Crimes in History: H. H. Holmes' Murder Castle Rulebook

Table of Contents

Table of Contents

• The Story
• Components
• Standard Multiplayer Game
  • Setup
  • Winning the Game
  • Overview
• Action Tiles
  • Explore the Castle
  • Explore the Room
  • Move into 1 Room
  • Move up to 2 Rooms
• Collect Evidence
• Draw an Event Card
• Move Holmes
• Encountering Holmes
• Holmes Goes on a Rampage
• Event Cards
• Trapdoors and Trapdoor Landing Zones
• Hidden Bookcase Pathways
• Special Room Effects
• Characters
• The 2nd Story Expansion
  • 2nd Story Setup
  • 2nd Story Gameplay Overview
  • 2nd Story Event Card Clarifications
  • 2nd Story Special Rooms
• Automa Mode
  • Introduction
  • Automa Setup
  • Automa Winning
  • Automa Gameplay
  • Automa Holmes' Action Cards
  • Automa Event Card Clarifications
  • Automa Special Room Effect Clarifications
• Play as Holmes
  • Introduction
  • Holmes' Control Panel
  • Evidence
  • Deathtraps and Deathtrap Landing Zones
  • Castle Junction Cards
  • The Holmes' Action Cards / Automa Deck (Play as Holmes Setup)
  • Play as Holmes Winning
  • Play as Holmes Gameplay
  • The Holmes' Action Cards / Automa Deck (Play as Holmes)
  • Castle Junction Cards
  • Castle Junction Card Objectives
• 19th Century Murder Castle Tweets

The Story

In 1893, Chicago held the World's Columbian Exposition to celebrate the 400th anniversary of Christopher Columbus' arrival in the New World. The entire expo covered 690 acres of awe-inspiring waterways with lakefront access and emphasized sculpture and architecture.

The fair was illuminated at night, creating a magnificent and picturesque "White City." The celebration showcased astonishing exhibits of technology, art and music, and featured attractions such as the world's first Ferris Wheel.

A few years before the fair, Herman Webster Mudgett, better known as H. H. Holmes, had taken a job as a pharmacist. Holmes was attractive, charming, and charismatic - all qualities that would help Holmes go unnoticed while operating as an insurance-swindling con artist. It was rumored he eventually assumed control over the Pharmacy by killing the original owner. Holmes procured cadavers to collect on false life insurance claims. He used his fraudulent money to purchase an empty lot to build the three-story World's Fair Hotel, now known as "Murder Castle." Some guests would check-in, but not all of his guests would check out.

The hotel was constructed to deceive and torture unsuspecting victims across a labyrinth of disorienting passageways to sealed rooms, airless chambers, rooms with gas fixtures, doors to brick walls, and trapdoors to the basement. Rooms in Holmes' Murder Castle included other elaborate horrors like cellar pits containing acid and quicklime, torturing devices, an array of surgical tools, and a crematory. All of the castle's rooms were connected to an alarm system to alert Holmes if anyone tried to escape. Holmes would then sell the victims' skeletons to medical institutions or even on the black market. It took a collective effort to pull off all the schemes necessary to secure the land and obtain the building permits, not to mention the fraud committed during the funding of this project.

Components

Inside the Box (standard game).

• A - 79 Event Cards
• B - 24 Evidence Setup Cards
• C - 33 Holmes Movement Cards
• D - 7 Characters
• E - 3 Padlocks
• F - 7 Whitechapel Suite Tokens
• G - 2 Abraham Ability Tokens
• H - 6 Player Overview Cards
• I - 2 Trapdoors and 2 Landing Zones
• J - 1 Skeleton Key First Player Token
• K - 180 Cubes and Evidence Bag
• L - 6 Character Ability Tokens
• M - 30 Holmes Strikes Cubes
• N - 2 Hidden Bookcase Pathways
• O - 1 Ferris Wheel
• P - 24 Room Tiles
• Q - 6 Evidence Boards and Pillars
• R - 7 Action Tiles
• S - 3 Brick Wall Tiles

The 2nd Story expansion also includes (Play as Holmes / Automa mode):

• 17 Potion Tokens
• 12 Padlocks
• 12 2nd Story Tokens
• 9 Holmes' Movement Cards
• 5 2nd Story Room Tiles
• 1 Laboratory Shelf
• 1 Hidden Bookcase Pathway
• 1 Brick Wall Tile
• 143 Fake Evidence Cubes and Fake Evidence Bag
• 2 Deathtraps and 2 Landing Zones
• 15 Evidence Destruction Cards
• 1 Holmes' Control Panel
• 3 Holmes' Ability Cards
• 13 Castle Junction Cards
• 23 Holmes' Action Cards / Automa Deck

Standard Multiplayer Game

Global component labels are referenced on the Components page above.

Setup

The Room Tiles

1. Locate the Pharmacy (#26), Basement (#1), Basement (#2), and Basement (#3) Room Tiles and set up the Room Tiles as seen in the setup diagram. The remainder of the castle will expand from the 3 Pharmacy doorways. Note: The Pharmacy connects to Basement (#1) utilizing the stairway.
2. All other Room and Brick Wall Tiles (except 1 Brick Wall Tile that is set aside for the player that selects Jonah) are mixed together. If Jonah is not selected, this Brick Wall is not used and placed back in the box. Keep all Room Tiles face down in a pile within reach of all other players.

The Action Tiles

1. For a 1-5 player game, 6 Action Tiles will be used. Place the Action Tile labeled "6-7 Player Version Only" back into the box. For a 6-7 player game, use all 7 Action Tiles.
2. The Action Tiles should then be placed action side up.

The Characters

1. Holmes is placed on the Holmes icon within Basement #1.
2. Select a character randomly or by choice, and place those characters in the Pharmacy (#26). All other characters are put back into the box.
3. Each character has their own Evidence Board, which is placed directly in front of each player.
4. Unless playing Automa, 2-player, or an Extended Version, add an Evidence Board Pillar to the last evidence column. When using the Pillar, players will only need to collect 4 cubes of each type of evidence.
5. Each character has 1 Character Ability Token, which is placed on their Evidence Board with the character side face down.
   • Any player that selects Abraham will also take the 2 Top Hat Tokens.
   • 1 Brick Wall is given to any player that selects Jonah Nisbet.

The setup diagram is labelled "Standard Setup" and, for Automa / 2-Player / Extended Version, shows the variant setup.

Evidence Cubes

1. There are 5 different colored cubes which represent different pieces of evidence. Place all Evidence Cubes, excluding the black Holmes' Strike Cubes, into the Evidence Bag.
2. Randomly select 3 Evidence Cubes from the Evidence Bag and place 1 Evidence Cube in each of the following rooms: Basement #1, Basement #2, and Basement #3.
3. Fill each of the 5 Ferris Wheel sections (gondolas) with 5 pieces of evidence from the Evidence Bag. The first gondola filled with cubes should line up with the Ferris Wheel unloading zone.
4. Shuffle all Evidence Setup Cards and then deal 1 card to each player. All remaining Evidence Setup Cards are placed back into the box.
5. For each type of evidence listed on your Evidence Setup Card, place the corresponding number of cubes onto the Collect Evidence section of your Evidence Board. Each player begins the game with 13 Evidence Cubes. Once completed, all remaining Evidence Setup Cards can be placed back into the box.

The Cards

1. Shuffle all Event Cards and place the deck face down in a single pile within players' reach.
2. Shuffle all Holmes' Movement Cards and place the deck face down in a single pile below Basement #2. During gameplay, Holmes' Movement Cards are revealed and placed below Basement #1.

Winning the Game

The winner of the game is the first player to collect all of their evidence and move back to the Pharmacy.

