Unconscious Mind Rulebook

Table of Contents

Table of Contents

• Components
• Setup
  • City Map & Location Goals
  • Meeting Table
  • Client and Dream Displays
  • Research Cards
  • Treatises
  • Bright Ideas
  • Player Setup
• Game Overview
  • Scoring
• General Concepts
  • Insights
  • Insight Effects
  • Reputation
  • Coffee
  • Bright Ideas
• On Your Turn
  • State Ideas
  • Inkpot Effects
• Meeting Table Actions
  • Gaining Notebook Tiles
  • Research and Treatises
  • Insights
• The City Map
  • Moving Your Professor or Freud
• Recall Ideas
• Treat Clients
• Location Goals
• End of Turn
• Final Scoring
• Modules
  • The Journalist
  • Location Overlays
  • Fireworks
• Credits

Components

Common components:

• 1 Meeting Table board
• 1 City Map board
• 9 Treatise tiles
• 24 District tokens (8 in each of 3 colors)
• 60 Notebook tiles (24 Level I, 24 Level II, 12 starting)
• 1 Freud figure
• 1 Reputation marker
• 24 Grief Layer cards (translucent)
• 5 starting Grief Layer cards (translucent)
• 1 dispenser box for Grief Layer cards
• 4 Office Room cards
• 7 Location Goal tiles
• 12 Routine Client cards
• 12 Case-Study Client cards
• 24 Latent Dream cards
• 24 Manifest Dream cards
• 36 Research cards

Player components (per player unless noted):

• 4 Player boards (1 in each player color)
• 4 Office boards
• 4 Insight dials
• 4 Professor figures (1 in each player color)
• 24 Idea pieces (6 in each player color)
• 8 Therapy markers (2 in each player color)
• 4 Reputation markers (1 in each player color)
• 4 Scoring markers (1 in each player color)
• 52 Insight pieces (28 common + 6 in each player color)
• 4 Inkpot minis (1 in each player color)
• 4 Heart-Shaped Box markers
• 4 Coffee markers
• 1 starting player token
• 20 Bright Idea tokens (16 value one, 4 value five)
• 4 Reference aids
• 6 Location overlay tiles

Modules:

• 1 Journalist figure
• 1 Fireworks standee

Setup

Place the City Map board and the Meeting Table board in the center of the common play area.

Setup is the same for 2-, 3-, and 4-player games except for the number of Notebook tiles and available Idea spaces on the Meeting Table board (see below).

City Map & Location Goals

1. Sort the 24 District tokens by color, setting aside the three with a Reputation point. Stack each set of tokens on their corresponding spaces in the middle of the City Map. Then, place the set-aside tokens onto their matching stacks with their Reputation point sides facing up.
2. Place Freud's Reputation marker on the "1" space of the Reputation track.
3. Gather the six Location Goal tiles showing colored Location tags and randomly select one. Place the Freud figure onto the City Map Location matching the selected tile's tag.
4. Arrange the seven Location Goal tiles face up in a row between the City Map and Meeting Table. (The order does not matter.)

Meeting Table

Set up the Meeting Table with the following adjustments for the number of players.

Idea Spaces

5. When playing with fewer than 4 players, reduce the number of Idea spaces on the Meeting Table by placing Ideas from unused player colors onto them as follows:
   • 3 Players: Block the top and bottom Idea spaces in the rightmost and leftmost columns (4 blocked spaces total).
   • 2 Players: Block every Idea space in the rightmost and leftmost columns (8 blocked spaces total).

Notebook Tiles

6. Take a number of random Notebook tiles according to the chart:

   	2 Players	3 Players	4 Players
   Level I	12	15	18
   Level II	12	15	18

   Return the remaining Notebook tiles to the box.

   Next, prepare the Notebook tile display as follows:

7. Shuffle the level I and level II tiles separately and form two stacks with their main action sides facing up. (Each tile has a main action side and a banner side.)

8. Place the level I stack onto the Meeting Table's upper left tile space. Flip the topmost tile (i.e., so its banner side is showing) and place it into the rightmost space of that row. Then, flip the next tile and place it into that row's center space.

9. Place the level II stack onto the tile space below the level I stack and fill the two spaces to its right using the same process as the level I tiles.

Client and Dream Displays

Routine Clients have the dates "1900–1903" in a blue tab, and Case-Study Clients have the dates "1904–1907" in a red tab.

Create the Client and Dream displays by following these steps:

10. Shuffle the Routine Client deck and place it face down in the area above the City Map. Then, draw two Routine Clients and arrange them in a face-up row to the right of the deck.
11. Shuffle the Case-Study Client deck and place it face down to the right of the Routine Clients. Then, draw two Case-Study Clients and arrange them in a face-up row to the right of the deck.
12. Shuffle the Grief Layer deck, put it inside the dispenser box, and set the box to the left of the Routine Client deck. Then, draw and place one Grief Layer on top of each of the four face-up Clients in the display.
13. Shuffle the Latent Dream deck and place it face down in the area above the Client display.
14. Shuffle the Manifest Dream deck and place it face down to the right of the Latent Dream deck. Then, draw four Manifest Dreams and arrange them in a face-up row to the right of the deck.

Research Cards

Create a Research card display as follows:

15. Shuffle the Research card deck and place it face down.
16. Draw two Research cards and arrange them in a face-up row beside the deck.

Treatises

17. Create a Treatise tile display by sorting the tiles into three stacks according to size. To save table space, you may layer the tiles in each stack so that only the Volume colors and Location tag icons are visible at the bottom.

Note: The order in which you stack the Treatise tiles does not affect gameplay (i.e., they are all "available," not just the topmost ones).

Bright Ideas

18. Create a general supply of Bright Idea tokens.

Note: The Bright Idea supply is considered unlimited; if you run out of tokens, use any adequate substitutes.

Player Setup

Choose a player color and take the following components in that color:

• 1 player board
• 1 Office board
• 1 Professor figure
• 1 Inkpot
• 1 scoring marker
• 1 Reputation marker
• 2 Therapy markers
• 6 Ideas
• 6 Insights

Also take a set of the following common components:

• 1 Insight dial
• 1 Heart-Shaped Box marker
• 1 Coffee marker
• 7 common Insights

You will need extra space around your player board to display cards and tiles, which you may gain throughout the game.

