Among Cultists: A Social Deduction Thriller
Among Cultists: A Social Deduction Thriller Rulebook
Table of Contents
Table of Contents
Goal of the Game and Victory Conditions
Among Cultists is a deduction game for 4 to 8 players with hidden agendas from 14 years up and a duration of about 45-90 minutes.
At the start of the game, you will be assigned random roles and teams: As an Investigator of the Secret Society, you will try to thwart the Cultists' dark ritual by identifying and eliminating them before they can finish it. You'd better avoid other Characters, because every encounter could be your last! The goal of the traitors is to get rid of the Investigators.
Only if you manage to expose all the Cultists or restore enough rooms before time runs out, you can save the venerable University. But be careful: They are already among you... and the killing has long since begun!
As Investigators, you win within 10 rounds as soon as...
- ...you have reached a certain number of Victory Points (see table on p. 6), OR
- ...you have identified all the Cultists and eliminated them by majority vote/assassin attack.
As Cultists, you will win if...
- ...you succeed to kill a certain number of Investigators (see table on p. 6), OR
- ...you successfully sabotaged the Investigators and prevented them from scoring the required Victory Points (see p. 6) before the end of round 10, or
- ...you identify the Seer at the end of the game, if there is any in the game–regardless of how the game turned out for the Investigators.
Important: The active early termination rule applies only to games with 4-6 people and 1 cultist.
1 Cultist (4-6 Players)
If you are the only Cultist, you also win, if you killed a total of 3 or 4 Investigators (see table on p. 6) by the end of any round. This trumps the victory of the Investigators.
At the end of each round, you have the option of actively ending the game by claiming you have fulfilled your victory condition (see more details on p. 14). However, you should be pretty sure about this, because if you are wrong, you will lose the game immediately! If you are voted out of the game BEFORE you can make your claim at the end of the round, you also lose, no matter how many Investigators you have on your conscience!
2 Cultists (7/8 Players)
If the last living cultist is eliminated by vote/assassin attack and the number of achieved dead investigators (see table) was already done at least in the previous round, the cultists win. If the last necessary investigator was eliminated in the same round as the last living cultist, the investigators win, as this trumps the cultists' victory.
Main Game Concepts
Teams, Roles and Characters
You are playing Among Cultists with two Teams: Investigators and Cultists. Only one of the two Teams can win the game. Your Role marker, which you receive at the beginning and keep secret all the time, determines your Team affiliation and Role. The person depicted on your Character card, which is visible to everyone, has no impact on the gameplay and is only used for identification purposes.
States
Your Character has one of two States: alive or dead. Yes, Characters can die in this game, but they are not eliminated and may continue playing until the end of the game. Your Character is considered alive until their death is confirmed, for example after a certain action. Once dead, a Character becomes a Ghost with different privileges than its living counterpart. Since the cards representing your Character's State are played face down, your Character can be dead without knowing it – even at the beginning of the game.
Encounters
Every Encounter between Characters carries the risk that someone involved will be murdered. Sharing the same Location with another living Character usually triggers an Encounter. In that case, you exchange cards face down that can affect the other Character's State.
Hiding and Revealing Information
A lot of the information in the game is secret and is only unveiled during gameplay. However, you are always allowed to talk about almost anything, to lie, speculate or just keep silent. Just like in a good old thriller, the Investigators must cooperate skillfully to expose the Cultists. In doing so, it is important to remember things. However, you don't have to remember every detail of the past rounds – it's best for everyone to share their own level of knowledge during discussions. Blurry memories, entangled with truths and lies, add a certain flavor to the game and your discussions.
Components
- 6 double-sided Map parts, A and B
- 10 large Character cards (Gomery and 9 others)
- 10 Character discs (wooden)
- 182 cards, of which:
- 10x Route
- 63x Success
- 20x Failure
- 7x Sabotage
- 73x Alive
- 9x Dead
- 1 Broken Window (Unsafe Passage place)
- 1 Clock incl. Turn Order indicator (Clock Hand)
- 8 Envelopes
- 1 Bag
Markers and Tokens
- 18 Role markers
- 12 Room tokens (with/without Unsafe Passage)
- 25 Book tokens
- 3 Cultist tokens
- 1 Fishman token
- 1 Phase marker
- 1 Vote token
- 1 Power Supply token
- 1 First Player marker (Knife)
- 12 Event tokens
- 1 Victory Point tracker (red orb)
- 1 Final Score marker (Index Finger)
- 1 Portal
Components and Victory Conditions according to Player Count
If you are playing with only 4 players, please read the AUTOMA Investigator variant (p. 21).
