Children Rulebook

Table of Contents

Table of Contents

• Components
• Object of the Game
• Game Overview
• Winning the Game
• Game Setup
• Dealing Players In
• Taking a Turn
• 1. Play a Room Tablet
• 2. Take 2 Actions
  • Move to an adjacent room
  • Draw a card from the Children Card draw pile
  • Look at cards that have been left in the room you have entered
  • Use a device
  • Take a Skull Token
• 3. Restore your hand to the current hand limit
• 4. Move 1 Ghost
• 5. Move Kitty Kitty
• Winning the Game
  • Running into Ghosts
• Trapping Ghosts
• Running from Ghosts
• Enraged Ghosts
• How Kitty Kitty Enters the Thornhill
• Card Reference
  • Mansion Room Tablets (20 count)
  • 13 Children Mini Cards (13 count)
  • 13 Toys Mini Cards (13 count)
  • Children Cards (70 count)
    • Ghost Cards
    • Toy Cards
    • Device Cards
      • Catnip - Free Action
      • Hatpin - Free Action
      • Feather - Free Action
      • Secret Passage - Turn Action
      • Snow Globe - Turn Action
• Other Important Rules
  • Emergency Escape
  • What if there are no Room Tablets Left in the Draw Pile?
  • When do I discard cards?
  • What if I find the Kitty Kitty trap card and Kitty Kitty isn't in the mansion?
  • Does it cost an action to pick up cards or leave cards in a room?
  • Do I draw a card when I enter a room as part of running from a ghost or when I am moved by Kitty Kitty?
  • How does Kitty Kitty enter the Thornhill Mansion?
  • When do I draw a replacement card if I play a Free Play Device Card out of turn?
  • When determining distance between rooms can I count diagonally?
• Children Turn Order

Components

• 13 Ghost Mini-Cards
• 13 Toys Mini-Cards
• 20 Mansion Tablets
• 70 Children Cards
• 4 Player Pawns
• 8 Skull Tokens
• 1 Kitty Kitty Figurine

Object of the Game

Players use toys to trap ghosts in a haunted mansion. At the end of the game, the player with the most trapped ghosts wins.

Game Overview

In Children, the game, you wander around the Thornhill Mansion trying to trap ghosts.

You begin by laying down 13 mini card pairs off to the side of the playing area. Each mini card pair is comprised of 1 13 Children Card upside down covered by 1 13 Toys Card, right side up (see "Game Setup" on page 3). After dealing 5 cards from the full sized Children Card deck to each player (see "Dealing Players In" on page 5). You and other players build the Thornhill Mansion by placing Room Tablets face up on the table in a grid pattern (see "1. Play a Room Tablet" on page 5). The mansion is built in 4 levels--basement, 1st floor, 2nd floor, and 3rd floor.

You search for toys and helpful devices by moving your character figurine from room to room throughout the mansion. Each time you enter a room, you draw a card and add it to your hand. With a strict hand limit, players are forced to leave cards in rooms by placing them face-down beneath Room Tablets. Players may also leave traps beneath room cards. You look at left-behind cards when you enter rooms. Left-behind traps spring immediately (see "Trap Cards" on page 17). You may add left-behind cards to your hand.

You place Ghost Cards into the mansion when they appear at the top of the Children Card draw pile (see "Draw a card from the Children Card draw pile" on page 8). Ghost Cards are placed face up beneath Room Tablets.

To trap ghosts you must have Toy Cards (see "Trapping Ghosts" on page 11). Each Ghost Card is marked with a toy icon. If you are in a room with a ghost and you have its corresponding toy in your hand, you immediately trap the ghost and take the ghost and toy cards for scoring at the end of the game.

When you trap a ghost, other ghosts in the mansion may become enraged. Enraged ghosts wandering the mansion decrease the hand limit (see "Enraged Ghosts" on page 11). If the hand limit reaches 0 cards, all players have gone insane and the ghostly children win the game.

Winning the Game

When a player takes the last card from the draw pile, each player gets 1 more turn then the game ends. Whoever has trapped the most ghosts at the end of the game wins.

Game Setup

Separate the cards into 3 decks: the 13 Toys mini-deck, the 13 Children mini-deck, and the full-sized Children deck.

