Mansions of Madness: Second Edition
140 questions players ask about Mansions of Madness: Second Edition. Pick one for the answer. See also the full rulebook.
Updated 2026-11-02.
The App and Golden Rules
- Can Mansions of Madness: Second Edition be played without the app?
- What does the app track, and what do players handle at the table?
- Can I read a token's text in the app without being in its space?
- Does pressing a token in the app cost an action?
- What is the difference between End Game and Investigator Eliminated in the app?
- Do scenarios have a hidden timer?
- Are scenario maps randomly generated?
- How many investigators do I control when playing solo?
- Do insanity card numbers count players or investigators?
- What happens when investigators disagree on a group decision?
- If investigators are tied for the target of an effect (most damaged, lowest stat), who is affected?
- Is there an undo button in the app for a wrong tap?
- Can I use first edition components or scenarios with the second edition?
- Should expansion cards be mixed into the base game decks?
- Do expansions combine with the base game and each other, and does purchase order matter?
The Investigator
Round Structure and Actions
- Do investigators decide the full turn order at the start of the Investigator Phase?
- Can I interrupt a Move action to take another action, then finish moving?
- How far does one Move action take me?
- Can I take the same action twice in one turn?
- Can I take no actions on my turn?
- Does picking up items in my space cost an action, and how many can I take?
- Does using an item or spell cost an action?
- During a Trade action, can other investigators in my space also give or pick up items?
- Does Duke's start-of-turn trade cost an action or need an evade check?
- Can investigators attack each other?
- Is an unarmed attack a melee attack?
- From which spaces can I explore a token on a door?
- Does Explore give a free move, and can it take me to any room?
- Can I read a search or sight token's text without spending an action?
Tests, Dice, and Clues
- Does a test pass when my successes exactly equal the difficulty?
- What does the number after the semicolon in a test icon mean?
- Can I roll more than 5 dice in a test if my dice pool is bigger?
- What does a +1 or -1 modifier on a test icon do?
- Does spending a Clue token reroll a die or add a success?
- Can I spend Clues on any test that shows a skill icon?
- Can I convert investigation results to successes while in Darkness or Dazed?
- Can I spend my Clues, or use an ability like Charlie Kane's, on another investigator's test?
- Is the Focused condition used before or after rolling the dice?
- How does the Stressed condition affect a test?
- What does 'Negates' mean on a test such as Will (Negates)?
- If a negate test covers both Damage and Horror, can I choose which one to prevent?
- How does a Negate -1 modifier work?
- Does an attack count as a test for abilities that affect tests?
- Does a Mythos effect that says to roll dice count as a test?
- Do I add my weapon's damage to every attack?
- If a spell attack fails, does its additional damage still apply?
- In a Steal action's opposed test, who rolls and spends Clues first?
- Can I make a ranged attack against a monster in my own space?
- If two investigators are tied for lowest stat when a test or attack targets the lowest, who is chosen?
- Does a 'knocked aside' combat result make me drop my weapon?
- Do successes from earlier attempts carry over when retrying a test?
- Am I told whether a test will pass before I spend Clues or abilities?
Puzzles
- How many puzzle steps do I get when I attempt a puzzle?
- Can other investigators help solve a puzzle?
- Can I spend Evidence for an extra puzzle step instead of a Clue?
- Does a penalty to Observation, or 'roll one fewer die', reduce my puzzle steps?
- Do I have to make an evade check before solving a puzzle in a monster's space?
- How do the feedback marks work on a code (Mastermind) puzzle?
- Can a code puzzle repeat a symbol, or offer more symbols than slots?
Monsters and Evade
- When do I have to make an evade check against a monster in my space?
- Do I make an evade check if an effect forces me to leave a monster's space?
- If I fail an evade check, do I lose my whole turn?
- If I am Wounded and forfeit a Move after a failed evade, can I try moving again this turn?
- When I push an investigator out of a monster's space, who makes evade checks?
- Can I push a monster through a door blocked by a Barricade?
- How does the Push action work on another investigator or a monster?
- Can I push a monster that can pass through walls, such as a Ghost, through a wall?
- Do I need to evade again for each non-attack action I take in a monster's space?
- Do I need to evade if I use a ranged attack on a different monster while one is in my space?
