Crimson Creek

Crimson Creek Rulebook

Table of Contents

Objective of the Game

Crimson Creek is a semi-cooperative game of SURVIVAL based on 1980s Slasher films. Your goal is to work together to stay alive until dawn. Dawn arrives after 3 Acts are completed. You will run, peek and hide to survive the 3 Acts until morning. Each Act is a single round consisting of up to 3 scenes. A scene is completed once Klein attacks. An Act ends when Klein's starting location (also known as Klein's Lair) has been revealed.

While survival is your goal, it is important to search for clues and share information to deduce which character is possessed by Klein. You do not win the game by figuring out which character is possessed by Klein, you must also survive the night to win.

If you survive the night, you will need to accuse the correct character of being the killer or you are eliminated. It is possible to have any combination of winners and losers unless you discover you are the character possessed by Klein, in which case you only win if you are the sole survivor.

Components

Components (as listed on page 3):

Calm Night ATTACK cards (5)
Hatchet ATTACK cards (6)
Klein Location cards (7)
SEARCH cards (4)
CLUE cards (4)
REVEAL cards (6)
Player Aid cards (6)
LAIR sleeve
CLUE sleeves (2)
Klein Location Peeking sleeves (6)
Player Character cards (6)
Player Location cards (7)
Locations & Clues Share card
Exposure card (Act 1 side and Act 2 & 3 side)
3" Klein standee turn token
Evidence / Line-Up cards (6)
Quick Reference Set-Up card
Player tokens (6)
Supporting Character tokens (3)
HIDING PLACE tiles (3): Lake / Woods (Boat), Cabin / Barn (Bed), Cemetery / Campfire (Pickup Truck)
Peek counter (2)
10mm marker cube (the red Exposure Marker cube)

Tabletop Setup (Pg. 2) labels the following components on the table diagram:

A — Player Character cards
B — Peeking sleeves (the Lair sleeve and the Klein Location Peeking sleeves)
C — Hiding Place tiles
D — Player Location cards
E — Reveal deck
F — Search deck
G — Attack deck
H — Evidence / Line-Up card
I — CLUE sleeves
J — Exposure Marker cube
K — Exposure card

The Player Aid card text on page 3 is printed at a resolution too low to transcribe word for word. Its action list (Run, Peek, Hide, Push, Pull, Share, Search, Ability, Declare) is covered in full by the Player Actions section below.

Game Setup

Use the Tabletop Setup diagram (Pg. 2) to help setup the game. For the first Act, take the seven oversized Player Location cards (D) and lay them in the center of the table, location side up, creating a Location board. Follow the Act 1 map diagram as seen on the QUICK REFERENCE SET-UP card (see page 27).

Lay out the Lair sleeve and six Klein Location Peeking sleeves (B) as seen in the Tabletop Setup diagram. The Lair sleeve on the left and the six Peeking sleeves across the top in any order.

Shuffle the four Clue cards and, without looking, randomly draw two Clue cards and place them face down each in an individual Clue sleeve (I) below the Location board. This determines who is possessed by Klein.

Next shuffle the four Search cards and place the Search deck (F) face down next to the Location board.

The Exposure track card (K) is placed next to the Clue sleeves.

Each Player selects one character token: Jock, Geek, Cheerleader, Goth, Preppy, or Punk. Each of these characters has their own special ability, so choose wisely. Shuffle the seven Klein Location cards and turn over the top three. The first location is where the Cheerleader & Jock start. The second location is where the Goth & Punk start. And the third location is where the Geek & Preppy start. Place only your chosen Player controlled character tokens on the appropriate locations. Everyone starts the game calm, with the calm face up on their character token.

After determining the starting locations, place all the Klein Location cards aside.

The unchosen remaining character tokens become "supporting characters" and are placed on the board, calm face up, one per location in the following order by Peeking icon: Center location (has no Peeking icon), Treetop, Window, Lantern, Flashlight, Binoculars and Camera. If a location already has two character tokens on it, place the supporting character on the next location from the above list with less than two characters.

