Fantasmagória — Rules Manual

(9 goat, 9 doll, 9 cat and 9 candle) 1 beyond board
Components
36 ritual cards
12 beyond cards
1 planchette marker
4 tormented-soul pawns
(11 ghost and 1 cup)
It’s Halloween night!
You found a game that people say
allows you to speak with the beyond.
But the game is haunted by ghosts and
they're ready to have fun with you.
Avoid the ghosts and scare your
friends in Phantasmagoria!
2
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With only 3 players, remove from the game the ritual cards of the candle suit and the 9, 10 and 11 cards of the ghost suit. With 4 players, none are removed and all cards are used.
Shuffle the ritual cards and deal them all equally to form your hand of cards. Do not show the cards in your hand to anyone.
Place the beyond board and the planchette marker in the center of the table.
Shuffle the beyond cards and form piles of 3 cards each around the Beyond board, face down.
Each player secretly chooses a card from their hand to be sacrificed, except cursed cards (see “Cursed Cards”, page 8), and everyone reveals at the same time.
Setup.
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... 1 . 2 . 3 . 4 . 5 . 3 . 4 . 4 . 4 . 4 . 5 . 5 . 5 . 5
3

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The lowest sacrificed card sets the initial numeric trump - move the planchette marker to point to that number.
Whoever played that card is the first leader. In case of ties, follow the suit priority:
Cat < Candle < Goat < Doll
Place one sacrificed card face-up (showing its number) on top of each pile of beyond cards.
Each player chooses a tormented-soul pawn and places it on position 0 (zero) of the track on the back of the game box.
Obtain the LOWEST number of scares over 3 rounds, avoiding ghost cards. 6 7 8 6 7 8 8 8 8
Objective
4 9

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A game of Fantasmagória is played over 3 rounds, each composed of a series of tricks in which everyone plays one card and one of the players wins the trick. Starting with the leader and proceeding clockwise, play a card from your hand face up on the table. The suit of the first card played becomes the lead suit and other players must follow it if they can — that is, they must play a card of the same suit. If you cannot follow the lead suit, play any other card. The first time a player does this, a possession occurs (see “Possession”, page 6). After everyone has played, check who won the trick. If someone played a card with the trump number, that player wins the trick — in case of a tie, the player who played that number first wins the trick. If no one played a card with the trump, the highest-number card of the lead suit wins the trick. The winner takes all cards played in this trick and places them face down in front of them, forming a pile. These piles cannot be consulted by anyone until the end of the round. The trick winner becomes the leader for the next trick. Summoning the Ghosts. 5

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A possession occurs the first time each player cannot follow the lead suit, even if it is their last card. In this case, the number of the card played of the different suit becomes the new trump, with immediate effect for the trick (move the planchette marker on the board to the corresponding number to indicate the change). Then, the possessed player draws one pile of beyond cards of their choice, including one of the sacrificed cards, and the trick proceeds normally.
ATTENTION! A ghost never reveals itself first. Therefore, you may only start a trick with a ghost card if all players are already possessed. However, you may play a ghost card normally when you cannot follow the lead suit.
6
Possession.
ATTENTION! The planchette marker moves only once per trick. If two or more players are possessed in the same trick, only the first one will move the marker on the board and change the trump value.

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The round ends when at least one player has no more cards in hand to play in the next trick. If you still have cards in hand, place them on your pile together with the cards from the tricks you won in front of you. Then, reveal the pile of cards in front of you (the ones from the tricks you won). Each ghost card you have is worth 1 scare. In addition, one ritual card of each suit is cursed and is worth scares (see “Cursed Cards”, page 8). Each player moves their tormented-soul pawn on the track on the back of the box forward by the number of scares received. Start the next round by repeating the Preparation steps.

End of the round
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7

End of the Game
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After 3 rounds, the ritual ends! Check which player is farthest back on the track on the back of the box. Whoever has the lowest number of scares is the winner. In case of a tie, the players must contact the world beyond and ask a spirit who deserves the victory.

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Candelabrum: Counts as 2 scares.
Cursed Cards
Cursed Cards
8
Lucky cat: Counts as -3 scares. If a player ends the round with a negative scare score, move backward on the track according to the negative score.
BelleAnna: Counts as 4 scares.
Filipi Goat: When you win a trick with the 7 of goat, leave this card face-up in front of you. At the end of the round, gather the ghost cards you won in your pile and place them on top of the Goat. If you have 6 or fewer ghost cards, each such card counts as 2 scares. If you have 7 or more, you score no scares this round, including the scares from other cursed cards.

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Cup: The Cup card has no suit and may be played in any trick. When played, check who would win and that person becomes the new leader. Then collect all cards that are worth scares (including cursed cards) and place them on top of the cup card. The winner of the next trick will also take the cards imprisoned in the cup. If the cup is played in the last trick, no player will score the imprisoned scares.
9
Hints!
Choose your sacrifice card carefully to clear a suit and speed up a possible possession.
Use the numeric trump tiebreak rule to shove scares onto another player! Example: when possessed, play an off-suit card with a number equal to one already played earlier to change the trump and make another player win that trick.
If you have a good variety of suits in hand, trying to finish the round without being possessed can be a good way to make the other possessed opponents score scares that are still in their hands. Thank you to everyone who made me believe this was possible. Especially my partner Laura, who tested the game even pretending to be two, plus Lutz, Guizinho and Eric Campos for their unwavering patience, and Rafael Silveira for lending his incomparable talent. Finally, this game wouldn’t be possible without the shoulder, arm and friendly lap of a group of designers who welcomed me as one of them without expecting anything in return. Thank you very much to all the supporters! . .

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Choose a quiet environment and dim the lights. Place the Beyond board in the center with the planchette marker on it. Before starting, all participants should say they wish only to communicate with well-intentioned spirits. Then, gently place your fingers on the planchette marker. Let yourselves be guided by instincts and impulses, moving the marker freely across the board.
Greeting: Start by introducing yourself and asking if anyone wishes to communicate.
Be objective: Ask simple, easy-to-answer questions.
Always close the session: Thank and say the communication is over, moving the planchette marker to “Goodbye”.
WARNING! If the planchette marker starts making strange movements, it is recommended to end the session immediately!!!
Séance
Instructions
Credits
Design: Lucas Fratini
Art: Rafael Silveira
3D Modeling: Pedro Henrique Lutz
English Rulebook: Lucas Fratini
This game was made with intelligence, creativity and human work.
All rights reserved to Xis Jogos.
Rio de Janeiro, Brazil 2025.

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