1. Place the player board, Insight dial, and Office board in your play area. Fit the Insight dial into the recessed edge of your player board.

2. On your player board, place the following components:

   • Inkpot in the top Inkpot space
   • Heart-Shaped Box marker on the "0" space of the Heart-Shaped Box track
   • Coffee marker on the "4" space of the Coffee track
   • 3 Ideas in the designated spaces (one above each Notebook tile column)
   • 3 Ideas in the Idea supply
   • 6 player-color Insights in the designated spaces (one to the right of each Notebook tile row and one below each column)

3. Then, on your Insight dial, place: 7 common Insights in the center reserve space.

4. Place your scoring marker on the "0/100" space of the Victory Point track bordering the City Map (with the side marked "100+" facing down).

5. The player who most recently made a Freudian slip becomes the starting player (or you may choose by any mother method). They receive the starting player token and place it in their play area, Freud side up. The game proceeds in clockwise order.

6. Place your Reputation marker on the "0" space of the Reputation track (stacked in reverse player order with the starting player's marker on top).

7. Some players gain additional starting resources based on player order, as shown on the chart below:

   Second player	Third player	Fourth player
   1 Coffee	1 Bright Idea	1 Coffee and 1 Bright Idea

8. Give each player a random Office Room card.

9. Place your Office Room card into your Secondary Office Room (i.e., the rightmost space below your Office board).

   Note: Your Office Room card blocks your Secondary Room until you remove your initial Client's starting Grief Layer (see Cured Clients).

10. Draw Routine Client cards equal to the number of players plus one (e.g., five cards in a 4-player game) and place them face up within view of every player. Then, place a starting Grief Layer on top of each Client. Return any unused starting Grief Layers to the box.

    Every starting Grief Layer has the same effects. You can identify them with the graduation cap icon.

11. In reverse player order (i.e., counterclockwise, beginning with the player to the right of the starting player), each player must draft a Routine Client and set of Dream cards. Complete all the following steps before proceeding to the next player: a. Choose a Routine Client with a starting Grief Layer and place them into your Primary Office Room (i.e., the leftmost space below your Office board). b. Draw a Latent Dream and place it face up into the leftmost space above your Primary Office Room. c. Choose a Manifest Dream from the display (or draw one from the top of the Manifest Dream deck) and layer it over the Latent Dream, leaving the icons at the bottom visible. If you choose a face-up card, refill the Manifest Dream display by drawing and placing a card face up. d. Place a Therapy marker onto the Therapy track above your Client in the position equaling the sum of the Therapy points shown on your Client and Grief Layer cards combined. If there is a Victory Point icon in the space where you place your Therapy marker, immediately score the number of points shown. e. Place your other Therapy marker onto the "0" position of the rightmost Therapy track.

12. After all the players have drafted their Clients and Dreams, remove the starting Grief Layer from the remaining Client and return it to the box. Then, place this Client card face down at the bottom of the Routine Client deck.

In clockwise order, beginning with the starting player, each player must choose a starting Notebook tile. Complete all of the following steps before proceeding to the next player.

13. Take the three starting Notebook tiles with the glyph matching your Office Room card. a. Choose one tile to keep and return the others to the box. b. Refer to the banner on the right side of the tile and then:
    • Place your Professor figure onto the City Map Location matching the tag.
    • For each of the four Insight icons, move a common Insight from your Insight Dial's reserve into the matching area of your dial (see Insights). c. Flip your starting Notebook tile so its main effect side is up (i.e., showing the side without the banner). Place it into any of your player board's leftmost Notebook tile spaces. d. Flip your Office Room card to the side showing the graduation cap icon.

Tip: Consider placing your starting Notebook tile adjacent to its matching symbol.

Game Overview

The game is played over a series of rounds. In each round, the starting player takes their turn, followed by the other players in clockwise order.

On your turn, choose and perform one of the following options:

• State Ideas
• Recall Ideas
• Treat Clients

Play continues until Freud's Reputation marker moves into the watch-icon space of the Reputation track, signaling the end of the game. When this happens, you will complete the current round and then play one final round. After that, the game proceeds to Final Scoring.

The player with the most Victory Points wins the game, claiming the title of Freud's most distinguished contemporary.

Scoring

Players will have many opportunities to score Victory Points throughout the game and during Final Scoring. When you score, advance your marker on the Victory Point track. If you pass the "99" space, flip your marker to the side labeled 100+.

There are two types of Victory Point icons:

• In-game points: Victory Points you score immediately.
• End-game points: Victory Points you score during Final Scoring.

General Concepts

Insights

Each Insight has a quality (Growth, Freedom, or Passion) and a level (Minor, Median, or Major). To define an Insight's quality and level, you must position it on your dial within a section and ring.

You may use various effects to gain new Insights, change their qualities, raise or lower their levels, and spend them like resources.

The Insight dial keeps track of your Insights. It is composed of the following:

1. Three rings (one for each level)
   • Minor (diamond, inner ring)
   • Median (hex, middle ring)
   • Major (circle, outer ring)
2. Three wedge-shaped sections (one for each quality)
   • Growth (green/plant icons)
   • Freedom (purple/bird icons)
   • Passion (red/flame icons)
3. A center reserve

There are two types of Insight pieces:

Player-color Insights — At the beginning of the game, your six player-color Insights are not yet available (because they are locked on your player board). Whenever you unlock one, move it to the center reserve of your dial. In addition to being used in the same ways as common Insights, you may permanently place your player-color Insights onto Treatises and District bonus slots (see Research and Treatises, and Recall Ideas).

Common Insights — You may reposition your common Insights to other areas of your dial during play but never remove them (i.e., all seven of your common Insights must remain on your dial or in your center reserve for the entire game).

When you utilize an Insight, you may choose a player-color or common Insight. Player-color and common Insights in your center reserve do not have a quality or level. When you reposition an Insight to an area on your dial, it takes on the attributes of its section and ring (e.g., an Insight placed on the second ring of the green section is a Median Growth Insight).

Insight Effects

Certain effects allow you to bring Insights out of your center reserve or to move Insights from one area of your dial to another.