| 4/5 Players (1 Cultist) | 6 Players (1 Cultist) | 7 Players (2 Cultists) | 8 Players (2 Cultists) | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Investigator deck (per Player) | 7x Alive, 8x Success, 1x Route | 7x Alive, 8x Success, 1x Route | 9x Alive, 8x Success, 1x Route | 9x Alive, 8x Success, 1x Route |
| Cultist deck (per Player) | 4x Alive, 3x Dead, 2x Success, 4x Failure, 2x Sabotage, 1x Route | 4x Alive, 3x Dead, 2x Success, 4x Failure, 2x Sabotage, 1x Route | 6x Alive, 3x Dead, 2x Success, 4x Failure, 2x Sabotage, 1x Route | 6x Alive, 3x Dead, 2x Success, 4x Failure, 2x Sabotage, 1x Route |
| Pulse cards starting decks | 5x Alive, 1x Dead | 5x Alive, 2x Dead | not available | 7x Alive, 1x Dead |
| Room starting cards (card type and number equal to Draw pile) | 5x Success, 3x Failure, 1x Sabotage | 4x Success, 4x Failure, 1x Sabotage | 5x Success, 4x Failure, 1x Sabotage | 5x Success, 5x Failure, 1x Sabotage |
| Draw pile (card type and number equal to Room starting cards) | 5x Success, 3x Failure, 1x Sabotage | 4x Success, 4x Failure, 1x Sabotage | 5x Success, 4x Failure, 1x Sabotage | 5x Success, 5x Failure, 1x Sabotage |
| Unsafe Passage deck | 1x Success, 1x Failure (all player counts) | |||
| Room tokens | 5x Explored, 4x with Unsafe Passage icon | 4x Explored, 5x with Unsafe Passage icon | 6x Explored, 4x with Unsafe Passage icon | 5x Explored, 6x with Unsafe Passage icon |
| Events | 2x Lightning Strike, 2x Secret Doors Revealed, 1x No Connection, 1x False Eyes Watching You, 1x Boosted Morale, 1x In Control of the Situation, 1x The Portal Opens, 1x Broken Panes, 1x Lost Morale, 1x Mirror (all player counts) | |||
| Victory Condition: Investigators | 10 Victory Points | 12 Victory Points | 12 Victory Points | 13 Victory Points |
| Victory Condition: Cultists | Min. 3 dead Investigators | Min. 4 dead Investigators | Min. 4 dead Investigators | Min. 5 dead Investigators |
Setup
Preparing Your First Game
To facilitate your entry into this game of bluffing and scheming, we recommend making these adjustments while you setup the game as described below:
5, 6 and 8 Players: Play with Cultists and the Seer, no other Roles. You can find an overview of all Roles in the Appendix.
7 Players: Play with 2 Cultists, no other Roles.
In your first game, you will not use the Unsafe Passage deck and the "Broken Panes" event, as well as other roles. So no Cultists or Fishman will appear in your first game, just skip the following steps in the setup: 11, 13, and 14. Once you're familiar with the rules and want more thrills and chills, see Adjust Complexity (p. 20).
Investigators and Cultists
- Take the cards for the Investigator and Cultist decks according to your Player count (see table). First, shuffle the Routes and lay them out face down, one next to the other. Then shuffle the cards for each Investigator and Cultist deck separately and place 1 pile face down on top of each Route card laid out. Don't assign the decks to Players yet, but remember the Cultist deck(s).
- Put 1 matching Role marker face up on each deck: Tentacles for Cultists and the "M" symbol for Investigators.
- (NOT WITH 7 PLAYERS!) Take the cards for the Pulse cards starting deck according to the table. Put 1 Alive card from this deck on the bottom of each Cultist deck, face down. Now shuffle the remaining Pulse cards face down and put 1 of them on the bottom of each Investigator deck. If there are any Pulse cards left in the starting deck at this point, put them back in the box unseen.
- Now flip all the Role markers placed on the decks to their backs.
- Put the decks, including their Role marker, in 1 Envelope each. Shuffle the Envelopes so that you can no longer trace the Roles.
- Randomly assign 1 Envelope to each Player. Keep them closed for now!
- Everyone chooses 1 Character card and places it in front of them with the Alive side up.
Setting up the Play Area
- Set up the Map according to your Player count (see illustrations).
- Shuffle the Room starting cards according to the table, then place 1 card face down next to each room. Each Room deck is assigned to its corresponding Room by color and icon.
- Shuffle the cards for the Draw pile according to the table and place the pile face down next to the Map.
- Prepare the Unsafe Passage deck (1x Success and 1x Failure), shuffle it, and place it face down on top of the Broken Window.
- Put all the Character discs with the Alive side up on the Central Hallway (the Hallway in the middle with the large "M").
- Turn the 3 Cultist tokens face down, shuffle them, and place them on their spaces outside the University on the Map (see icon).
- Place the Fishman on the lake.
- Put the Vote token face up into the light blue Room (Cafeteria) and the Electricity token with the glowing light bulb up into the red Room (Security Room).
- According to the table, put that many Event tokens in the black Bag.
- Place the Turn Order indicator (Clock Hand) on the Clock so it points to "I" (Round 1).
- Put the Victory Point tracker (red marker) on space "0" of the Scoring track and the Final Score marker ("Index Finger") 1 space to the right of the Victory Point value needed for the Investigators to win (see table). Example: With 6 Players, the finger points to "12".
- Place as many Book tokens in each Room as there are Book spaces available.
- Flip the Room tokens to the crossed-out side up, shuffle them according to the table and place 1 token into each Room.
- The starting character (see next page) gets the Knife (first player marker) as well as the phase marker (with the "Move" side visible).
- Place the Portal token next to the Draw pile. Put the remaining unused components back into the box.
- To finish the Setup, perform the Night Phase, see next section. After that, let the slaughter begin!
