Winner of the 2006 Gold ENnie Award for Innovation, Dread is a horror roleplaying game that builds tension and fear into its core system.

The game opens with a simple but haunting premise: freedom lies just beyond the door, yet between the players and escape stretches a narrow space filled with uncertainty—and something waiting in the dark.

In Dread, players create characters through guided questionnaires that define their strengths, flaws, personalities, and fears. These characters are then placed into unsettling, story-driven scenarios crafted by the host. Instead of dice, the game uses a Jenga® tower to resolve moments of tension—when the tower falls, so does a character’s fate.

The system is designed to evoke the emotional pressure and anxiety of horror fiction, relying on physical suspense rather than randomness. All that’s required is the rulebook, a group of players, imagination, and a Jenga® set.

Dread is widely recognized as a landmark in horror RPG design, showing how mechanics themselves can generate atmosphere and dread.