeper wins.
- The board has a central hub and six two-sided Provinces that form a hexagon. Each Province can be flipped between a Harbinger side and a Sewer side, and provinces can be rearranged for different experiences. The Well of Fears sits in the hub, with Home spaces and the Ring Road linking all Provinces.

Characters
- There are six Harbingers: Gevaudan the werewolf; Hellin the poltergeist (the only Harbinger invented entirely by the designers); Khufu the mummy; Baron Samedi the zombie; Anne de Chantraine the witch; and Elizabeth Bathory the vampire.
- Players who fail to become Harbingers become Soul Rangers. Soul Rangers hunt others and steal Keystones; they cannot collect Keystones themselves.
- The Gatekeeper, shown on the videotape, acts as the game’s host and enforcer, while players use character pieces unique to each Harbinger.

Gameplay and components
- The game includes a VHS tape that starts the match and shows the 60-minute clock. The Gatekeeper appears onscreen to issue instructions, penalties, or rewards. A 15-minute rules presentation at the end explains how to play.
- A Chosen One (the highest roller) sets up the hex board by connecting the Provinces to the central hub.
- Each Province has a headstone for its Harbinger and contains Keystones, which grant powers listed on the back of the Harbinger’s character card.
- Movement uses distinct pieces for each Harbinger (e.g., vampire bat, cobra, top hat, etc.). A Numb Skull token is used at the start and by Soul Rangers.

Winning powers and expansions
- To win, you must collect one Keystone of each color, return to the central hub, roll a six, and draw a fear from the Well of Fears that matches your written greatest fear.
- Booster tapes (two) were released to provide a tougher experience with shorter play time and a cap on the number of Keystones per province.
- An add-on called The Soul Rangers was released about a year later, letting players take on Soul Ranger roles with different rules and a new win condition (and some changes to how Keystones are handled).

Development notes
- The Harbingers was created as a major update to the Atmosfear series after Nightmare, with a multi-year development and significant investment. It used TV-style hosting to heighten tension and atmosphere, and was supported by marketing campaigns and cross-promotions.

In short, The Harbingers blends a strategic hunt for colored Keystones with tense, televised-style hosting, pitting Harbingers against Soul Rangers as players race to escape The Other Side.