Night Phase (once after Setup)
In the Night Phase, you will get to learn your Roles. The Night Ritual will help you secretly communicate the necessary information about your Team affiliation before the game starts. This is how the Cultists get to know their members, if available, and learn which Investigator, if any, is already dead. The Seer, if available, is part of the Investigator team. They know who the Cultists are, but remain hidden from everyone else. The other Investigators do not receive any additional information during the ritual.
Choose someone to recite the Night Ritual or make a recording of the text with your wondrous communication device from the future and play it back. Those who like it old-fashioned learn the ritual by heart and recite it.
4 Players: Follow the rules for games with the AUTOMA Investigator and the corresponding Night Phase, as described on p. 21.
7 Players: Play without the Seer and do not build a Pulse deck after the ritual as you would with other Player counts.
Everyone picks up their envelope, opens it and places their deck in front of them without looking at the bottom card. Envelopes are no longer needed and can be returned to the box. Each player looks at their character marker and now knows their secret role. Place this face down next to the character portrait.
Important: For 5, 6, and 8 players, everyone takes their deck face down as a pile in their hand without the bottom card visible.
You can find an overview of all Roles in the Appendix.
Then take your deck face down in one hand and speak the Night Ritual of the Ancients (Source unknown):
5, 6 and 8 Players
"Close your eyes, reveal your fate, many a life might fade to gray."
Everyone: Close your eyes and turn your deck so that the bottom card is visible.
"Sisters, Brothers, take a look, at the prey the Old One took!"
Cultists: Open your eyes, get to know your teammates and see who is dead from the beginning, if any.
"Cover your fate and close your eyes, fist extended, no disguise."
Everyone: Close your eyes and cover your decks, all stretch their fist, Cultists show thumbs up.
"Alien eyes seek to distort, but you know their time is short!"
Seer: Open your eyes, see the Cultists. Everyone: Close your eyes, all thumbs down, open your eyes – let's go!
5, 6 and 8 Players without Seer
"Close your eyes, reveal your fate, many a life might fade to gray."
Everyone: Close your eyes and turn your deck so that the bottom card is visible.
"Sisters, Brothers, take a look, at the prey the Old One took!"
Cultists: Open your eyes, get to know your teammates and see who is dead from the beginning, if any.
"The cult now knows its retinue, and for all the time is due!"
Everyone: Close your eyes and cover your decks, open your eyes – let's go!
7 Players
"Close your eyes, reveal your fate, many a life might fade to gray."
Everyone: Close your eyes.
"Sisters, Brothers, take a look, at the prey the Old One took!"
Cultists: Open your eyes, get to know your teammates.
"The cult now knows its retinue, and for all the time is due!"
Everyone: Close your eyes, open your eyes – let's go!
After the Night Ritual
Put the decks down face down in front of you.
5, 6 and 8 Players: Place the bottom card of your deck face down next to your Character portrait. This is your Pulse deck. All remaining cards go to your hand.
7 Players: All cards go to your hand.
Important: You may not change the order of your hand cards from now on!
Playing the Game
Selecting the First Player and Starting the Game
The one of you who had a nightmare last gets the Knife (First Player marker) and the Phase marker ("Foot" side up). You start the game with the Movement Phase of the 1. Round.
By the way: If, in all the hustle and bustle, you forget which Team you belong to (or for the sake of bluffing), you can of course look at your Role marker any time.
The Golden Rules
In general, you may TALK ABOUT ANYTHING, EXCEPT...
- ...about your true Team affiliation and Role. However, you may always claim to belong to a certain side (or not) and doubt the statements of the other Players.
- ...about the number of Investigators you have murdered as Cultists (regardless of whether you are still alive or not).
You may NOT SHOW each other anything, e.g. Routes, cards in hand, etc.
A Movement must never end where it started.
To play cards you must always look at the cards beforehand, it is not allowed to just play the card blindly because of the back of the card. This would make it too hard for the cultists. This is also the reason why the hand cards are shuffled in the setup.
Overview
Each of the max. 10 Rounds consists of these 4 Phases:
- Movement Phase – All Characters move across the Map, resolving Encounters, until everyone has had 1 turn.
- Event Phase – The Event of the current hour (= Round) is drawn from the Bag and resolved. Certain Events lead to additional Encounters.
- Action Phase – Each Player performs 1 Character action or 1 Room action or passes.
- Cleanup Phase – The Vote token is flipped to its Active side. If this is Round 10, the game ends and you check the Victory Conditions. Otherwise, pass the First Player marker clockwise, move the Clock Hand to the next hour (= Round) and prepare for the next Round.
Keep playing until one of the Victory Conditions (see Goal of the Game and Victory Conditions) has been met.
The Phases in Detail
1. Movement Phase
Starting from the First Player marker and continuing clockwise, all Characters perform 1 Movement. After each Character has had 1 turn, proceed to the Event Phase.
In your turn, you may use up to 3 Movement points to move your Character between Rooms and Hallways. Each Room has at least one Door connecting it to another Hallway, Room or both. Each Movement across a Door costs 1 Movement point. All Characters may move across the Map at will, but Movement may not end at the starting location, meaning Characters must move on their turn.
The number of Characters allowed to share the same Hallway or Room is unlimited.
Note: We call it a "Location" if we do not need to distinguish between Rooms, Hallways, and the positions for Cultist tokens and the Fishman.
