Spooky Castle
Spooky Castle Rulebook
Table of Contents
Table of Contents
Object of the Game
All of you are playing together to help the junior ghost Spooky to pass the admission examination inside the Spooky Castle.
Players take turns assuming the role of Spooky. To do so, a player dons the Spooky mask, then pokes around Spooky Castle with the ghost wand while blindfolded. The other players try to give helpful instructions so that Spooky can move through the castle in search of magic items within its walls. If the player succeeds in collecting two items, the roles then change.
Beware, though, as some adult haunting ghosts lurk within Spooky Castle, and time is running short.
Together, you want to accomplish within the given time frame all of the quest cards presented to you.
If you manage to achieve this daring feat, you win the game and Little Spooky is allowed to join the circle of the grand haunting ghosts!
Game Components and Set-Up of the Basic Game
- 1 Spooky Castle = box bottom with cardboard insertion, Spooky Castle game board, eight walls
- 6 Magic items and 8 Haunting ghosts (= 14 metal discs with stickers)
- 12 Ghost tiles
- 15 Quest cards
- 1 Spooky mask
- 1 Spooky ghost wand
- 1 timer
- 1 Rules booklet
Take all game components out of the box bottom. Then place the box bottom, complete with cardboard insertion, in the center of the playing area.
Then place the Spooky Castle game board into the box bottom, making sure that the colored markings on the game board match the edges of the box.
Now connect two walls each, thus building four different walls of the castle. Plug the four castle walls into the notches of the game board any way you like. Your Spooky Castle is complete!
Hint: You may reassemble the eight walls before each game and plug them into any notches you want. By doing this, you will build a completely new castle for each game!
Important: There must be at least one open access to each magic item! In this example, the access to the candleholder is not open. Therefore, a set-up like this is not allowed!
Before you can start your first game, you have to prepare the magic items and haunting ghosts. Fix identical stickers on both sides of each metal disc.
Place the six magic items and the eight haunting ghosts on the designated spaces inside the Spooky Castle at the start of the game. Place the items randomly on the six golden circles, then place the haunting ghosts on their corresponding purple spaces of the game board.
Shuffle the ghost tiles face down. Reveal ten ghost tiles for the basic game, then place each ghost tile next to the edge of the box that matches the color of the tile. Remove the remaining tiles from the game.
Shuffle the quest cards, then place six in a face-down pile; these cards make up Spooky's admission examination for the basic game. Remove all remaining cards from the game.
Keep the Spooky mask ready for use.
Keep the magnetic ghost wand ready for use.
For the basic game, set the timer to 20 minutes. This is the amount of time you have to pass the admission examination. Note: The game starts immediately after you set the timer!
Game Set-Up
Each player sits down at one side of the Spooky Castle. The oldest player is the first to assume the role of the junior haunting ghost Spooky.
- Don the Spooky mask, but do not draw it over your eyes yet.
- Take the ghost wand in one hand, holding it tight at its very top. Then, place the magnetic side on the colored starting space inside the Spooky Castle in front of which you are sitting. During your turn, you must keep the ghost wand perpendicular to the board to the greatest extent possible.
- Next, use your free hand to draw the Spooky mask over your eyes. You are not allowed to catch the slightest glimpse of the Spooky Castle. You must wear the mask during your complete turn, and you may take it off only after your fellow players have stated that you've completed the quest card.
Before the game starts, the players should agree on certain commands in order to see Spooky through the Spooky Castle as quickly as possible. After all, it is most important that the Spooky player understands the instructions well and can follow them faultlessly. It is a good idea to give names to the four directions of the Spooky Castle.
Hint: The instructions "Stop!", "Faster", "Slow down" or "A bit more in the direction of X" are especially important.
Examples:
- The directions could be the colors of the starting spaces (red, green, blue, yellow).
- The directions could be the names of the players (e.g., Maurice, Anika, Simon, and Lea).
- Name the directions in terms of room features (e.g., window, kitchen, door, living room).
Playing the Game
Are you ready? Good, let the games begin! Together, the players count down from 5. After the countdown, set the timer (20 minutes for the basic game) and then start playing immediately - the precious time you have to pass the exam is already ticking away!
Let's start: One of Spooky's fellow players reveals the top quest card from the pile. The quest card shows the two magic items that Spooky must try to collect in the Spooky Castle in any order. The fellow players must now give Spooky directions to these items. The Spooky player should listen carefully, then move the ghost wand cautiously in the specified directions.