Overview

1. The Player Overview Cards provide a turn and round overview.
2. The player who last rode on a Ferris Wheel goes first, or pick a player to go first. Gameplay continues in clockwise order following the first player.
3. The first player to start the round will place the Skeleton Key next to their Evidence Board to indicate they began the round.
4. The first player selects an Action Tile and places it on their Evidence Board over Holmes. They then perform the selected action and the selection bonus. Both the selected action and selection bonus are optional. Jonah has the option to Move up to 2 Rooms and then move into 1 additional room.
5. Once completed, play continues in clockwise order. All other players have the option to perform the same action selected by the first player but are not able to use the selection bonus.
6. Once all players have completed the action chosen by the first player, the second player selects one of the remaining Action Tiles. The second player performs the action they selected. Additionally, they may also choose to perform the selection bonus from the Action Tile they selected. Once completed, that Action Tile phase continues in clockwise order. Players cannot use the selection bonus unless they selected the Action Tile.
7. The Action Tile phase ends once each player has selected an Action Tile. For Automa (The 2nd Story) and 2-Player games, the Action Tile phase ends after each player selects 2 Action Tiles each.
8. Regardless if the Move Holmes Action Tile was selected during the round, the player with the Skeleton Key that began the round will always reveal a Holmes' Movement Card at the end of the round and then follow the same rules as the Move Holmes Action Tile.
9. The round begins with the Skeleton Key being passed to the next player in clockwise order. Repeat the above steps until a player collects all of their Evidence Cubes and moves back to the Pharmacy.

Action Tiles

Action Tiles represent the actions that can be selected to perform during a turn. Each player will be able to perform the action from each selected Action Tile but only the player that selects the Action Tile will also receive the selection bonus.

Explore the Castle

You can use the Explore the Castle Action Tile when the room you occupy has a doorway with no connecting room tile.

1. Reveal a Room Tile from the top of the Room Tile deck and place the Room Tile face up at an available and connecting door to the room you currently occupy. You may rotate the Room Tile to any position as long as the door to the room you currently occupy connects to a door of the new Room Tile.
2. Evidence Cubes are chosen by the player and taken from the gondola at the Ferris Wheel unloading zone, and placed on the safe in the new room that was just explored. The safe in each room indicates the maximum number of Evidence Cubes that can be placed during this action.
   • If there are less Evidence Cubes in the unloading zone of the Ferris Wheel than indicated on the safe, the room is filled with only the remaining Evidence Cubes.
   • Players must take the number of evidence cubes to fill the room and may never choose to leave behind evidence if there is available capacity in the safe.
   • Once a gondola is completely empty, the Ferris Wheel rotates to the next gondola in a clockwise direction. The empty gondola is then refilled with 5 randomly selected Evidence Cubes from the Evidence Bag.

Example: Jonah Explored the Castle from the Room of the 3 Corpses and then placed 4 Evidence Cubes into the Steel Vault from the Ferris Wheel unloading zone.

Selection Bonus: Explore up to a total of 2 rooms by repeating the Explore the Castle action.

Note: Only 1 room can be explored from Basement (#3) using the 1 doorway. If a room is explored from Basement (#3) and the Room Tile drawn has other doorways, then add Padlocks to those doorways. If the rest of the castle does not have any other rooms with doorways to allow for exploration, then this Action Tile is flipped over to reveal the Explore the Room action.

Explore the Room

If there are no more rooms from the Room Tile deck or available areas to explore because of locked rooms or Brick Walls, you will flip over the Explore the Castle Action Tile to reveal the Explore the Room action. This Action Tile can now be selected by any player during their Action Tile selection.

• The selecting player will receive the selection bonus to Fill the Entire Safe with Remaining Evidence less any pieces of evidence that may currently exist in the room. Evidence Cubes are chosen by the player and taken from the gondola at the Ferris Wheel unloading zone, and placed on the safe of the room occupied.
• The Explore the Room Action Tile requires all other players (in clockwise order) to place 1 Evidence Cube of their choosing from the gondola at the Ferris Wheel unloading zone to the room they currently occupy, unless there is no capacity to store evidence in the room as indicated by the number on the safe in the room.
• If the Ferris Wheel gondola is emptied at any point during this Action Tile phase, the next gondola is used for any remaining evidence. Any empty gondolas are refilled as normal.
• When using this action and/or this Action Tile selection bonus, the number of Evidence Cubes can never exceed the number indicated within the safe, less any pieces of evidence that may currently exist in the room.
• Neither the action nor selection bonus are optional if there is capacity in the safe to store evidence for each room a player occupies.

Move into 1 Room

You may move into 1 room. To move, you must be able to move through a door of 1 room that connects to a door of another room.

Selection Bonus: Advance the Ferris Wheel by rotating the wheel clockwise to the next position. The selection bonus for the Move into 1 Room (6-7 Players only) Action Tile allows you to move up to a total of 2 rooms.

Note: No players are able to move through Brick Wall tiles.

Move up to 2 Rooms

You may move up to 2 rooms. To move, you must be able to move through a door of 1 room that connects to a door of another room.

Selection Bonus: Move up to a total of 3 rooms.

Note: No players are able to move through Brick Wall Tiles.

Collect Evidence

You may choose to collect an Evidence Cube from the room you occupy and place it in the corresponding evidence space on your Evidence Board.

Selection Bonus: You may collect up to a total of 2 pieces of evidence.

Note: You cannot collect a piece of evidence to an evidence category you have already completed.

Draw an Event Card

Draw an Event Card, and after reading the card in secret, place the card face down above your Evidence Board near any of the 3 Event Card indications.

Selection Bonus: You may draw up to a total of 2 Event Cards, one at a time.

Move Holmes

Unlike all other Action Tiles, only the player that selects the Move Holmes Action Tile will be able to Move Holmes. To move Holmes, reveal the top card of the Holmes Movement deck and place into a discard pile below Basement (#1).

1. Holmes must move to a room revealed on the Holmes' Movement Card if the room has been explored to the castle.
2. If there are multiple room options, the player who selected the Move Holmes Action Tile chooses which room to move Holmes to.
3. If there are not any rooms available to move Holmes to, then Holmes does not move and remains in the room Holmes occupies.

Selection Bonus: If Holmes enters your room, you evade Holmes by escaping to any adjacent room using connecting doorways. Regardless of whether or not Holmes was moved during a round, a Holmes' Movement Card will always be drawn after a round is completed. The selection bonus of the Move Homes [sic] Action Tile does not apply to an end of round Holmes movement.

Note: Lights Out! There is 1 Holmes' Movement Card titled "Lights Out." Holmes turns off all of the lights. Reshuffle all Holmes' Movement Cards together and place face down to form a new deck. Just when you thought it was safe, all rooms and Holmes rampages are now back in play!

Encountering Holmes

If Holmes enters your room you have been found and will take a Holmes Strikes! cube. A Holmes Strikes! cube requires you to drop evidence based on the Holmes Strikes! indicator progression listed on your Evidence Board.

1. If Holmes enters your room, you are required to take a Holmes Strikes! cube and add it to the first open spot, moving from the top to bottom of the Holmes Strikes! column of your Evidence Board. Then remove the number of Evidence Cubes based on the Holmes Strikes! indicator progression listed on your Evidence Board based on where the Holmes Strikes! cube was placed. Place any Evidence Cube(s) of your choosing into the safe of the room you currently occupy.

Note: This is required regardless of the number of Evidence Cubes currently available in the room or the number indicated on the safe.

2. If Holmes remains in the same room as you after a Holmes' Movement Card is drawn, you do not take an additional Holmes Strikes! cube.
3. You cannot Collect Evidence or use Action Tile selection bonuses while Holmes occupies your room.
4. You cannot move into or through a room Holmes occupies.