Cultists may ignore Routes and use any Room action on their turn, whereas Investigators must use the Room actions determined by their Route.
Routes
If you are an Investigator, your personal Route, which you receive at the beginning of the game, tells you on which Round (left side) you can use the effects of which Rooms (right side). You may usually choose from 2 or more available Rooms each Round, the effects of which you may use in the Action Phase (unless you choose to perform a Character action, which is not bound to your Route and always available in all Rooms and Hallways). In other words: It is allowed to end your Movement in a Room that is not on your current Route and perform a Character action there.
Example for a Route:
- 1st line: An Investigator with this Route may move freely in general, but can only use the Room actions of the dark blue, pink, and light blue Rooms in Rounds 1, 5 and 9. If this Character ends their Round 1 Movement in the pink Room, they may use its Room action during the Action Phase of that Round.
- 2nd line: In Rounds 2, 6 and 10, they can only use those of green and orange.
- 3rd line: In Rounds 3 and 7, only those of light blue and dark blue.
- 4th line: And in Rounds 4 and 8, only those of red and orange.
As a Cultist, you are free to deviate from your Route, but you shouldn't move thoughtlessly either. Remember: If someone notices that you have used Room actions of the same color successively, unpleasant questions might be raised...
As a Ghost (Character disc with the Dead side up, crossed-out), you do not use Movement points. Instead, you teleport to a Location of your choice each Round. However, you never participate in an Encounter.
After you have completed your Movement and resolved all Encounters, pass the Phase marker clockwise to the next Player.
See Room Actions for a description of all Room actions.
Triggering an Encounter
Both during and at the end of your Movement, an Encounter may be triggered. If you are in a Room or a Hallway with at least 1 other living Character (also before reaching your final location), check the table to see if an Encounter is triggered.
Reminder: Encounters are triggered only by certain events and when entering Locations, but never when leaving Locations. Ignore Ghosts, they are never participating in an Encounter.
| Power supply | Number of Characters in the same Room/Hallway | Encounter y/n? |
|---|---|---|
| ON | exactly 2 | YES |
| ON | 3 or more | NO |
| OFF | 2 or more | YES |
Resolving an Encounter
All Characters involved in the Encounter place exactly 1 Alive or 1 Dead card from their hand face down on the Pulse deck of exactly 1 other Character involved in this Encounter. There is no fixed rule as to who gives the card to whom first. You decide for yourselves. The card received remains unseen.
Note: Cultists can therefore only murder without a witness if no more than 2 Characters are involved in an Encounter or if the power supply is off.
After all Characters have performed their Movement, pass the Phase marker to the First Player. Proceed to the Event Phase.
2. Event Phase
For the current Round, draw 1 Event token from the Bag, immediately resolve its effect, then place it on the corresponding Round number (Hour) on the Clock. Proceed to the Action Phase.
The marker's effect lasts at least until the next Event Phase.
The Events Lightning Strike and Secret Doors Revealed can trigger new Encounters.
You can find an overview of all Events in the Appendix.
3. Action Phase
Flip the Phase marker Gear side up to indicate that you are in the Action Phase. Starting with the First Player marker and continuing clockwise, each Character now performs exactly 1 Character action OR 1 Room action. You may also do nothing and pass.
Character actions:
- Check a State
- Secure a Hallway
- Fight a Cultist
- Scare away the Fishman
- Assassinate a Character
Room actions:
- Fill the Room deck
- Check a Room
- Initiate a Vote
- Use the Camera
- Restart the Power Supply
- Close the Portal
See Actions for a description of all Actions.
Reminder: As an Investigator, you may only use those Room actions available on your Route. Cultists do not have to stick to their Route and are allowed to cheat. In order to use a Room-specific action, you must be standing in the matching Room. In a Hallway, you may only use a Character action.
4. Cleanup Phase
In a game with 4 to 6 Players, the sole Cultist may now actively initiate the end of the game by revealing themselves and claiming to have reached their Victory Condition (enough dead Investigators). All Characters check the cards in their Pulse deck. If the Cultist was right, the Investigators lose the game instantly. If the Cultist was wrong, they are cornered and lose the game instantly.
If this is Round 10, the game ends now. Check the Victory Conditions. The Team that met its condition wins the game. Congratulations!
If the above does not apply, you prepare the next Round:
- If there was a Vote, flip the Vote token in the Cafeteria Active side up.
- Pass the First Player marker and the Phase marker clockwise to the next Player. Flip the Phase marker Foot side up.
- Advance the Clock Hand by 1 hour. The new Round starts with the Movement Phase.
Actions
Character Actions
Character actions can be taken in any Round, by any living Character, in any Location.
Check a State
REQUIREMENT: Min. 1 living target Character is in the same Location with you OR you are in a Room with a Camera.
Shuffle the target Character's Pulse deck and look at it in secret.
- There are only Alive cards: Put the deck back face down.
- 1 or more Dead cards:
- As an Investigator, you must tell the truth and report the State. Place the Dead card face up on top of the Character's Pulse deck; that Character is now a Ghost (flip Character disc and card to the Dead side). Initiate a discussion and a Vote.
- As a Cultist, you may also tell the truth or lie and conceal the State. Put the deck back face down. The target Character is still considered alive until its true State is revealed by an Action or during the Victory Condition check.