A maximum of 2 character tokens may occupy a location at the same time.

How to Play

At the start of the game, turn to Page 26 and read aloud the Opening Scene. After reading the Opening Scene aloud, whichever Player is most easily scared goes first. Gameplay progresses clockwise.

In each scene, you will move around the Location board and acquire information to avoid Klein's attacks and discover his lair and identity. Klein systematically attacks his way through each of the Crimson Creek locations. He will never backtrack during the Act. When an attack begins you will learn which Klein location sleeve contains the location which Klein is about to attack. Peeking in the Klein location sleeves prior to an attack supplies you with information that will keep you safe. You will either know exactly which location is about to be attacked or which locations are safe during the attack. Once the Klein location sleeve is announced, and before the location inside the Klein location sleeve is unveiled, each Player will have a chance to be chased to a new location if they choose.

Klein's Lair can be revealed in one of two ways:

After the third Klein attack is completed, Klein's Lair is revealed.
You deduce which location is Klein's Lair, move there, and correctly declare it before the third Klein attack occurs.

You can survive an Act the following ways:

Deduce and move your character token to Klein's Lair, and then correctly declare it to be Klein's Lair, immediately ending the Act.
Be in possession of a relevant hiding place when Klein attacks your location.
Be in Klein's Lair or a safe location during the third Klein attack.

In subsequent Acts, whichever the next surviving player's turn it was begins the scene.

Act Setup

At the start of each Act you will need to configure the new Board, sleeves, and various game decks. Use the Setup Quick Reference card to determine the configuration for the Act you are starting.

In Act 2 and Act 3, the Board setup and layout will change and you will need to put aside any Peeking sleeves, Reveal cards, Klein Location cards and Player Location cards not being used in the Act. For example: During the Standard game in ACT 2 remove all Highway location cards and the Binocular Peeking sleeve and Reveal card. In ACT 3 remove all Barn location cards and the Window Peeking sleeve and Reveal card.

Locations and Peeking icons in play per Act:

Act	Cabin	Cemetery / Flashlight	Woods / Treetop	Lake / Camera	Campfire / Lantern	Barn / Window	Highway / Binoculars
Act 1	✓	✓	✓	✓	✓	✓	✓
Act 2	✓	✓	✓	✓	✓	✓	REMOVE
Act 3	✓	✓	✓	✓	✓	REMOVE

Take the Player Location cards, for the Act you are setting up, and lay them in the center of the table creating a Location board following the Map diagram on the Setup Quick Reference card. Place all Player Location cards with their location side face up.

After Act 1, all characters will begin from the location on which they survived the previous Act.

When using Expansion locations, match the Peeking icon on the location you survived the previous Act to the icon on the new Expansion location.

Place your character token on your starting location for the new Act. Make sure all character tokens are on the correct starting location for the new Act before beginning.

Shuffle the Klein Location cards together and randomly place them, unseen, each in their own Klein Location Peeking sleeve (B) above the Location board. These are the locations Klein may attack. If you are caught at one of these locations you may be eliminated from the game.

The final remaining Klein Location card is Klein's Lair. Place this card, also unseen, in the Lair sleeve (B).

Shuffle the Reveal deck and place it face down next to the Location board, as seen in the Tabletop Setup diagram (E).

Place the HIDING PLACE tiles for the Act next to the board as seen in the Tabletop Setup diagram (C).

Configuring the Attack Deck

At the beginning of each Act, setup a new Attack deck according to the number of surviving players starting the Act.

Non-player supporting characters DO NOT count as surviving players when setting up the ATTACK deck.

Setup the Attack deck as directed in the Attack Deck Chart.

Shuffle the Attack deck and place it face down next to the Location board, as seen in the Tabletop Setup diagram (G).