Deal the entire 13 Children mini-deck face down on the table off to the side. Deal the entire 13 Toys mini-deck face up onto the face-down 13 Children mini cards. You now have 13 2-card stacks. Each stack contains 1 face-down 13 Children Card covered by 1 face up 13 Toys Card. Shuffle the Thornhill Mansion Room Tablets and place them face-down in a single pile off to the side of the playing area. Place 2 Skull Tokens per player in an available Skull Tokens pile off to the side of the play area. Return any unused Skull Tokens to the box. Each player selects a play figurine.

Turn all ghost cards in the Children deck blue side down. Shuffle sepia-side-up ghost cards randomly into the Children deck.

Dealing Players In

There are 13 Ghost Cards in the Children deck. Make sure they are all placed enraged (blue) side down and shuffled randomly throughout the deck. Deal 5 cards from the Children deck to each player. Do not deal Ghost Cards to players. If you come across Ghost Cards while dealing, insert them randomly back into the deck, sepia side up, and continue dealing.

All players may look at their cards. Players trade in any Fate Cards they may have for new cards from the Children deck. Once all players have hands of 5 cards with no Fate Cards and no Ghost Cards, you are ready to begin. Determine which player will take the first turn.

Any Fate Cards and Ghost Cards dealt to players must be placed randomly back into the Children deck.

Taking a Turn

Do the following during your turn:

1. Play a Room Tablet (see "1. Play a Room Tablet" on page 5).
2. Take 2 actions (see "2. Take 2 Actions" on page 7).
3. Restore your hand to the current hand limit (see "3. Restore your hand to the current hand limit" on page 9).
4. Move 1 ghost (see "4. Move 1 Ghost" on page 10).
5. Move Kitty Kitty if you have the Kitty Kitty figurine (see "5. Move Kitty Kitty" on page 10).
6. Play passes to the player on your left.

1. Play a Room Tablet

Draw the top Room Tablet from the Room Tablet pile and play it face up on the table. The Thornhill Mansion is divided into 4 levels, basement, 1st floor, 2nd floor, and 3rd floor. All floors of the Thornhill Mansion may have up to 5 rooms.

Each Room Tablet represents 1 room. Place the Room Tablet face up on the table on its designated floor (written on the Room Tablet). If you are playing the first Room Tablet of the game, place it on the table such that the rest of the Thornhill Mansion can be built around it. When possible, you must place Room Tablets adjacent to already in-play Room Tablets, such as playing a 2nd story room next to an already in-play second story room or below an already in-play 3rd story room.

If it is impossible to place a new Room Tablet adjacent to an in-play Room Tablet, play it on its respective floor and leave space for in-between floors that have not yet been built.

Build the Thornhill Mansion in a grid with rooms directly to the left and right, above and below each other. Allow enough space between rooms to place cards--ghosts, devices, toys, and traps--beneath them.

Play all Room Tablets only on their respective floors.

Play Room Tablets adjacent to already-in-play Room Tablets, either side by side or up and down in straight lines.

Allow enough space above and beneath floors to place cards under Room Tablets.

Sometime when placing Room Tablets, it is necessary to leave temporary gaps between floors. If this is the case, adhere to the rule of placing rooms in straight lines up and down and side to side.

If you are playing the first Room Tablet of the game, put your play figurine on the tablet, and draw a card from the Children Card draw pile (as this counts as entering a room). If you are adding a Room Tablet to an already-in-progress mansion, place the Room Tablet but keep your play figurine at its current location in the mansion. Do not draw a Children Card as part of adding a room tablet to a mansion with rooms already in play. To draw a Children card, you must enter a room.

2. Take 2 Actions

You must take 2 actions in any order during your turn. The following are considered actions:

• Move to an adjacent room (see "Move to an adjacent room" on page 7)
• Use a device (see "Use a device" on page 9)
• Take a Skull Token (see "Take a Skull Token" on page 9)

Move to an adjacent room

Each Room Tablet is marked with doors and trapdoors to allow travel from room to room. As a turn action, you may move into an adjacent room provided there is a door or trapdoor between the room you are exiting and the room you are entering. The door or trapdoor may be either in the room you are exiting or in the room you are entering. If there is no door or trapdoor between two rooms, you may not move between them.

You may move left from the Washroom to the Master Bedroom because there is a door on the Master Bedroom Room Tablet.

You may not move right from the Wash Room to the Dormitory because there is no door between the two rooms.