Generate an Insight — You may take an Insight from your center reserve and place it onto the indicated dial area.

Note: If you have no Insights in your center reserve, you may remove one from anywhere on your dial and use it instead.

Elevate an Insight — You may move an Insight one ring outward—without changing which colored section it is in (i.e., increasing an Insight's level from Minor to Median or Median to Major).

Important: You may not use an Elevate effect to take an Insight from your center reserve and place it on a dial area. To do so, you must use a Generate effect (see above).

Suppress an Insight — Move an Insight one single ring inward—without changing which colored section it is in (i.e., move it from Major to Median, Median to Minor, or Minor into the center reserve). You will usually do this to trigger another effect.

Important: You may Suppress an Insight into your center reserve.

Transfer an Insight — You may move an Insight over to an adjacent colored section—without changing which ring it is in (i.e., change its quality while retaining its Minor, Median, or Major level).

Using Insights

Many actions and effects require you to spend specific Insights to trigger them. Doing so is called using an Insight.

• When using an Insight, remove it from its current dial area and place it into your center reserve.

• You may overcompensate by using an Insight from a higher-level ring than is required (e.g., you may use a Major Passion Insight instead of a Median or Minor Passion Insight).

  Note: You do not get any "change" when overcompensating.

Diamond, hex, and circle Insight icons without specific colored icons represent Insights of any quality (i.e., the Minor, Median, or Major level is specified, but the quality/color is not).

• When you Generate an Insight without a specified quality, place the Insight within the designated ring of any section you choose.
• When you use an Insight that does not require a specific quality, you may choose any Insight from the specified ring (regardless of the section).

Using Insights to Gain Heart-Shaped Boxes

At any time on your turn, you may use Insights to gain Heart-Shaped Boxes. To do so, use one set of Major, Median, and Minor Insights (regardless of quality) to gain one Heart-Shaped Box (as indicated on your Office board).

Tip: To make room for Heart-Shaped Boxes that would otherwise exceed your track's upper limit, you may use Heart-Shaped Boxes to score 2 Victory Points each. You may do this anytime on your turn—even while resolving another effect.

Reputation

The Reputation track (located on the City Map board) records the level of Reputation that you—and Freud—earn throughout the game. While playing, you may benefit from the positions of your and Freud's markers. When Freud's marker reaches the tenth space on the track, it signals the end of the game. The players with the highest Reputation score additional points for their Cured Clients and Published Treatises during Final Scoring.

Gaining Reputation

Whenever you gain a Reputation point, follow these steps:

1. Advance Freud's Reputation marker one space.

2. Advance your Reputation marker one space. If the space is occupied, place your marker on top of the other(s) in this space.

   If your marker is already on the ninth space, do not advance it to the tenth; instead, immediately score 3 Victory Points (as indicated at the end of the track).

3. Each time your or Freud's marker crosses a Freud icon (a portrait of Freud with a clockwise arrow) on the Reputation track, advance Freud on the City Map once (without triggering any Location effects).

Important: Gaining a Reputation point does not trigger the Reputation track (see below).

Where to Gain Reputation

• The seven Location Goals
• The three topmost District tokens
• The three "6" District bonus slots
• Your player board (filled with nine Notebook tiles)

Triggering the Reputation Track

Whenever you trigger the Reputation track, follow these steps:

1. Score the Victory Points and gain the Coffee (if any) shown in the zone above your Reputation marker.
2. Choose and perform a single action from those shown in the zone below Freud's Reputation marker (or from any zone to the left).

Important: Triggering the Reputation track does not advance your or Freud's Reputation marker (i.e., you only advance the markers when you gain Reputation points).

Example: The pink player uses their Inkpot to trigger the Reputation track. They score 3 Victory Points and gain 1 Coffee. Next, they may perform an action from the zone below Freud's marker or any zone to the left.

End-Game Signal

When Freud's Reputation marker reaches the space with the watch icon, it signals the end of the game. Then, do as follows:

• The player who advanced Freud's marker immediately scores 3 Victory Points (as indicated at the end of the track).
• Flip the starting player token to show the watch icon.
• Complete the current round.
• Play one additional round with the following exception: Do not draft new Clients if you have any vacant Office Rooms at the end of your turn.
• Proceed to Final Scoring.

Coffee

Coffee is a resource that will help manage your Insights and interact with various actions and effects. When gaining or using Coffee, adjust your marker accordingly.

Note: You may never have more than 6 Coffees. Disregard any you would gain in excess.

Besides using Coffee to fulfill the requirements of specific actions (e.g., gaining new Notebook tiles from the Meeting Table), you may use it as indicated in the bottom-left of your player board:

• Use 1 Coffee instead of Suppressing an Insight.
• Use 2 Coffees anytime on your turn to Elevate or Transfer an Insight.
• Use 3 Coffees anytime on your turn to gain a Bright Idea.

Using Coffee anytime on your turn means you may even use it during the resolution of another effect (e.g., you may pause an action, use Coffee, then resume).

Tip: To make room for Coffee that would otherwise exceed your track's limit, you may use anytime Coffee effects (e.g., use 3 Coffees to gain a Bright Idea).

Bright Ideas

Bright Ideas have many uses, such as substituting for your own Ideas on the Meeting Table, modifying your Inkpot's movement, and boosting Location effects on the City Map. Whenever you gain a Bright Idea, take one from the general supply and place it near your player board in a personal supply. You may have any number of Bright Ideas. After using one, return it to the general supply. During Final Scoring, you score 1 Victory Point for each leftover Bright Idea in your supply.

On Your Turn

On your turn, choose one of the following options:

• State Ideas
• Recall Ideas
• Treat Clients

After resolving one, you may use Heart-Shaped Boxes to produce Therapy points for your Clients (see End of Turn). Lastly, if you have any vacant Office Rooms, you must draft new Clients (see End of Turn).

State Ideas

Placing Ideas is the main way to perform actions and trigger effects. To take a State Ideas turn, follow these steps:

1. Place Ideas
2. Resolve the Meeting Table
3. Activate your Inkpot

Place Ideas

You may place one or two Ideas from your Idea supply onto a single vacant Idea space on the Meeting Table board. You must point the tails of the Ideas at a single adjacent action space. You may not point the tails toward an action space that is already being pointed to by your other Ideas.

