Ideal Haunted House game

The Ideal Haunted House game is a vintage board game produced during the 1960s by the American company Ideal.

Background

The Haunted House game was published in 1962 by Ideal, the company responsible for a wide range of children’s dolls and toys that merged with View Master in 1987.

As an advertising gimmick, the game was originally priced for retail at $6.66.

The Ideal Haunted House game

The game is played vertically on a board that resembles a haunted house. Players move up through the rooms of the house until they reach the attic, in search of a hidden Ruby jewel.

The house/board is supported by two vertical metal rods which hold it in place, and each room contains a surprise such as a hidden door or a ghost.

The game also featured a unique owl spinner instead of a set of dice. Each player takes a turn to pull the lever, which hoots and activates a fruit-machine style spinner which tells the player how many spaces to move.

In the first edition of this game the board is placed against a red cardboard background, which also features a slot into which the owl spinner can be placed. Later versions of the game do not feature this background. And others have a flat cardboard owl spinner.

How much is an Ideal Haunted House game worth?

The game is popular amongst board game collectors due to its unique three-dimensional board and vertical layout.

Examples in good boxed condition with missing pieces have sold on sites such as eBay for over $100, and complete versions with the early hooting owl spinner can sell for more than $150 in some circumstances.