Then, place the top card from the Draw pile face down on top of the target Character's Room deck, if they are in a Room, or on top of the Unsafe Passage deck, if they are in a Hallway. If a Room deck contains 3 or more cards for the first time, turn the Room token to the other side and resolve its effect (see Fill the Room deck).
Important: You may share all the information you get from this Action with the other Players if you want to. However, you may also lie for tactical reasons – definitely recommended for a Cultist.
Secure a Hallway
REQUIREMENT: You are standing in a Hallway.
Shuffle 1 Success, 1 Failure or 1 Sabotage card face down into the Unsafe Passage deck.
The Unsafe Passage deck is used in the Fill the Room deck action, see below.
Note: Cards are never placed in Hallways. However, Hallways are the only option to get cards into the Unsafe Passage deck. "Securing" a Hallway provides a good opportunity for a cunning Cultist to carry out covert sabotage.
Fight a Cultist
REQUIREMENT: There is a Cultist token in your Room.
You may remove this token from the game. Put it in the box.
Scare away the Fishman
REQUIREMENT: You have the Knife (First Player marker) and enter the Hallway occupied by the Fishman.
You scare the Fishman away. Return its token to the lake. The Hallway is accessible again for now, but the Fishman may return at a later point.
Assassinate a Character
REQUIREMENT: You have the Assassin Role and your living target Character (who you think is a Cultist and want to get rid of) is in the same Location with you.
Reveal your Role (flip your Role marker) and assassinate the target Character. This does not trigger a Vote! The target Character does not have to reveal their Role unless they were the last living Cultist, in which case the game ends instantly.
Room Actions
In order to use these Actions, you must be standing in the matching Room.
Reminder: As an Investigator, you may only use those Room actions available on your Route. Cultists do not have to stick to their Route.
Fill the Room deck
REQUIREMENT: You are standing in a Room.
Place 1 Success, 1 Failure or 1 Sabotage card face down on top of the Room deck of this Room. If this is the first time there are 3 cards in this Room, flip the Room token Explored side up. This Room is considered explored as of now. Until the end of the game, the Check a Room action is now unlocked for this Room (see next Action).
If the Room token you just flipped over shows an Unsafe Passage icon, shuffle the Unsafe Passage deck, draw 1 card and resolve it. Then shuffle this card back into the Unsafe Passage deck:
- Success: Nothing happens.
- Failure: Flip 1 face-down Cultist token and place it in the Room shown. If there are no more face-down tokens, the Fishman moves to the Hallway at the top right between the light blue and the pink Room (4-6 Players), or to the Central Hallway (7/8 Players); see the markings on the Map. If the Fishman is already in the building, nothing happens. The situation is already tricky enough.
- Sabotage: The Fishman moves to the Hallway at the top right between the light blue and the pink Room (4-6 Players), or to the Central Hallway (7/8 Players). If the Fishman is already in the building, nothing happens.
Reminder: The only way to get cards into the Unsafe Passage deck is using the Secure a Hallway Character action.
| Token | Cultists (3x) | Fishman (1x) |
|---|---|---|
| Effect | No Room actions possible in the occupied Room. | Only a living Character with the Knife may enter the Hallway occupied. |
Check a Room
REQUIREMENT: You are standing in an explored Room, see Action Fill the Room deck.
Shuffle the Room deck, draw 1 card and resolve it:
- Success: Place 1 Book from this Room on the Bookshelf (place the Book token on an empty space in the matching color on the Bookshelf at the bottom right corner of the Map).
- Failure: Nothing happens.
- Sabotage: If available, take 1 Book in that Room's color from the Bookshelf and return it to the Room.
After that, remove that card from the game.
Finishing a Room: Once you have placed all the Books from a Room on the Bookshelf, the Room is considered finished. Once a Room is finished, you can neither fill its Room deck, nor check it any more. As a reminder, remove the Room token and all cards placed here from the game unseen.
Scoring a Rack: A Rack in the Bookshelf is scored as soon as you have placed all the required Books in that color. You get Victory Points as indicated on the edge of the Rack (2, 3 or 4 VP). Advance the Victory Point tracker accordingly. If the Investigators reach the target value necessary for their victory, the game ends instantly: see Goal of the Game and Victory Conditions.
Most of the Racks score points directly. In order to score the orange and pink Racks, you need to collect the books from several Rooms. The dark blue Racks are bound to their Rooms, meaning that Books from dark blue 1 must be placed on the matching Rack (and not on the Rack for dark blue 2 or 3).
Example: There are already 3 books on the Rack from the two orange Rooms. Mary is in the unfinished Room that contains the 4th orange Book and checks it. She draws a Success. She puts the Book on the Bookshelf, thereby completing the Rack and scoring 4 VP for the Investigators. She advances the VP tracker on the track accordingly. Finally, she places the token and the deck of that Room in the box unseen.
Initiate a Vote
REQUIREMENT: Can be used once per Round by a living Character standing in the light blue Room (Cafeteria), if the Vote token shows the Active side. However, a Vote is mandatory every time a murder has been revealed.
The First Player (having the Knife) has a special ability during Votes:
- 5-6 Players: You may change your vote after opening your eyes and after evaluation.
- 7-8 Players: Your vote counts double.
Start an open discussion. Don't forget the Golden Rules (see The Golden Rules). In some circumstances, it may be useful to run a countdown. Feel free to choose whatever works best.