Important rules for moving the ghost wand:
- The ghost wand must always touch the ground of the Spooky Castle. Spooky cannot lift the ghost wand!
- The walls of the castle are obstacles for Spooky and must be circumvented skillfully, of course.
- During their turn, the Spooky player always must try to hold the ghost wand as perpendicular as possible.
The Six Magic Items
A total of six magic items have been placed inside the Spooky Castle. In order to accomplish a quest card, the Spooky player must use the ghost wand to collect the two magic items of the current quest card in any order and deliver them to any starting space.
As soon as the ghost wand is near an item, it attracts that item magnetically. Then, Spooky delivers that item to any starting space.
Once the ghost wand touches the starting space, the fellow players take that item off the ghost wand and place it on the quest card.
Next, Spooky's fellow players guide him to the second magic item, and then back to any starting space.
Important: Each magic item must be delivered to a starting space on its own. No other item, especially a haunting ghost, can be attached to the ghost wand!
The Eight Haunting Ghosts
Beware the haunting ghosts inside Spooky Castle as they'll try to impede the admission examination!
If a haunting ghost has been attracted to the ghost wand, you must placate it. Take the haunting ghost to a starting space. As soon as it has reached the starting space, the fellow players remove the haunting ghost from the ghost wand.
In exchange, one of the face-up ghost tiles of the color of the starting space must be flipped face down. Subsequently, place the haunting ghost on that ghost tile and continue the admission examination.
Important: If a starting space has no face-up ghost tiles, then Spooky must take that haunting ghost to another starting space.
You have to be especially cautious if all ghost tiles at all starting spaces are flipped face down already. If, in that case, Spooky attracts another haunting ghost with his ghost wand, all players have lost the game immediately. If this should happen, you should play again at once and try the less difficult variant!
If More Than One Magic Item and/or Haunting Ghost Has Been Attracted
If more than one magic item and/or haunting ghost has been attracted by the ghost wand accidentally:
Direct the Spooky player to any starting space. Remove all magic items from the ghost wand and return them to the Spooky Castle. In this situation, magic items needed for the immediate quest must also be returned to their designated spaces.
Flip one face-up ghost tile of the color of the starting space face down for each haunting ghost, then place the haunting ghost on that ghost tile. If this starting space doesn't have enough face-up ghost tiles, you must go to another starting space.
The Quest Card Has Been Accomplished Completely
As soon as the quest card has been accomplished by collecting these two magic items, the players quickly change roles. The next player in clockwise direction is the new Spooky player. They take the ghost wand and place it with its magnetic side on their starting space. Then, the player dons the Spooky mask.
The fellow players return the two magic items and any collected haunting ghosts to their designated spaces inside the Spooky Castle.
Take a quick glance at the timer and announce loudly how much time is left. Then, reveal the next quest card from the pile, and place the completed one aside on a separate stack, face-up. Now try to accomplish this new quest card as quickly as you can.
Important: Do not stop the timer! The admission examination continues in real time!
End of the Game
The players win the game if they manage to complete all the quest cards in the admission examination while the timer is still running. Congratulations - you have worked together hauntingly well! You have passed the admission examination together with Spooky with great success!
The players all lose, together, if the alarm rings and they have not yet completed all the quest cards in the admission examination. Unfortunately, the time for the examination has run out.
In addition, the players lose immediately if Spooky attracts a haunting ghost with the ghost wand and no face-up ghost tiles are present at any starting space.
However, this is no problem at all! Next time, you will manage to pass the admission examination for sure - just try it again immediately!
Game Variants
The game offers many variants that can make the Spooky admission examination easier or harder to play. Simply adjust a point or several points at once (for example, change the game's duration and the number of quest cards to be completed).
The following options are available to tweak the game's difficulty level:
- A) longer or shorter duration
- B) more or fewer quest cards
- C) more or fewer face-up ghost tiles
| Level | Minutes | Quest cards | Ghost tiles |
|---|---|---|---|
| Junior ghost | 25 | 5 | 12 |
| Spooky Castle basic game | 20 | 6 | 10 |
| Master | 17 | 7 | 8 |
| Professional | 15 | 8 | 6 |
| Expert | 13 | 9 | 5 |
Hint: Use the basic game mode for your first game - set the timer to 20 minutes, use six quest cards, and ten ghost tiles. If you like, you may start to tweak the difficulty level in your second game. You can adjust the difficulty levels of each category in any way you like. Just try it, and you will become the best Spooky Castle experts!