Attack Deck Chart — The number of cards in the starting ATTACK deck is based on the number of surviving players at the beginning of each ACT.

Number of Surviving Players	Calm Night cards	Hatchet cards	Hatchets drawn to trigger attack
5	4	3	3
4	3	3	3
3	2	3	3
2	2	2	2
1	2	3	2

REMINDER: After each Klein attack, add an additional Hatchet Card to the ATTACK deck for the next scene.

During an Act you may be asked to add characters or items to the Location board. For example: In Act 2/Scene 1, the Setup Quick Reference card directs you to add the Caretaker and Gravedigger supporting characters to the Location board. In Act 3/Scene 1, you will need to add the Deputy supporting character, all following the previously defined order for adding supporting characters.

Player Actions

On your turn you will have a chance to perform up to 2 of a possible 9 actions. You may use a specific action type ONLY ONCE per turn.

1. Running

There are 2 types of Run actions:

MOVE You may move your character token from your present location to an available adjacent location.

An AVAILABLE ADJACENT LOCATION is a location in any direction that is connected by a path on the Location board map diagram and has available space. Again, up to 2 character tokens are allowed to be on the same location at the same time.

SWAP You may force a location swap of your character with a Player controlled character on an available adjacent location. Think of a swap as if you are pulling a character to your location and then running away.

You MAY NOT swap locations with supporting characters, only Player controlled characters.

You MAY NOT swap back locations with a Player if their last turn was swapping locations with you.

You MAY NOT swap locations with a character in possession of a relevant hiding place for their location.

2. Peeking

The key to surviving is information. You may peek into a Klein Location Peeking sleeve that corresponds to the Peeking Icon of the location you are currently occupying. When peeking, you privately look at the Klein Location card in the Peeking sleeve. This will give you information as to which locations are safe or deadly during an attack.

For example: The Barn has a Window icon so, when you are at the Barn, you may privately look at the Klein Location card in the Window Peeking sleeve.

Locations Without a Peeking Icon

When peeking from a location without a Peeking icon, you MAY privately peek in ANY single Klein Location Peeking sleeve regardless of its Peeking icon.

When peeking from a location without a Peeking icon you MAY view a Klein Location card in a Klein Location Peeking sleeve EVEN IF the location with that Peeking icon has been attacked and is unavailable.

A location without a Peeking icon may only be peeked from a total of two times during an Act, regardless of which Players have or have not peeked. A Peeking counter token has been included for you to keep track. Start the Peeking counter on 2 and reduce and remove it with subsequent peeks.

3. Pushing

You may push a supporting character, sharing your current location, to an available adjacent location.

4. Pulling

You may pull a supporting character, on an adjacent location, to your location if there is available space.

5. Hiding

On your turn, you may claim a hiding place as your own. Each hiding place is labeled with the relevant location you must be on to use the hiding place.

PICKUP TRUCK — Can be used to hide at the CEMETERY and the CAMPFIRE.
BED — Can be used to hide in the CABIN and the BARN.
BOAT — Can be used to hide at the LAKE and the WOODS.

Some locations, such as the Highway, do not have a hiding place. You MAY grab a hiding place for any location, even if you are not on that location. You MAY NOT hold more than one hiding place at a time.

The hiding place is only used if Klein attacks the location you are at, while you are holding the hiding place tile relevant to that location.

You MAY NOT use a hiding place if your character is scared but you may still take one. Only calm characters, including supporting characters, can hide.

Calm characters, sharing a location with a successfully hiding Player controlled character, ALWAYS hide together.

If you survive an attack by using a hiding place that hiding place is no longer available for the remainder of the Act.

After successfully hiding your character is now scared. Resolve your hiding action by flipping over the character token to scared and place the scared character token on an available adjacent location. The Player in possession of the hiding place moves to an available adjacent location of their choice first. If there are no available adjacent locations to move to, your character is discovered by Klein and is killed and eliminated from the game.

