Bias and ground rules
Many people say they want unbiased reviews, but I find unbiased reviews largely useless, typically containing nothing but component listings and rules summaries. Don't look to me for one of those. I understand the difference between fact and opinion, and assume readers do as well. This review has both, and I acknowledge that, despite the lack of "IMHO" in every second line. Finally, I'm no fan of the recently ubiquitous "be gentle" pleas preceding reviews. This isn't my first rodeo, and I can take it.
Why compare Ravenloft with Claustrophobia?
Despite fundamental differences, the two games have a great deal in common. Both have fantasy themes and play in an hour or less. Both involve adventurers who explore by drawing tiles from a stack and revealing them. Both have monsters and traps which may prove fatal to the adventurers, and the adventurers in both games can receive various items, spells and abilities to help them along the way. The first scenarios of the two games are nearly identical, with victory achieved via an exit tile which can only be reached after exploring 10 previous tiles. But enough about similarities, I want to focus on the differences.
Who's in charge here?
The biggest difference in the two games is that the Monsters are automatically controlled via AI decision trees in Castle Ravenloft, while in Claustrophobia they are controlled by one of the players. This in turn leads to the other key difference: Ravenloft is cooperative, while Claustrophobia is competitive.
I have no issues with cooperative games, but have less fun with stupid opponents than with clever ones, and the monsters in Ravenloft are monumentally stupid. The AI works as designed, I don't deny that, and the monsters can certainly kill you, but the rules allow you as a player to choose the details of how the monsters move. It follows that the cornerstone of tactical play in Castle Ravenloft is figuring out how to place monsters in the absolute worst tactical position, from the monster's point of view, and I find that somewhat unsatisfying.
Claustrophobia monsters, in contrast, are directed by a human brain, with all the cleverness and malevolent cunning that implies. When playing highly themed games, the ease with which you can suspend disbelief and embrace your role is crucial. 366
That's easy for me in Claustrophobia, because I'm concerned with how my characters can fend off the fiendishly clever moves of my opponent's monsters. Immersion in my own character's role is more difficult in Ravenloft, because it's usually obvious that I should just push him to corners, so I'm not focused on him. In sum, with Claustrophobia I'm playing more within my character, while in Ravenloft, I'm thinking more about moving monsters poorly than moving my own adventurer wisely.
How do you want to play?
1) Solo
Each side has cards that are not revealed until played in Claustrophobia, and that will make solo play difficult for some. As an old wargamer, that isn't an issue for me, and I find that Claustrophobia works well solo. But I know many are happier with formal solo rules, and for them, Castle Ravenloft will serve best, as a split personality is not required.
2) 2-player
I play mostly head-to-head, and Claustrophobia shines there. Not only is play more immersive from the Human side of the table than in Ravenloft, but playing the Monsters is also a blast, and a totally different experience. This adds immensely to the replay value of the game, because the problems presented and choices available differ so dramatically from opposite sides of the table. Castle Ravenloft wasn't designed to be a competitive game, but does provide 2-player cooperative play for those who seek that.
3) Multi-player
If you're looking for a game that handles 3-5 players, Ravenloft is the answer. It is designed for that, and Claustrophobia is not.
How about the figures?
Castle Ravenloft has 42 figures cast in 21 molds, compared to 17 figures in 5 molds for Claustrophobia, so Ravenloft wins that comparison by a wide margin. However, as with other aspects of these two games, there is a quantity vs. quality aspect. The Claustrophobia figures are beautifully painted. If you want to paint your own figures, that's a non-issue, but for folks like me, it's great to get such gorgeous figures right out of the box.
Tiles
The numbers are much closer for tiles. Ravenloft has 40 single square tiles and 1 double square 'start' tile, so 42 squares of coverage all told. Claustrophobia has 36. The Claustrophobia tiles are much larger, which has led to discussions about whether they are too large. 366