Dracula: Walpurgis Night Rulebook

Table of Contents

Table of Contents

• Object of the Game
• Game Overview
• Setup
• Game Turn
  • Turn Actions
• Travel
• Types of Passengers
  • Guests
  • Believers
  • Cursed passengers
  • Priests
  • Werewolves
  • Hunter
• Perils
  • A Quiet Journey
  • Neophytes
  • Accidents
  • Full Moon - Transformation
• Dracula Board and End of Round
  • 1. Play event cards
  • 2. Werewolves attack the towns
  • 3. The vampires in the castles feed
• Scoring
• Carla's Journey (Example 1)
• David's Journey (Example 2)
• Example of Scoring a Game
• Event Cards
  • At the end of round
  • For the hunter
  • Whenever any player is travelling
  • When travelling during your turn

Object of the Game

Bring the vampires (coffins) of your colour to the castles where they are best able to feed.

Game Overview

Transport as many passengers in your coach as you can to their chosen destination. They will give you coins for your services and provide food for the vampires. You will need the coins to discreetly transport the coffins on your coach and to buy protections for your journeys.

Whenever you drop off guests at their chosen destination, they will leave blood tokens which the vampires (coffins) in the local castle will feed on ... but so, too, will any werewolf in that area.

When Count Dracula appears (end of the round), the werewolves and vampires will feed on the innocent travellers. The more blood tokens there are in an area, the more food there will be for the vampires, and the more victory points (VP) you will gain (you only gain VP for coffins of your own colour).

The game is divided into 2 rounds. At the end of each round you gain 1 VP for every time, one of your vampires feeds.

Setup

• Place the main board (1) at the centre of the playing area. Place the events board (2) to the left and the Dracula board (3) to the right of it.
• Each player receives 1 coach board (4), 2 coins (5) and 1 coffin of their colour (6), which they place on the space marked on their coach. Place the remaining coffins on the spaces marked on the events board as a general supply (7).
• Place the hunter card (8) in its space underneath the main board as shown.
• Shuffle the passenger cards (9) and deal 2 cards face down to each player (10). Put the deck face down in its space underneath the main board as shown.
• Shuffle the round 1 peril cards (11) and place them face down on the Dracula board.
• Shuffle the event cards (12), deal 1 card face down to each player (13), and place the remaining cards face down on the events board.
• Place the remaining coins and wolf tokens next to the board, within easy reach of all players.
• Put 20 blood tokens (15) on the spaces marked on the Dracula board for use during the game and put the round marker onto "Round 1". Place the remaining blood tokens next to the board, within easy reach of all players, in case you need them at the end of round.
• After looking at their two starting cards, each player places their coach on one of the towns (there can be several coaches in the same town at the same time).
• The starting player draws 5 passenger cards (14) and puts them face up in their spaces underneath the main board as shown, creating the passenger pool, and then starts their turn.

Game Turn

The player who has last read Dracula (or any other vampire novel) starts the game.

Turn Actions

During their turn, each player may perform 1 of the following actions: Pick up guests or Travel:

• Pick up guests: draw 4 passenger cards then pass the turn to the next player.
• Travel: draw 2 passenger cards and travel. Optionally, you may also perform 1 of the following actions:
  • Load a coffin: Take 1 coffin of your colour from the supply and place it on the coffin space of your coach board, provided it is free.
  • Unload a coffin: Take 1 coffin from your coach and place it on the first available space on the castle you are currently at.
  • Exert influence: Take 1 coffin of any colour from the castle you are currently at and swap its position with the coffin next to it that is further along the track.

You may perform an optional action at any time during your journey (at the beginning, during, or at the end). Every time you do, pay 3 coins. You may only perform 1 of these three actions during any one turn (or none of them).

General rules for the passenger pool:

• Whenever you draw cards you may do so from the passenger pool (cards lying face up), or the passenger deck (cards lying face down), or a combination of both.
• Refill any cards taken from the passenger pool at the end of your turn, so that there are always 5 cards available in the pool.
• You may have a maximum of 6 cards in your hand (not counting event cards). If, at the end of your turn, you have more than 6 cards in your hand, you must discard the additional cards. Place them face up in the passenger pool (the passenger pool will only be refilled from the deck once it has less than 5 cards in it).
• If there are no more cards in the passenger deck, shuffle the discard pile to create a new deck.

Travel

If you choose to travel, draw 2 passenger cards into your hand. Then place 1 to 4 passenger cards onto your coach and start your journey (you may also hire a hunter if you have space on your coach).