Whenever a character is scared they stay scared for the remainder of the Act, unless they are calmed down. Some characters have the ability to calm another character.

When you survive the 3rd attack of an Act in a hiding place, do not resolve this hiding action until the beginning of the next Act. Start the next Act with your character scared and on the location with the same Peeking icon as the location you were hiding in the previous Act. If there is no location matching your Peeking icon place your scared character on an available location of your choice.

If you share your hiding place with a supporting character and there is only one available adjacent location space to move to after hiding, the supporting character is eliminated from the game. The Player hiding with a supporting character chooses where to place the supporting character after hiding. The supporting character does not need to be placed on the same available adjacent location as the Player controlled character they hid with.

At the start of a new Act, all scared characters flip back over to calm and are no longer scared. Only when your character survives the final scene of an Act by successfully hiding, do you begin the opening scene of a new Act scared.

You MAY take a hiding place from another Player as your action, but you MAY NOT take their hiding place if their last turn was grabbing that same hiding place. If you take a hiding place, and are already in possession of another hiding place, return your original hiding place to the side of the Location board so other players may take it.

Hiding place tiles have a "Do Not Grab" symbol on one side. When you first grab the tile, place this side face up so other players know not to grab your hiding place. Once your turn comes around again, flip the tile over so everyone knows it is available to be taken.

6. Searching

On your turn you may search your location for a clue to the identity of the Hatchetman. To search, draw a SEARCH card from the Search deck. If the SEARCH card is blank, you did not find a clue, place the card in the Search deck discard pile. If the SEARCH card shows a bloody handprint you have found a clue and you may privately look at one of the CLUE cards in the CLUE sleeve of your choice. Once a clue is discovered, reshuffle the entire Search deck back together and place the full Search deck face down back next to the Location board.

Clues

Your discovered clue is kept secret and only shared with other players when allowed to share information on a subsequent action. Compare your clues to the suspects on the Line-Up/Evidence card to determine who is possessed by Klein or to discover if you are the character possessed by Klein.

For example: If you uncover the clue "GLASSES", you can see on the Evidence List and in the Line-Up that the Geek, the Goth and the Preppy all wear glasses. Upon discovering the second clue, you will learn which of these three characters is possessed by Klein.

If you are on the same location as another Player, you may both privately share information. To share information, you and the Player you are sharing with, each use the Location/Clue word cloud pointer card to point to the hidden Klein locations and clues you each have knowledge of.

Players are not allowed to speak aloud about locations or clues during a game.

You MAY NOT share which clue or location card is which with other players, only the knowledge of which clues and locations you have seen using the word cloud pointer card.

When sharing with each other both Players may share ALL, SOME or ANY of the information they know. Players DO NOT have to share or be honest with the information they share.

If you are possessed by Klein, or suspect another Player to be possessed by Klein, it may be in your best interest to disseminate misinformation.

8. Special Ability

Each character has a special ability. The rules of a character's special ability supersede the standard rules.

JOCK — Can run or be chased across two available adjacent locations as a single action.
GEEK — May peek using the peeking icon of one available adjacent location from his current location. (He MAY NOT use his special ability on a location without a Peeking icon.)
PUNK — Does not get scared the scene after hiding, but does get scared when chased.
CHEERLEADER — Can calm a scared character at the same location, and calms herself down when calming another character.
GOTH — Does not get scared when chased, but does get scared the scene after hiding.
PREPPY — Can privately share information with a single Player on an adjacent location.

You are still only allowed to use a specific action type once per turn.

So the Jock, the Geek and the Preppy's special abilities allow them to use Run, Peek and Share actions differently than other characters. But it does not allow them to use those types of actions twice on a single turn.

9. Declaring

You must declare Klein's Lair before the third attack begins. To declare Klein's Lair, and end the Act, you must move your character token to the location you believe to be Klein's Lair and with a subsequent action declare this location to be his lair. You will privately check to see if you were correct.