Note: The tails of other players' Ideas do not prevent you from using an action space (i.e., more than one player may point Ideas at the same action space).

Example: The teal player wants to trigger an action space twice. They take two Ideas from their supply and stack them onto a vacant Idea space with their tails pointing to the Gain a Research card action. They may not point their Ideas toward the action space marked in red because one of their Ideas is already pointing to that action space.

Placing Bright Ideas

A Bright Idea may substitute each Idea you place from your supply. Bright Ideas function exactly like your Ideas regarding placement, orientation, and activations. However, you must remove all Bright Ideas from the Meeting Table at the end of your turn.

Example: The teal player couples an Idea with a Bright Idea to trigger an action space twice. They could achieve the same result by placing two Bright Ideas (i.e., without their own Idea).

Resolve the Meeting Table

For each Idea you place this turn, you may trigger the action space it points to once. When you trigger an action space twice in a single turn, fully resolve the first effect before initiating the second (see Meeting Table Actions).

The two gear icons on each action space indicate that you may trigger the effects up to two times (once per Idea you point at the space).

Each time you trigger an action space that has two options (separated by a slash), you must choose one to perform. If you trigger the action space twice, you may repeat the same effect or perform two different ones.

Activate Your Inkpot

After resolving the Meeting Table, you must advance your Inkpot, and then you may perform the effects shown where it lands.

Advancing Your Inkpot

Move the Inkpot on your player board by following these steps:

1. Determine your Inkpot movement value by counting the number of Inkpot icons in the row where you placed Idea(s) on this turn.
2. Move the Inkpot clockwise along its track exactly as many spaces as your movement value.

Note: Your movement value is the same whether you placed one or two Ideas this turn.

Modifying Your Inkpot's Movement

You may use Bright Ideas to modify your Inkpot's movement value. For each one you use, increase or decrease your movement by one space. However, you may not decrease your movement to zero (i.e., you must advance your Inkpot at least one space).

Inkpot Effects

You may trigger the effects associated with the space where your Inkpot ends its movement. Four spaces allow you to trigger lines of Notebook tile effects; the fifth space allows you to trigger the Reputation track. In addition, the first three times you complete a lap with your Inkpot, it unlocks Ideas, which you may use for the rest of the game.

Unlocking Ideas and Notebook Columns

When you move past the Idea-unlock icon (a thought bubble with a plus sign), remove the leftmost Idea from the top of your player board and place it into your Idea supply. Removing the Idea also unlocks the column it came from (see Top Space, below).

Example: The teal player moves their Inkpot past the Idea-unlock icon, so they immediately remove the leftmost Idea from the top of their player board and place it into their Idea supply. They now have a fourth Idea to use for the rest of the game.

Top Space: Trigger a Column of Notebook Tiles

Choose an unlocked column (i.e., a column without an Idea locked above it). You may trigger every Notebook tile's effect in that column, in addition to the Generate effect in the bottom Insight space if you already unlocked it (see Gaining Notebook Tiles). You may perform each effect once—in any order you choose.

Example: The teal player's Inkpot ends its movement on the top row space. Since they have two unlocked columns, they may trigger either one. They might favor the left one because it has three tiles and an unlocked Generate effect at the bottom.

Three Lower Spaces: Trigger a Row of Notebook Tiles

You may trigger the Generate effect to the right of your Inkpot and every Notebook tile's effect in that row, in addition to the Elevate effect in the far-right Insight space if you already unlocked it (see Gaining Notebook Tiles). You may perform each effect once—in any order you choose.

Example: The yellow player moves their Inkpot to the bottom space, allowing them to trigger the bottom row in any order. First, they Generate a Minor Passion Insight from their player board. Then, they trigger the rightmost tile, Suppressing an Insight to Generate a Median Insight (of any quality), which they may now use to trigger the leftmost tile—ultimately gaining a Heart-Shaped Box.

Important: You may trigger row or column effects in any order you choose, one after another. However, you must fully resolve each effect before triggering the next.

Leftmost Space: Trigger the Reputation Track

Gain Victory Points and Coffee as indicated in the zone above your Reputation marker. Then, choose and perform an action from the zone below Freud's Reputation marker or any zone to its left (see Reputation).

Important: Triggering the Reputation track does not advance your or Freud's Reputation marker (i.e., you only advance the marker when you gain Reputation points).

Example: The teal player moves their Inkpot to the leftmost space, triggering the Reputation track. They score 1 Victory Point and gain 2 Coffee from the zone above their Reputation marker. Then, they may perform one action from the zone below Freud's marker.

Meeting Table Actions

There are nine action spaces on the Meeting Table. The following section explains each of their effects.

Gaining Notebook Tiles

Three action spaces allow you to gain a Notebook tile using Coffee.

• Use 1 Coffee to gain either Notebook top tile in the leftmost column (i.e., the top tile from the level I or level II stack).
• Use 2 Coffees to gain either Notebook tile from the center column. Then, trigger the tile's banner effect.
• Use 3 Coffees to gain either of the two Notebook tiles in the rightmost column. Then, trigger the tile's main effect and banner effect.

Whenever you gain a Notebook tile, follow these steps:

1. Use the amount of Coffee required and take the tile.

   Note: You only need to use Coffee when gaining Notebook tiles from the Meeting Table's action spaces—not when you gain tiles by other means.

2. Trigger any effects of the Notebook tile as indicated inside the action space.

   • Leftmost column: No effect
   • Center column: The tile's banner effect
   • Rightmost column: The tile's main effect and banner effect (in either order)

3. Place the Notebook tile banner side down into the leftmost vacant space of any row on your player board. If the chosen vacant space shows the Client icon (showing 0/1/2), you must have Cured the appropriate number of Clients to place there (see Cured Clients).

   • First icon you cover: 0 Clients Cured
   • Second icon you cover: 1 Client Cured
   • Third icon you cover: 2 Clients Cured

4. If there is a vacant space in the Notebook display, refill it.

   • If a vacant space is in the center column, fill it with the topmost tile from that row's supply, flipped banner side up.
   • If a vacant space is in the rightmost column, slide the center tile of the same row onto the rightmost space and then fill the center column space as described above.