Holmes Goes on a Rampage

1. During a rampage and when Holmes' movement has more than 1 room listed, Holmes will move from left to right and top to bottom.
2. It is a rare but possible occasion that a Lights Out card will be drawn during a Holmes rampage. Consider this good fortune! Holmes will move to every room listed on each Holmes' Movement Card drawn during a rampage. A rampage, and any draw of Holmes' Movement Cards, ends immediately if a Lights Out card is drawn. All Holmes' Movement Cards, including the Lights Out and Holmes Goes on a Rampage, would then be reshuffled to form the new Holmes' Movement Card deck.
3. If any additional Holmes Goes on a Rampage cards are drawn during a rampage then the rampage is restarted. Pile on the agony!
4. After the rampage is over, Holmes remains in the room that was last visited. You've survived the rampage....at least this time.
5. A Move Holmes Action Tile can trigger a rampage. If Holmes moves to the room of the player who selected the Move Holmes Action Tile during a rampage, that player can use their Move Holmes Action Tile selection bonus once and move to any adjacent room using doorways to avoid a Holmes Strikes!. However, if the next Holmes' Movement Card is revealed as part of that turn's rampage, then the player that selected the Move Holmes Action Tile cannot use their selection bonus again and would take a Holmes Strikes! cube.

Event Cards

Event Card Overview

Event Cards enable you to gain a strategic, offensive, or defensive advantage against other players, and sometimes, even Holmes himself! Event Cards are labeled as Play Now or Keep. You can only keep a maximum of 3 Keep cards at one time. If you draw a 4th Keep card, you must choose to play or discard one of your 4 Keep cards. There is no limit to how many Event Cards you can play during a turn or round, but all players should be able to see how many Event Cards each player has kept.

Selection Bonus: You may draw up to a total of 2 Event Cards, one at a time.

Event Cards can be played at any time, including any other player's turn, throughout the game with 2 exceptions:

1. Event Cards cannot be played while in the middle of performing an action from an Action Tile and selection bonus.
   • For example: You select the Move up to 2 Rooms Action Tile. You cannot move into 1 room, play an Event Card, and then move to another room. You can move into 1 room to complete your movement and then play an Event Card or vice versa.
2. When drawing Event Cards, follow the below instructions in clockwise order beginning with the player whom selected the Draw an Event Card Action Tile.
   • Players will draw Event Cards stating if it is a Keep or Play Now. All play is paused when a Play Now is drawn. Once the Play Now is resolved, Event Card draw resumes with the next player.
   • If a player has more than 3 Event Cards, then that player must play 1 Event Card or discard 1 Event Card until they no longer exceed the limit of 3 Event Cards.
   • No remaining Event Cards can be played until all players have completed their Event Card draw.
   • Once every player has drawn an Event Card, any player can play an Event Card at any time, until the next Draw an Event Card Action Tile is chosen.
   • However, players may always play an Event Card to defend themselves against an Event Card at any time, regardless of sequence. The only exception is the Asphyxiation Room (#19) due to special room effects.

The first player to announce they are playing an Event Card will be able to play their Event Card first. If the announcement is a tie, and the players are in the same room, the player who moved into the room of another player plays their Event Card first. If the tied players are in separate rooms, follow the clockwise turn order based on where the Skeleton Key resides to determine which player plays their Event Card first.

Event Card Clarifications

• Lucky Break - If a Lucky Break is used while in the Pharmacy, and there are no available spaces to add that piece of evidence to your Evidence Board, then you are able to place the evidence into the Pharmacy.
• Peephole - A Peephole can be played when players are in an adjacent room. Adjacent is defined as any Room Tile around the room you currently occupy, regardless if doorways connect or the level or story.
• Not So Fast / Player Dexterity / Barter - These Event Cards can only be used to defend an attack and may not be used to counter any other defensive Event Cards. Example: A Not So Fast cannot be played against a Not So Fast and a Not So Fast cannot be played against a Barter.
• Barter - This Event Card avoids negative effects of other Keep cards for only the player that plays this card.
• Player Dexterity & Not So Fast - These Event Cards cancel other Play Now or Keep cards.
• Destined for Success - This Event Card replenishes evidence from the current gondola position of the Ferris Wheel facing the unloading zone.
• Liquid Courage - When playing this Event Card with each Action Tile, use the examples below. If you also selected the Action Tile, you would also be eligible to use the selection bonus, in addition to the Liquid Courage effect.
  • Explore the Room - Explore an additional room
  • Collect Evidence - Collect an additional Evidence Cube. Note: A player can play a Liquid Courage Event Card when collecting evidence on a Trapdoor to collect 2 pieces of evidence instead of 1.
  • Move into 1 Room - Move to an extra room
  • Move up to 2 Rooms - Move into 2 extra rooms

Event Card Effects

Event Card effects are categorized as All Effects, Player Effect, Room Effect, and No Effect. The effect indicators on each of these Event Cards provides explanation if you can play your Event Cards against other Event Cards. No Effect Event Cards will only improve your situation and do not directly affect other players or rooms.

Note: No Effect cards cannot be countered by other Event Cards.

Example:

• The Barter Event Card can avoid any Keep Event Card effect as a result of the All Effects indicator.
• The Player Dexterity Event Card prevents players from having any negative room effects.
• The Not So Fast Event Card prevents players from having any negative player effects.

Trapdoors and Trapdoor Landing Zones

There are Event Cards that enable you to place a Trapdoor for players to fall through to a corresponding Landing Zone, either a soft landing of feathers or straw. Trapdoors are placed under all Evidence Cubes within a room and the corresponding Landing Zone is placed in any other room. Only the players that collect Evidence Cubes in a room that the Trapdoor is placed, including any player that placed the Trapdoor, will fall through to the corresponding Landing Zone. The Trapdoor and corresponding Landing Zone are removed once all evidence has been removed from the room with the Trapdoor.

Note: The Player Dexterity Event Card can also be used to avoid any Trapdoors in any rooms.

Hidden Bookcase Pathways

There are Event Cards that allow you to add a Hidden Bookcase Pathway to connect any 2 Room Tiles together that would not otherwise allow for a path, regardless if doorways connect or the rooms represent different levels or stories of the castle. All players are able to use the Hidden Bookcase Pathways once placed.

Note: Hidden Bookcase Pathways can be connected to any part of a room to connect to any other room, including a Basement tile. Hidden Bookcase Pathways cannot be placed diagonally.

Special Room Effects

Any rooms with special effects will have a flame around the Room Tile number.

The Maze (#5) has 4 doors but is treated as 2 individual rooms, separated by a wall.

Note: Only 2 doors (top and left doors) can access the Evidence Cubes on the left side of the room and only the 2 doors (bottom and right doors) can access the Evidence Cubes on the right side of the room.

Additional Maze Rules:

1. If you want to Explore the Castle while in The Maze, you may only Explore the Castle to the same side of The Maze you occupy.
2. If a Trapdoor Landing Zone is placed in The Maze, choose a side of The Maze to place the Trapdoor Landing Zone. However, the Landing Zone can only be placed on a side of The Maze if a room is already built to the side you wish to place the Landing Zone.
3. If Holmes moves to The Maze, choose a side of The Maze to place Holmes.
4. If you use a Secret Passage Event Card and wish to move through both sides of The Maze, then each side counts as a separate room for your movement.
5. A Hidden Bookcase Pathway can be placed in The Maze to connect both sides of The Maze together. Alternatively, a Hidden Bookcase Pathway can be placed in any direction (except diagonally) to connect any part of The Maze to another room.

The Black Closet (#7): If you end the round while occupying The Black Closet (#7), you are able to draw an additional Event Card, regardless of whether or not you have already drawn an Event Card this turn. All Event Card rules still apply.

The Blind Room (#13) requires 2 Collect Evidence actions to collect 1 piece of evidence. For example: You are in the Blind Room and select the Collect Evidence Action Tile. Even while using the selection bonus, you are only able to collect 1 Evidence Cube.

The Asphyxiation Chamber (#19) restricts your ability to play Event Cards labeled as Keep while occupying this room. This includes wanting to play an Event Card to defend yourself. If you draw a 4th Event Card labeled as Keep, you must choose a card to discard since you are not able to play an Event Card labeled as Keep in this room. All other players may play Event Cards to this room or to players that occupy this room. Hold your breath!

Note: Lola can use her special ability in this room because her ability mimics another Event Card.

