The Fury of Dracula is a board game for 2-4 players designed by Stephen Hand and published by Games Workshop in 1987. Fantasy Flight Games released an updated version in 2006 as Fury of Dracula, and a third edition in 2015 by the same name. WizKids Games released a fourth edition in 2019.
Theme
The game takes place in Europe during 1898, eight years after the events in Bram Stoker’s novel, Dracula. One player takes the role of Count Dracula, who is seeking revenge by building an army of vampires throughout Europe. The remaining players take the roles of Hunters Abraham Van Helsing, Dr John Seward and Lord Godalming. (In the second and all subsequent editions, Mina Harker was added as a fourth Hunter.) The Hunters, following clues Dracula has left behind, join together to destroy Dracula before he can succeed.
First edition
Disappointed by the limited availability of horror boardgames, Stephen Hand began the initial treatment of his Dracula-based horror game in 1985. His original conception was a two-game set entitled Dracula: Fact and Fiction; one part would be a fantasy game, and the other part would be a dry, historical simulation of Vlad the Impaler's Turkish campaigns. Hand ultimately shelved the project due to time constraints. A short time later, he resurrected the project after receiving encouragement from Marc Gascoigne, eventually submitting the finished project to Games Workshop in the summer of 1986. Although Workshop liked the game, they put the game on hold while they focused on stronger products, offering Hand a choice of waiting for a suitable production gap to appear, or converting the game to fit into the Warhammer Fantasy World. Games Workshop ultimately produced The Fury of Dracula and released it in the autumn of 1987, with plastic figurines.
Games Workshop also released a limited edition boxed set that had metal rather than plastic miniatures, the only differentiation in the external packaging being a circular sticker marked "Limited Edition".
Gameplay
This edition was designed for 2-4 players (Dracula and up to three Hunters). The Hunters move openly across the game board, which is a stylised map of late 19th century Europe, while the Dracula player moves in secret by using a separate small board hidden behind a screen. By various means, the Hunters try to deduce and uncover Dracula's path, overcoming whatever obstacles he has placed along the way (including wolves, rats, bats, armed minions, fledgling vampires, fog, storms and plagues). The Hunters also gather weapons and equipment such as rifles, stakes, garlic and holy water for the eventual showdown.
The Hunters can move by sea, road or rail, while Dracula is permitted to move by sea or road only. Moving by rail permits the Hunters to cover a greater distance than they could by road, but requires a die roll; the result of the roll can be anything from being delayed a turn to being able to travel to as many as three towns connected by a railway.
Differences between the Hunters is minimal: Godalming receives a +1 to first-round initiative against Dracula's minions and a -1 against Dracula himself, while Van Helsing received the inverse. Seward receives no modifiers.
Combat
Combat is performed on a round by round basis. The time of combat is determined by a die roll, although various cards played by either side can force a particular time of day.
Combatants first choose a combat option in secret, using cardboard chits. The basic options for an unarmed combatant are Fist, Dodge or Escape. Each combatant also gets an additional combat option for each weapon they possess, although Hunters are not allowed to use the same combat option twice in consecutive rounds unless the Hunter possesses two weapons of the same type, which can then be used alternately.
Dracula's combat options vary greatly depending on the time of day; if caught during the day, he can only use the basic unarmed combat options. During the night, due to his supernatural powers, he has access to many more combat options.
Once every combatant has secretly determined a combat option, each side rolls a die for initiative. Each side then reveals their chosen combat option, and the results of the options and initiatives are cross referenced on the appropriate chart to determine the winner for the round.
This procedure repeats itself until one side is dead or successfully retreats.