Steps of the journey:

1. Place passengers onto the seats (16) of your coach on your coach board (up to 4 cards, one per available seat).
2. If you want to hire a hunter, pay 1 or 2 coins into the general supply and place it onto an available seat (17), with the side facing up you paid for (to kill 1 or 2 wolves).
3. Pay for those protections you think you might need during the journey (garlic, herbs, spare parts...) by placing 1 coin on each of the respective icons on your coach.
4. Draw 1 peril card, place it face up on the next leg of your journey, between the two towns you are currently travelling (15), and resolve it immediately (see Perils).
5. Move your coach to the next town on the board.
6. Remove all passengers from your coach that have arrived at their destination and/or any priest or werewolves you want to drop in that town.
   • a. Gain coins for each passenger who got off in this town as shown on their card.
   • b. Place 1 blood token in the town for each passenger that got off there.
   • c. If you were carrying any werewolves that got off in this town, place a wolf token for each of them onto the town on the board.

Continue your journey to the next town following steps 3 to 6.

If you want to perform any of the optional actions (load, unload, or exert influence) you may do so in any of the towns you pass through (including the one you are starting from).

Coach board protections: protection for passengers from one accident; protection for the coffin from one accident; protection from one neophyte attack; protection against passengers transforming. The hunter is placed on an available seat if you want to go hunting.

Example: Carla takes two passengers and one hunter on this journey. If all passengers arrive at their destination unharmed, she will gain 4 coins (two for each of them). She also uses the hunter to kill up to two wolves in the towns she passes through during her journey.

General rules for journeys:

• You may only travel in one direction during any one journey (towards Bohemia or towards Wallachia). You may not change direction during your journey.
• Common logic applies: You cannot take on a passenger who wants to travel to the town you are currently at, nor to any town that lies in the opposite direction to the one you are travelling in.
• You may not take on new passengers during your journey: You need to plan your journey in advance and take on passengers accordingly.
• You may pass through a town without dropping off any passengers and travel on to the next town. (Remember to draw a peril card for every leg of your journey.)
• You may end a journey carrying only the coffin but you may not start a journey without any guests. Dracula does not like to draw unnecessary attention!
• Your turn ends when you cannot travel any further.

Types of Passengers

Guests

Guest cards indicate their destination, the amount of coins they are willing to pay for the journey, and the blood token they will leave in the town.

Believers

Religious guests will pay you a tip whenever a priest travels on the same coach. Gain 1 additional coin for each believer when they board your coach, if there is at least one priest on your coach (you only gain one coin for every believer, regardless of how many priests are travelling with you). The priest does not have to be on the coach for the whole journey. You receive the tip as soon as you put the guests on your coach.

Cursed passengers

Some passengers are afflicted by the curse of lycanthropy, as indicated by the full moon icon in the top right corner of their card. You gain coins from cursed passengers as usual but:

A) If, during your journey, you encounter a Full Moon, cursed passengers will start to transform: place 1 wolf token on each cursed passenger card. Once they reach their destination, place the wolf token onto that town; these passengers will NOT leave a blood token.

B) If there is no Full Moon during the journey they will leave a blood token as usual.

Priests

Priests travel wherever you want to take them. They bless the believers and thus increase your pay with a tip.

Werewolves

Although the other passengers cannot see it, some passengers have succumbed to the curse of lycanthropy and have become dangerous werewolves.

They may travel to any town. Place a wolf token wherever they get off your coach.

Hunter

The hunter sits next to the passenger pool.

You may hire them before you start your journey, provided you can pay their fee and there is a seat available on your coach.

If you hire the hunter for 1 coin (1 silver bullet), you can kill 1 wolf, and if you hire them for 2 coins (2 silver bullets), you can kill up to 2 wolves (either in the same or in two different towns). Place the card, with the side you paid for facing up on your coach. If you have paid 2 coins, turn the card over to the one bullet side after you have killed the first wolf.

You may use the hunter in any of the towns you pass through (including the one you are just setting out from) but be careful, they are affected by perils just like any other passenger. Once all bullets are used up, return the hunter to their place underneath the main board.

Keep the wolf tokens you killed with the hunter next to your coach board. These trophies might gain you extra VP in case of a tie.

Perils

Whenever you travel from one town to another, you must draw a peril card and place it on the board between these two towns, on the leg of the journey you are currently travelling on. Perhaps you get lucky and nothing happens that night!