You may move down from the Wash Room to the Billiards room because there is a trap door on the Billiards Room Tablet.

You may not leave a room with more cards in your hand than the current hand limit (see "Enraged Ghosts" on page 11). After all, there are only so many items you can carry from room to room. The hand limit at the beginning of the game is set to 5 cards. This will change throughout the game. If you have more cards in your hand than the hand limit, you must leave cards in the room you exit by placing them face down underneath the bottom half of the Room Tablet.

If you have more cards in your hand than the current hand limit, you must leave cards under the Wash Room Tablet before leaving the room.

Entering rooms is the main way to find devices, traps, toys, and ghosts. Each time you enter a new room, you must do the following in order:

1. Draw a card from the Children Card draw pile (see "Draw a card from the Children Card draw pile" on page 8).
2. Look at cards that have been left in the room you have entered. Some cards (such as Trap and Fate Cards will have immediate effects (see "Look at cards that have been left in the room you have entered" on page 8).

You must pick up the Children cards beneath the Billiards Room Tablet upon entering the room and after drawing a card from the Children Card draw pile.

Draw a card from the Children Card draw pile

Each time you enter a room, you must first draw a card from the Children Card draw pile. If you draw a Fate Card, you must play it immediately then draw another card. If you draw a Trap, Toy, or Device Card, place it in your hand. If you draw a Ghost Card, you must place it in any room unoccupied by players. More than 1 Ghost Card can be played in a single room. Place the Ghost Card face up beneath the top half of the Room Tablet so players can read the ghost's name and see the ghost's beloved toy icon above the Room Tablet.

Play Fate Cards immediately after drawing them from the Children Card draw pile. After playing a Fate Card, draw a new card for your hand.

Play Ghost Cards beneath Room Tablets that are not occupied by players. Place Ghost Cards under the top half of Room Tablets so players can see the ghost's names and beloved toys. More than 1 Ghost Card can be played on a single Room Tablet. If you draw a Ghost Card, do not draw a replacement card for your hand.

Look at cards that have been left in the room you have entered

A strict hand limit (5 cards at the beginning of the game) force players to leave cards face down beneath Room Tablets. Each time you enter a new room, after drawing a card from the Children Card draw pile, you must pick up any cards that have been left in the room and look at them. If you find a trap, it immediately springs (see "Trap Cards" on page 17). Read the Trap Card to find out what affect it will have on the game then remove the Trap Card from the game by placing it in a Children Card discard pile.

Other cards left in the room might include devices (see "Device Cards" on page 15) and toys (see "" on page 14). You may put these cards in your hand. But remember, you can't leave a room with more cards in your hand than the current hand limit. This might mean you have to leave cards behind before exiting the room.

Cards left by a player, face down, beneath the bottom half of a room tablet.

When entering a room, you must always look at the cards beneath the Room Tablet. However, if you begin your turn in a room (as opposed to entering a room during your turn) that contains cards, you may choose to either look at the cards and risk springing a trap or leave them alone.

Use a device

You must always use a turn action or a Skull Token to use a device. The effects of Device Cards are written on the cards themselves (see "Device Cards" on page 15). To use a device, play the effect printed on the card then remove the card from the game by putting it on the Children Card discard pile.

Take a Skull Token

You may forfeit turn actions in trade for skull tokens at the rate of 1 Skull Token per turn action. You may keep a maximum of 3 Skull Tokens. The number of available Skull Tokens is limited to 2 per player. If there are no Skull Tokens left in the available Skull Token pile, you are out of luck until a player discards a token into the pile. Skull Tokens allow you to play Free Action Device Cards even when it isn't your turn. Each Device Card is marked as a Turn Action Device or a Free Action Device. You may use turn actions to play both Turn Action Devices and Free Action Devices during your turn. You may play Free Action Devices out of turn only if you have at least 1 Skull Token. To play a Free Action Device out of turn, declare your intension to all players. Turn in a Skull Token by placing it in the available Skull Tokens pile then play and discard your Free Action Device Card. You may not play Turn Action Devices when it isn't your turn, even with Skull Tokens.

Skull Tokens may also be used during your turn to make extra moves through the Thornhill Mansion (1 move per Skull Token) or to play extra Turn Action and Free Action Device Cards (1 card per Skull Token). Remember to turn in a Skull Token to the available Skull Tokens pile for every action you take above your normal 2 actions per turn limit.

