The Story
You are part of a team of paranormal investigators looking into the haunting of a plantation estate just outside Savannah, Georgia named Weeping Oaks. Local rumors state that after the deaths of her three youngest children, Bella Meyerson, the original owner, began collecting rare and mysterious artifacts she believed would help her find a path to the afterlife. She claimed to have been successful and to have visited her children there. After Bella's death, neither her journal nor her artifact collection were found. Your team obtains permission to stay in the mansion, to explore and investigate the rumors of evil spirits in the house, find the artifacts, and verify Bella's claims. You attempt to locate Bella's journal and the artifacts she possessed to prove to the rest of the world that there is a way to travel between the realms of the living and the dead. Being in the house, however, comes with a price. The dark energy and the proximity to the dead slowly drains one's sanity and causes horrible nightmares. You work with your team (or simply use them) to learn Bella's secrets before you lose your mind.
Getting Started
Unfold the Game Board on the table. Each Player receives a Sanity Scale to keep track of his or her sanity during the game. Everyone begins with their marker at 'OF SOUND MIND'.
A 'Dealer' is chosen by mutual consent, arm wrestling, or by throwing the dice. The Dealer takes the ARTIFACT deck, shuffles it and counts 3 cards from the top and, without looking at the cards, places them FACE DOWN in the marked spaces at the center of the board. The rest of the
ARTIFACT cards are stacked in a pile on the Board in the place labeled 'ARTIFACTS'.
The Dealer gives each play four PHOBIA cards and one DAY card. This is your starting hand.
The remaining DAY, PHOBIA and NIGHT cards get placed on their assigned spots on the board.
The game now begins in a "DAY" round. Use the DAY/NIGHT card to indicate which round it is.
Day Round
The Dealer places the 'KEY TO THE MANSION' in front of themselves
The Dealer draws One (1) DAY card.
They can choose to play the card they have just drawn or the one they already received from their STARTING HAND.
They follow the instructions on the card.
* If any card instructs the player to DRAW AN ARTIFACT CARD, the player picks a card from the top of the ARTIFACT deck and, without letting anyone see it, adds that card to their hand or places it FACE DOWN in front of them.
Once a day card is played, it is placed FACE UP on the discard pile. Play moves CLOCKWISE around the table. When every player has had a turn the DAY ROUND IS COMPLETED. The Dealer begins the NIGHT ROUND of play.
Night Round
The Dealer draws One (1) NIGHT card from the top of that deck. After silently reading that card, the dealer can decide to set that card FACE DOWN in front of themselves or another player. Each player takes their turn drawing a card from the NIGHT pile and either placing it in front of themselves (if they don't already have a card there) or face down in front of another player WHO DOES NOT ALREADY HAVE A CARD IN FRONT OF THEM. When each player has one night card in front of them, play begins.
Beginning with the Dealer, each player turns over the NIGHT card in front of them, reads the card aloud, and follows the instructions on the card. Any NIGHTMARE card costs the player who receives it one level of sanity plus any additional sanity specified on the card. Players adjust their Sanity Scale at the end of each turn. When every player has played the card in front of them the NIGHT ROUND is complete. The Dealer passes the KEY to the player on their RIGHT. That person becomes the new Dealer. They begin a DAY ROUND.
Staying Sane
Each player begins with the marker/slider on their Sanity Scale set at 'OF SOUND MIND'. During the game players will gain or lose sanity depending on the cards they receive. The marker moves along the scale accordingly. Receiving a NIGHTMARE card automatically costs the player ONE level of sanity per nightmare. PHOBIA or ARTIFACT card(s) that you have in your hand may result in the gain or loss of additional Sanity levels depending on the information or instructions on the card.
IF YOUR MARKER REACHES 'COMMITTED' on the sanity scale, you are officially INSANE.
There are TWO ways to regain your sanity.
One - you can play a card that allows you to regain Sanity.
Two - you can trade an ARTIFACT card to another player for a card they possess that allows you to regain your Sanity.
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If you are insane, you can no longer participate in any DAY round play. However, during each NIGHT ROUND, you are still able to pick a card, look at it, and place it in front of another player.
There are several cards in the DAY and NIGHT decks that allow a player to recover their sanity and re-enter the game, but you cannot regain your ARTIFACT card(s) if you trade them with another player.
*A player who loses their sanity by failing to correctly guess the ARTIFACT cards in the center of the Board is not eligible to re-enter any DAY rounds but can coordinate with other players to act as spoiler during Night rounds.
Winning
At the beginning of their turn during a DAY round, a player can guess which three ARTIFACT cards were placed in the center of the Board at the start of the game. After they make their guess that player can look at those cards without revealing them to anyone else. If the player guesses incorrectly, they replace the cards FACE DOWN and lose all their sanity and can no longer participate in DAY rounds. If the player guesses correctly, they turn over the cards verify their guess was correct. They win the game. (If all the players go insane before someone wins, every player writes their guesses on a piece of paper. The player who guessed the highest percentage of the secret three ARTIFACT cards wins the game.)