If you are wrong, you are immediately killed by Klein and eliminated from the game. Gameplay continues clockwise. If you are correct, the Act ends immediately and any surviving players move on to the next scene.

The Player successfully declaring Klein's Lair, discovers a clue in the lair, and privately views a Clue card of their choice.

Completing Your Turn

Each time you complete your turn of up to 2 actions, you must draw a card from the Attack deck. If a Hatchet attack card is drawn, place it next to the Location board. If a Calm night card is drawn place it in the Attack deck discard pile.

A Klein attack is triggered, in an Act that starts with 2 to 3 survivors, when 2 Hatchet cards have been drawn. A Klein attack is triggered, in an Act that starts with 4 to 6 survivors, when 3 Hatchet cards have been drawn.

Hatchet cards drawn to trigger a Klein attack, by number of surviving players at the start of the Act (as printed on page 18):

Number of Surviving Players	Hatchets drawn to trigger attack
6	3
5	3
4	3
3	2
2	2

Printer's note: the Attack Deck Chart on page 9 lists 3 surviving players as triggering at 3 Hatchet cards (and 1 surviving player at 2). The page 18 chart and the 2-to-3 survivor text above list 3 surviving players as triggering at 2 Hatchet cards. Both are transcribed as printed; the discrepancy is in the source.

If a Klein attack is not triggered, the next Players turn begins. Gameplay progresses clockwise.

Exposure Track

Use the included Exposure card to keep track of your Exposure to Klein. Start the game on the Act 1 side of the Exposure card with ZERO exposure.

Each time you either SHARE, PEEK, PUSH, PULL or RUN (but NOT WHEN CHASED) move the red Exposure marker cube to increase the Exposure track 1 unit. Remember the Jock's special ability counts as a single action and only increases the Exposure track 1 unit.

Use the red Exposure Marker cube to keep track of Players actions that put everyone at risk of a Klein attack!

Act 2 & 3 Exposure card (the printed card, spaces numbered 1 to 42; a space marked with a red box is a "Draw an ATTACK card" space, an unmarked space is a "No-Risk" space):

Row	Spaces
1	1 (No-Risk), 2 (No-Risk), 3 (No-Risk), 4 (No-Risk), 5 (ATTACK), 6 (No-Risk)
2	12 (ATTACK), 11 (No-Risk), 10 (ATTACK), 9 (ATTACK), 8 (No-Risk), 7 (ATTACK)
3	13 (ATTACK), 14 (No-Risk), 15 (ATTACK), 16 (ATTACK), 17 (No-Risk), 18 (ATTACK)
4	24 (ATTACK), 23 (ATTACK), 22 (No-Risk), 21 (ATTACK), 20 (ATTACK), 19 (No-Risk)
5	25 (No-Risk), 26 (ATTACK), 27 (ATTACK), 28 (ATTACK), 29 (No-Risk), 30 (ATTACK)
6	36 (ATTACK), 35 (ATTACK), 34 (No-Risk), 33 (No-Risk), 32 (ATTACK), 31 (ATTACK)
7	37 (No-Risk), 38 (No-Risk), 39 (ATTACK), 40 (No-Risk), 41 (No-Risk), 42 (ATTACK)

The printed Exposure card carries the exposure actions legend: RUN, PEEK, PUSH, PULL & SHARE.

Act 1 Exposure card: the printed page shows spaces 1 through 6 along the top row, with space 5 holding the marker in the example image; the lower part of the Act 1 track is cut off at the bottom edge of the printed page and its remaining numbers and ATTACK / No-Risk markings could not be read from the rulebook page.

When the Exposure track reaches an Attack card red square, first resolve the action and then immediately draw an extra Attack card.

If a Hatchet attack card is drawn and an Attack is NOT triggered, or a Calm Night card is drawn, play continues as usual. You still draw your usual Attack card at the end of your turn. If a Hatchet attack card is drawn and an Attack IS triggered, your turn immediately ends, and the Attack begins.