   Note: If a supply of Notebook tiles is exhausted, do not refill the spaces in this row.

When you gain a Notebook tile from an effect outside the Meeting Table (e.g., the Reputation track), you may choose either top tile from the leftmost column (i.e., the top tile from the level I or level II stack). You do not need to use Coffee to gain it.

Replacing Notebook Tiles

If you are not able to place the Notebook tile in any vacant space (e.g., you have not Cured the required number of Clients) or there are no more vacant spaces left, you may replace any tile in your player board with the new one (discarding the replaced tile). Otherwise, discard the new tile. You may not relocate Notebook tiles.

If you choose a space without a Notebook tile (because there are no tiles left to fill it), score the Victory Points shown inside the vacant space instead (and skip the remaining steps).

Example: The brown player gained a Notebook tile and must place it into their player board. They may choose any one of the three leftmost vacant spaces (outlined in green). They may place the tile in the top row and complete it, regardless of the number of Cured Clients, as it would be the first row they complete.

Completing Rows & Columns

Once a row or column has Notebook tiles in all three spaces, it is considered complete. Each time you complete a row or column, immediately take the player-color Insight from the end of that row or column and place it into your dial's center reserve. This unlocks an Insight effect on your player board that you may use during future Inkpot activations.

When you place nine Notebook tiles in your player board, gain a Reputation point (see Reputation).

Research and Treatises

There are two action spaces related to Research Cards. One action lets you draw cards; the other lets you play cards from your hand.

• Gain a Research card
• Play one or two Research cards or Publish a Treatise

Gaining Research Cards

Each time you gain a Research card, draw the topmost card from the Research deck and add it to your hand. Then, you may swap any single Research card from your hand with either of the two face-up Research cards in the display.

Playing Research Cards

To play a Research card from your hand, you must trigger an effect with the lightning-bolt icon (i.e., you may not freely play cards).

When you play a Research card, choose one from your hand and place it face up in front of you. The card is now considered in play. Then, trigger any effect shown at the bottom of the card.

Note: The Location tags on in-play Research cards are considered ongoing effects and add to your overall count of tags (see The City Map).

Each Research card has a colored Volume used for Publishing Treatises.

Publishing Treatises

To Publish a Treatise, you must gather the exact number and color of the Volumes indicated on the Treatise tile. In addition, you must have a player-color Insight on your dial to place onto the Treatise, permanently marking the tile as yours.

To Publish a Treatise, follow these steps:

1. Choose a Treatise from the display.

2. Set aside one of your in-play Research cards that matches the color of the Treatise's leftmost Volume, indicated with the quill icon.

3. Set aside the exact number and colors of the remaining Volumes indicated on the Treatise tile. You may use any of your in-play Research cards—in addition, you may gather any number of Volumes by Citing previously Published Treatises of other players.

4. Arrange and overlap the Research cards in the order indicated on the Treatise and place the tile over them so that the Volume colors line up.

5. Remove one player-color Insight from your dial and place it onto the designated space in the upper left of the tile to mark the Treatise as yours. The Insight will remain on the Treatise for the rest of the game.

   Note: The player-color Insight may come from your dial's center reserve or any ring.

6. Score the number of Victory Points shown in the middle of the Treatise.

Each Treatise tile shows two different Location tags. After you Publish a Treatise, the tags are considered in play.

Note: Research cards used to Publish Treatises are no longer considered in-play. They become Volumes instead. Do not count any Location tags on them.

Example: The teal player chooses to Publish a Treatise that requires four Volumes: two red, one green, and one purple. They must provide the first red Volume from their in-play Research cards. Then, they choose to keep their other in-play Research cards. To complete the Treatise, they Cite the red Volume from the pink player and the purple and green Volumes from the yellow player. As this happens, the pink player scores 2 Victory Points and gains one Bright Idea for one Cited Volume, and the yellow player scores 4 Victory Points and gains two Bright Ideas for two Cited Volumes. After the teal player has gathered the necessary Volumes, they arrange them to match the color order on the Treatise tile. Then, they lay the tile over the Volumes and place a player-color Insight from their dial onto the tile's upper left corner. Lastly, they score 12 Victory Points.

Citing Treatises

• When Publishing a Treatise, you may Cite one or more Volumes from Treatises Published by other players.
• To Cite a Volume, take the rightmost Research card from another player's Published Treatise.
• Each player you Cite from immediately gains one Bright Idea and scores 2 Victory Points per Volume you Cite (as indicated in the top-right corner of the Treatise).
• You may Cite more than one Volume from the same Treatise, starting with the rightmost one and moving inward (i.e., you may not leave gaps between the Volumes left in the Treatise).
• Repeat this process until you have gathered all the colored Volumes needed to Publish your Treatise.

Note: You may gather any mix of your in-play Research cards and Cited Volumes (other than the card you use for the tile's leftmost Volume). However, you may not use Research cards from your hand, Cite your own Published Treatises, or use in-play Research cards from other players.

Insights

Two action spaces allow you to reposition Insights on your dial.

• Generate one Minor Growth, Freedom, and Passion Insights
• Perform up to two Insight Elevations and one Insight Transfer (in any order)

Note: For Generating, Elevating, and Transferring Insights, see Insight Effects.

Tip: Since you may not freely exchange Insight pieces on your dial, it is often best to leave your player-color Insights in your center reserve whenever possible, ready to be placed onto Treatises.

The City Map

The City Map has three colored Districts. Within each District, there are two Locations. Each Location has a unique tag icon. Each Location has a space that may hold any number of figures (i.e., Professors and Freud).

In addition, each District has four District bonus slots, and each Location has three Location bonus slots. You may only use these when you take a Recall turn (see Recall Ideas).

The six Locations and their tag icons: Theater (masks), Library (books), Opera (magician silhouette), Museum (palette), University (building), Cafe (coffee cup).

Moving Your Professor or Freud

Two action spaces on the Meeting Table allow you to move figures from Location to Location on the City Map—in a clockwise loop. One action space allows you to advance your Professor; the other allows you to advance Freud. After moving a figure to a new Location, you may trigger the effects shown there.

• Either advance your Professor 1-2 Locations or move your Professor to Freud's Location.
• Advance Freud 1–3 Locations.

