Miskatonic University: The Restricted Collection Rulebook

Table of Contents

Table of Contents

• What's in the Box
• Preparing the Game
• Overview and Round Setup
• Round Procedure
  • 1. Leave the Restricted Library
  • 2. Explore the Restricted Library
  • Summary
• Library Cards
  • Seal Cards
  • Fragment Cards
  • Magic Spellbook
  • Student Cards
• Leaving and Being Expelled from the Restricted Library
  • Leaving the Restricted Library
  • Being Expelled from the Restricted Library
• Defense Cards
  • Preventive Defense Cards (before purchase)
  • Reactive Defense Cards (after purchase)
• End of Round
• End of Game
• Expansion Cards
  • Latent
  • Assistant Card

What's in the Box

• A: 80 Library cards
  • A1: 28 Fragment cards
  • A2: 16 Student cards
  • A3: 36 Seal cards (listed in the source as "carimbo", stamp)
• B: 35 sets of Defense cards
• C: 6 individual player boards
• 65 Score cards: 30 Wisdom (grey), 30 Sanity (red), and 5 Sanity (black)
• 9 additional cards: 4 Assistant cards and 5 Defense cards (stealth)

Preparing the Game

The four Assistant cards (top right corner) and the five "Hidden" Defense cards (bottom right corner) are additional cards used for additional rules. They are not used in the normal game, so remove them first. See the Expansion Cards section for how to use the additional cards.

1. Shuffle all the Library cards and place them in the centre of the table, forming the "Library deck". Prepare a space nearby to collect the cards you discard (the Library discard pile).

2. Place the Score cards beside the Library deck.

   • First, arrange the black Sanity cards horizontally, from left to right, in ascending order of their two numbers.
   • Then stack the shuffled red Sanity cards face down on top of them (the Sanity deck).
   • Beside them, stack the grey Knowledge cards to form the Knowledge deck. The Knowledge cards are all identical and have the same front and back.

   Note: the component list gives 30 grey "Wisdom" cards ("sabedorias"). The rules text refers only to Knowledge ("conhecimento") cards; the source does not state whether these are the same cards.

3. Each player chooses a board and places it in front of them. Then they receive a set of seven Defense cards that match the back of the board and place them face up in front of them.

   The remaining player boards and Defense cards (those without a responsible player) are placed in a box.

Overview and Round Setup

A game consists of five "rounds".

The winner of each round receives a black Sanity card.

• The winner of the first round receives a black Sanity card worth 6 points.
• The winner of the second round receives a black Sanity card worth 7 points.
• And so on, until the winner of the fifth round receives a black Sanity card worth 10 points.

At the start of each round, draw "number of players minus 1" red Sanity cards from the Sanity deck.

• If you draw a card with the same number as a red card you have already drawn, return it to the deck, shuffle it, and draw again, so that you end up with red Sanity cards that all have different numbers.

Then arrange the red Sanity cards you drew in this way in descending order, under the black Sanity cards you will acquire in that round (see the diagram).

The number range for the red Sanity cards is 2 to 6.

Round Procedure

The player who most recently visited the library plays first, and then each player takes their turn in clockwise order.

On their turn, a player must take one of the following actions:

1. Leave the Restricted Library
2. Explore the Restricted Library

A round ends when all players have left the Restricted Library or have been expelled from it.

1. Leave the Restricted Library

The player who chooses this action ends their turn immediately and can no longer play in that round.

2. Explore the Restricted Library

A player who chooses to explore the Restricted Library must draw a card from the Library deck and reveal it in front of them.

Some Library cards bring good luck and bad luck to the player, and some even ban the player from the Restricted Library (forcing them to leave).

Revealed cards must be visible to all players at all times. In this way, each player keeps their revealed Library cards in front of them until they decide to leave or are banned. The next section explains in detail what the revealed Library cards do for the players.

Summary

Each player takes turns exploring the Restricted Archives, revealing their Library cards and applying their effects.

The round continues until all players have left the Restricted Library or have been expelled.

A discarded Library card is moved to the discard pile and then shuffled back into the deck.

After each round, place a red Sanity card underneath a black Sanity card.

The game ends after the fifth round.

Library Cards

Seal Cards

Seal cards are the cards that represent parts of the "Ancient Seals" (the source's "Selo do Sinal Ancião", i.e. the seals of the Ancient Sign). There are 12 of each of the three types.