3. Restore your hand to the current hand limit

Restore your hand to the current hand limit by either placing cards from your hand beneath the Room Tablet on which your player figurine sits or by drawing new cards from the Children Card draw pile. The hand limit reduces by 1 card for every enraged ghost that walks the mansion (see "Enraged Ghosts" on page 11).

4. Move 1 Ghost

If there are ghosts present in the mansion, you may move 1 ghost to an adjacent room. Ghosts move from room to room along the spectral flow, marked with ghostly arrows on Room Tablets. Ghosts may become temporarily trapped. If there are no ghosts in the Thornhill Mansion or if all ghosts are trapped, skip this phase of your turn. You may move ghosts into rooms occupied by other ghosts, Kitty Kitty, or players.

Penny, the ghost currently haunting the Billiards Room, can only move along the spectral flow. She can follow the ghostly arrows to the left into the Parlor or to the right into the Kitchen. She can not be moved up to the Wash Room or down to the Wine Cellar because there are no ghostly arrows pointing in those directions.

5. Move Kitty Kitty

If you have the Kitty Kitty Card (see "Kitty Kitty" on page 19), move the Kitty Kitty statuette from her current room to an adjacent room. Kitty Kitty moves like players through doors and trapdoors from room to room (see "Move to an adjacent room" on page 7). It is possible for Kitty Kitty to temporarily become trapped in a room with no legal exits. After moving Kitty Kitty, give the Kitty Kitty Card to another player of your choice. The player who receives the card will move Kitty Kitty at the end of his or her turn and pass the Kitty Kitty card along to another player.

Winning the Game

The end game begins when a player draws the final Children Card from the draw pile. Each player takes a last turn then the game concludes. The player who has captured the most ghosts wins (see "Trapping Ghosts" on page 11).

Running into Ghosts

Alternatively, if 5 or more ghosts become enraged (see "Enraged Ghosts" on page 11) no players win the game. All captured ghosts are released into the Thornhill Mansion and all players become insane.

Trapping Ghosts

If you ever find yourself in the same room as a ghost, you must either trap it or run away in terror.

Use Toy Cards from your hand to trap ghosts. It does not require a turn action or a Skull Token to trap a ghost. If you are ever in the same room as a ghost and have that ghost's beloved toy (the toy that appears on the top right corner of the Ghost Card) in your hand, you automatically trap the ghost. Place the Ghost and Toy Cards in a stack in front of you for scoring at the end of the game. Do not draw a replacement card for the Toy Card used to trap the ghost.

The Twins's beloved toy is the Parasol. If you are in the same room as The Twins and you have the Parasol in your hand, you successfully trap The Twins without requiring an action.

Running from Ghosts

If you are ever in a room with a ghost and you do not have that ghost's beloved toy in your hand, it's time to cut and run. You must immediately remove 2 cards from your hand and put them face down beneath the Room Tablet on which your player figurine stands and move to an adjacent room, adhering to the player movement rules (see "Move to an adjacent room" on page 7). One of the cards you leave behind must be a Toy Card. If you don't have a Toy Card, you may leave any 2 cards from your hand behind. Do not draw replacement cards after running from a ghost. You will restore your hand to the current hand limit at the end of your next turn. You may only look at cards in the room to which you have fled if it is currently your turn. Otherwise, you must wait until your next turn to look at the cards.

If you find yourself in the same room as a ghost and you don't have the ghosts beloved toy and there is no legal way out, you must make an emergency escape. To do so, leave all of your cards beneath the room you are in and remove your player figurine from play. At the beginning of your next turn, place your figurine on any Room Tablet and start your turn by drawing a card from the Children Card draw pile.

Enraged Ghosts

The ghostly children of the Thornhill Mansion are jealous of one another's toys. Each time a toy is used to capture a ghost, another ghost may become enraged.

During game setup, you created 13 2-card stacks of mini cards off to the side of the play area (see "Game Setup" on page 3). Each stack has 1 face down 13 Children Mini-Card covered by 1 face up 13 Toys Mini-Card. When you use a toy to capture a ghost, flip over the 2-card stack that corresponds with the toy used. The revealed ghost becomes enraged.