After you have exchanged your brazen allegations, outrageous accusations, and professions of innocence, proceed to a Blind Vote: Everyone closes their eyes. Then point to a Character to be eliminated. Those who wish to abstain from voting keep their fist closed. The initiator of the Vote counts to 3, then you open your eyes:
- If a Character gets a simple majority AND there are less abstained votes, that Character is eliminated. Flip their Character disc and card to the Dead side. That Character continues to play as a Ghost (see Privileges of the Living and the Dead). Their Pulse deck remains face down.
- If the eliminated Character was a Cultist, they do not have to reveal their Role unless they were the last living Cultist, in which case the game ends instantly: see Goal of the Game and Victory Conditions.
- If the Vote does not result in a majority, e.g. 3 abstentions and 3 votes against the same Character, nothing happens.
Example: Voting Results
| Votes | Distribution | Result |
|---|---|---|
| 6 | 2 against Andy, 2 against Susan, 2 abstentions | Nothing happens, except that the initial suspicion that Andy and Susan might be Cultists has increased. |
| 6 | 3 against Andy, 1 against Susan, 2 abstentions | Andy could not avert suspicion. This Vote turned out against him. His Character is eliminated and continues to play as a Ghost. If Andy was the last or only Cultist, he must admit it now and initiate the end of the game, otherwise he does not. |
| 7 | 3 against Ben, 1 against Uli, 3 abstentions | Nothing happens. Although 3 Players are still unsure, the result speaks against Ben. |
| 7 | 1 against Ben, 1 against Uli, 3 against Macy, 2 abstentions | Macy is eliminated. Ben somehow managed to divert suspicion to Macy and make the picture tilt. Macy's Character becomes a Ghost, wondering how this could have happened. |
After the Room action Initiate a Vote: Regardless of the result of a Vote, flip the Vote token to Inactive side up. Until the next Round, Votes are only possible after revealing a murder, not as a regular Room action. Continue playing the game.
In games with a Seer: If the Vote eliminated the last living Cultist, the Cultists now have 1 try to guess who the Seer is. Tip: After the Cultists were revealed, keep calm and inconspicuous until they have made their choice and you have checked whether they were correct. An awkward statement or the speechless terror in your face could tell them that you are or are not the Seer.
If they are correct, the Cultists win the game, as this Victory Condition trumps all others. Otherwise, the Investigators win.
Use the Camera
REQUIREMENT: You are standing in the red Room (Security Room) AND the power supply is on.
Regardless of your current Route, check 1 explored Room OR the State of 1 living target Character of your choice. If they are in a Room, put the top card of the Draw pile on top of that Room deck face down. If the target Character is standing in a Hallway, put the card from the Draw pile face down on top of the Unsafe Passage deck instead and shuffle it. The location of the target Room or target Character does not matter: nothing escapes these cameras!
Restart the Power Supply
REQUIREMENT: You are standing in the red Room (Security Room) AND the power supply is off.
You restore the power supply. Flip the Power Supply token so it shows the glowing light bulb. The rule for Encounters during power outage no longer applies (see Triggering an Encounter), and the Camera is also working again.
Close the Portal
REQUIREMENT: You and 1 other living Character are standing in the green Room while the Portal is open. This consumes the current Round's Action for both Characters involved!
The Portal is closed within 3 Rounds after opening (2 Rounds for 7/8 Players): Remove the Portal from the green Room. From now on, the Investigators need 1 VP less to win the game. Move the Final Score marker on the Scoring track one space to the left.
The Portal is NOT closed within 3 Rounds after opening (2 Rounds for 7/8 Players): The Portal remains in green Room. From now on, the Investigators need 1 VP more to win the game. Move the Final Score marker on the Scoring track one space to the right.
Privileges of the Living and the Dead
Depending on your State and Team affiliation, you have certain options in the game – or not any more. You are considered Alive until a Dead card got revealed in your deck and put face up in front of you.
Living Characters
- Movement: Max. 3 Movement points
- Resolve Encounters
- Perform all Character actions
- Perform all Room actions
- First Player may actively use the Knife for special abilities, such as Voting, scaring away the Fishman, etc.
Ghosts (dead Characters)
- Movement: Teleport (unlimited Movement) to desired Room or Hallway
- Resolve Encounters: No
- Perform all Character actions: No
- Perform NO Room actions except Fill the Room deck and Check a Room
- First Player may actively use the Knife for special abilities: No
Investigators (whether alive or as a Ghost): Must follow their Route for Room Actions.
Cultists (whether alive or as a Ghost): May ignore their Route for Room Actions.
End of the Game
As soon as a Team has fulfilled its Victory Condition (see Goal of the Game and Victory Conditions), the game ends instantly. If necessary, perform the Seer identification (see Initiate a Vote).
Eventually, rejoice about your grand victory or be angry about your (un)deserved defeat!
Jump right into a new game and, if you feel like it, adjust the complexity level to your liking (see the following section). Have fun!
Adjust Complexity
For experienced Assassins
You have played the game a few times and know all the rules? Great, now it's time to check out those other Roles!
