The Murder at Cthulhu Manor Rulebook

Table of Contents

Table of Contents

• Warning
• Introduction
• Contents
• Setup
  • The Scenario
  • Reading the Introduction
  • Choosing the Characters
• Course of the Game
  • Start
  • First Investigation Phase (20 minutes)
  • First Deduction Phase (1 minute per player)
  • Second Investigation Phase (30 minutes)
  • Second Deduction Phase (2 minutes per player)
  • Voting Phase
  • Action Phase
  • Resolution
• Hints and Tips

Warning

Read this manual before starting to play and avoid looking at the rest of the components until you are told to, including the backs of the cards.

Introduction

Mystery Party in the Box Series. 15+ years / 7-9 players / 120 minutes.

This game gives each player the chance to step into the shoes of one of the characters taking part in the plot, which unfolds as they investigate the rooms of the mansion and hold conversations with the rest of the cast to gather information. The murderer must make sure the investigators do not discover their identity, while their fellow players must do everything they can to identify them. At the same time, each player also has several small-scale objectives that they must try to fulfil.

Contents

• 1 instruction manual (the one you are reading)
• 9 setting booklets (with the character's introduction and the development of the game on the front)
• 36 investigation markers (4 per character)
• 36 character room cards (4 per character)
• 14 servants' room cards
• 3 basement cards
• 3 tower cards
• 2 special clue cards
• 2 warning cards
• 1 resolution booklet

Setup

The Scenario

Place the setting booklets, the cards and the markers as shown in the image on the right (of the setup illustration). This will be the scenario through which you will move.

The illustration shows:

• Setting booklets (Libretos de ambientación): the nine characters: the master of the house ("El señor"), the adopted daughter, the medium's assistant, the husband, the wife, the chauffeur, the painter, the journalist and the professor.
• Character room cards: the rooms of the master, the adopted daughter, the medium's assistant, the married couple (husband's luggage), the married couple (wife's luggage), the chauffeur, the painter, the journalist and the professor.
• Servants' room cards ("About ..." piles): about the master, about the adopted daughter, about the medium's assistant, about the husband (married couple), about the wife (married couple), about the chauffeur, about the painter, about the journalist, about the professor.
• Basement cards, special clue cards (A and B), tower cards, and the investigation markers.

Reading the Introduction

The player with this booklet reads the following passage aloud: "Begin the story..." (the introduction text given in the Table of Contents section above).

Choosing the Characters

Each player is assigned the character they will play.

Next, the setting booklets and the corresponding room cards are handed out, and must be read carefully even though at first there may be details you do not understand.

Keep the setting booklet near you, but return the room cards to the place they occupied on the table. These cards represent the objects you keep in the room, not the ones you carry with you.

Each player receives four investigation markers.

• If there are 8 players, the wife acts as an NPC (non-player character). If there are 7 players, the same applies to the husband. Leave their setting booklets in an easily accessible place and their room cards as indicated in the section "The Scenario".

• If there are more than 9 players, the same character may be played by two different people.

Course of the Game

The game is played over the following phases:

• Start
• First investigation phase (20 minutes)
• First deduction phase (1 minute per player)
• Second investigation phase (30 minutes)
• Second deduction phase (2 minutes per player)
• Voting phase
• Action phase
• Resolution

Start

The characters introduce themselves based on the public information contained in their setting booklets. If there are only 7 or 8 players, the player in charge of reading these instructions will also read aloud the information regarding the NPCs.

First Investigation Phase (20 minutes)

Players must talk, in public or in private, with the rest of the participants. We recommend using a phone messaging app for the more private conversations. Whenever they wish, they may return 1 investigation marker to the table and take a card, representing that they have obtained an object or piece of information in one of the rooms. They may choose any card in the pile, but may only read its back once the choice has been made.

If the card states that it must be returned to its place, the player who obtained it must put it back in the room it was taken from once its contents have been read. If they want to consult it again later, they must pay the corresponding investigation marker to do so.

The husband's and wife's cards will be available even if there are only 7 or 8 players in the game. However, the cards of a character's own room can never be taken by the character who is lodged in it, nor can the cards of the servants' room that speak about oneself. Nor can more than one card from the same place be taken during the same phase; however, each of the piles in the servants' room is considered a different room.