The Whitechapel Suite (#27): When Holmes enters The Whitechapel Suite (#27) with 1 or more players, those players will choose a spot to hide from Holmes using The Whitechapel Suite Tokens (either underneath the bed or in the bathroom).

1. All players and Holmes will reveal their selection at the same time.
2. If no players are playing as Holmes (available in the 2nd Story Expansion), then choose any player to randomly select a side of the Token for Holmes.
3. If a player's Whitechapel Suite Token reveals a different spot than Holmes' Token, the player is spared and does not receive a Holmes Strikes! If any players' Tokens match Holmes' Token then the player would take a Holmes Strikes! cube as normal.
4. Holmes will remain in The Whitechapel Suite preventing all players in that room from collecting evidence or using Action Tile selection bonuses regardless if Holmes successfully issued a Holmes Strikes! to any players.

Characters

Each character has 1 Character Ability Token and each ability can only be used once per game. Once used, the Character Ability Token is turned over with the character image faced upwards.

Adeline Winn-Doyle was widowed 3 times and has been seen with Holmes on several occasions. The most recent marriage left Ms. Winn-Doyle as the heir to Mr. Doyle's life insurance payout.

• As the widow, avoid 1 Holmes Strikes! once Holmes enters your room.
• You "partner" with Holmes by following Holmes to the next room that Holmes moves to as indicated on the next Holmes' Movement Card drawn."
• After the Holmes' Movement is completed, you then escape by moving to any adjacent room using doorways.
• If Holmes does not move, you still escape to an adjacent room using doorways after the next Holmes' Movement Card is drawn.
• Adeline is not able to collect evidence when partnered with Holmes but is able to move away from Holmes, before a Holmes' Movement Card is drawn by utilizing an Action Tile with movement.
• Adeline cannot use this ability for rampage cards.

Abraham Fitzsimmons is the Bank Manager that approved the loan that enabled Holmes to finance the castle. Mr. Fitzsimmons fears something may not be right and is beginning to worry what this could mean for his bank's reputation.

• As the bank manager, you can reduce any of your Holmes Strikes! by 1 and then increase any other player's next Holmes Strikes! by 1. This can be done at any time as long as both Top Hat Tokens are played in tandem.
• Place the +1 Top Hat Token next to a Holmes Strikes! indicator on your Evidence Board to offset a future Holmes Strikes! by 1.
• Place the -1 Top Hat Token next to a Holmes Strikes! indicator on another player's board to force them to remove an additional piece of evidence the next time Holmes strikes that player.
• Once Abraham or the player that received the other Top Hat Token has been struck by Holmes, their Top Hat Token is removed from the game.

Lola Radcliffe started to gain popularity as a stage actress and was becoming the obsession of Holmes. Despite no romantic feelings, she is intrigued by his lavish lifestyle and thought it better to stay connected to him.

• As the stage actress, you can mimic the last Event Card that was played or discarded.
• Because this is an ability, no other player's Event Card can be played to combat your mimicked Event Card. This includes the Barter, Not So Fast, Player Dexterity, and Snitch Event Cards.

Hoyt Flemming is the long-standing Alderman for the area and introduced Holmes to many of Chicago's socialites. Mr. Flemming was essential in the expediting of the building permits and facilitating approval to build the castle. All it took was a little money in the right pockets to gain this politician's support.

• As the politician, you use your charm and wit by choosing any player to exchange 1 of your Event Cards for up to 2 of their Event Cards.
• Select cards randomly from the player you are trading with.
• This ability cannot be split across different players and you must have 1 Event Card to use this ability.

Jeremiah Pinkerton was the original architect of the home. Mr. Pinkerton had insight into some of the strange room designs and had often questioned Holmes.

• As the architect, you can Explore the Castle at any time without using an Action Tile.
• Secretly peek at all Room Tiles and then select 1 Room Tile to explore to the room you currently occupy.
• All remaining Room Tiles should be placed face down without changing the remainder of the Room Tile order.

Jonah Nisbet had a reputation for being the best and quickest bricklayer in town. His work on the Chicago World's Fair had concluded and he was the only man capable of constructing so many secret rooms. Mr. Nisbet quit the job due to suspicions of something more sinister than what the original project scope disclosed. After all, why would doors leading to dead ends be helpful to hotel guests?

• As the mason, you can "run" to another room to quickly construct a Brick Wall anywhere in the castle or you can destroy a Brick Wall if the Brick Wall is adjacent to a room you currently occupy with a connecting door.

The 2nd Story Expansion

The 2nd Story Expansion includes Automa and Play as Holmes versions.

2nd Story Setup

1. For a 1-5 player game, 6 Action Tiles will be used. Place the Action Tile labeled "6-7 Player Version Only" back into the box unless there are 6 or 7 players.
2. The 2nd Story includes 5 new rooms, with a 2nd Story indicator, and 1 additional Brick Wall. Mix these together with the Room Tiles and Brick Walls from the base game and place face down in reach of all other players.
3. Shuffle the new Holmes' Movement Cards with the Holmes' Movement Cards from the base game and place face down in reach of all other players.
4. Unless playing Automa (solo), 2-player, or an extended version of the game, add an Evidence Board Pillar to the last evidence column of your Evidence Board.
5. The new Holmes' Movement Cards have been added as a result of the new Room Tiles and include a 2nd Story indicator.
6. Set aside the Laboratory Shelf, Hidden Bookcase Pathway, 2nd Story, Padlock and Potion Tokens into a pile within reach of all other players. The Laboratory Shelf is not ever added to the castle.

2nd Story Gameplay Overview

1. All 2nd Story Room Tiles, with the exception of the Dumbwaiter (#24), include at least 1 doorway with stairs.
2. When any of the 2nd Story Room Tiles are drawn, after an Explore the Castle Action Tile is played, you must connect the 2nd Story room's doorway with stairs to any available doorways within the room you occupy.
3. Any additional Room Tiles that are connected to this room will also need to have a 2nd Story Token placed in the room.
4. After placing the 2nd Story Room Tiles, other doorways may connect through adjacent Room Tiles, but represent 2 different stories of the castle. Place a Padlock on the doorway. This is used to indicate that players cannot move through this doorway. You are only able to move to rooms on the same floor, unless using stairways to another floor, Secret Passage Event Cards, Hidden Bookcase Pathways, Trapdoors, or are accessing a room on another story by moving through the Dumbwaiter (#24).
5. When a 2nd Story Room Tile is explored from another 2nd Story Room Tile, you do have the option to rotate the Room Tile in any direction.
6. The 2nd Story Room Tiles that are placed together could create a 3rd or 4th level. Consider the 2nd, 3rd, and 4th levels the same level and do not place any Padlocks preventing movement across these levels.
7. The Action Tile phase ends once each player has selected an Action Tile. For Automa (The 2nd Story) and 2-Player games, the Action Tile phase ends after each player selects 2 Action Tiles each.

Example: In this example, a player explores from the Reception Room, reveals the Laboratory which is a 2nd Story Room Tile. The Laboratory must be placed so the stairs connect to the doorway being explored. Holmes' Apartment happens to connect but represents a room on the first level. Because these rooms represent different levels, a padlock is placed on the doorway.

2nd Story Event Card Clarifications

• Lucky Break - If a Lucky Break is used while in the Dumbwaiter, and there are no available spaces to add that piece of evidence to your Evidence Board, then you are able to place the evidence into the Dumbwaiter.

2nd Story Special Rooms

Secret Room (#21): You will never be able to plan for the type of evidence that will emerge! Draw 4 random pieces of evidence from the Evidence Bag to place onto the safe.

Waiting Room (#23): Select 3 pieces of evidence of your choosing from the previous gondola position of the Ferris Wheel and place them into the Waiting Room. You no longer have to wait for this evidence to make it back around! If all remaining evidence is removed from this gondola position, then replenish the gondola. The gondola facing the unloading zone never changes as a result of this room being explored.