At the completion of Act 1, flip over the Exposure card to the Act 2 & 3 side. Start your exposure at ZERO again for the beginning of Act 2. For the remainder of the game you will keep track of your exposure on the Act 2 & 3 side.

At the completion of Act 2, DO NOT reset your exposure to zero. Continue Act 3 where your exposure left off in Act 2.

Klein Attacks

The Player that triggers a Klein attack immediately draws a Reveal card. The icon on the Reveal card is shown to everyone. This icon is matched to the Klein Location Peeking sleeve, above the Location board, that conceals the Klein Location card with the location that is about to be attacked.

If you have seen the location in this Peeking sleeve you know exactly what location is being attacked. Locations you have seen in other Peeking sleeves are safe to be at during this attack.

Once an attack is triggered, each Player has a chance to escape by being chased from their current location before the location being attacked is revealed. Once a Klein attack begins your only recourse is to be chased, during this chase mode, to an available adjacent location or stay put.

Chase Mode

Moving COUNTER-CLOCKWISE around the table, starting with the attack triggering player, each Player has a TURN to be chased from their location.

You MAY NOT grab a hiding place during a Klein attack.

You may choose, when the Reveal card icon is revealed, to be chased to an available adjacent location.

A chase turn is a turn each Player gets before an attack even if you haven't had an action turn. If you don't have information telling you which locations are safe, it is a good idea to move to the location of a Player that has had their turn to be chased and may know something you don't. Remember a Player needs to survive, including the Traitor, to win the game.

During a Klein attack every Player is attempting to move to a location they know is safe. When you choose to be chased to, or stay at, a location you know is safe you are telegraphing information you have acquired to other Players without having to use the Share action.

If you choose to be chased from your current location to a new location, you must immediately flip your character token to scared at the new location. If your character was already scared, they remain scared.

When chased, you MAY swap locations with a Player controlled character following normal swapping rules.

A character that is forced to swap locations during a chase DOES NOT become scared. The Player initiating the swap DOES become scared.

After each player has had a turn to be chased, the Attack triggering player reveals the Klein location card in the Peeking sleeve corresponding to the icon on the Reveal card.

This location on the Location board is now flipped over to show Klein has attacked that location and the location is no longer accessible for the remainder of the Act.

Any characters at the attack location are killed and eliminated from the game, unless they have a valid hiding place for that location and are not scared.

After each Klein attack, ADD 1 additional Hatchet attack card to the Attack deck.

Re-shuffle the entire Act Attack deck, including any previously discarded cards, and continue the Act. A third Klein attack in an Act triggers the end of that Act.

Third Attack and Difficulty Level

The third attack in each Act is handled depending on the chosen level of gameplay difficulty:

Gameplay	Number of REVEAL cards drawn for the third attack
Beginner	One (1)
Standard	Two (2)
Advanced	All Remaining

The number of Reveal cards for the third attack, corresponding to your chosen difficulty level are drawn. Only one of the drawn Reveal cards is shown to all Players. After everyone has had one chance to be chased, all the drawn Reveal card locations are simultaneously attacked. So if you were in a valid Hiding place at the start of the 3rd attack, you do not resolve your hiding action until the beginning of the next Act.

When playing with first time players we recommend playing at the Beginner level.

The more you play you will begin to understand how to survive by strategy, instead of luck, allowing you to succeed at higher difficulty levels.

Please note the easier the gameplay difficulty, the harder it is for a Player possessed by Klein to win.

After the 3rd attack has been resolved perform the beginning Act setup again for the next Act. Remember to create a new Attack deck for the new number of surviving players in the new Act.

Players begin the new Act from the location where they finished the previous Act. If the location a character completed the Act on is no longer available you may choose, following turn order, any available location to place the character token.