Note: the component list calls these cards "carimbo" (stamp), while the rules text calls them Seal cards. The source does not name the three types individually; the English "Ancient Sign" is the source's own term.

If the revealed card is a Seal card: if a Seal card is revealed during the "Explore the Restricted Library" action, place it in the matching notch at the bottom of your player board (see the diagram below and the diagram on the left side).

At this point:

• If a Seal card of the same type has already been placed: the investigator's sanity is destroyed! The player is banned from the Restricted Library and can no longer play in that round.
• Once you have collected all three cards, one of each type, and completed an Ancient Sign, immediately take a Knowledge card and reveal it beside your player board. Then discard the three Seal cards to your Library discard pile, ending your turn.
• Otherwise: nothing happens. End your turn.

Fragment Cards

The Library deck contains 4 of each of the 7 Fragment cards (representing the 7 areas of the Cthulhu Mythos) that contain ancient knowledge.

If the revealed card is a Fragment card: if a Fragment card is revealed during the "Explore the Restricted Library" action, place it in the notch to the right of your player board (see the diagram on the left). You may choose which type of card to place in which position.

At this point:

• If a Fragment card of the same type (with the same symbol) has already been placed: the investigator has acquired too much knowledge. The sanity will be destroyed!
  • The player is banned from the Restricted Library and can no longer play in that round.
• Collect 5 Fragment cards of each type: if you collect 5 cards of each type with no duplicates, immediately take 1 Knowledge card and reveal it beside your player board. Then discard all your collected Fragment cards to your Library discard pile, ending your turn.
• Otherwise: nothing happens. End your turn.

Magic Spellbook

The seven Fragment symbols (A to G) correspond to these types of magic:

• A: Traditional magic. Magic such as healing spells, seals, meditations, blessings, etc.
• B: Invocation magic. Magic related to summoning supernatural spirits and alien beings, as well as their capture and banishment.
• C: Curse magic. Black magic used to harm enemies, such as withering arms or making heads explode.
• D: Dream magic. Magic for communicating through dreams and inflicting nightmares, as well as transporting someone to the mysterious Dreamlands.
• E: Gate magic. Remote magic that can even open a passage allowing travel to places outside the Earth.
• F: Possession magic. Magic for controlling a person at will or for deluding their sight or hearing.
• G: Resurrection magic. Necromancy, summoning of spirits, or reanimation of the dead.

Student Cards

There are 16 Student cards. The card design does not affect the game.

If the card you acquired is a Student card: if a Student card is revealed during the "Explore the Restricted Library" action, place it in the notch to the left of your player board (see the diagram on the right). You may place the card wherever you want.

At this point:

• You have 4 Student cards in play: they help protect the investigators. You must immediately discard all your Student cards and choose one of your face-down Defense cards and turn it face up (this allows you to reuse that Defense card).
  • If you have no face-down Defense card, you must still discard all your Student cards.
• Otherwise: nothing happens. End your turn.

Leaving and Being Expelled from the Restricted Library

Leaving the Restricted Library

When it is your turn, instead of exploring the Restricted Library and buying a Library card, you may leave the Restricted Library and go to a safe place. If you leave, you can no longer take part in that round (you skip your turns).

What to do when leaving:

1. Take the lowest-numbered "Sanity card of that round" that remains at that moment and place it beside your player board.
2. Move all Seal and Fragment cards on the side of your player board to the Library discard pile.
3. Leave the Student cards where they are (they fled with you).

After completing the process above, the player who left can no longer take part in that round.

Student cards placed on a player's board are not affected by the effects of other players' Defense cards.

Being Expelled from the Restricted Library

Players who are expelled from the Restricted Library cannot take part in that round again (they skip once).

What to do when expelled:

1. The expelled player must place all the cards on their player board onto a Library discard pile, including the Student cards (which were left in the Restricted Library and abandoned to their own fate; after all, students are nothing more than an endless resource for the University's staff).
2. The exiled player does not receive a Sanity card. Instead, they must return the lowest-numbered of the "Sanity cards of that round" that remain at that moment to the Sanity deck and shuffle it.
3. Then they must choose one of their face-down Defense cards and turn it face up. The source text is broken at this point: the sentence reads "...escolher uma de suas cartas de Defesa viradas para baixo e / Depois, você pode virá-lo para cima (para poder usá-lo novamente em uma rodada posterior)", i.e. "...choose one of your face-down Defense cards and / Afterwards, you may turn it face up (so that you can use it again in a later round)". The translation follows the source as printed.