Note: Because of the Waiting Room's special room effect, a Destined for Success Event Card will replenish Evidence Cubes in this room from the previous gondola position of the Ferris Wheel.

Dumbwaiter (#24): The Dumbwaiter has 4-doors and acts as an elevator between all stories at any time. This room allows you to Explore the Castle to any floor or level of your choosing and move to any levels of the Room Tiles connected to this room.

5-Door Room (#25): The 5-Door Room has a total of 4 doors, with a built-in and mandatory Trapdoor for anyone that collects evidence in this room. Any time evidence resides in the 5-Door Room, the Trapdoor is activated. After a player collects evidence, they immediately fall through the Trapdoor to the Basement (#3) Room Tile. A Trapdoor cannot be added to this room since this Trapdoor is a permanent fixture of the room and is not removed from the game.

Note: The Player Dexterity and the Disarm a Trapdoor Event Card can be used in this room for a single use and the Trapdoor is reset after the Event Card is played.

Laboratory (#22): Holmes has quite the experiment waiting for you in the Laboratory! Once this room is explored, place up to 5 pieces of evidence from the Ferris Wheel unloading zone into the room. Randomly place all 5 of the Laboratory Shelf Potion Tokens face down into each available space so the Tokens match the image of the Laboratory Shelf. Each time a player collects evidence in The Laboratory (#22), they must also test their luck by selecting a potion from the Laboratory Shelf and follow the rules of each selected potion noted below. Any potions selected in a round are refilled by placing them back face down onto the Laboratory Shelf.

The Laboratory Board Potion Tokens are green; the Evidence Board Potion Tokens are purple.

Potion Types

• Tonic: 1 Laboratory Shelf Potion is a Tonic indicated by a +1. You may keep your Evidence Cube collected from the Laboratory (#22) and also gain a reward! The selected +1 Laboratory Shelf Potion Token is placed next to the Laboratory Shelf until the end of the round. The corresponding purple +1 Evidence Board Potion Token is placed beside an empty Holmes Strikes! of your choosing and acts as a shield against a Holmes Strikes! Holmes will be able to enter your room, but you will not take a Holmes Strikes! cube with the Tonic. Once Holmes enters your room, you will remove the Evidence Board Tonic Token.
• H20: 2 Laboratory Shelf Potion Tokens represent H20 and are neutral (blank). You may keep your Evidence Cubes collected from the Laboratory (#22) without a reward or penalty. The selected H20 Laboratory Shelf Potion Token is placed next to the Laboratory Shelf until the end of the round.
• Snake Oil: 1 Laboratory Shelf Potion Token represents Snake Oil and is indicated by an Evidence Cube and a -1. This potion requires you to place an Evidence Cube you just collected from Laboratory (#22) into the Evidence Bag. The selected Snake Oil Laboratory Shelf Potion Token is placed next to the Laboratory Shelf until the end of the round.
• Poison: 1 Laboratory Shelf Potion Token represents Poison and displays a skull and crossbones with a -1. You may keep your Evidence Cube collected from the Laboratory (#22) but with a penalty. The selected -1 Poison Laboratory Shelf Potion Token is placed next to the Laboratory Shelf until the end of the round. The corresponding purple -1 Poison Evidence Board Potion Token is placed beside the next Holmes Strikes! of your Evidence Board. The next time Holmes enters your room, you will be required to lose an additional piece of evidence and then discard the -1 Token.

Any time a player selects a Tonic or a Poison Potion from the Laboratory Shelf, the player will place those potions back next to the Laboratory Shelf and then take the corresponding Evidence Board Potion Token and place it beside their next Holmes Strikes! on their Evidence Board.

If a player collects 2 pieces of evidence from the Laboratory (#22) and selects 2 potions from the Laboratory Shelf, they may draw both a Tonic and a Poison. These immediately cancel each other out and no Evidence Board Potion Tokens are added to their Evidence Board.

Note: No player is allowed to collect evidence in the Laboratory if a Tonic or Poison Potion Token already resides on their Evidence Board.

Automa Mode

Introduction

Automa, which is derived from the word Automation, is the 1-player solo version included as part of The 2nd Story expansion pack that enables you to play against Holmes and his chaotic castle! You should familiarize yourself with the multiplayer rules before reading these rules for Automa.

• Holmes will not need a Player Evidence Board or the Control Panel.
• Holmes cannot use any of the Holmes' Ability Cards, Deathtraps, or Deathtrap Landing Zones.
• The Skeleton Key and the Castle Junction Cards will not be used.
• Holmes cannot collect evidence from within the rooms.
• Holmes cannot use any of the actions from the standard Action Tiles.
• All 2nd Story components and rules, unless otherwise noted as exceptions, are included in gameplay for Automa. This includes the 3rd Hidden Bookcase Pathway, Laboratory, Padlocks, and 2nd Story cutouts.
• All multiplayer rules apply, unless they are noted as exceptions within the Automa rules.
• Hidden Bookcase Pathways can be used to replace and remove a Padlock from the game, however, a Hidden Bookcase Pathway cannot be used to replace a Padlock if there is not a room on the other side of the locked door.

Automa Setup

Action Tiles: All 6 of the standard Action Tiles will be used.

Room Tiles & Ferris Wheel

1. Draw 3 Evidence Cubes from the Evidence Bag and randomly place 1 Evidence Cube into Basement 1, Basement 2, and Basement 3.
2. Shuffle all Room Tiles and Brick Walls from the base game and The 2nd Story (including the Brick Wall that is reserved for Jonah) and place in a pile face down.
3. Fill each of the Ferris Wheel gondolas with 5 randomly drawn Evidence Cubes from the Evidence Bag.

Evidence Boards

1. Select an Evidence Setup Card and place the corresponding number of cubes onto the Collect Evidence section of your Evidence Board.
2. No Character Ability Tokens are needed since character abilities will not be used in Automa.

Event Cards: Remove all Event Cards from the game that do not have the Automa indicator.

Difficulty Levels

You can choose a difficulty level before completing the remainder of the setup; the difficulty level affects Holmes' ability to plant Fake Evidence, destroy evidence, and increase movement.

• Beginner - No Fake Evidence is placed into the Evidence Bag.
• Intermediate - 15 cubes of Fake Evidence is placed into the Evidence Bag, the rest of the Fake Evidence is placed in the Fake Evidence Bag.
• Menacing - 30 cubes of Fake Evidence is placed into the Evidence Bag, the rest of the Fake Evidence is placed into the Fake Evidence Bag.

Note: The basement Room Tiles and Ferris Wheel may now include Fake Evidence if you selected the Intermediate or Menacing difficulty levels.

Holmes' Action Cards / Automa Deck

1. Begin setup of this deck by removing the 3 cards that only display the Play as Holmes indicator.
2. Depending on the difficulty selected, include the following number of Holmes' Action Cards into the Holmes' Action Card / Automa deck.
   • Beginner - 17 cards that only display the Automa indicator or that display the Automa and Play as Holmes indicator.
   • Intermediate - Add the 2 cards that display the Automa indicator and the letter I that represents Intermediate; this deck should now total 19 cards.
   • Menacing - Add the remaining card that displays the Automa indicator and the letter M that represents Menacing. The 2 cards marked as Lock an Unexplored Door are removed from the game; this deck should now total 18 cards.

Evidence Destruction Deck: Wilds are indicated with all 5 evidence types / colors. Based on the difficulty selected, shuffle these with the other Evidence Destruction Cards to form the Evidence Destruction Deck.

• Beginner - 1 wild
• Intermediate - 3 wilds
• Menacing - 5 wilds

Automa Winning

The winner of the game is the same as the multiplayer rules. You must collect all of your evidence and move back to the Pharmacy to win. However, you must collect enough evidence to fill the last column of evidence on the Evidence Board marked, "Automa / 2-Player / Extended Version." In all Automa difficulty levels, Holmes wins if your Evidence Board fills up with all 5 Holmes Strikes!.

