BOO
BOO Rulebook
Table of Contents
Table of Contents
The Object
Win points by revealing as many ghosts of your color as possible, in this spooky 2-player battle for the graveyard!
Components
30 Cards:
- 24 Ghost Cards (12 Black-lined, 12 White-lined)
- 6 Graveyard Gate Cards (signified by green lines)
Every card in the game is made up of 3 square sections, which are divided by thin lines of a specific color. A square section typically contains a ghost or tombstone. Ghosts are either black or white. The reverse of each double-sided card contains ghosts of the opposite color, facing in the opposite direction.
Setup
- Each player must choose a color (Black or White) and take the 12 Ghost Cards with the lines of that color, shuffle them, and place them as a deck in front of himself. It makes no difference which way up the deck is placed.
- Choose a Start Player. The Start Player takes the 6 Graveyard Gate Cards (signified by the Green lines) and builds the "Graveyard" Gate in the center of the playing area. The Graveyard Gate must be EXACTLY as shown in the example (the 6 setup cards create the "Graveyard" Gate) with 6 of each ghost color in the EXACT locations, face up.
- Each player draws the top card from their deck into their hand, and the Start Player takes the first turn. The card in hand and the top card of the deck are visible to all players throughout the game.
Example setup: the Graveyard (6 Black Ghosts and 6 White Ghosts) is surrounded by the Player A deck (with White-lined Cards) and the Player B deck (with Black-lined Cards).
Playing the Game
Players place cards from their hand to the Graveyard (playing area) to reveal as many ghosts in their color as possible. When a card is placed into the Graveyard, it becomes the Active Card. The objective is to use the ghosts on the Active Card to "scare" the first opposite-colored ghosts they are facing, resulting in flipping that card over. Active Ghosts see through empty spaces, voids, and ghosts of their own color. They never see through tombstones, nor through ghosts of the opposite color. Players take turns in clockwise direction and score at the end of the game, when all cards have been played into the Graveyard. Each ghost in a player's color is worth 1 point. The player with the most points is the winner.
Game Turn
On your turn, you must place the Ghost Card from your hand to the Graveyard while observing the following rules:
- A card must be placed such that at least 1 "square" side touches an existing card's square side. (See example below.)
- A card must NEVER cover any other card.
- Either side of a card may be used when placing. In general, it's best to place a Ghost Card with more of your ghosts face up.
After a card is placed and all "scaring" is resolved (see Scaring), the Active Player ends his turn by drawing a card from his deck and bringing his hand back to one. Cards may be flipped many times, but may never be moved or discarded.
Example: Card A is touching 1 "square" side and Card B is touching 3. Both are valid placements.
Scaring
"Scaring" is the main mechanism in the game and is critical to flipping cards and revealing the most ghosts in your color. Each ghost on the Active Card will attempt to "scare" any opposite-colored ghosts in the row or column of ghosts that each is FACING in the Graveyard. If the opposite-colored ghost is NOT facing directly back, that ghost's card will FLIP OVER.
Each ghost can scare 1 opposite-colored ghost. The maximum ghosts on a card is 3; therefore a maximum of 3 cards can be flipped in a single turn. The Active Player may choose the order in which each ghost scares, as this may change another Active Ghost's line of sight. If it is possible for a ghost on the Active Card to scare an opposite-colored ghost, then it MUST do so. You cannot choose not to scare. CAREFUL: Ghosts of your opponent's color on the Active Card must scare ghosts of your color as well.
For each ghost (of either color) on the Active Card: trace its line of sight outward until you find the FIRST tombstone or opposite-colored ghost. If you found a tombstone or a opposite-colored ghost that is facing back toward the Active Ghost, then do nothing and assess the next Active Ghost. Otherwise, pick up the opposite-colored ghost's card and flip that card along its long axis, so that each of its ghosts change in both color and direction.
IMPORTANT: When flipping Ghost Cards, the ghosts should be in the same location as they were prior to the flip, except now they face the other way.
Example Turns
Example Turn 1: Player A places the Active Card and uses a black ghost (A) to scare a white ghost (A) (directly across through a void in the playing area), then flips its card over. The white ghost (B) on the bottom of the card scares the FIRST black ghost it faces (B) that is not facing back, then flips its card over. White ghost (B) may NOT scare black ghost (X) instead, as it is not the first opposite-colored ghost it faces. The white ghost (C) in the middle of the card faces no opposite-colored ghosts.
Example Turn 2: Continuing from the last turn, Player B places the Active Card. The black ghost on the top of the card (A) is met with an opposite-colored ghost facing directly back (X), and does not scare. The black ghost (B) in the middle of the card cannot see past the tombstone and does not scare. The black ghost (C) at the bottom of the card faces an opposite-colored ghost (C) and will flip its card over.
Game End
The game continues with each player taking a turn (playing a card) until both players have played all their Ghost Cards. Note: Players will not draw a card at the end of their last turn as their draw pile will be depleted.
Scoring
Scoring occurs once at the end of the game. Each ghost of a player's color is worth 1 point. Players count the face up ghosts of their color for a total score. The player with the most points is the winner. In the case of a tie, the player that took the first turn is the winner.
Scare Tactics
TIP 1: Consider both sides of a Ghost Card when placing it.
TIP 2: Choosing the order in which each Active Ghost scares is critical.
TIP 3: The cards in the center of the Graveyard will become more difficult to flip as the game progresses. Try to flip as many cards in your favor as possible, then protect them from being flipped with clever tombstone placement.