Ghosts of Christmas Rulebook

Table of Contents

Table of Contents

• Components
• Game Overview
  • 3 Players
• Setup
• Playing a Hand
  • First Game
  • Bidding
• Gameflow
• Playing a Round
• Scoring Tricks
• Scoring Hands
  • Scoring Hands Example
• Beyond Variant
• Tiny Tim Variant
  • Scoring Tiny Tim Hands - 3 Players
  • Scoring Tiny Tim Hands - 4 Players
• Credits

Components

• 48 Cards (1 - 12 in four suits)
• 16 Ghost Board Pieces
• 4 Era Dials
• 4 Score Cubes
• 1 Start Player Marker
• 1 Victory Point (VP) Tracker
• 16 Purple Door Tokens
• 4 Red Door Tokens
• 12 Wreath Tokens

Game Overview

3 Players

When playing with three players, remove cards 1, 2, and 3 from each of the four suits.

Setup

1. Place the scoring cube for each player on the VP tracker.
2. Assemble the Ghost Board for each player.
3. Place the doors, wreath tokens, and dials next to the VP tracker.
4. Randomly give the Start Player Marker.
   • Note: The Beyond Dial and Ghost Board Pieces are not used in the base game.

Playing a Hand

Shuffle the deck and deal all the cards, 12 to each player. Turn the Era Dials face down.

First Game

For your first game, we recommend playing the Tiny Tim variant (see below) which skips this bidding step.

Bidding

Begin with the start player and proceed clockwise. Look at your cards and estimate how many tricks you might win. Take a purple door for each. Your bid will be successful if you win exactly that many tricks. If you would like additional flexibility, one of the doors you take may be red. Your bid will be successful if you win a trick for each purple door or for each purple door and the red door.

If you think you will win 3 tricks, take 3 purple doors. This bid is successful if you win exactly 3 tricks. If you are less sure, take 3 purple doors and 1 red door instead. This bid is successful if you win either 3 or 4 tricks.

Gameflow

Unit	Equals
1 trick	every player playing 1 card
1 round	3 tricks
1 hand	4 rounds
1 game	3 hands in a 3 player game / 4 hands in a 4 player game

Playing a Round

Beginning with the start player and proceeding clockwise, play a single card in front of you into one of the three eras, Past, Present, or Future.

You may only play cards that match the suit on the dial for that era. If you have no cards that match the dial, you may play any card. If the dial is face down, you may play any card; then turn the dial over and set it to match the suit you played.

This continues until each player has played three cards: one into each era.

Tip: you can play cards in any order you want; you do not have to play in the same era as the earlier player. Not only could this help you win those other tricks, but you could empty your hand so you are not forced to follow suit.

Scoring Tricks

Start with the Past trick. The card played by the start player sets the scoring suit. Whoever played the highest Hearts wins the trick. If no Hearts were played, whoever played the highest card in the scoring suit wins the trick. The winner takes the start player marker, and takes a wreath token placing it on one of their doors if possible.

Now score the Present trick the same way, notice that the new starting player (whose card determines the scoring suit) is whoever won the Past trick. Finally, score the Future trick, with the winner of the Present trick as the starting player.

The scoring suit may be different than the suit on the dial! Hearts always trump.

The winner of the Future trick takes the start player marker and keeps it until you score the next round. Once all three tricks have been scored, discard the three cards you played, flip the dials facedown, and begin the next round, using the cards you have remaining in your hand.

Scoring Hands

After four rounds, compare your bid with how many tricks you won.

If you have extra wreaths (not on doors) or have purple doors without wreaths, then score no points, otherwise:

• If you have a red door, score 1 point per wreath. (It is ok to have, or not have, a wreath on the red door.)
• If you don't have a red door, score 2 points per wreath.

Return your wreaths and doors. Play another hand until you have played one hand per player. Then the most total points wins. Tied players share the victory.

Scoring Hands Example

6 VP	3 VP
0 VP	0 VP

Beyond Variant

Add a fourth era: Beyond. You can play cards to any of the four eras. Play 4 tricks per round and 3 rounds per hand.

Tiny Tim Variant

Easier to learn version.

Play Ghosts of Christmas as normal except skip the Bidding step at the beginning of each hand. Instead, your points will be based on how many tricks you win. Take a wreath each time you win a trick. In this variant doors are not used.

Scoring Tiny Tim Hands - 3 Players

0 Wreaths	1 - 6 Wreaths	7+ Wreaths
6 VP	1 VP for each wreath	0 VP

Scoring Tiny Tim Hands - 4 Players

0 Wreaths	1 - 5 Wreaths	6+ Wreaths
6 VP	1 VP for each wreath	0 VP

Credits

• Design: Taiki Shinzawa
• Illustration: Maria Surducan
• Graphic Design: Anca Gavril
• Development: Michael Dunsmore, John Brieger
• Scout: James Nathan
• 3D Artist: Filip Gavril
• Rulebook Writer: Sam Hillier