Automa Gameplay

1. You will always go first and initiate the round!
2. Event Cards can be played at any time except to evade Holmes if Holmes moves into the room you occupy.
3. Each round, you will select 2 Action Tiles, 1 at a time, and perform the action from each Action Tile. The selection bonuses are not used in Automa.
4. All evidence, including Fake Evidence, must be moved from the Ferris Wheel to the Room Tiles before replenishing the Ferris Wheel gondolas. Fake Evidence cannot be picked up.
5. After all actions have been performed, you must draw 1 Holmes' Movement Card.
   • Holmes will always move to your room if your room is an option on the Holmes' Movement Card.
   • If the room you occupy is not listed on the Holmes' Movement Card, Holmes will move to the closest room, using doorway paths. If there are multiple rooms listed on the Holmes' Movement Card that have been explored to the castle and the distance from those rooms to the room you occupy (using doorway paths) is the same, then you are able to move Holmes to any of those rooms.
   • If no rooms are available for Holmes to move to, Holmes does not move.
   • All other rules associated with Holmes and Holmes Goes on a Rampage in the multiplayer game still apply.
6. Once the Holmes' Movement Cards are fully resolved, the top card of the Holmes' Action Card / Automa Deck is revealed. If a Holmes Goes on a Rampage card is selected, complete the rampage(s) before revealing a card from the Holmes' Action Card / Automa Deck. Complete the action referenced on the Holmes' Action Card. Once completed, the round restarts.

Automa Holmes' Action Cards

• Seal All Hidden Bookcase Pathways - If this card is revealed, remove all Hidden Bookcase Pathways from the castle. Hidden Bookcase Pathway Event Cards can be used to place the Hidden Bookcase Pathways back into the castle.
• Plant 10 Pieces of Evidence / Plant 15 Pieces of Evidence - Take the quantity of Fake Evidence Cubes from the Fake Evidence Bag and place the Fake Evidence Cubes into the Evidence Bag.
• Move into 1 Room using Doorways / Move up to 2 Rooms using Doorways - Holmes will move to a room, up to the number of rooms as indicated on the card, using doorway paths. Holmes will always move towards you, using doorways, but cannot move past you. If Holmes enters your room, take a Holmes Strike! as normal.

Note: Holmes does not move if Holmes occupies your room when movement cards are revealed.

Even though the Move up to 2 Rooms Using Doorways was revealed, Holmes will stop in the Back Room (#4) and not move past Jeremiah.

• Destroy All Pieces of Evidence - If Holmes occupies a room with evidence and this card is revealed, destroy all pieces of evidence by placing the evidence from the room back into the Evidence Bag. If there is no evidence in the room Holmes occupies, then no evidence is destroyed.

Note: The Evidence Destruction Cards are not used when this card is revealed and Holmes does not destroy Fake Evidence.

• Destroy 1 Piece of Evidence / Destroy 2 Pieces of Evidence - If Holmes does not occupy a room with any evidence, Holmes does not need to reveal the top card of the Evidence Destruction Deck and Holmes does not destroy any evidence. If Holmes occupies a room with at least 1 piece of evidence, Holmes reveals the top card of the Evidence Destruction Deck. If any colors from that card match the evidence in that room, Holmes destroys the evidence by moving the evidence from the room and placing the evidence back into the Evidence Bag. If there are multiple options to destroy evidence, then it is your choice which evidence to destroy. If the colors from the card do not match the types of evidence in the room Holmes occupies, then no evidence is destroyed.

Note: Holmes does not destroy Fake Evidence.

Example: 1. Destroy 2 Pieces of Evidence is revealed from the Holmes' Action Card / Automa Deck. 2. White (Advertisements for Lodging) and Blue (Castle Blueprints) are revealed. 3. Within the room Holmes occupies, there is a white and blue cube. Both would be destroyed and are placed into the Evidence Bag. If there was a white cube and a green cube in the room Holmes occupies, then only the white cube would be destroyed.

• Lock an Unexplored Door - When this card is revealed, Holmes will place a Padlock on a doorway if Holmes occupies a room with a door that does not have a Room Tile on the other side which is known as an unexplored door or unexplored doorway. The Padlock prevents you from exploring from this door for the rest of the game. If multiple doorways exist, choose where to place the Padlock.
• Move up to 2 Rooms using Doorways and Lock up to 2 Unexplored Doorways - Holmes will always lock the first available doorway, up to 2 doorways as indicated on the card, starting with the room Holmes occupies and ending with the last room Holmes moves to. Holmes can lock 2 doorways in 1 room or up to 2 doorways in different rooms. Holmes will always move towards you, using doorways, but cannot move past you. If Holmes enters your room, take a Holmes Strike! as normal.

Example: 1. If Holmes' current room has 2 unexplored doors, Holmes must lock both before leaving even if the next room has available doors to lock. 2. If Holmes' current room has 1 unexplored door, Holmes must lock that 1 door before locking the next unexplored door in the next room of Holmes' movement.

Note: Holmes does not move if Holmes occupies your room when this card is revealed.

Automa Event Card Clarifications

• Trapdoor - Instead of placing a Trapdoor and Landing Zone in the castle, this card automatically sends you to Basement #3. Only a Player Dexterity or Disarm a Trapdoor Event Card will prevent falling to Basement #3.
• Holmes is Alerted - There are 2 Holmes is Alerted Event Cards:
  • Holmes is Alerted (Play Now) - Because you are the only "player" in Automa, Holmes will always move to your room if this Event Card is drawn. If Holmes already occupies your room when this Event Card is drawn you do not take a Holmes Strikes!.
  • Holmes is Alerted (Keep) - This Event Card does not help you avoid a Holmes Strikes! if Holmes enters your room, but does help you move Holmes further away or past you when playing this card.
• Secret Passage - This Event Card does not help you escape Holmes if Holmes enters your room, but does help you move past or away from Holmes when playing this card.
• Hidden Bookcase Pathway - Holmes can use the Hidden Bookcase Pathways to move towards you. Hidden Bookcase Pathways can be used to replace and remove a Padlock from the game, however, they cannot be used to replace a Padlock if there is not a room on the other side of the locked door.

Automa Special Room Effect Clarifications

If you occupy The Maze and The Maze is revealed on a Holmes' Movement Card, Holmes always move to your side of The Maze.

Holmes can only lock doors on the side of The Maze Holmes occupies.

Play as Holmes

Introduction

The Play as Holmes version leverages a combination of the standard multiplayer rules, the Evidence Destruction Deck, Fake Evidence, and the Holmes' Action Cards from the Automa rules. This mode also utilizes a new deck of Castle Junction Cards for all non-Holmes players to work semi-cooperatively in order to combat a more powerful Holmes. The player choosing to Play as Holmes utilizes a One vs. All mechanic pinning Holmes against all other players. This mode is included as part of The 2nd Story expansion pack and you should familiarize yourself with the multiplayer and Automa rules before reading these rules to Play as Holmes.

• Playing as Holmes requires a minimum of 4 players and can be played up to a maximum of 7 players with 1 of the players playing as Holmes.
• All multiplayer rules apply, including player abilities.
• The planting of Fake Evidence and Evidence Destruction Deck rules work the same as in Automa mode.
• Holmes will use the Holmes' Control Panel, Holmes' Ability Cards, Deathtraps and Deathtrap Landing Zones.
• The Castle Junction Cards will be used.

The standard multiplayer setup applies for the Action Tiles, Players' Evidence Boards, Ferris Wheel, Event Cards, Holmes' Movement Cards, and the Room Tiles.

Holmes' Control Panel

1. A Fake Evidence Cube is placed below the Holmes' Control Panel. This will be used for the Holmes Tracker.
2. Holmes will read through each of the 3 Holmes' Ability Cards to all players and then secretly select 1 and place the card face down so the card illustratively connects to the Holmes' Control Panel.
3. The remaining Holmes' Ability Cards are placed face down in the box and will not be used.