If the enraged ghost is in the Thornhill Mansion, flip its card over to enraged (blue) side up. If an enraged ghost is not currently in the Mansion, when it appears at the top of the Children Card draw pile, place it in the mansion enraged (blue) side up.

Reduce the hand limit by 1 card for every enraged ghost present in the Thornhill Mansion. Hence, if 1 ghost is enraged and present in the mansion, the hand limit becomes 4 cards. If 2 ghosts are enraged and present in the mansion, the hand limit becomes 3 cards, etc. Enraged ghosts still in the Children Card draw pile do not reduce the hand limit.

When a Ghost Card appears at the top of the Children Card draw pile, check the 2-card stacks to see if the ghost is enraged. If so, place it enraged (blue) side up beneath any Room Tablet that is not occupied by a player. The hand limit immediately reduces by 1 card.

All players except for the player currently playing his or her turn must immediately reduce their hands to the new hand limit by either using Skull Tokens to play Free Play Device Cards or by putting cards from their hands face down beneath the room tablets on which their player figurines stand. The current player will reduce his or her hand to the new hand limit at the end of his or her turn. If 5 ghosts are enraged and present in the mansion, the hand limit becomes 0 cards. In this case all players go insane. The game immediately ends and the ghostly children win.

Sidebar example (page 12):

A player moves his figurine into the Wash Room, a room currently haunted by Rosie. Rosie's beloved toy is the Teddy Bear (printed on the upper left corner of her card).

The player plays the Teddy Bear from his hand to trap Rosie. He takes Rosie's card and the Teddy Bear and puts them in a pile in front of him for scoring at the end of the game.

Because the player used the Teddy Bear to trap Rosie, he flips over the mini card pair with the Teddy Bear on top. Flipping over the card pair reveals Penny. Penny is currently haunting the Spire (3rd floor).

The player flips Penny's card (she is haunting the Spire) over to its enraged (blue) side. This reduces the hand limit of the game by 1 card. All players, except for the current player, must immediately reduce their hands to the new hand limit by ditching cards under their current Room Tablets or using Skull Tokens to activate and discard Free Play Devices.

How Kitty Kitty Enters the Thornhill

If you draw the Kitty Kitty card from the Children Card draw pile, put it face-up in front of you and place the Kitty Kitty statuette in any room unoccupied by players. Do not draw another card for your hand. Keep the Kitty Kitty card in front of you until you move Kitty Kitty at the end of your turn (see "5. Move Kitty Kitty" on page 10). After moving Kitty Kitty, give the Kitty Kitty card to another player of your choice.

Card Reference

Following is a quick lookup reference for every card type in Children.

Mansion Room Tablets (20 count)

Use the 20 Thornhill Mansion Room Tablets to build the Thornhill Mansion throughout the game. There are 5 Room Tablets for each level of the Thornhill Mansion: basement, 1st floor, 2nd floor, and 3rd floor.

Each room tablet is marked with its name, doors and trapdoors, and spectral flow arrows.

Players and Kitty Kitty use doors and trapdoors to move through the Thornhill Mansion. To enter a room, there must be an entrance (door or trapdoor) on either the room you plan to exit or the adjacent room you plan to enter.

The direction of spectral flow is marked in ghostly arrows. These arrows indicate the directions ghosts may move throughout the mansion.

Room name and floor. Ghostly spectral flow arrows, exits for ghosts. Doors and trapdoors, entrances and exits for players and Kitty Kitty.

13 Children Mini Cards (13 count)

The 13 Children Mini-Cards are used to establish which ghosts become enraged during the game. Each card is marked with a child's photograph and the child's name. These cards, along with the 13 Toys Mini-Card deck are dealt in 2-card stacks at the beginning of the game (see "Game Setup" on page 3). When ghosts are trapped, these 2-card stacks are flipped over, revealing which ghosts become enraged (see "Enraged Ghosts" on page 11).

13 Toys Mini Cards (13 count)

The 13 Toys Mini-Cards are used to establish which ghosts become enraged during the game. Each 13 Toys Mini-Card features a photograph of one of the 13 toys that can be found in the Thornhill Mansion. These cards, along with the 13 Toys Mini-Card deck are dealt in 2-card stacks at the beginning of the game (see "Game Setup" on page 3). When a child ghost is trapped in the Thornhill Mansion, turn over the 2-card stack marked with the toy used to trap the ghost. The revealed ghost becomes enraged (see "Enraged Ghosts" on page 11).