As for the special clue cards and tower cards, certain conditions must be met before taking them. Some of the cards you will find require that you possess an object, have some ability, have a total Strength above a certain value, etc. In these cases, it is possible to ally with other players in order to fulfil the condition. For example, a player with Strength 1 and a player with Strength 2 who work together can obtain a card that requires a total Strength of 3. However, they must decide who keeps the card. If they do not reach an agreement, the card is returned to the place it was taken from. If the card in question states that it must be returned to its place, all the characters who have collaborated to obtain it may read its contents before leaving it in the pile again.

A character's total Strength is calculated by adding their base Strength and the Strength of the objects in their possession.

Players may lie as much as they want, but they are obliged to tell the truth when asked how many cards they hold from each room. During the investigation phase, they may also secretly show the contents of their cards to other players, as well as give, receive or exchange cards and investigation markers.

All investigation markers must be spent in each of the investigation phases.

First Deduction Phase (1 minute per player)

After choosing the character who will begin to present their theories, play proceeds from player to player clockwise. Each of you has 1 minute to share your hypothesis about the identity of the murderer.

In this phase it is not allowed to show the contents of the cards to other players. However, you may explain them orally, or lie about them.

Second Investigation Phase (30 minutes)

Each player takes 4 investigation markers again. If there are only 7 or 8 players and the NPCs' luggage has not yet been emptied, their cards are placed face up. As has happened so far, it is possible to take them by paying an investigation marker for them.

Following the procedure of the first phase, the characters talk, in public or in private, with the rest of the cast and take cards from the rooms until their investigation markers run out. As this is a different phase, they may enter again a room they visited in the first investigation phase.

Second Deduction Phase (2 minutes per player)

Each player has two minutes to present their theories. Then, all players have the time they need to discuss among themselves the hypotheses that have been offered.

Voting Phase

On the count of three, all players point at the character they believe killed the medium; no player may point at themselves. If there are only 7 or 8 players and the culprit is considered to be an NPC, it is possible to point at the corresponding setting booklet. The character who has received the most votes is captured as the culprit, and the player who gave them life withdraws from the game. In case of a tie, the rest of the characters vote again to decide who the murderer is. If a single culprit is again not determined by this vote, all the characters who have received the most votes will be captured.

Action Phase

Each character, except the one(s) captured as culprits, can perform a particular action whose effects are described in their setting booklet. Again up to three, and all players still in the game point at the character or place that becomes the target of the action. On this occasion, it is possible to point at oneself or even at the character who has been captured as culprit.

Next, it is asked who is the first character in order of action, the second, etc., and the cast's actions are resolved in that order. In those cases where the action involves a condition related to total Strength (base Strength + Strength from objects or other means), the Strength of the subject and the target of the action must be compared. In case of a tie, the action has no effect.

Resolution

The character whose setting booklet so indicates reads the resolution of the case. Then they reveal their objectives, their victory points and their secrets. When they have finished, the next character clockwise presents this same information, and so on until all players have spoken.

The player who has obtained the most victory points is the winner. In case of a tie, all players with the highest score are considered winners.

Hints and Tips

Hold the setting booklet so that the front always faces outward and the rest of the players can easily consult the role you are playing.

Respect the time limits.

Talk with as many characters as you can.

The suspect is captured by majority decision, so nobody can catch them alone. If you think you have discovered who killed the medium, talk with all the players you can to pool the information you have.

Revealing your secrets and circumstances is a risky decision, since there may be characters whose victory depends on preventing yours. On the other hand, if you limit yourself to hiding information, it will be hard for you to collaborate with anyone. Try to identify the characters who do not pose a threat even though they know certain details about you, work with them and try to reach victory together.

The victory points for each character range between 8 and 10.

Although the winner is decided by the number of victory points obtained, the aim of the game is for the participants to tell a story together. You will enjoy the game more if, instead of obsessing over winning, you immerse yourselves in the story by playing its protagonists.

If there is something you do not understand, call a time-out aloud so that you can resolve doubts among everyone. In case of ambiguity, you may play as decreed by the majority of players.