Club of Cthulhu Rulebook

Table of Contents

Table of Contents

• Contents
• Game Setup
• Game Overview
• Game Flow
  • ➊ Sacrifice a Manuscript
  • ➋ Interpret Omens
    • Receive Blessings
  • ➌ Activate a Gift
  • ➍ Sacrifice Again
• End of the Game
  • The Flame Dies Out
  • A Researcher Disappears
  • Scoring
• Appendix: Gifts and Blessed Gifts
  • The King in Yellow
  • Shub-Niggurath
  • Cthulhu
  • Yidhra
  • Nyarlathotep

Contents

• 80 Manuscript Cards (5 Single-Deity types, 12 copies each; 20 Double-Deity cards) — deity types: The King in Yellow, Cthulhu, Shub-Niggurath, Yidhra, Nyarlathotep, plus Double-Deity cards
• 12 Reference/Scoring Cards (front: Scoring Cards; back: Reference Cards)
• 1 Ritual Mat
• 20 Blessing Tokens (4 sets of 5 tokens each)
• 4 Desecration Tokens

Game Setup

According to clues found in ancient scrolls, the researchers reconstructed a forgotten ritual circle. Under flickering green candlelight, an eerie tension filled the room, compelling them to take their seats. The moment the last researcher sat down, their link to reality was severed…

1. Unfold the Ritual Mat and place it at the center of the table. Then, depending on the number of players, take the appropriate number of Desecration Tokens and place them in the center of the mat.

2. Each player takes one Reference Card. Flip all unused Reference Cards to their Scoring side.

3. Choose two Scoring Cards of the same color to determine the scoring rules for this session.

4. Each player places one full set of Blessing Tokens in front of them, face-down. Leave space above these tokens to serve as your Omen Zone.

5. Shuffle all Manuscript Cards, then deal 3 face-up cards to each player. Place them beneath the corresponding Blessing Tokens—this area is your Research Journal.

   Note: When adding a dual-deity card to your Research Journal, you must choose one of the two deities it represents. That choice cannot be changed as long as the card remains in your Research Journal.

6. Divide the remaining Manuscript Cards as evenly as possible into five face-down decks and place them onto the Ritual Mat.

Game Overview

Each player takes on the role of a researcher, risking their sanity to delve into the mysteries of forgotten gods. By burning manuscripts, you invoke omens and earn points by deciphering their signs—competing to become the most accomplished scholar of the arcane. Of course, that's assuming... you haven't gone mad first.

Game Flow

Even as the green candlelight flickered, the researchers' resolve remained firm. Though furrowed brows betrayed moments of doubt, they knew the value of their findings—even if the fire consuming the manuscripts seemed to consume parts of their own souls as well…

The player who most recently lit a candle takes the first turn. Play then proceeds counterclockwise.

A turn follows this sequence: Sacrifice a Manuscript → Interpret Omens → (if Blessed) Activate a Gift → Sacrifice Again (Yes/No) → Receive Blessings or Pass the Turn.

➊ Sacrifice a Manuscript

As the manuscript burns, distant flames shimmer and reveal divine symbols seen only by the researcher.

At least once per turn, choose 1 card from your Research Journal that is located below a face-down Blessing Token, and place it face-up on top of any one of the five decks on the Ritual Mat—regardless of whether the card currently on top is face-up or face-down. Then, draw the top card from each of the two decks directly connected to it by the ritual star's lines (not adjacent decks), and place those cards face-up into your Omen Zone.

• Note 1: You must sacrifice a manuscript card that lies below a face-down Blessing Token. If all the tokens above your cards are face-up, you may sacrifice any card instead.
• Note 2: You may not place a card onto an empty deck.
• Note 3: If one of the two connected decks is empty, you only draw from the remaining one.

➋ Interpret Omens

The divine text pulses with strange energy, drawing the researcher deeper into revelation...

Check the cards in your Omen Zone. If any deity appears on 3 or more cards (each dual-deity card counts as 1 for each of its deities), you're Blessed by that deity.

Example: if the Omen Zone shows Nyarlathotep = 3, The King in Yellow = 3, and Shub-Niggurath = 1, the researcher is Blessed by both Nyarlathotep and the King in Yellow.

Receive Blessings

The words on the manuscripts fade from meaning. The only thing that matters now is the power coursing through you...

Flip the corresponding Blessing Token for the deity face-up, and move all cards from your Omen Zone to your Research Journal. Pass the turn to the next researcher without performing another Sacrifice.

• Note 1: If two or more deities each appear on 3 or more cards, you are Blessed by all of them.
• Note 2: If you are Blessed by a deity whose Blessing Token is already face-up, choose one of your face-down tokens to flip instead.

