How to Play Fantasmagória

Objective of the Game

It's Halloween night, and you've found a game that supposedly lets you speak with the beyond. However, the game is haunted by ghosts ready to have fun with you! In Phantasmagoria, your goal is to avoid ghosts and scare your friends. The winner is the player who obtains the LOWEST number of scares over 3 rounds, avoiding ghost cards.

Preparation (Setup)

1. Place the beyond board and the planchette marker in the center of the table.
2. Shuffle the beyond cards and form piles of 3 cards each around the Beyond board, face down.
3. For a 3-player game, remove the ritual cards of the candle suit and the 9, 10, and 11 cards of the ghost suit. For a 4-player game, use all cards.
4. 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.
5. Each player secretly chooses a card from their hand to be sacrificed, except cursed cards (see "Cursed Cards"), and everyone reveals at the same time.
6. The lowest sacrificed card sets the initial numeric trump - move the planchette marker to point to that number.
7. Whoever played that card is the first leader. In case of ties, follow the suit priority: Cat < Candle < Goat < Doll.
8. Place one sacrificed card face-up (showing its number) on top of each pile of beyond cards.
9. Each player chooses a tormented-soul pawn and places it on position 0 (zero) of the track on the back of the game box.

Fluxo do Jogo

A game of Phantasmagoria is played over 3 rounds, each composed of a series of tricks. In each trick, everyone plays one card, and one player wins the trick.

Trick Structure

1. Starting with the leader and proceeding clockwise, play a card from your hand face up on the table.
2. The suit of the first card played becomes the lead suit. Other players must follow it if they can (play a card of the same suit).
3. If a player cannot follow the lead suit, they play any other card. The first time a player does this, a possession occurs (see "Possession").
4. 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.
5. 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.
6. The trick winner becomes the leader for the next trick.

Possession

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! 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.

End of the Round

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").

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.

Ações e Como Jogar

Playing Cards

Players take turns playing one card from their hand face up on the table. The first card played in a trick sets the lead suit. Players must follow the lead suit if possible. If a player cannot follow the lead suit, they may play any other card, triggering a possession.

Summoning the Ghosts

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.

Cursed Cards

• Candelabrum: Counts as 2 scares.
• 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.

Cup Card

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.

Fim de Jogo e Pontuação

End of the Game

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.

Dicas para Vencer

• 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! For 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.