The Coldest Night Rulebook

Table of Contents

Table of Contents

• Components
• Overview
• Setup
• Card Anatomy
  • Kindling Cards
  • Frostbite Cards
• Gameplay
  • 1. Frostbite Removal Phase
  • 2. Main Phase
    • a. Feed the Fire
    • Special Effects
      • Boons
      • Obstacles
    • b. Scavenging
  • 3. Clean Up Phase
    • a. The Fire Dies Down
    • b. Check for Frostbite
    • c. Draw a Kindling Card
• The Fire Dwindles Cards
• Communication Restrictions
• Game End
• Lucky Find Tokens
• Effect Clarifications
  • Frostbite
  • Special Effects
• Single Player Variant

Components

• 50 Kindling Cards
• 10 Frostbite Cards
• 3 Fire Dwindles Cards
• 3 Fire Starter Cards
• 9 Lucky Find Tokens
• 4 Reference Cards
• 1 Rulebook

Overview

The Coldest Night is a cooperative game where players take turns playing cards from their hands into a communal fire pit. If the players can successfully burn all of the cards in the deck before the fire goes out, they win. But if the flames die down, or you accrue too many frostbite cards, your whole team freezes to death.

Setup

1. Place the three fire starter cards faceup in a row in the middle of the table with the Logs card to the far left. This is your starting fire pit.
2. Remove the three The Fire Dwindles cards and set them aside.
3. Remove the frostbite cards and shuffle them together. Place them facedown on the table to form the frostbite deck.
4. Shuffle the rest of the kindling cards and set them facedown on the table to form the kindling deck.
5. Divide the kindling deck into three smaller piles with 15, 15, and 20 cards respectively.
6. Place one The Fire Dwindles card faceup at the bottom of each of the three kindling decks.
7. Without shuffling, place one of the 15 card decks facedown next to the Logs card in the fire pit. Then, place the other 15 card deck facedown on top of it. Finally, place the 20 card deck facedown on top of the pile to create the kindling deck.
8. Lay out the lucky find tokens in a supply with their name side faceup.
9. Deal each player three cards from the top of the kindling deck to form their hands. The cards in a player's hand are secret information and should not be shown to other players. Give each player a reference card.
10. Randomly select a starting player.

Card Anatomy

Kindling Cards

Kindling cards have four parts: Name, Heat Value, Ash Value, and Special Effect.

1. Name
2. Heat Value: This is the amount of heat the kindling adds to the fire, which determines the heat total of the fire pit once played.
3. Ash Value: The ash value must be less than or equal to the current fire pit heat total in order to be played.
4. Special Effect: An effect that occurs only once, on the turn it's played into the fire pit. BOONS (black text) are good effects. OBSTACLES (red text) are bad effects. For more info on special abilities, see Special Card Effects.

Frostbite Cards

Frostbite cards have three parts: Name, Effect, and Frost Value.

1. Name
2. Effect: This restriction must be followed as long as this card is faceup in front of you.
3. Frost Value: During the Frostbite Removal phase, if the fire pit's heat total is exactly equal to this number, discard this card.

Gameplay

Starting with the first player, players will take turns in clockwise order playing cards from their hand into the fire pit. Each turn has three phases:

1. Frostbite Removal phase
2. Main phase a. Feed the Fire b. Scavenging
3. Clean Up phase a. The Fire Dies Down b. Check for Frostbite c. Draw a Kindling Card

1. Frostbite Removal Phase

For the first turn of the game, skip the Frostbite Removal phase and move directly to the Main phase.

During the Frostbite Removal phase at the start of your turn, if the current heat total of the fire pit is exactly equal to the frost value on any of the frostbite cards faceup in front of you, discard that frostbite card. Multiple frostbite cards can be discarded in one turn if they have the same frost value. Once a frostbite card is discarded, it is removed from the game and can be returned to the box.

2. Main Phase

On your turn, you can either Feed the Fire by playing a kindling card, or Scavenge to draw more cards for you and your allies. You cannot do both actions on a single turn.

a. Feed the Fire

On your turn, you can play a kindling card from your hand into the fire pit provided that the fire pit meets the heat requirement to play it. Every card has both a heat value and an ash value. The fire pit has a heat total equal to the combined heat values of every card currently in it. In order to play a kindling card into the fire, that card's ash value must be less than or equal to the heat total of the fire pit.