If you are not Blessed by any deity, proceed to ➍ Sacrifice Again.

➌ Activate a Gift

You begin to act in ways no sane mind would comprehend...

Choose one deity from the cards you gained during this Sacrifice and activate its Gift or Blessed Gift. If no Gift or Blessed Gift can be activated, proceed to ➍ Sacrifice Again.

➍ Sacrifice Again

"The journal grows ever more complete... but why are there so many symbols I can no longer read? And these pages—weren't they all... mine? Maybe it's time to stop?" — Record of the Seventh Sacrifice

You now decide whether to sacrifice again or not:

• Yes: Repeat steps ➊ through ➍.
• No: Move all cards in your Omen Zone into your Research Journal. Then, Pass the Turn to the next player.

End of the Game

The candlelight, slowly sinking toward the ground, seems to signal the ritual's end...

The game ends immediately when either of the following conditions is met:

The Flame Dies Out

During Pass the Turn, 2 decks on the Ritual Mat are empty (only one in a 2-player game).

As the final candle sputters and dies, the researchers feel their connection to reality return. They share their findings, but the honor of publishing the results falls to the one who uncovered the deepest truths...

A Researcher Disappears

All 5 Blessing Tokens of a player are face-up.

Blessed by all five gods, the researcher bursts into uncontrollable laughter—until it abruptly stops. The others watch in horror as their colleague vanishes. In silence, they extinguish the candles and sort through the notes, passing the task to the one who best understands what remains...

Scoring

After the game ends, each player scores the manuscript cards in their Research Journal that are located below face-down Blessing Tokens, based on the scoring card used this game. The player with the highest total score wins.

Example: using Cthulhu's (Green) scoring card, if the Blessing Tokens for both the King in Yellow and Cthulhu are face-up, the manuscript cards beneath them do not score. The remaining cards that can be scored are: Nyarlathotep (Blue) x 5 cards = 10 points; Shub-Niggurath (Red) x 1 card = 10 points; Yidhra (Purple) x 4 cards = 0 points. The player's total score is 20 points.

If there's a tie, the winner is determined by the following tiebreakers, in order:

1. The player with fewer Blessings.
2. The player with more manuscript cards in their journal wins.

If still tied, the game ends in a draw.

Appendix: Gifts and Blessed Gifts

A "Gift" refers to a deity's special ability, indicated by the pentagram icon. A "Blessed Gift" is the enhanced version of that ability, marked by the deity's portrait icon. You can use a Blessed Gift only after receiving that deity's Blessing.

The King in Yellow

• Gift — Mental Defilement: Choose any other researcher who does not currently have a Desecration Token. Place 1 Desecration Token in front of that researcher.
• Blessed Gift — Madness Unleashed: Place 1 Desecration Token to each other researcher who does not currently have one.

When a Desecration Token is in front of you: during ➊ Sacrifice a Manuscript, you must place the Desecration Token on one of the cards you gain this turn, before continuing with the rest of the turn. That card counts as 2 in your Omen Zone. At the end of your turn, return the Desecration Token to the center of the Ritual Mat.

Shub-Niggurath

• Gift — Brooding: Draw a face-down card from any deck top and place it face-up into your Omen Zone. Then go to ➋ Interpret Omens. If not Blessed, go to ➍ Sacrifice Again.
• Blessed Gift — Dark Young: Draw a face-down card from any deck top, then place it face-up directly into your Research Journal.

Cthulhu

• Gift — Mist of R'lyeh: Cover another card you drew during this Sacrifice with this card.
• Blessed Gift — Mind Control: Cover another card you drew during this Sacrifice with this card. You may also cover any attached Desecration Token along with it. Then, activate the Gift of the card being covered.

Note 1: When covering a card, you may also cover a Desecration Token placed on it. If you do, its effect is ignored. Note 2: During ➋ Interpret Omens, ignore the card beneath this card. When adding them to your Research Journal, separate and include both cards as normal.

Yidhra

• Gift — Telepathy: Peek at a face-down card of any deck top, and return it to the same deck.
• Blessed Gift — Memory Distortion: Peek at the top card of 2 different decks. Then, place both cards back face-down on top of the 2 decks — 1 card per deck — in any order.

Nyarlathotep

• Gift — Unfair Trade: Choose another researcher. That researcher gives you 1 card from their Research Journal. Then, you give them 1 card from your own Research Journal.
• Blessed Gift — Whisper of the Trickster: Choose another researcher. Select 1 card from their Research Journal to add to your own. Then, choose 1 card from your Research Journal and add it to theirs.