Children Cards (70 count)

You will use the deck of 70 Children Cards for the bulk of game play. These full-sized cards are divided into 5 categories: Ghost Cards, Toy Cards, Device Cards, Trap Cards, and Fate Cards.

Ghost Cards

13 unrequited child ghosts haunt the Thornhill Mansion. Ghost Cards in the Children Card deck represent these spirits. Ghost Cards have the following information, a photograph of the child, the child's name, and an icon of the child's beloved toy: the toy that must be used to trap the child ghost. To trap a ghost, you must be in the same room as the ghost and have the ghost's beloved toy in your hand.

Each ghost card is double-sided. One side represents the ghost's calm temperament. The other side represents its enraged temperament. When ghosts become enraged, if they are in the mansion, flip them to enraged (blue) side up (see "Enraged Ghosts" on page 11). For every ghost wandering the mansion enraged side up, the hand limit reduces by 1 card.

Child's beloved toy, the toy needed to trap this ghost. Child's name. Ghost card, calm side up. Ghost card, enraged side up.

Toy Cards

Children ghosts can be trapped in the toys they loved most while living in the orphanage. There are 13 Toy Cards in the Children Card deck. To trap a ghost, you must be in the same room as a ghost and have that ghost's beloved toy (printed on the upper left corner of Ghost Cards) in your hand (see "Trapping Ghosts" on page 11). Trapping a ghost happens instantly and does not require a turn action.

Device Cards

Devices can make wandering the Thornhill Mansion easier for you. There are 2 types of devices, Turn Action Devices, and Free Action Devices. You must use an action to activate any device whether it is a Turn Action or Free Action Device. During your turn, you may use your 2 turn actions to activate both device types (it requires 1 turn action to activate any device). When it isn't your turn, you may activate free action devices by using Skull Tokens. You may not activate turn action devices when it isn't your turn, even with Skull Tokens.

Using a device puts it out of the game. Discard Device Cards after activating them by placing them in a discard pile next to the Children Card draw pile.

All Device Cards are marked in the upper left corner whether they are Turn Action or Free Action Devices. The device's name and effect is written below the device's photo on the bottom 3rd of the card.

There are 10 different devices: Catnip, Secret Passage, Hatpin, Snow Globe, Cricket Cage, Music Box, Feather, Medico Della Peste, Dental Tools, and Toad.

Turn Action Device and Free Action Device are marked in the upper left corner of each card.

Catnip - Free Action

If you find yourself in the same room as Kitty Kitty, things can get sticky. That is unless you have the Catnip Device Card in your hand. You may use an action either in turn or out of turn (with a Skull Token) to activate the catnip device. Discard the Catnip Device Card to have Kitty Kitty send you to any room in the Thornhill Mansion, as long as that room is not occupied by a ghost. Kitty Kitty does not follow you to the new room.

Hatpin - Free Action

Enraged ghosts limit your options by reducing the game hand limit. You may use an action either in turn or out of turn (if you have a skull token) to activate the Hatpin Device. Discard the Hatpin Device to calm any ghost within 2 rooms of your current location. The distance between you and the ghost must be counted in straight lines, left-right, up-down. You may not count diagonally. To calm a ghost, flip its card from its enraged (blue) side up to its calm (sepia) side up.

Feather - Free Action

Are too many ghosts wandering the halls tipping your sanity? Use the feather to send them away. You may use an action either in turn or out of turn (if you have a Skull Token) to activate the Feather Device. Discard the Feather to banish any ghost up to 2 rooms away (counting distance in straight lines, left-right, up-down, not diagonally). Banish a ghost by removing it from the Thornhill Mansion and placing it in a random location in the Children Card draw pile, calm (sepia) side up. You may ignore spectral flow arrows and banish any ghost up to 2 rooms away.

Secret Passage - Turn Action

Although the Thornhill Mansion shifts and moves as if alive, sometimes a secret passage can take you right where you need to go. You may use an action or a Skull Token during your turn to activate the Secret Passage device. Discard the Secret Passage Device Card and move to any room as long as the room is either on the same floor or straight up or down from your current location. Ignore standard door and trap door movement rules and go directly to the room of your choice.

Snow Globe - Turn Action

Children can't resist mesmerizing reflective surfaces. You may use an action or a Skull Token during your turn to activate the Snow Globe Device. Discard the Snow Globe Device to draw the nearest ghost to your player figurine in the Thornhill Mansion to your room.