When you play a kindling card from your hand into the fire pit, it always goes to the far left of all cards currently in the fire pit.

The fire pit can never have more than four cards in it. If there are fewer than four kindling cards in the fire pit after you play a kindling card, you may choose to play another kindling card from your hand.

If there are still fewer than four cards, you may play another. The heat total of the fire pit is updated as soon as you play a kindling card into it.

If you have no cards in your hand, you cannot Feed the Fire.

(Example: The fire pit currently has two cards in it with heat values of 2 and 3. Therefore, the current heat total is 5. Jen can play any card from her hand with an ash value of 5 or less, so she plays the Picture Album which has an ash value of 3. She adds it to the left side of the fire pit. Because there are only three cards currently in the fire pit, Jen can play another card from her hand. With the Picture Album in the fire pit, the heat total is now 6, allowing her to play the Cloth Doll, which has an ash value of 6. She adds the Cloth Doll card to the left of the Picture Album card. Now the fire pit has four cards in it, and Jen cannot add any more this turn.)

Special Effects

Some kindling cards have special effects. These effects occur only once, on the turn they're played into the fire pit. There are two categories of effects, boons (denoted by black text) and obstacles (denoted by red text). Boons are helpful, obstacles hurt you.

Boons

• GAIN effects occur as soon as you play the associated kindling card into the fire pit. Gain the corresponding lucky find token and place it in the center of the table with the ability side faceup to show that it is available. See: Lucky Find Tokens.
• IF effects occur as soon as you play the associated kindling card into the fire pit. Immediately check the heat total of the fire pit, including the heat value of the card this effect is on. If the heat total fulfills the requirements listed on the kindling card, gain the corresponding lucky find token and place it in the center of the table with the ability side faceup to show that it is available.
• TARGET effects occur during The Fire Dies Down. When you would remove the rightmost kindling card from the fire pit, instead remove a card of your choice. You can choose to remove the kindling card with the TARGET effect.

Obstacles

• GREATEST effects occur during The Fire Dies Down. When you would remove the rightmost kindling card from the fire pit, instead remove the card with the highest heat value. This may be the kindling card with the GREATEST effect.
• BURN ONE effects occur during The Fire Dies Down. When you would remove the rightmost kindling card from the fire pit, instead remove the two rightmost cards.

b. Scavenging

Instead of playing a kindling card from your hand, you may choose to scavenge the house for more fuel for the fire. Draw the top three cards from the kindling deck and look at them. You may distribute these three cards between yourself and your allies however you choose.

3. Clean Up Phase

After the Main phase ends, the Clean Up phase begins. The Clean Up phase consists of three steps performed in order: The Fire Dies Down, Check for Frostbite, and Draw a Kindling Card.

a. The Fire Dies Down

During The Fire Dies Down, remove the rightmost kindling card from the fire pit and discard it. Once a card is discarded, it is out of the game and can be returned to the box.

b. Check for Frostbite

After removing the rightmost kindling card, check the fire pit. If it contains fewer than three cards, the current player draws a card from the frostbite deck and places it faceup in front of them. The card's effect is immediately active. Frostbite cards have restrictions that must be followed as long as the card is faceup in front of you. A player can have any number of frostbite cards faceup in front of them at one time.

c. Draw a Kindling Card

Finally, draw a card from the kindling deck and add it to your hand. No matter how many cards you have played into the fire pit this turn, you always draw only one card. If the kindling deck is empty, play proceeds without drawing a card. Then your turn is over and play proceeds clockwise.

The Fire Dwindles Cards

Layered into the kindling deck are three The Fire Dwindles cards. Each of these cards has a heat value of 0 and an ash value of 0. When you draw a card and pick up a The Fire Dwindles card, do not add it to your hand. Instead, add it immediately to the fire pit in the leftmost position. If this makes it the fourth card in the fire pit, immediately remove the rightmost card from the fire pit and discard it. While it is in the fire pit, this card acts identically to a kindling card. After resolving a The Fire Dwindles card, immediately draw another card and continue your turn as normal.

Communication Restrictions

Within the world of The Coldest Night, your characters have no specific understanding of the way the objects on different kindling cards would burn. Therefore, you cannot discuss specific numbers such as the heat values, ash values, or special effect requirements of cards in your hand, or the exact heat total you desire the fire pit to become. You can discuss things in vague terms such as "I need the fire to be hotter" or "It's okay if the fire cools down a bit." The current heat total of the fire pit can be discussed openly, as well as the frost value of frostbite cards that are out on the table.