Evidence

1. All Evidence Destruction Cards are shuffled together to form the Evidence Destruction Deck and are placed near Holmes.
2. All Fake Evidence is placed into the Fake Evidence Bag which is placed near Holmes.

Deathtraps and Deathtrap Landing Zones

Place the Deathtraps and Deathtrap Landing Zones near Holmes.

• Holmes cannot collect evidence or fall through Trapdoors, but may move through Hidden Bookcase Pathways.
• Holmes cannot use any of the actions from the standard Action Tiles.
• All 2nd Story components and rules are included.
• Hidden Bookcase Pathways can be used to replace and remove a Padlock from the game, however, a Hidden Bookcase Pathway cannot be used to replace a Padlock if there is not a room on the other side of the locked door.

Castle Junction Cards

All Castle Junction Cards are shuffled together to form the Castle Junction Card deck with the objective side face up. The first 2 cards on the top of the deck are placed down on the table in 2 separate piles.

The Holmes' Action Cards / Automa Deck (Play as Holmes Setup)

1. Begin setup of this deck by removing the 10 cards that do not display the Play as Holmes indicator and return to the box. There should be a total of 11 Holmes' Action Cards used in the Play as Holmes mode and should match the corresponding actions indicated on the Holmes' Control Panel.
2. Next, find the Add a Deathtrap and Seal All Hidden Bookcase Pathways Holmes' Action Cards and place to the right of the Holmes' Control Panel to form a Holmes' Action Card supply. This supply will indicate the Holmes' Actions that are unlocked and available for Holmes to play. These 2 action cards will always be available to Holmes in the first round but cannot be played until the beginning of the second round. Players are given a running start!
3. The remaining Holmes' Action Cards can be placed face up or face down to the left side of the Holmes' Control Panel and this supply represents the Holmes' Action Cards that have not been unlocked yet and are not available for Holmes to play.

Play as Holmes Winning

The winner of the game is the same as the multiplayer rules. The first player to collect all of their evidence and move back to the Pharmacy wins. Holmes wins if the Holmes Tracker is moved to 10, on the Holmes' Control Panel, before any player reaches the Pharmacy with all of their collected evidence. The Holmes Tracker represents each instance a player was issued a Holmes Strike!.

Example: If there are 4 people in The Atrium and Holmes enters The Atrium, all players would take a Holmes Strikes! and Holmes would move the Holmes Tracker cube to the number 4.

Play as Holmes Gameplay

1. The player with the Skeleton Key goes first and players select Action Tiles as part of the normal gameplay; Holmes is not considered a "player" and will never begin the game nor receive the Skeleton Key.
2. Once all Action Tiles have been selected, Holmes will move by revealing a Holmes' Movement Card. The player playing as Holmes chooses Holmes' movement instead of the player with the Skeleton Key when Holmes' Movement Cards are revealed. Additionally, Holmes chooses where to move when the Move Holmes Action Tile is selected.
3. Once all Holmes' movement is completed, Holmes gains a Fake Evidence Cube from the Fake Evidence supply at the end of each round to place onto the Holmes' Control Panel.
   • Holmes can choose to place this cube in any of the sections of the Control Panel: Castle & Movement Modifications (Sections 1 and 2), Destroy Evidence (Section 3), and Plant Fake Evidence (Section 4).
   • Holmes must place each cube in alphabetical order associated to the numbered section and from top to bottom within the Castle & Movement Modifications and left to right in the Destroy Evidence and Plant Fake Evidence sections of the Control Panel.

Example 1:

i. Holmes has a cube placed in 1a, 1b, 2a, and 4a. ii. Holmes' next cube can be placed in either 1c, 2b, 3a, or 4b. iii. Holmes has a cube placed in 1a, 1b, 2a, and 4a. iv. Holmes' next cube cannot be placed in 2c.

• There are 12 cube placeholders and 11 Holmes' Action Cards that can be unlocked. The Move up to 2 Rooms and Lock up to 2 Unexplored Doors Along the Path Action Card requires 2 cubes to be placed in order to be unlocked and must be placed in 1c and 2c.

Example 2:

i. Holmes has a cube placed in 1a and 1b, and 2a, 2b, and 2c. ii. Only if Holmes places a cube in 1c will the Move up to 2 Rooms and Lock up to 2 Unexplored Doors along the Path Action Card be unlocked.

4. After a Holmes' cube is placed onto the Holmes' Control Panel, the corresponding Holmes' Action Card is unlocked and moved from the deck to the unlocked Holmes' Action Card supply to the right of the Holmes' Control Panel.
5. Holmes chooses any number of the Holmes' Action Cards from the unlocked Holmes' Action Card supply and places them face down onto the illustration portion of the Action Tiles. While only 1 Holmes' Action Card can be assigned to each Action Tile, it is Holmes' decision how many Holmes' Action Cards are placed each turn.
6. Once the Holmes' Action Cards have been placed, the Skeleton Key is moved to the next player to begin the round.
7. If an Action Tile with a Holmes' Action Card is selected, Holmes must resolve the Holmes' Action Card before a player continues with their turn to perform the action selected.
8. Once Holmes plays a Holmes' Action Card, that Holmes' Action Card is placed back into the available Holmes' Action Card supply.
9. If any Holmes' Action Cards are not played in a round because the corresponding Action Tile was not selected by any players, then the Holmes' Action Card remains with that Action Tile for future rounds until that Action Tile is selected.
10. Holmes can play a Holmes' Ability Card at any time and Event Cards or player abilities cannot be used to stop a Holmes' Ability Card.

The Holmes' Action Cards / Automa Deck (Play as Holmes)

All Holmes' Action Cards / Automa Deck plays the same as Automa with the following exceptions:

• Holmes chooses where to move on the cards with Holmes' movement.
• Holmes chooses which evidence to destroy if multiple options exist.

There are 2 Holmes' Action Cards that are not part of the Automa deck that are used when playing as Holmes:

• Holmes Moves up to 2 Rooms After a Holmes' Movement Card is Drawn - When a player selects an Action Tile and this Holmes' Action Card is revealed to be on top, then move this Holmes' Action Card to the top of the Holmes' Movement Card deck.
  • After Holmes moves next, either through the Move Holmes Action Tile or through Holmes' Movement at the end of the round, Holmes will then be able to move up to 2 rooms using doorways. However, this move is optional to Holmes and not required.
  • If Holmes does not move from the drawn Holmes' Movement Card, Holmes will still be able to move up to 2 rooms using doorways. Once Holmes moves up to 2 rooms after the drawn Holmes' Movement Card, place this card back into the available Holmes' Action Card supply.
  • If a rampage card is revealed while this Holmes' Action Card is on the top of the Holmes' Movement Card deck, then Holmes will have the option to move after the first Holmes' Movement Card is revealed as part of the rampage.
  • If a Lights Out card is revealed, consider this a lucky break for all players! The Holmes' Action Card is returned to the Holmes' Action Card Supply and Holmes will not be able to perform the action and this Action Card is returned to Holmes' unlocked Action Card supply.
• Add a Deathtrap - Holmes will be able to place a Deathtrap and corresponding Deathtrap Landing Zone anywhere in the castle following the normal Trapdoor and Landing Zone rules. If a player collects evidence over a Deathtrap, they will fall to the corresponding Deathtrap Landing Zone. The player will not take a Holmes Strike! but Holmes can increase the Holmes Tracker by 1 regardless of how much evidence the player collected before falling through the Deathtrap.
  • A Deathtrap and Deathtrap Landing Zone are removed once all evidence is collected from the room with the placed Deathtrap.
  • Removed Deathtraps and Deathtrap Landing Zones can be placed back into the game by Holmes using this card.

Deathtrap examples shown in the source: Firey Coal Pit Deathtrap; Bed of Spikes Deathtrap.

Castle Junction Cards

Beware, players are not required to work together, may deceive, and backstab their fellow players or even strategize with Holmes. However, the Castle Junction Cards provide a reward for players when they successfully work together in order to combat Holmes.