- Does the optional move into a room I just explored require a second evade check?
- If a monster fails to break a Barricade, can it try again later in the same activation?
- Does a Barricade stop a monster from spawning or being placed behind a door?
- Can flying, unobstructed or Phasing monsters pass through a Barricaded door?
- Can a monster attack an investigator in an adjacent space through a door?
- Can a monster attack an investigator in an adjacent space through a wall?
- How does a monster choose its route when moving toward something?
- Does a monster move if it is already in the same space as its target?
- Does a monster go through a door when told to move toward an investigator within range?
- When a monster must move to be in range of as many investigators as possible, who chooses where it ends?
- When several investigators face the same monster's horror check, do they each make a separate check?
- Do monsters take damage from Fire, and how often?
- Do I gain a Clue when I defeat a monster?
- If a spell kills the monster, do I still flip the spell card?
Damage, Horror, and Madness
- Are Damage and Horror cards taken face up or face down?
- When an effect tells me to flip a face-down Damage or Horror card, do I choose which one?
- When an effect has me suffer or flip several Damage or Horror cards, do I resolve each before the next?
- When I become Wounded or Insane, which Damage or Horror cards are discarded?
- How much more damage eliminates a Wounded investigator?
- If my Damage or Horror reaches my limit but all my cards are face up, am I eliminated?
- When an effect deals more damage than my health, do I resolve all of it before becoming Wounded?
- If a test negates the Damage or Horror, do I still flip a card the effect also tells me to flip?
- Can Damage, Horror, Wounded or Insane be healed or recovered from?
- Which monster do I make a horror check against when several are in range?
- Does a monster three spaces away trigger a horror check?
- How does the Claustrophobia condition count spaces?
- Does the Pyromania insanity need six Fire tokens or six rooms on fire?
- Does an insane investigator still take part in group decisions?
- Are insanity conditions with a higher player count used in a smaller game?
- What can an insane investigator say about their Insanity card?
- Are eliminated investigators affected by game effects?
- What does the Stunned condition do?
- Does the Restrained condition stop all movement?
- When does Agatha Crane gain a Clue from her ability?
Features and Terms
- Can I move diagonally between spaces that only touch at a corner?
- Does moving through a secret door or passage use movement?
- How is range counted, and does line of sight matter?
- How many Fire tokens are placed when fire spreads in the Mythos Phase?
- Can Fire spread through doors, outdoor spaces and secret passages, or through walls?
- When does an investigator take Fire damage?
- Does an investigator holding a Light Source count as being in Darkness?
Mythos Phase
Winning and Losing
- When does the game end after an investigator is eliminated?
- If the investigation is completed at the same moment I would lose, is it still a win?
- Do the investigators lose if all of them are insane?
- How does an Insane investigator's alternate win condition affect the group's win?
- Can an eliminated investigator still win through an insanity condition?
Mansions of Madness: Second Edition – Beyond the Threshold: ExpansionExpansion
Mansions of Madness: Second Edition – Horrific Journeys: ExpansionExpansion
- Does the Gatling Gun count star results after clues, Focused and rerolls?
- Are agenda cards and the traitor mechanic required in Hidden Depths?
- Does throwing the Harpoon count as an attack?
- Do I get lost in time and space if a push or explore ends in a rift space?
- Does stepping into water end my whole turn's movement?
- Can anyone use a secret passage after the app stops showing its image?
- What is the win condition of the Right Time, Right Place insanity card?
Mansions of Madness: Second Edition – Streets of Arkham: ExpansionExpansion
- Do the Scalpel and Silver Twilight Dagger deal their extra damage if the attack test fails?
- Can Marie Lambeau cast an attack spell with her start-of-turn ability, and does it need an evade check?
- Does a Riot attack investigators already in its space when it moves?
- Do the Streets of Arkham tiles change the layout of base-game scenarios?
- How do Streets of Arkham Elixirs and Flasks work, and do they cost an action?
- Do 'discard' and 'drop' mean the same thing for items?
- Does placing fire from a flame effect (suffer 1 Horror unless you place fire) cost an action?
- Can Becky's once-per-round reroll be used on any roll, or only attacks?
- Does a Righteous investigator's conversion help other investigators' tests?