How to Play The Night Cage: Shrieking Hollow

Objective of the Game

In The Night Cage: Shrieking Hollow, you awaken in a dark, unstable maze with only a candle. The expansion introduces The Hollow, a new board where The Other—a terrifying monster—awaits. As Prisoners, your goal is to escape the maze by finding Keys and unlocking Gates while avoiding threats. The game ends when all Prisoners escape or are lost to darkness. Victory requires at least one Prisoner to exit through a Gate.

Preparation (Setup)

1. Place the Hollow Board next to the Main Board.
2. Stack the 3 sections of The Other in the starting space on the Hollow Board.
3. Set the Expansion Discard Board near the base game’s discard board.
4. Shuffle the base game passages with the 13 Cracked Passage tiles, reserve 10 tiles, then add Wax Eaters based on player count. Split into 4 piles.
5. Distribute 1 Watched Key, 1 Gate, and 1 Shriek on each pile. Randomly add remaining Shrieks/Watched Keys. Shuffle piles individually and stack left to right, placing the reserved 10 tiles on top.
6. Give players Player Aids and complete base game setup (starting tiles, candles, etc.).

Game Flow

Play follows the base game’s turn structure with these changes:

• Pits now send Prisoners to the Hollow instead of relocating them on the Main Board.
• The Other advances up the Hollow when Pits form on the Main Board (unless a lit Prisoner is in the Hollow). After 3 advances, it attacks the Main Board.
• Shrieks trigger The Other’s movement when the third is drawn.
• Prisoners in the Hollow illuminate tiles like the Main Board but must leave via climbing, falling into Pits, or touching Watched Keys.

Actions and How to Play

In the Hollow

• Landing: Prisoners fall to the lowest unoccupied row, draw a tile, and illuminate connected spaces.
• Leaving: Move past the top row, fall into a Pit, or step on a Watched Key (ejecting all Prisoners).

The Other

• Advances 2 spaces per Pit on the Main Board (unless blocked by lit Prisoners in the Hollow).
• On the Main Board, it smothers tiles/Prisoners in its path, sending them to the Hollow with a 3-tile penalty.

Shrieks

• When the third Shriek is drawn, discard all Shrieks and advance The Other (even if Prisoners are lit).

End of Game and Scoring

The game ends when:

• Victory: At least one Prisoner exits through a Gate.
• Defeat: All Prisoners are Lights Out (no candles lit) or trapped in the Hollow.

No points are scored—it’s a team win or loss.

Tips to Win

• Delay The Other: Have a Prisoner leap into the Hollow early to block its advance.
• Watched Keys: Use them to eject all Prisoners from the Hollow at once.
• Shriek Management: Avoid drawing the third Shriek when The Other is near the Main Board.