When using Expansion locations, match the Peeking icon on the location the character survived the previous Act to the icon on the new Expansion location. Place the character token on that new location. And if a character survived the last scene of the previous Act hiding, they begin the new Act scared.

Supporting Characters

Supporting characters are, for most players, obstacles in your way hindering your chance of survival. Usually they do not have abilities, nor do they take actions on their own. Supporting characters count as another character on a location and they may block you from moving or being chased to a location.

When adding supporting characters to the Location board, place one supporting character to a location, as long as there is available space, in the following order by Peeking icon: Center location (has no Peeking icon), Treetop, Window, Lantern, Flashlight, Binoculars and Camera. A supporting character may be added to a location where there is already a supporting character present.

Supporting characters always start calm.

Calm supporting characters ALWAYS hide with hiding Player characters. And after successfully hiding they are scared just like Player characters.

Supporting characters may be forced to move if a Player character, sharing a location or adjacent to a location with a supporting character, chooses to PUSH or PULL the supporting character.

Supporting characters NEVER SWAP locations.

Supporting characters are NEVER chased from a location. If supporting characters are caught at a location attacked by Klein, and they are not hiding with a Player character, they are killed and removed from the game.

Possible Traitor

If, after viewing clues, you discover one of the other Players or you yourself is possessed by Klein, it may effect what information you share, or how truthful the information you share is, with other players.

As the Player possessed by Klein, you only win if you are the sole survivor and correctly declare yourself to be the killer.

In 2 to 5 player games there may or may not be a traitor. In a 6 player game there is ALWAYS a traitor.

Endgame

All players surviving the 3 Acts until morning each take a Suspect lineup card. Take your character token and, using any knowledge you have acquired about the clues, secretly place your character token on the suspect you believe to be possessed by Klein.

Once all surviving players have secretly chosen which suspect they believe to be possessed by Klein, the accusations are revealed.

After all accusations are revealed both clues are unveiled and the character possessed by Klein is discovered. Any player that is not possessed by Klein, has survived until morning, and correctly deduces who the killer is, wins. Any surviving players that accuse the wrong suspect are eliminated in one final Klein attack and lose the game.

If you are the traitor and you have survived the night, you only win if all the other Players are eliminated and you identify yourself as the killer. So, if other Players survive the night and you have mislead them that another character is the Killer, they will not survive the accusation phase, and you will win the game.

Whether you are a survivor or the traitor, you must survive the night to win the game unless you are the sole survivor.

However, if at any point during the game you become the sole remaining Player, the game ends and you must immediately name the killer. If you are the sole remaining Player and you name the killer correctly you win the game. If you do not correctly name the killer, you are eliminated even if you are the killer.

Optional Gameplay

In the first or second Act, if a Player's character is eliminated, an eliminated Player can one time take over the character of a surviving supporting character (from one of the 6 original playable characters if any remain) and continue playing to the end of the game as that character.

If a Player is eliminated by incorrectly declaring the Lair, that Player cannot return to the game.

If multiple Players are killed by Klein in ACT 1, choose available characters in the order players were eliminated.

The Opening Scene

At the start of the game begin the soundtrack and read the following to all Players:

"Today sure was a hot one. We were having a raucous good time skinny dipping when the sound of [Insert a random Player's name here]'s voice cut short our fun. "C'mon guys, it's getting late. We have to head back." [same Player's name] shouted from the shore.