A Quiet Journey

You got lucky! You encounter no perils on this leg of your journey!

Neophytes

Neophytes are very young vampires that have not yet learned to control their blood lust. They respect nothing and nobody, not even Dracula himself. They lie in wait by the roadside and if you come across them, they will attack one of your passengers.

You may protect yourself from neophytes by placing a coin onto the garlic icon on your coach at the beginning of your journey. (If you come across a neophyte, put that coin back into the general supply and continue your journey as usual. You may immediately place another coin onto the icon to also protect yourself on the next leg of your journey.)

There are two types of neophytes, each with their preferred type of victim: guests, hunters or werewolves (cursed passengers count as guests). Discard the passengers according to the order of preference on the peril card. Neophytes will only attack priests if they have no other option.

Accidents

You are travelling along twisting and turning roads that make it all too easy to have an accident. If you do, you lose passengers. If it is a very bad accident you may even lose any coffin you are carrying and have to return it to the general supply.

You can protect yourself from accidents by placing a coin onto the spare parts icon (wheel) on your coach at the beginning of your journey. There is one icon that only protects the coffin and another that only protects the passengers.

Full Moon - Transformation

During Full Moon, any cursed passenger will start their transformation. If they do, place 1 wolf token on each cursed passenger. They will not leave any blood token at their destination. Once they arrive at their destination, place the wolf token onto that town. Do not place any blood tokens for these passengers.

You can protect yourself from the effects of the Full Moon by placing a coin onto the herb icon on your coach. If you draw this peril card having paid the protection, remove the coin and you can continue your journey unimpeded. Then, none of your passengers will transform.

General rules for perils:

• Unless otherwise stated, the player decides which passenger is affected by a peril (for example, if you have an accident, you decide which passengers you want to remove from your coach).
• Whenever a passenger is the target of a peril, discard that card. You will not receive any coins for them and the passenger will not leave any blood token. If they had a wolf token, discard that too.
• Hunters are affected by perils just like any other passenger.
• Protection you paid for wears off as soon as the relevant peril appears (protecting you from its effects). You may, however, pay it again immediately after to protect yourself on the next leg of your journey.
• Protection is always paid in advance, before revealing the next peril card.
• At the end of your journey, return all unused coins from protections to the general supply (they are lost and never revert back to the player).

Dracula Board and End of Round

The player who takes the final blood token from the Dracula board triggers the end of round. If they need any more blood tokens to finish their turn, they may take them from the general supply next to the board. The game continues (using blood tokens from the supply) until it would be the starting player's turn again who does not get another turn.

At the end of round, play as follows:

1. Play event cards

All players, starting with the player who triggered the end of round and continuing in turn order, may play as many event cards as they like and have in their hand to move wolves between towns, kill them or add blood tokens to the towns.

2. Werewolves attack the towns

The werewolves are attacking! Remove 1 blood token for each wolf present in a town. Then remove the wolf tokens. If there are no blood tokens in the town for the wolf to feed on, remove the wolf token without any further effects.

3. The vampires in the castles feed

Blood tokens are divided between the vampires (coffins) in order of their position in the castle from left to right. Example: There are 5 blood tokens on a town hosting 3 coffins (brown-white-brown). One by one they are given blood tokens so that the first two coffins gain 2 blood tokens each and the third one receives only 1 (i.e. 2 for the first brown coffin, 2 for the white coffin, and 1 for the second brown coffin; the brown player gains 3 VP and the white player gains 2 VP.

Scoring

The game ends after the end of the second round. The player with the most VP wins.

• Each blood token is worth 1 VP.
• Each event card still on your hand is worth 1 VP.
• In case of a tie, each of your wolf tokens is worth 1 additional VP.

If there is still a tie after counting the wolf tokens, the player with the most coins wins. If there is still a tie, the player with the most coffins in first place at the castles wins (then in second place, and so on).

Carla's Journey (Example 1)

In this example, Carla, who is currently in Transylvania (1), chooses to travel during her turn. She puts two passengers onto her coach, one going to Moravia (3) and another going to Bohemia. She also places a priest onto her coach and then pays 1 coin to the general supply to hire the hunter with 1 silver bullet.

First, she takes 1 coin from the general supply. She gains the coin because the passenger bound for Bohemia is a believer and as she is also carrying a priest, she receives a tip from this passenger. Then, Carla decides to pay for two protections: she places 1 coin on the spare parts icon that protects passengers from accidents, and 1 coin on the icon protecting the coffin from this same peril.