Game End

Play proceeds clockwise around the table until the end of the game is triggered. This can happen in several ways.

• The fire pit has zero cards in it: Your fire has gone out, the cold begins to set in, and you will not make it through the night. You lose the game.
• You need to gain a frostbite card, but the frostbite deck is empty: The fire may still be lit, but it is not enough against the biting winds, and you succumb to your injuries. You lose the game.
• The kindling deck is empty AND every player has no kindling cards in their hand: The fire has burned warm and steady, and you can see the sun peeking over the horizon. You've made it to the morning. Congratulations, you win!

Lucky Find Tokens

Over the course of the game, you can gain lucky find tokens through boons on kindling cards. You do not begin with any of these tokens available to use. When you gain a lucky find token, remove it from the supply and place it in the middle of the table with its ability side faceup to show it is now available. A lucky find token can be used by any player regardless of who played the card to gain it. Every lucky find token can be used at any point in any player's turn without restriction. Once a token is used, it is removed from the game and can be returned to the box.

• Alcohol: Attach this token to a kindling card in the fire pit. As long as that card is in the fire pit, its heat value is one higher. When the card this token is attached to is removed from the fire pit, this token is removed from the game.
• Axe: This token can be spent to either allow any player to draw one card from the kindling deck OR to increase the fire pit's heat total by one for this turn. It cannot be used for both.
• Backpack: Any player gives a card from their hand to any other player.
• Blanket: Any player discards any frostbite card faceup in front of them.
• Cabinet Key/Cellar Key: Any player draws the designated number of cards from the kindling deck.
• Emergency Supplies: Add the top card of the kindling deck faceup to the fire pit in the leftmost space. The ash value of the added card does not need to be lower than the current heat total. This token cannot be used if the fire pit already has four cards in it.
• Lighter Fluid/Kerosene: The fire pit's heat total is increased by the number shown until the end of the turn. This can be used to achieve a frostbite card's frost value.

Effect Clarifications

Frostbite

• Advanced Frostbite: This effect begins immediately, so do not draw a kindling card at the end of the turn on which you gained this frostbite card. You can still draw cards through Scavenging.
• Loss of Circulation: If your hand has more than three cards in it when you gain this frostbite card, do not discard anything. Instead, you cannot draw cards at the end of your turn, gain them from any player's Scavenge action, or gain cards from tokens until you have fewer than three cards.
• Memory Loss: If the cards you draw have equal ash values, keep one of your choice. If one of the two cards you would draw is a The Fire Dwindles card, immediately follow the Fire Dwindles instructions. Keep the card with the higher ash value between the first card you drew and the card drawn to replace the The Fire Dwindles card. If you Scavenge, draw four kindling cards instead of three and return the card with the lowest ash value between all of them.
• Violent Shivering: If you only have even heat value kindling cards in your hand, you must Scavenge.

Special Effects

• If a TARGET card and a GREATEST card are played into the fire pit on the same turn, the TARGET effect activates and the GREATEST does not.
• If a BURN ONE card is played into the fire pit on the same turn as a TARGET or GREATEST card, first remove a card by the TARGET or GREATEST rules, and then remove the rightmost card as the additional card removed from the BURN ONE. Even if the card with the BURN ONE effect is removed by the first effect, the BURN ONE effect still resolves.
• If two BURN ONE cards are played on the same turn, each one removes an additional card. So three cards would be removed from the right of the fire.

Single Player Variant

The Coldest Night can also be played as a solo experience. Before beginning Setup, remove the seven kindling cards with an IF effect and lay them faceup on the table where they are all visible. Shuffle the rest of the kindling cards and remove 14 randomly. These will not be used in the game and can be returned to the box. From the frostbite cards, remove Blue Lips from the game. After these two steps, follow the instructions for Setup except for two changes: When dividing the kindling deck into three piles, these piles will have 8, 8, and 13 cards respectively, and when drawing your beginning hand, draw four cards from the kindling deck instead of three.

The Backpack token is used as a Draw One instead of a Gift for this variant.

During the game, as your Main phase action, you can either play cards from your hand or from the faceup IF effect cards into the fire pit. However, if you ONLY play an IF effect card on a turn, you do not draw a kindling card during Clean Up phase. The IF effect cards do not count towards your hand limit, but your ability to play them is affected by frostbite cards you currently have in front of you.