1. There will always be 2 available Castle Junction Card objectives for players to work together. The top card of the deck is not an active option but displays the objective coming up. Players cannot flip the Castle Junction Cards to see the reward prior to completing the objective.
2. If players complete objectives from 1 or more Castle Junction Cards, then the player with the Skeleton Key retains the Castle Junction Card. Castle Junction Cards can be played at any time. There is no limit to how many Castle Junction Cards are kept.

Note: A player can still keep up to 3 Event Cards regardless of how many Castle Junction Cards are kept.

3. At any point of the game, the majority of players can decide to discard one of the Castle Junction Cards and place in the discard pile. The Castle Junction Card on the top of the deck is then placed onto the table as a replacement. If there is a tie, then there is not a majority and none of the Castle Junction Card options cannot be discarded.
4. The penalty for discarding a Castle Junction Card option is an immediate draw of 1 card from the Holmes' Movement Card deck with Holmes moving accordingly.
5. Played Castle Junction Cards are placed in the discard pile. Reshuffle the Castle Junction Cards from the discard pile to replenish the deck as needed.

Castle Junction Card Objectives

Objective: There is at least 1 player occupying the basement, 1 player occupying the main level, and 1 player occupying the 2nd Story.

• This objective is completed when at least 1 player occupies a Basement Room Tile, 1 player occupies a Room Tile on the main floor, and 1 player occupies a 2nd Story Room Tile.
• Basement Room Tiles are listed as Basement #1, Basement #2, Basement #3, and the 1 room that can be built off of Basement #3.
• 2nd Story Room Tiles are labeled as 2nd Story and any room that is built off of a 2nd Story Room Tile with a 2nd Story Token placed on top.
• A main floor Room Tile is any other Room Tile.

Objective: All player abilities have been played.

• Once each player has played their ability, this objective is considered complete.
• Only 1 of these objective cards can be achieved and used for each Play as Holmes game.

Objective: All players play an Event Card in a single round.

• Once each player has played an Event Card in a single round, this objective is considered complete.
• A player discarding an Event Card does not contribute to this objective.

Objective: A player successfully counters another player's Event Card.

• Once any player has immediately countered another player's Event Card, this objective is considered complete.

Examples:

• Snitch and Snitch
• Pickpocket and Not So Fast
• Ambush and Player Dexterity
• Peephole and Barter

Objective: All of 1 evidence type has been collected among all players.

• Once all players have collected all of the same type of evidence, this objective is considered complete.
• Players may be able to achieve this same type of objective on future Castle Junction Cards but only with a different type of evidence.

Example: If players achieve this objective by collecting all of their Castle Blueprints, then Castle Blueprints cannot be used for a future objective.

Objective: All players occupy the same room after the first round.

• As long as it is after the first round, all players will complete this objective by occupying the same room.

Castle Junction Card Actions

Block Holmes from entering any room. Holmes returns to the prior room.

• This action will stop Holmes from moving into the room protecting any players from a Holmes Strike!. A player may play this action for any player in the game including themselves.
• If any players occupied the room with Holmes, before Holmes was stopped by this action, those players would not take another Holmes Strike! as a result of Holmes returning to the previous room Holmes occupied.

Remove a Holmes' cube from Holmes' Control Panel.

• The corresponding Holmes' Action Card will not be available to Holmes beginning the next round unless Holmes replaces the lost action with the new, end of round cube.
• If Holmes choose to place the cube in a different location, the previous Holmes' Action Card is placed back into the Holmes' Action Card supply to the left of the Holmes' Control Panel and will not be available until a cube is placed back into the corresponding spot on the Holmes' Control Panel.

Note: The Move up to 2 Rooms and Lock up to 2 Unexplored Doors Along the Path Action Tile will always require 2 cubes to place this card over an Action Tile at the beginning of each round.

No Holmes' Movement Cards are drawn at the end of the round.

• Holmes will not draw a Holmes' Movement Card at the end of the round.
• If the Holmes Moves up to 2 Rooms after a Holmes' Movement Card is resting on the top of the Holmes' Movement Deck at the end of the round, then the card shall remain on the top of the deck for the next round.

Remove a Holmes' Action Card from the Action Tiles.

• A Holmes' Action Card is removed from any of the Action Tiles and placed back into the Holmes' Action Card supply.
• Holmes now has to wait until the next round to place this Holmes' Action Card onto an Action Tile.

Permanently remove a Holmes' Action Card from the game.

• A Holmes' Action Card is removed from any of the Action Tiles and placed back into the box.
• Holmes will not be able to use this Holmes' Action Card for the remainder of the game.

Play as Holmes Event Card Clarifications

• Lucky Break - If Fake Evidence is selected, place the Fake Evidence back into the Evidence Bag and consider it an unlucky break.
• Disarm a Trapdoor - This Event Card can be used to disarm a Deathtrap.
• Holmes is Alerted - There are 2 Holmes is Alerted Event Cards:
  • Holmes is Alerted (Play Now) - Holmes chooses which room to move to.
  • Holmes is Alerted (Keep) - This Event Card does not help you avoid a Holmes Strike! if Holmes enters your room, but allows players to move Holmes.
• Hidden Bookcase Pathway - Holmes can use all Hidden Bookcase Pathways to move towards you. Hidden Bookcase Pathways can be used to replace and remove a Padlock from the game. However, Hidden Bookcase Pathways cannot be used to replace a Padlock if there is not a room on the other side of the locked door.

Other Clarifications

• Because Lola's ability mimics an Event Card, Lola's ability does not count towards the Castle Junction Card objective: "Every player plays an Event Card in a single round." Lola's ability does count towards the objective: "A player successfully counters another player's Event Card."
• Holmes may enter a room of a player that holds a Tonic Potion Token on their Evidence Board. In this case, Holmes will remain in the room, the player will remove the Tonic Potion Token and not take a Holmes Strike!, and Holmes will not be able to increase the count of the Holmes Tracker for this player.
• Holmes may enter a room of a player that holds a Poison Potion Token on their Evidence Board. In this case, Holmes will remain in the room, the player will remove the Poison Potion Token and take 1 Holmes Strike! but be forced to drop an additional piece of evidence as a result of having the Poison Potion Token. In this scenario, Holmes will be able to increase the count of the Holmes Tracker by 1.

19th Century Murder Castle Tweets

Below is a list of exciting and controversial moments captured during playtesting. If any of these scenarios occur, snap a picture of the game and/or players and tweet it to us with these hashtags!

• #hoytfindsthewindbag - A player expresses excitement about their Event Card(s) forgetting that Hoyt can hear them and then Hoyt's ability is used to trade for their Event Card(s). Windbag Definition: Someone who talks too much.
• #evidencefoozler - A player drops evidence in their room for 2 or more rounds in a row. Foozler Definition: Someone who does things clumsily.
• #imuptheriver - A player who is stuck in rooms below the Pharmacy because Holmes is blocking their path. Up the River Definition: A situation when someone is in prison or jail.
• #thewhitechapellallycooler - When 2 or more players pick a hiding spot to successfully dodge Holmes in The Whitechapel Room. Lally-cooler Definition: A real success.
• #itankedup - A player who plays a Liquid Courage Event Card while in the Ale Pub. Tanked Up Definition: Someone who is drunk, intoxicated.
• #jiggerypocketpokery - A player immediately plays a Pickpocket Event Card to the same player that is pickpocketing them. Jiggery-Pokery Definition: A moment of deceitful trickery!
• #fourfourflusher - A player plays the Ambush Event Card successfully against 4 or more players. Four-Flusher Definition: A person who bluffs and deceives others.
• #swabler - A player who plays a Peephole Event Card into a bedroom or bathroom. Swabler Definition: A dirty fellow.
• #onthesharp - A player who plays a Snitch Event Card when retaliating against another Snitch Event Card. On the Sharp Definition: A person who is well acquainted with the mysteries of gaming and cannot be easily cheated.