Her preparations completed she begins her journey towards Moravia. She draws a card from the peril deck and places it between the first two towns she is currently travelling: A Full Moon (2).

As Carla has not paid for protection against the Full Moon (herbs), her passengers suffer the effects: She places one wolf token (A) onto the passenger bound for Bohemia.

Carla then stops in Moravia where she uses the hunter and their silver bullet to kill 1 wolf (B). She takes the wolf token, places it next to her coach board and returns the hunter to their place underneath the main board. Then, the passenger bound for Moravia gets off, paying her 2 coins (C) and leaving 1 blood token (D) in the town. She also lets the priest (E) get off here, gaining 1 coin.

Carla then decides to perform an optional action and unload her coffin. She pays 3 coins to the general supply and places her coffin (F) on the first available slot in the Moravia Castle. She continues her journey towards Bohemia. She decides not to pay for any additional protection and draws a peril card: an accident (4). This accident would affect 2 passengers and 1 coffin. But since she has already paid both protections, the peril does not affect her. She puts both coins into the general supply. Having arrived in Bohemia, her last passenger gets off the coach. He does not leave a blood token because he has started his transformation (A). Instead, she places a wolf token on Bohemia (G), and gains 1 coin (H) for conveying the passenger to his destination. This ends her journey and her turn.

David's Journey (Example 2)

In this example, David, who is currently in Bohemia (1), chooses to travel to Wallachia via Moravia and Transylvania. He places 3 passenger cards onto his coach board: one bound for Moravia, one bound for Wallachia and a werewolf. As there are no priests on the coach, there won't be any tips. David pays 1 coin to protect the coach from Neophytes.

He draws a peril card (2) for the first leg of his journey. Nothing happens and he safely arrives in Moravia (3). There, one passenger gets off the coach and David gains 1 coin and places 1 blood token (A) onto the town for this passenger.

David decides to journey on without any additional protection and draws another peril card: A Neophyte (4). Because he already paid this protection, nothing happens to his passengers (otherwise, he would have lost the passenger bound for Wallachia), and he pays the coin into the general supply. He arrives in Transylvania (5). No passengers get off here but he decides to perform an optional action: exert influence. David (white player) swaps the position of his coffin with that next to it in the Transylvania Castle, paying 3 coins to do so.

The journey continues with another peril card: Full Moon (6). David has not paid for this protection, so it affects the passenger bound for Wallachia. David places 1 wolf token on this card.

Having arrived in Wallachia (7), David places 2 wolf tokens onto the town: one for his werewolf passenger and another for the passenger who has started her transformation.

He does not place any blood tokens because the passenger getting off in Wallachia has started her transformation. He gains 1 coin for the werewolf and another for the passenger bound for Wallachia. This ends his journey and his turn.

Example of Scoring a Game

In this example, we have 7 blood tokens, 2 wolves and 3 coffins from 2 players. First, the wolves feed. Discard 2 blood tokens, one for each wolf token, as well as the wolf tokens. This leaves us with 5 blood tokens. These are divided up evenly between the coffins, one by one, starting from left to right, i.e. 2 for the first coffin, 2 for the second coffin and 1 for the third coffin. Thus, the yellow player gains 5 VP and the brown player gains 2 VP in Moravia.

Event Cards

Draw 1 event card every time you load a coffin. You may use event cards as indicated by the icons on top of the card (on a journey during your turn / on any player's journey, including yours / when you are using the hunter / at the end of round).

At the end of round

• Kill 1 Wolf (-1): Kill 1 wolf from any one town and take its token off the board.
• Move 1 Wolf (1): A wolf moves to a different region. Take 1 wolf token from any town and place it on any other town.
• Blood (+2): Place 2 blood tokens on any one town you like.

For the hunter

• +2 Silver Bullets for the Hunter: During this trip, the hunter travelling with you receives 2 additional bullets. That way, you could use the hunter to kill up to 2 wolves without actually paying them.

Whenever any player is travelling

• Full Moon: All cursed travellers turn.

When travelling during your turn

• Extra Coins (+2): Take 2 coins from the supply.
• Herbs: You are protected from the effects of the Full Moon. Use this card to counter the Full Moon.
• Garlic: You are protected from neophytes. Use this card to counter a neophyte attack.
• Spare parts: You are protected from one accident. Use this card to counter an accident.