Defense Cards

Each player starts the game with seven Defense cards, one of each of the seven types.

• You may use as many Defense cards as you want during your turn, but you must turn over every Defense card you use.
• Once used, a Defense card cannot be used again until it is turned face up.
• A player has the opportunity to turn a face-up Defense card over after it has been banned from the Restricted Library, or when they have collected four Student cards.

Note: the source says "virar uma carta de defesa virada para cima" here, i.e. to turn a face-up Defense card. Since the rule above says used cards are turned over until they are turned face up again, the source most likely means a face-down card. The text is transcribed as printed and not corrected.

Preventive Defense Cards (before purchase)

The four preventive Defense cards can be used during the player's turn before buying a Library card in the "Explore the Restricted Library" action.

Premonition

• Put it into practice to discover what the future holds.
• The player who plays this card takes the top three cards of the Library deck and places them in the centre of the table.
• While the revealed Library cards remain on the table, all players who are forced to draw cards as part of the "Explore the Restricted Library" action may choose either one of the revealed cards or draw a card from the top of the deck normally.

Silver Container

• Place the seal fragments you have collected into the old silver container and leave it on a nearby shelf.
• The player who uses this must discard all Seal cards placed on their board. This has no effect.

Storage Box

• Discreetly place the fragments collected from the grimoire into a storage box and leave it on a nearby shelf.
• The player who uses this will discard all Fragment cards on their board. This causes no change.

Receive

• Steal a card from another academic.
• The player who uses this must choose one of the Library cards on another player's board and place it in the corresponding location on their own player board. (The player on the right.)

Reactive Defense Cards (after purchase)

The three reactive Defense cards can be used by a player after buying a Library card during the "Explore the Restricted Library" action.

Reflexes

• Act quickly and throw away what you find before it causes harm.
• The player who uses this must discard the Library card they have just bought onto the discard pile, and then end their turn.

Escape

• Realising the danger of what you have discovered, your adrenaline rising, you gave up and ran out of the Restricted Library as fast as you could.
• The player who uses this discards the Library card they have just bought onto the discard pile, leaves the Restricted Library, and is eliminated from the round.
• This counts as a normal exit: the player discards all non-Student cards and takes the lowest-numbered Sanity card of the round.

Presentation

• You kindly presented your findings to other academics.
• The player who uses this places the Library card they have just bought on another player's board instead of their own, except that they cannot choose a player who already has the same card on their board.

End of Round

The round ends when all players have left the Restricted Library or been banned, and there are no more players left to play.

Before starting the next round, return all the cards from the discard pile to the Library deck and shuffle them. If you run out of cards during a round, do the same to create a new deck.

After preparing the Sanity cards for the next round, the player who played last in this round becomes Player 1 and the next round begins.

End of Game

After the fifth round, the game ends.

Each player adds up the points of their Sanity and Knowledge cards.

The player with the highest total wins the game. In the event of a tie, the player with the highest black Sanity card wins.

The winning academic becomes the new President of the Council of the Miskatonic University Library!

Expansion Cards

Note that adding the additional cards will increase the playing time slightly.

Latent

The source gives this card's name as "latente" beside its image.

This is a preventive defense card (before purchase). When using it, each player must receive one during the setup phase. The player who uses this ends their turn without drawing a card from the deck.

Assistant Card

This is a Library card. To use it, add it to your deck with your other Library cards during the setup phase.

Assistant cards are wild cards that can be placed on a player's board as any type of Library card, but the type of card they count as is determined at the moment they are bought.

The source is truncated here: the line reads "Cada turno requer um turno de 10 ..." ("Each turn requires a turn of 10 ..."). The translation follows the source as printed; the rest of the sentence is missing from the source.

You cannot take an Assistant card placed by another player using "Take", nor can you give your own Assistant card to another player using "Present". (These are the source's verbs for the Receive and Presentation cards.)

When you discard a Library card using the Silver Container or Storage Box cards, any Assistant cards included in the discarded card remain on your player board and are not discarded.