Recommended Roles:
| 5 Players | 6 Players | 7 Players | 8 Players |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 Cultist, Seer, 1 random Role to choose from Greenhorn/Butterfingers/Crybaby | 1 Cultist, Seer, 1 random Role to choose from Radiant Beauty/Infected/Super Ghost, Firestarter | 2 Cultists, 1 random Role to choose from Greenhorn/Butterfingers/Crybaby, Firestarter, Assassin | 2 Cultists, Seer, Mechanic, Firestarter, Assassin |
For Social Deduction Experts
You surpassed the level of experienced Assassins and now you want to get everything out of the game? Now we're talking!
Combine the Roles as you wish or add additional ones to the recommendations above. For the Expert level, just follow these two guidelines:
- To keep it fair for both Teams, the total sum of the individual Loyalty values of the Roles must be equal to the recommended Difficulty for the Player count (see below), and
- within a Team, the maximum Loyalty is 5.
Recommended Difficulty:
| 5 Players | 6 Players | 7 Players | 8 Players |
|---|---|---|---|
| +1 Cultist Loyalty | +1 Cultist Loyalty | +3 Cultist Loyalty | +1 Investigator Loyalty |
Example: You want to play a crisp game with 5 Players without the Seer but with the Mechanic (3). She has a Loyalty of 3 in favor of the Investigators. To meet the recommendation for 5 Players (+1 Cultist Loyalty), select additional Roles that support the Cultists with 4 Loyalty points. You choose Firestarter (2), Greenhorn (1) and Crybaby (1). In total, you meet both the recommended Difficulty and the maximum value of 5 Loyalty per Team.
You can find an overview of all Roles and their Loyalty values in the Appendix.
Variant for 4 and 6 Players using the AUTOMA Investigator (AI)
Setup for a game with AI
If you want to play a game with 4 or 6 Players and the AUTOMA Investigator, follow the setup for 5 or 7 Players with the following adjustments.
For games with 6 Players, you can include the AI to play a 7 Player game with 2 Cultists. If the Cultist does not see another human Cultist in the Night Phase, they know that the AI is the 2nd Cultist.
In games with 2 Cultists you can also include the Seer Role.
- In order to represent the AI, place 1 additional Character card to the right of the First Player (essentially, the AI can be situated anywhere, but we recommend this position for the first game).
- After you have assigned the decks and Roles, perform the Night Phase (see Night Phase) as usual, except that the Player left of the AI additionally takes the AI deck in their empty hand face down.
- After the Night Phase, place the bottom card of the AI deck face down next to their Character card. This is their Pulse deck (if the Player count provides starting cards for the Pulse deck).
- Sort the remaining cards of the AI deck unseen into 2 piles by backside (Room cards and Encounter cards).
- Reveal the AI's Route card.
Rules for a game with AI
Movement Phase
The AI goes towards the 1st Room from the left of their Route card that has not been explored yet. Once the AI reaches that Room, it ends its Movement there. Excess Movement points are lost. If there are 2 possible paths of the same length towards that Room, the AI moves clockwise.
Example: We are in Round 5. The AI stands in the green Room and, per Route, can choose between the pink and the orange Room. Since all the dark blue Rooms are already finished, the next option is orange. Since the orange Rooms are at equal distance from the green one, the AI continues its path clockwise into the orange Room on the left.
If there are no Rooms available or the AI cannot reach a Room, it moves as far as possible towards the current target Room.
If its Movement triggers an Encounter, you exchange Encounter cards as usual. Take the top card from its Encounter deck and put it on the other Character's Pulse deck. If there are several potential Encounters due to a power outage, the Character with the fewest cards in their Pulse deck gets the AI's card; in case of a tie, the AI's closest neighbor to the left gets it.
Action Phase
- If the Room is not explored and has a Cultist token, the AI fights the Cultist.
- If the Room is not explored and has no Cultist token, the AI adds its top Room card to the Room deck face down.
- If the Room is explored, the AI reveals the top card from the Room and resolves it.
- If the AI is standing in a Hallway, it places 1 Room card face down on the Unsafe Passage deck.
The AI does not use any other Action. If it has the Knife, nothing happens either, not even if an Event would require the Knife.
Special AI Rules
- During Votes, the AI's vote counts as an abstention; with the Knife as 2 abstentions.
- The Seer Role is not available if you play with the AI and 1 Cultist.
- Ignore any Role for the AI, except for Cultist and Seer, if there are 2+ Cultists in the game.
- If there is only 1 Cultist and the AI is eliminated during a Vote, reveal its Role marker. If it was not a Cultist, continue the game. If it was the only Cultist, the game ends instantly. Note this difference from the standard game: Now check all Pulse decks and count the dead Investigators. Since the AI cannot end the game early as a sole Cultist, its Victory Condition trumps that of the Investigators.
Appendix
Symbols
- Alive
- Dead (Ghost)
- Cultist
- Another player
- Another living player
- Another dead player
- Situation left, consequences right
- Dead? Reveal your role.
- Dead? Don't reveal your role.