Note: To move to Freud's Location, your Professor must start in a different Location than Freud (i.e., you may not use this effect to make a full loop).

Location Effects

After you move your Professor or Freud to a new space, you may trigger the Location's effects up to five times, depending on the conditions. To determine the number of times you may trigger the Location's effects, choose only one of the following options:

A. Count Figures — Count the number of figures in the Location space (i.e., count your Professor, other Professors, and Freud, if present).

B. Count Tags — Count the number of Location tags in your play area matching the Location. (These may be from your in-play Research cards, Treatises, Clients, Location Goals, etc.)

Note: When you count your tags, do not count any figures.

The five gear icons below each Location's effects indicate that you may trigger the effects up to five times (i.e., even if there are more than five figures in the space or if you have more than five matching tags, you may not exceed this limit). When you trigger effects more than once in a single turn, fully resolve each effect before initiating the next.

Note: You may perform one or more effects available at the Location, in any order, up to the number of effects at your disposal (i.e., you may perform different effects or the same effect more than once).

Triggering Location Effects with Bright Ideas

For each Bright Idea you use, you may trigger the Location's effects two additional times (still minding the upper limit of five).

Location Tag Trigger Effects

This type of effect allows you to trigger a particular tag's Location effects (as if your Professor or Freud moved to the given space). Use the count tags option, counting the one tag shown on the icon—plus any matching tags you have in play. As usual, you may use Bright Ideas to increase the number of Location effects you trigger (see above).

Example: The brown player advances their Professor two spaces, ending their movement in the University Location with three other Professors. After counting four total figures, they may trigger the Location's effects up to four times. First, they Generate two Minor Passion Insights, then they use both of the Generated Insights to gain two Research cards. If they used a Bright Idea, they would trigger only one more effect (because of the limit of five).

Example: The yellow player advances Freud one space, ending their movement in the Library Location. They have two in-play Library tags, allowing them to trigger effects two times. However, they add two to this number by using a Bright Idea (now allowing them to trigger effects four times). First, they Generate a Minor Growth Insight. Next, they gain 2 Coffees—and then, as an anytime action—they use the 2 Coffees to Elevate the Minor Growth Insight into a Median. Lastly, they use the Median Growth Insight to gain a Heart-Shaped Box.

Recall Ideas

If you have at least one Idea on the Meeting Table, you may spend your turn Recalling your Ideas. Then, you may claim a Location or District bonus from the City Map.

Recall effects are marked with the Zzz icon.

During setup, the topmost District token on each stack shows a Reputation point. If you use one of these tokens to claim a bonus, gain a Reputation point after resolving the slot's effect (see Reputation).

To Recall your Ideas, follow these steps:

1. Count the different Idea spaces on the Meeting Table where you have at least one Idea, then gain Coffee equal to the number you counted.
2. Return all your Ideas from the Meeting Table to the Idea supply on your player board.

Next, you may claim a District or Location bonus on the City Map.

Choose the Location with your Professor or Freud, and perform one of the following options:

A. Claim a Location bonus — Choose the Location with your Professor or Freud. Place the topmost District token from this Location's District onto any vacant bonus slot at that Location and trigger the slot's effect.

B. Claim a District bonus (requires a player-color Insight) — Count the number of Location tags in your play area matching the chosen District's color (i.e., tags from both Locations in the District). You must have a number equal to or greater than the number shown above a vacant District bonus slot. If so, place a player-color Insight from your dial onto the number (above your chosen slot). Then, place the topmost token from this District onto the slot and trigger the slot's effects.

Note: If no District tokens are left (or you do not meet the requirements), you may not claim a bonus.

Tip: Since you may not freely exchange Insight pieces on your dial, it is often best to leave your player-color Insights in your center reserve whenever possible, ready to be placed onto District bonus slots.

Example: The yellow player takes a Recall Ideas turn. They have Ideas on three different Idea spaces, earning 3 Coffees. They return their Ideas from the Meeting Table to their player board's supply space, ready to use on future turns. Next, with five red tags in play, they claim a red District bonus by placing a player-color Insight over the "5" and covering the slot below it with a red District token. The slot's effects allow them to gain two Heart-Shaped Boxes and advance their Inkpot 1–3 spaces (triggering effects, as usual).

Editorial note (rulebook errata): The publisher's official changelog for this rulebook (version 2025.1, second print) documents a change to the opening condition above. The original version (transcribed here as printed) allowed you to Recall only if you had at least one Idea already placed on the Meeting Table. The updated second-print rules also allow players to Recall when there are no legal spaces left to place their Ideas, regardless of whether they have any Ideas already placed on the Meeting Table.

Treat Clients

If you take a Treat Clients turn, you may Treat one or both Clients in your Office Rooms once each, in either order.

Important: When taking a Treat Clients turn, you may not Treat the same Client twice.

Each Client in your Office begins with the following elements: a Latent Dream, a Manifest Dream (which may be layered over the Latent Dream), a Therapy track with a Therapy marker, and a Grief Layer (which crosses out some of the Client's effects and tags with a red line, disabling them until Catharsis).

To Treat a Client, follow these steps:

1. Use the Insights shown on the fully-exposed Dream to trigger the card's effects. This will usually produce a number of Therapy points with some other benefits or Victory Points. If there are multiple effects, you may resolve them in any order you choose.

   If a Client has two Dreams, you may only use the topmost one (i.e., you may not use a Latent Dream if a Manifest Dream is layered on it).

2. Move the Therapy marker one space to the left on the Client's Therapy track for each Therapy point the Dream produced.

   • If the marker reaches or passes one or more spaces showing Victory Points, immediately score the points.
   • If the marker reaches or passes the Catharsis icon (a heart shape with a star), you must immediately resolve Catharsis (see below), then discard the Client's Grief Layer.
   • If the marker reaches the leftmost space, you have Cured the Client (see Cured Clients).
   • If the Dream provided more Therapy points than needed to Cure the Client, gain one Heart-Shaped Box per excess Therapy point.

3. Discard the Dream card you used to Treat the Client.

Important: You must apply as many of the Dream's Therapy points to the Client as possible (i.e., you may not choose to forgo applying Therapy points to gain Heart-Shaped Boxes instead).