Cricket Cage - Turn Action

The hypnotic song of crickets can summon the dead from the furthest reaches of the mansion, that is, as long as those crickets are confined to a cage. You may use an action or a Skull Token during your turn to activate the Cricket Cage Device. Discard the Cricket Cage to trap any ghost anywhere in the Thornhill Mansion as long as you have that ghost's beloved toy in your hand.

Music Box - Turn Action

Music can draw the dead from the shadows. You may use an action or a Skull Token during your turn to activate the Music Box Device. Discard the Music Box to draw the next 2 ghosts in the Children Card draw pile into the Thornhill Mansion. You may place the 2 ghosts in any room unoccupied by players (including you). Multiple ghosts can exist in a single room.

Medico Della Peste - Turn Action

A mask with supernatural powers can grant extra-sensory capabilities. You may use an action or a Skull Token during your turn to activate the Medico Della Peste Device. Discard the Medico Della Peste to peek at the cards left in any room of the Thornhill Mansion. After peeking, put the cards back under their current Room Tablet.

Dental Tools - Turn Action

The right tools for the right job, be it pulling bicuspid molars or defusing booby traps. You may use an action or a Skull Token during your turn to activate the Dental Tools Device. Discard the Dental Tools to deactivate and discard a single trap card that you encounter in a room.

Toad - Turn Action

Play a game of haunted room leapfrog. You may use an action during your turn to activate the Toad Device. Discard the Toad to swap the room in which you are standing with any other room on the same floor of the Thornhill Mansion. You travel with your room to its new location. All items travel with the moving rooms, including cards, ghosts, and Kitty Kitty.

Trap Cards

Traps make life more difficult for your opponents. You can set traps by leaving Trap Cards beneath Room Tablets. But be careful, if you enter a room that has a trap, even if you set it, it will spring on you. There are 4 types of Trap Cards: Mouse, Crickets, Raven's Skull, and Voodoo Doll.

Mouse

Kitty Kitty wants to pounce. All she needs is bait. If you spring the Mouse Trap Card, Kitty Kitty immediately comes to your location. If you don't have the Cat Nip Device Card, the player with the Kitty Kitty Card may move your play figurine to any room in the mansion. If you have the Kitty Kitty Card, the Mouse Trap Card springs with no effect. Remove the Mouse Trap card and leave Kitty Kitty where she is in the mansion.

Transcribed as printed: the exception names the Kitty Kitty Card, while the sentence before it names the Cat Nip Device Card as the counter.

Raven's Skull

Only the deceased hear the cry of dead ravens. If you spring the Raven's Skull Trap, you must draw the next two ghost cards from the Children Card draw pile and place them in 2 rooms adjacent (straight up, down, left, or right) to your location.

Voodoo Doll

Like a puppet master, a doll crafted in the supernatural can control both the living and the dead. If you spring the Voodoo Doll Trap, the nearest ghost in the Thornhill Mansion immediately comes to your room.

Crickets

The song of crickets, while caged, can be a useful tool. But when crickets are allowed to chirp unbridled, the ghosts can get unnerved. If you spring the Crickets Trap, the nearest calm ghost to your current location becomes enraged. Flip the ghost card to enraged (blue) side up and reduce the hand limit by 1 card. Exception: if you have the Cricket Cage Device Card in your hand, show it to the rest of the players and put it, along with the Crickets Trap Card back in your hand.

Fate Cards

Sometimes fate deals a bitter blow. When you draw a Fate card from the Children Card draw pile, resolve its effect immediately, discard the Fate Card and draw another replacement card. There are 3 types of Fate Cards: House Settles, Irwin Biddle, and Kitty Kitty.

House Settles

The Thornhill Mansion is known to shift and morph. If you draw the House Settles Fate Card, you must immediately remove any 2 rooms unoccupied by players. Place the two Room Tablets in random locations in the Room Tablet draw pile. If there are cards, ghosts, or Kitty Kitty in any of the removed rooms, place them in random locations in the Children Cards draw pile. If there are not 2 rooms unoccupied by players, remove as many as you can, up to 2.