- Role
- Encounter
- Murder
- Round
- 1 Round (length)
- A specific round (shown as a numbered token, e.g. 6)
- Reveal / flip
- Not possible / ignore
- Event token
- Action (Action phase)
- Movement (Movement phase)
- Power supply token
- Unsafe passage
- Unsafe passage deck
- Draw pile
- Night phase
- Open your eyes
- Ignore route
- Communication
- Start a Vote
- Use camera
- Portal opens
- First Player marker / use Knife
- Check
- Power available
- Secret doors revealed
Events
Lightning Strike (2x)
Flip the Power Supply token to the other side. The power supply is on (light bulb glows) or off (light bulb does not glow). Power supply can only be turned on by following Lightning Strikes or the Restart the Power Supply action in the red Room (Security Room). If the Power supply is off, the Camera cannot be used and there can be Encounters with 3 or more Characters.
Secret Doors Revealed (2x)
All Rooms (no Hallways) in the same color count as connected until a new Event token is revealed. This can trigger an Encounter instantly, for example between 2 living Characters standing in different dark blue Rooms. Rooms can now be used for taking shortcuts.
Example: Charlotte uses 1 Movement point to leave Pink 2 from Pink 1 and enter the Hallway. Standing in Pink 1, she could also perform the Check a Room action for Pink 2.
Boosted Morale
All Characters get +1 Movement Point in the next Movement Phase, until a new Event token is revealed.
Lost Morale
All characters get -1 Movement Point in the next Movement Phase, until a new Event token is revealed.
Lost Morale doesn't count for Ghosts!
The Portal Opens
Place the Portal in the green Room. Place the corresponding Event token 2 Rounds (7/8 Players) or 3 Rounds (4-6 Players) into the future as a reminder, next to the Event.
Example: If this Event was drawn in Round 3 of a 5 Player game, place the token next to Round 6.
You now have 2 (7/8 Players) or 3 Rounds (4-6 Players), respectively, to enter the Room with 2 living Characters and perform the Close the Portal action there in the same round. If you manage to do that, the VP target value for the Investigators is decreased by 1. If you fail, it is increased by 1. Return this token to its original position on the Clock after the time has elapsed.
False Eyes Watching You
The living Character with the First Player marker may check the Pulse deck of a living target Character of their choice (and decide for themselves to reveal a murder and initiate a Vote, if applicable).
If the Character with the First Player marker is already dead, nothing happens (Ghost cannot check States).
Broken Panes
Shuffle the top 2 cards of the Draw pile face down into the Unsafe Passage deck. Reveal 1 card from the Unsafe Passage deck and resolve it. Afterwards, shuffle this card back into the Unsafe Passage deck.
In Control of the Situation
The living Character with the First Player marker may draw 1 Event token from the Bag and look at it. You may either remove the Event token from the game unseen by the others and put it in the box OR return it into the Bag. You may share the information about the Event token, Cultists may lie about it.
No Connection
You have no connection. You may no longer communicate acoustically, until a new Event token is revealed.
Statements related to the game or rules, e.g. "It's your turn!", are still allowed.
Yes, this can even lead to a Vote where no one is allowed to communicate – enjoy the silence!
Mirror
Repeat the event of the previous round.
If 'Mirror' is revealed in round 1, nothing happens.
If 'The Portal Opens' was revealed in the previous round, Portal stays open 1 round longer.
Roles
In order to play with additional Roles, replace default Investigator Role markers with other Role markers of your choice during game setup.
Investigators (recommended player count 5-8, unless noted otherwise)
| Name | Loyalty | Special Feature |
|---|---|---|
| Investigator | 0 | No special ability. |
| Radiant Beauty | +1 | Once you are dead, reveal your Role marker. Your presence always provides light and electricity wherever you are. |
| Infected | +1 | Once you are dead, reveal your Role marker. Players don't give away cards during encounters until the end of the next Round. |
| Super Ghost | +1 | Once you are dead, reveal your Role marker. Your Ghost can perform all Room actions like a living Character, but is still ignored for Encounters. |
| Mechanic | +3 | You may ignore your Route as long as you are alive. |
Cultists (recommended player count 5-8)
| Name | Loyalty | Special Feature |
|---|---|---|
| Cultist | 0 | No special ability. |
| Greenhorn | +1 | You die and become a Ghost as soon as you perform the Use the Camera or Initiate a Vote action (you participate in the Vote as a Ghost). |
| Butterfingers | +1 | You die after using the Knife, no matter for what purpose. If you have to use the Knife due to an Event, you also die afterwards. |
| Crybaby | +1 | You die after you had to reveal a dead Character during a Check a State action or the False Eyes Watching You Event. |
| Firestarter | +2 | Setup: Replace 2 Success cards of an Investigator deck with 1 Sabotage and 1 Failure card. If you have not played your 2 red cards by the end of Round 5, you die instantly. Anyone, say this line at the end of Round 5: "Firestarter, if you still have a red card in your hand, you die now, otherwise you live on." |
Investigators (special recommended player counts)
| Name | Loyalty | Special Feature | Recommended Player Count |
|---|---|---|---|
| Assassin | 0 | As long as you are alive, once in the game, you can target a Character in the same Location as you are with the Assassinate a Character action. Reveal your Role marker when doing so. This Action does not result in a Vote. If you assassinated the last living Cultist, the game ends instantly. Otherwise, the target Character does not have to reveal their Role, unless their Role requires them to do so. | 7-8 |
| Seer | 0 | In the Night Phase at the beginning of the game you will find out who the Cultists are. If you are identified by the Cultists at the end of the game, they win and the Investigators lose, regardless of how it would have turned out for them otherwise. | 5, 6, 8 |