Matching Dream and Grief Layer Icons

Some Manifest Dreams have an icon in the upper right corner. If a Client's Manifest Dream and Grief Layer have a matching icon, gain one Heart-Shaped Box when you use the Dream's effects to Treat the Client.

Note: If you do not use the Dream's effects to Treat the Client (or if you remove the Client's Grief Layer before using the Dream), you do not gain the Heart-Shaped Box.

Catharsis

When a Client's Therapy marker reaches or passes the Catharsis icon, you must resolve Catharsis. To do so, score the Victory Points and trigger any effects shown on the Client's Grief Layer. Then, discard the Grief Layer. This enables the Client's ongoing effects and tags (that the red line had crossed out) for the rest of the game. Routine Clients provide ongoing rule-bending effects and Location tags, while Case-Study Clients provide end-game scoring conditions (see the reference aid).

Note: When you resolve Catharsis, do not score the in-game Victory Points shown on the Client card. You must Cure the Client to score these.

Cured Clients

When a Client's Therapy marker reaches the leftmost space, the Client is considered Cured. Score the in-game Victory Points shown on the Cured Client's card, then move it from the Office Room to your play area, keeping it face up. At the end of your turn, you will draft a new Client to fill the vacant Office Room (see End of Turn).

Note: Discard any unused Dream cards above the Cured Client's Room.

Secondary Office Room

You begin the game with one Client in your Primary Office Room. Your Secondary Room unlocks when your initial Client reaches Catharsis, indicated by the graduation cap icon on every starting Grief Layer. When you trigger this effect, discard your Office Room card. At the end of your turn, you will draft a new Client to fill your Secondary Office Room (see End of Turn).

Location Goals

If you meet the conditions indicated at the bottom of an unclaimed Location Goal tile, you must immediately claim it. When you do, take the tile from the display, gain a Reputation point, and then place the tile face down in your play area. Keep the tile for the rest of the game (the Location tags shown are considered in play).

Example: The yellow player completes the second column of Notebook tiles in their player board, so they immediately claim the Location Goal with this condition. They gain a Reputation point and flip the tile face down in their play area. The two red Cafe tags on the tile will be in play for the rest of the game.

Location Goal Tile Conditions

• Complete two columns of Notebook tiles in your player board
• Unlock all three Ideas from your player board
• Publish two Treatises
• Have two player-color Insights on the City Map (in the same or different Districts)
• Cure three Routine Clients
• Cure two Case-Study Clients
• Cure five Clients (Routine and/or Case-Study)

End of Turn

At the end of every turn, you may use Heart-Shaped Boxes to produce Therapy points, potentially Curing your Clients or reaching Catharsis. Then, if you have any empty Office Rooms, you must draft a new Client and set of Dreams for each empty Room.

Important: Do not conflate Therapy points with Heart-Shaped Boxes. Therapy points are only produced from Dream cards (when you Treat Clients) and by using Heart-Shaped Boxes (at the end of your turn).

Optional: Use Heart-Shaped Boxes

You may use Heart-Shaped Boxes to produce Therapy points. For each one you use, move a Therapy marker one space to the left (and resolve any effects as you would when you produce Therapy points from Dreams, such as scoring Victory Points, reaching Catharsis, or Curing a Client).

Note: When using multiple Heart-Shaped Boxes, you may choose different Clients for each one or apply more than one to the same Client.

Mandatory: Draft New Clients

For each vacant Office Room you have, draft a Client and set of Dreams as follows:

1. Choose a face-up Client card from the display (either a Routine or a Case-Study Client) and place it into your vacant Office Room. Then, refill the Client display by drawing a card from the respective deck and placing a random Grief Layer from the dispenser box onto the Client.

   Note: If one Client deck is exhausted, refill the display with cards from the other.

2. Draw a Latent Dream from the deck and place it face up into the space above your new Client's Room.

3. Choose a Manifest Dream from the display (or draw one from the deck) and layer it over the Latent Dream, leaving the icons at the bottom visible. If you chose a face-up Dream, refill the Manifest Dream display by drawing and placing a card face up.

4. Set the Therapy marker on the Therapy track above the Client onto the position equaling the sum of the Therapy points shown on your Client and Grief Layer cards combined. If there is a Victory Point icon in the space where you place your Therapy marker, immediately score the number of points shown.

Final Scoring

After signaling the end of the game and playing the final round (see Reputation), score additional Victory Points as follows:

1. Reputation track

   • Score the number of Victory Points shown on your Reputation marker's space (i.e., points equal to your Reputation level).
   • The player whose marker is farthest ahead on the Reputation track scores 2 Victory Points per Published Treatise and 2 Victory Points per Cured Client they have.
   • The player whose marker is the second farthest ahead on the Reputation track scores 1 Victory Point per Published Treatise and 1 Victory Point per Cured Client they have.

   Break Reputation track ties in favor of the player whose marker is on the bottom (i.e., the marker that arrived in the space first).

2. Player-Color Insights in different Districts — Count the number of different Districts where you have at least one player-color Insight (placed above a District bonus slot). Then, score the corresponding number of points indicated on the City Map for one, two, or three different Districts (e.g., if you have Insights in two different Districts, score 10 Victory Points).

   Note: Having more than one Insight in the same District does not increase your score for this condition.

3. Completed Notebook tile rows — Count the number of completed Notebook tile rows in your player board. Then, score the corresponding number of points indicated on your player board for one, two, or three completed rows (e.g., if you have two completed rows, score 5 Victory Points).

4. Different Location tags — Count the number of different Location tags you have in play. Then, score the corresponding number of points indicated on your player board (e.g., if you have at least one tag of each of the six types, score 15 Victory Points).

   Note: Having multiples of the same tag does not increase your score for this condition (i.e., you may not score more than one "set").

5. Case-Study Clients without Grief Layers — Check the conditions on every Case-Study Client you have that reached Catharsis (including Cured Clients), and score the appropriate number of Victory Points shown on each card (see the reference aid).

   Note: Each Case-Study Client card indicates the maximum number of Victory Points it may score.

6. Heart-Shaped Boxes — Convert any remaining Heart-Shaped Boxes into Victory Points (at the usual rate of 1 Heart-Shaped Box for 2 Victory Points).