"Typical [same Player's name] afraid to swim in the Lake and now in a rush to get back to the Cabin", someone responded though I'm not sure who. As we gathered our clothes [same Player's name] wouldn't let up, "You heard Old Man Wilkins. The Woods aren't safe after dark." The path back to the Cabin was a quick one, and the sun was setting surprisingly fast. I trailed behind since I wasn't as anxious as the others to get back to the Cabin. Who was this Old Man Wilkins anyway, trying to spoil our fun? [Insert a second Player's name here] called out from the front of the group, "There are some strays gnawing on something off the trail. Looks like a deer. I'm gonna take a closer look." We watched from a distance as [second Player's name] approached the feasting beasts then suddenly stumbled back. "It's... it's a..." [second Player's name] stammered tripping over something. That something rolled towards us and came to a slow stop in the midst of our group. We could all see clearly what, or rather who, it was. Staring blankly up at us was Old Man Wilkins severed head. Aaaaaah! [Original Player's name] let out a bone chilling scream. We scattered. Some towards the Cabin, some back to the Lake, others to the Highway. Fear engulfed the group. "Run and hide" I yelled to everyone. They were all so scared. But me? My only thought was "This is gonna be fun." And now as I raise the glistening blade of my axe to the moonlit sky, the hunt is on..."

Gameplay Tips

Take notes about other Players actions, what other Players have seen and what information you have acquired!
Surviving is your number one goal. It is more important to know which locations are safe rather than to figure out who the killer is.
If you don't have any knowledge of which locations are safe, follow other Players' actions. Everyone has to survive to win, even the Killer.
Watch what other Players do. This way you can deduce what information they have acquired, without having to share.
If an attack is imminent be sure to first take Non-Exposure actions.
Sometimes it is better to be chased to a location and become scared rather than to stay put. When you are chased to a location, that you know is safe, you are supplying other Players with information.

Quick Reference

Third attack in an Act: Draw the number of Reveal cards for the third Attack corresponding to your chosen level of difficulty.

BEGINNER = 1 REVEAL card
STANDARD = 2 REVEAL cards
ADVANCED = All remaining REVEAL cards

After everyone has had a turn to be chased, these locations are then simultaneously attacked by Klein.

Setup by Act (the Quick Reference card also shows the Act 1, Act 2 and Act 3 location maps as diagrams):

Act 1: No additional setup.
Act 2: Remove all Highway location cards. Remove the Binoculars Peeking sleeve and Reveal card. Scene 1: Add the Caretaker and Gravedigger supporting characters to the location board.
Act 3: Remove all Barn location cards. Remove Window Peeking sleeve and Reveal card. Scene 1: Add the Deputy supporting character to the location board.

Optional Play: During ACT 1, an eliminated Player may choose a surviving NPC, of the six playable characters, and continue the game.

Reminder: At the start of each Act, build a new ATTACK deck based on the number of surviving, player-controlled characters. Consult the ATTACK DECK chart for details (see Configuring the Attack Deck above).

Gameplay Quick Summary

Player Turn

Turn order progresses CLOCKWISE.
Each turn you are allowed up to 2 actions.
You may use a specific action only once per turn.
Draw an Attack card at the end of every turn.

Klein Attacks

Attack triggering player draws a REVEAL card.
REVEAL card is shown to all players.
Starting with the Attack triggering player and progressing COUNTER-CLOCKWISE each player has a turn to be CHASED from their location.
During CHASE mode you can either STAY PUT or be chased and RUN whether CALM or SCARED.
If CHASED, flip your character to SCARED.
You MAY NOT grab a hiding place during an attack.
Once all players have had a turn to be CHASED, reveal the Klein Location card in the sleeve with the same icon as the REVEAL card.
The revealed location is flipped over and the attack is resolved. The attacked location is no longer accessible during this Act.
After a Klein attack add 1 additional Hatchet card to the Attack deck and begin the next scene.

Reminders

Only 2 characters are allowed on the SAME location at the SAME time.
AVAILABLE ADJACENT LOCATIONS are locations connected by paths on ACT maps that have available space.
Characters may not hide if they are SCARED.
At the start of each ACT, build a new ATTACK deck. When building an ATTACK deck, supporting characters do not count as surviving players.
Move the Exposure marker with each RUN, PEEK, PUSH, PULL or SHARE action.
Don't reset your EXPOSURE count after ACT 2, begin ACT 3 where your EXPOSURE count left off.
A Player who successfully declares Klein's lair gets to privately view a CLUE card of their choice.