Irwin Biddle

Shortly before the turn of 20th Century, Irwin Biddle purchased the Thornhill Mansion and turned it into an orphanage. His methods of dealing with lost children were often cruel. Biddle severely punished children for even the slightest transgressions of the rules. This often meant taking away the childrens' toys, their most beloved possessions. When the Irwin Biddle Fate Card is drawn, all players (if they have one) must remove 1 Toy Card from their hands and place them into random locations within the Children Card draw pile.

Kitty Kitty

Only one creature knows every room, nook, and cranny of the Thornhill Mansion: Kitty Kitty. If you draw the Kitty Kitty Fate Card, place it in front of you. Place the Kitty Kitty statuette on any room of the Thornhill Mansion not occupied by a player. You may place Kitty Kitty in a room occupied by a ghost.

At the end of your turn, if you have the Kitty Kitty card in front of you, you must move Kitty Kitty to any adjacent room provided there is a legal entrance to that room. Kitty Kitty moves through doors and trapdoors the same as players. After you have moved Kitty Kitty, give the Kitty Kitty card to another player of your choice.

If you ever find yourself in the same room as Kitty Kitty and you don't have the Catnip Device, the owner of the Kitty Kitty card may move your player figurine to any room in the mansion as long as the room is not occupied by a ghost.

If, however, you have the Catnip device in your hand and a skull token (if it isn't your turn), and you find yourself in the same room as Kitty Kitty, you may use the Catnip device to have Kitty Kitty take you to any room in the Thornhill Mansion as long as the room is not occupied by a ghost. Kitty Kitty stays behind. She does not move with you to the new room.

Other Important Rules

Emergency Escape

If you become trapped in the ever-shifting Thornhill Mansion, there is always a way out. As a turn action, you may leave your entire hand in the room you occupy by placing your cards face down beneath the Room Tablet and take your player figurine out of play. Begin your next turn with no cards in your hand. You may place your figurine in any room as long as it is not occupied by a ghost and draw 1 Children Card to start your turn. Take your turn normally with 2 turn actions.

What if there are no Room Tablets Left in the Draw Pile?

Skip part 1 of your turn (play a Room Tablet) and go straight on to taking your 2 turn actions.

When do I discard cards?

Only Device and Trap Cards are ever discarded during game play. Discard Device Cards after activating them. Discard Trap Cards after they spring. Otherwise, you must leave your cards in rooms by placing them beneath Room Tablets. Toy and Ghost Cards remain in play either in rooms or in the Children Card draw pile throughout the game. Fate Cards are used and discarded as soon as they are drawn from the Children Card draw pile and are never placed in your hand.

What if I find the Kitty Kitty trap card and Kitty Kitty isn't in the mansion?

The Kitty Kitty trap springs with no effect. Remove it from the game by putting it on the Children Card discard pile.

Does it cost an action to pick up cards or leave cards in a room?

No, you may pick up and leave cards at will in any combination while you are in a room. It does not cost a turn action. Visiting a room with lots of cards is a good chance to refresh your hand with new options.

Do I draw a card when I enter a room as part of running from a ghost or when I am moved by Kitty Kitty?

Do not draw a new card when you run into a new room due to a ghost or Kitty Kitty. Also, you may only look at cards in the new room if it is your turn. You must wait until your next turn to look at the cards.

How does Kitty Kitty enter the Thornhill Mansion?

If you draw the Kitty Kitty card from the Children Card draw pile, put it face-up in front of you and place the Kitty Kitty statuette in any room unoccupied by players. Draw another card for your hand. Keep the Kitty Kitty Card in front of you until you move Kitty Kitty at the end of your turn. After moving Kitty Kitty, give the Kitty Kitty Card to another player.

When do I draw a replacement card if I play a Free Play Device Card out of turn?

If you use a Skull Token to activate a Free Play Device Card when it isn't your turn, you may not draw a new card until part 3 (restore your hand to the current hand limit) of your next turn.

When determining distance between rooms can I count diagonally?

No. Distance between rooms is counted straight up, down, left, or right. Two rooms in diagonal proximity with one another are 2 rooms away from each other, 1 to the side and 1 up or down.

Children Turn Order

1. Play a Room Tablet face up on the table and draw a card.
2. Take 2 turn actions.
3. Restore your hand to the current hand limit.
4. Move 1 ghost.
5. Move Kitty Kitty if you have the Kitty Kitty card.
6. Play passes to the ghost hunter on your left.