Goal of the Game

In Ancestral Rites, you take on the role of a cultist in a Lovecraftian setting. Your goal is to build your Cult and perform Summoning Rituals to accumulate power. The first player to reach 21 Summoning Points triggers the end of the game. To win, you must be the player with the highest Summoning score in your Cult at the end of the match.

Setup

To begin the game, follow these steps:

1. Give one Summoning Rituals card to each player.
2. Each player must place a token next to the scoring card to track their Summoning Points.
3. Give the Starting Player card to the person who most recently finished reading an H.P. Lovecraft story (or as decided by the group). This player keeps the card with them throughout the game.
4. Shuffle the rest of the deck and deal 5 cards face down to each player (this is the starting hand). Players may look at their own cards.
5. Flip 6 cards face up in the center of the table. The rest of the deck forms the draw pile.
6. Discarded cards should be placed face down next to the draw line, forming the discard pile.

Gameplay Flow

The game is played in turns, following the order of whoever received the Starting Player card. After a player's turn ends, the turn passes to the player on their left. Each turn follows this structure:

1. Draw: The player draws two cards from the draw line. Upon opening the first card, the next must already be flipped. If the draw pile runs out, shuffle the discard pile to create a new one.
2. Action: The player must perform ONE of the three available actions (detailed in the actions section).
3. End of Turn: The player must discard cards until they have a maximum of 7 cards in hand.

Actions and How to Play

During your turn, you may choose one of the following actions:

• Play a card to your Cult: Choose a card from your hand and place it in your play area (your Cult). It remains there for the rest of the game (unless an effect says otherwise) and you receive its CULT EFFECT while it is on the table. Attention: You can never have two cards with the same name in your Cult. Once played, you may ignore that card's SUMMONING SYMBOL for future rituals.
• Perform a Summoning Ritual: You use cards from your hand to represent the required SUMMONING SYMBOLS (such as Necronomicon, Elder Sign, Pnakotic Manuscripts, Miskatonic University, Yellow Sign, or Cthulhu) as indicated on your Summoning Rituals card. When performing the ritual, you discard all cards used and mark the corresponding score on the Scoring card. Important: When using cards for rituals, ignore their effects. Always check if you have cards in your Cult that can provide extra points, return cards, or save cards during rituals.
• Pass: The player simply ends their turn.

End of Game and Scoring

The end-game trigger occurs when the first player reaches 21 Summoning Points. When this happens, all other players (following turn order) play their final turn so that everyone has the same number of turns. After that, the End-game Bonuses from the Ancient Idol, Azathoth, and City of Innsmouth cards are applied.

Victory is decided as follows:

1. The player with the highest Summoning score in their Cult wins.
2. In the event of a tie in score, the player with the most cards in hand wins.
3. If the tie persists, the players share the victory.

Tips for Winning

Consult the manual for details regarding this section.