Ouija Manor
Ouija Manor Rulebook
Table of Contents
Table of Contents
Assemble the Manor
The manor is assembled from the components shown in the illustrated assembly diagrams on the manual's third page (steps 1 to 9). The only written instruction in the diagrams reads: "Join following the colours!" (Unisci seguendo i colori!).
Game Setup
To begin, place the easel, the characters, the SÉANCE cards and the Ouija board with planchette near the manor. Then choose one player to play the SPIRIT. The SPIRIT has the main role in the game: they silently provide clues, while all the other players work together to reconstruct the SPIRIT's correct obituary. For your first game, we recommend that the player who reads these instructions plays the SPIRIT.
To start the game, the SPIRIT performs the following steps:
- SPIRIT: From each of the four obituary decks, draw a number of cards equal to the total number of players, including the SPIRIT. For a two-player game (plus the SPIRIT), for example, take three cards from each deck. Then arrange these face-down cards into four piles. Any other cards are removed from the game.
- SPIRIT: Take the top obituary card from each of the four piles and place them in a row, face up, on the easel, as shown in the figure, without letting the other players see them. These four cards are the solution, and none of the other players may see them. Remember the solution, or take a photo of the easel to consult during the game.
- SPIRIT: Return the four solution cards to their respective piles. Shuffle each pile separately, then deal one card from each pile to every other player, so that each player has four different parts of an obituary. (For a two-player game, deal the other player two sets of obituary cards.) Place the four remaining cards on the easel so that everyone can see them.
All players who are not playing the SPIRIT form a team of INVESTIGATORS. They must work together to interpret the clues given by the SPIRIT in order to reconstruct the correct obituary.
Each INVESTIGATOR then performs the following steps:
- INVESTIGATORS: Turn over the four cards you were dealt so that they form a complete obituary in front of you, face up. (In a two-player game, each INVESTIGATOR will have two obituaries in front of them.) Each player reads their own obituary aloud.
- INVESTIGATORS: Choose a character to use. Remove the unchosen characters from the game.
NOTE: One or more of the cards now on the easel may already be part of the solution, but only the SPIRIT can know! During the game, the INVESTIGATORS will exchange their own cards with those on the easel, trying to discover which four cards make up the correct solution.
Object of the Game
One player takes on the role of the SPIRIT, while all the others play as INVESTIGATORS. Everyone will win or lose together. To win, the INVESTIGATORS must correctly put together the pieces of the SPIRIT's obituary. The SPIRIT provides clues by possessing the characters in the manor and by answering the séance cards. The INVESTIGATORS then interpret these clues, trying to place the correct cards on the easel. If they manage to complete the four parts of the SPIRIT's correct obituary within three game turns, everyone wins.
How to Play
The game is played over three turns. In each turn, the players carry out the following actions:
1. Position the Characters
The INVESTIGATORS slowly rotate the manor and position their characters in rooms that are different from one another. They may keep silent about the reasons for their choice of position.
Example: Angela is an investigator. She notices that in one of the obituaries a man is wearing glasses. She therefore places her character in the bedroom, to give the SPIRIT the chance to indicate the glasses on the bed.
2. Possessed Characters
One at a time, the SPIRIT silently (without speaking a single word) moves each character miniature within the room where it has been placed and adjusts its arm so that it points to a clue. Characters must always remain standing upright. The SPIRIT may not speak, make gestures, or move characters into rooms other than the ones they are in. When the SPIRIT is satisfied with the position of the character, the SPIRIT knocks on the table to confirm the clue. After the SPIRIT has knocked, the INVESTIGATORS may examine the clue and discuss its possible meanings. The INVESTIGATORS will try to identify the obituary cards that correspond to the clues suggested by the SPIRIT, which may be on the easel or in front of a player. The SPIRIT then moves on to the next character.
Example: Damon is the SPIRIT. Looking at his photo of the solution, he "sees the words 'star of Hollywood'". He positions Angela's character so that she points at the painting of a star on the wall. Then he knocks on the table to confirm his clue and moves on to the next character. The INVESTIGATORS will try to work out the clue: "... a star? Why does it indicate a star?..."
3. Choose the SÉANCE Cards
After the SPIRIT has positioned all the characters, each INVESTIGATOR draws two SÉANCE cards and chooses one to give to the SPIRIT face down, discarding the other face up. The INVESTIGATORS may not discuss their choices of SÉANCE cards during the séance.
The SPIRIT looks at the SÉANCE cards chosen by the INVESTIGATORS, selects one, and answers silently, using only the planchette on the Ouija board. After the answer, the SPIRIT discards the remaining cards in their possession, keeping face down the card they answered to.
4. Make a Hypothesis
Thanks to the information obtained from the SPIRIT through the SÉANCE card, the INVESTIGATORS decide together which of their cards they think need to be exchanged with those on the easel. They may exchange any number of cards, as many times as they wish.
5. Check the Solution
Once the INVESTIGATORS have decided on the new arrangement of the cards on the easel, they ask out loud: "SPIRIT! Was this your fate?"
If all four cards on the easel are correct, the SPIRIT uses the Ouija board to move the planchette to "YES" (SÌ). You have won! The game is over.
Otherwise, the SPIRIT moves the planchette to "NO", and a new game turn begins. These steps may be repeated only up to a maximum of three times. If, even on the third turn, the SPIRIT's answer is "NO", the game is over and everyone has lost.
End of the Game
If the INVESTIGATORS have not guessed the correct solution after three turns, all players lose the game.
If the INVESTIGATORS guess the solution, correctly positioning all four obituary cards on the easel, all players win!
Contents
Manor (3 floors, 4 walls, connector, spinner), 4 characters with bases, 200 obituary cards, 20 SÉANCE cards, easel, Ouija board, planchettes, instructions.