7. Coffee and Bright Ideas — Convert any remaining Coffee into Bright Ideas (at the usual rate of 3 Coffees for 1 Bright Idea), then score 1 Victory Point for each Bright Idea in your supply.

The player with the most Victory Points wins the game, claiming the title of Freud's most distinguished contemporary. If there is a tie, the tied player with the highest Reputation level wins.

Example: The teal player determines their final score.

1. 4 Victory Points for the position of their Reputation marker on the Reputation track. As the second farthest ahead on the Reputation track, they score 1 Victory Point per Published Treatise and Cured Client they have (5 total).
2. 4 Victory Points for a single District with a teal Insight.
3. 16 Victory Points for three complete rows of Notebook tiles.
4. 10 Victory Points for five different Location tags (they lack the green Theater tag).
5. 9 Victory Points for the Case-Study Client in their Secondary Office Room (three level I Notebook tiles in their player board). Note: The other Case-Study Client in their Office has a Grief Layer, disabling the card's end-game scoring conditions.
6. 4 Victory Points for two remaining Heart-Shaped Boxes (2 points each).
7. They convert 3 of their 4 remaining Coffees into a Bright Idea, scoring 1 Victory Point for it.

Modules

The Journalist

Move the Journalist around the City Map to increase your access to Districts and Locations—using the tags of all Published Treatises as if they were your own.

Component: 1 Journalist figure

Setup

After placing Freud's figure onto the City Map during step 3 of the standard setup, shuffle the five remaining Location Goals that show specific Location tags. Then, draw one randomly and place the Journalist figure onto the City Map Location matching that tile's tag.

Gameplay

You may advance the Journalist instead of your Professor or Freud on the City Map.

• Advance the Journalist 1-2 Locations.
• Advance the Journalist to Freud's Location.
• Advance the Journalist 1–3 Locations.

Trigger the Location's effects following the same rules as your Professor or Freud (see The City Map). However, if you choose to count tags to determine the number of effects you may trigger, also count the tags on all Published Treatises (including those Published by other players).

When you claim a Location or District bonus, you may choose the Location where the Journalist is. If you claim a District bonus with the Journalist, you may add the tags on all Published Treatises of the District's color (including those Published by other players).

Solo

The Id uses the Journalist if it can trigger more Location effects or claim a qualitatively better Location or District bonus (e.g., a higher-numbered District bonus than it could claim with its Professor or Freud).

Location Overlays

The overlay tiles modify the bonuses available at the six Locations.

Components: 6 double-sided Location overlay tiles

Setup

After displaying the Location Goal tiles in step 4 of the standard setup, choose one of these options:

A. Flip all the Location overlay tiles to their color sides. Then, place each Location overlay tile over the three bonus slots of a random Location in the matching District (e.g., a green-side Location overlay tile over the bonus slots of a Location in the green District). B. Flip the Location overlay tiles so that there is one color side per color and three gray sides. Place each Location overlay tile showing a color side over the three bonus slots of a random Location in the matching District. Randomly place the Location overlay tiles showing a gray side over the remaining Location bonus slots. C. Flip all the Location overlay tiles to their gray sides and randomly place them over the bonus slots of the six Locations.

Gameplay

The bonus slots available at each Location are those on the overlay tiles (i.e., disregard the bonuses covered by the tiles). To claim a bonus, follow the usual rules (see Recall Ideas).

The gray side of each Location overlay tile shows a Treat a Client icon in its center slot. When you claim this bonus, perform one Treatment action (i.e., use one Dream to Treat one Client).

Solo

If the Id claims a slot with a Treat a Client effect, it triggers the effects of one of its topmost Dream cards, following the same rules as its Notebook tile (see Solo Mode).

Fireworks

The Fireworks allow you to claim a District bonus at a discount.

Components: 1 Fireworks standee (and plastic clip)

Setup

After placing Freud's figure in step 3 of the standard setup, place the Fireworks standee next to the District bonus slots in the District where Freud's figure currently is (e.g., if Freud begins at the Library, place the Fireworks beside the green District bonus slots).

Gameplay

When you claim a District bonus with Fireworks beside it, you may reduce the number of tags required to claim a bonus by 1 (e.g., you need only 2 tags to claim the bonus from a "3" space).

After you use the Fireworks discount to claim a bonus, advance the Fireworks standee one District clockwise.

Note: If no tokens are in this District's stack or all the District bonus slots are full, advance the Fireworks one District clockwise (i.e., it must end its movement in a District where players may use it again).

Solo

The Id uses the Fireworks discount if possible, claiming a District bonus one number higher than its number of matching tags.

Credits

Game Design: Yoma, Zax, Laskas, Jonathan "Jonny Pac" Cantin

Development: Jonny Pac

Art: Andrew Bosley, Vincent Dutrait

Art Direction / Project Management: Yoma

Solo Mode: Jonny Pac

Administration: Thanos Argiris

Graphic Design / Rulebook Layout: Zinia Redo, Vincent Dutrait, Yoma

Rulebook Editing: Miguel Conceição, Jonny Pac, Cory Munson

Proofreading: Ricardo Gonçalves, John Guthrie, Jonathan Cox

Tray Design: Daniel Cunningham

Primary Playtesting: Thanos Argiris, Vasilis "Grofindel" Vasileiadis, Zinia Redo, Javier "Mishi" Rodríguez, Ricardo Gonçalves, Hent van Imhoff, Giorgos "Fatpenguin" Zoumpourlis, Dale Keefer, John Guthrie, Giorgio Englezos, Jake Bless, Eric Heitzman, Cody Ague, Cory Munson

Cultural Consultancy: Jason Perez, Vadim Deylgat, Julian Steindorfer, Dr. John Bachman (PhD, Licensed Psychologist)

Special thanks to ONIRO studio for their Kickstarter video animation, Heriberto Vale Martinez for his miniature designs included in the Collector's Box, AMMOS Music for the game's soundtrack, and endless gratitude to our backers, supporters, reviewers, and localization partners.

Fantasia Games Limited, 26 Paparrigopoulou Street, Larnaca 6035, Cyprus. ©2024 Fantasia Games Limited. All rights reserved. www.fantasiaboardgames.com