Dylan Dog

Dylan Dog Rulebook

Table of Contents

For 3 to 6 players.

1 board with 3 levels
1 "dragger" (trascinatore) with Dylan Dog and Groucho
4 mystery crypts (cripte del mistero)
24 story cards (divided into investigator cards, action cards, location cards, fear cards)
24 mystery cards
12 horror cards
66 nightmare cards
6 "Dylan Dog" cards
6 markers
1 die
1 rulebook

Setup

Open the game board and insert the board peg (perno porta tabellone) into its seat. Then insert the larger circular disc, and then the smaller one. Finally lock the different levels of the board together with the locking peg (see Fig. 1 in the booklet).
Insert the plastic dragger on the large disc and place the dragger marker (segnalino trascinatore, which represents "Dylan and Groucho") in its seat (see Fig. 2 in the booklet).
Insert the plastic bases into the holes at the four corners of the board. Fold the four crypts and fit them into the grooves of the bases.
Shuffle the 24 mystery cards together with the 12 horror cards, and deal them into the four crypts, 9 cards per crypt.
Place the deck of nightmare cards on the table, and place the deck of Dylan Dog cards beside it.

Before Playing

Each player draws 4 story cards (carte-racconto):

1 investigator card (carta-indagatore)
1 action card (carta-azione)
1 location card (carta-luogo)
1 fear card (carta-paura)

Each player places these 4 cards face down in front of them, without showing them to the other players. Read in sequence, these 4 cards tell the story in which the player has been involved (for example: you - are chased - to the castle - by the vampire).

Goal of the Game

The aim is to get out safe and sound from the frightening adventures in which fate has thrown you. Each story card has the name of an element printed at the bottom. Inside the crypts are the mystery cards (carte-mistero), and each mystery card corresponds to one of these elements. The first player who finds the 4 mystery cards (= elements) matching their own story cards escapes and is proclaimed the winner of the challenge.

In practice, you must start from the plane of reality (the upper level) and reach the crypts, where the useful mystery cards are hidden.

Caution: the crypts also contain horror cards (carte-horror), which can cause you more trouble. Courage and quick thinking are needed, but if that is not enough there are Dylan Dog and his friend Groucho to help you.

The Game Board

The board is made of 3 superimposed planes, representing 3 different "dimensions":

the upper plane is reality (realtà);
the middle plane (the rotating plane) is the nightmare (incubo);
the base plane is the mystery (mistero).

At the corners of the board are the 4 mystery crypts (cripte del mistero), which allow you to enter the infinite, time, the mind and the paranormal. Entering the crypts is useful, indeed essential, because the mystery cards needed to win are hidden there. To reach them, each player must cross the dream and the mystery, restarting each time from reality.

Starting the Game

After the story cards have been assigned, place the markers (segnalini) on the white squares of the upper plane, which is reality. Decide the order of play (for example, clockwise), and place the rotating plane on the "via" (start). The dragger must be lined up with the arrow marked "via" printed on the board.

First Turn

On the first turn, each player throws the die and moves the nightmare plane (the middle, rotating plane) by as many squares as the die shows, in the direction they prefer.

If the square where their pawn now stands reads "PRENDI UNA CARTA INCUBO" (take a nightmare card), the player draws a nightmare card from the deck and follows the instruction written on it.
In all other cases, nothing happens.

Later Turns

From the second turn onwards, each player throws the die and then decides how to act. They may:

move their pawn;
move the rotating nightmare plane; or
make a "mixed" move.

Example of a mixed move: the die shows 5. The player moves their pawn 3 squares and then rotates the nightmare plane by 2.

When a player reaches the mystery plane (the base plane), they may only move their pawn. If they need to go back to the nightmare plane (because there are no more cards to take in the crypt, so going there would be useless), they may also move the nightmare plane.

Moving Between Planes

From reality to nightmare: to pass from reality to the nightmare (that is, from the upper plane to the middle plane), throw the die. The player moves their pawn on the reality plane and chooses at which point to descend onto the nightmare plane. The passage from reality to the nightmare, and back, can take place through every square except the white ones.

From nightmare to mystery: to pass from the nightmare (the rotating plane) to the base plane (mystery), the player must find the right door. The doors open at the points where the "PASSAGGIO DIMENSIONALE" (dimensional passage) lines up with "MENTE-INFINITO", "INFINITO-PARANORMALE", "PARANORMALE-TEMPO" or "TEMPO-MENTE". The squares with these labels are the access squares to the paths that lead to the mystery crypts.

Direct access to the crypts: from the nightmare plane it is also possible to go directly into a mystery crypt, at the points where the square "ENTRA NELLA CRIPTA DEL MISTERO" (enter the mystery crypt) lines up with one of the 4 crypts.

Attention: a player may enter a crypt immediately only if they stop on the square "ENTRA NELLA CRIPTA DEL MISTERO" at the end of their move (that is, with an exact throw), and that square lines up with a crypt. When a dimensional passage is used to move from the nightmare plane to the mystery plane, the move always counts as one step for the pawn. The choice of which crypt to head for (for example "mente" or "infinito") is free.

The Nightmare Plane

The nightmare plane is a place where anything can happen, for good and for evil.

A player who stands on a square reading "SCAMBIO OBBLIGATORIO" (forced exchange), when it lines up with the "SCAMBIO OBBLIGATORIO" square on the mystery plane, is entitled to demand a card exchange (see "Exchange").
A player who makes Dylan Dog's face appear in one of the "windows" (and stands on top of it) may take a "Dylan Dog" card and keep it aside for difficult moments (see "Shadow Squares" and "Horror Cards").

Attention: the right to a direct passage into a crypt, a forced exchange, or drawing a "Dylan Dog" card is acquired only by being on the right squares after one's own move, and not as a consequence of another player's move.

The Die

The die has 6 faces: the numbers 2, 3, 4, 5 and 6, and the face of Dylan Dog. When Dylan Dog comes up, the player may freely decide which move to make (from 1 to 6). The die is used not only to show how far players move, but also to counter horror cards (see below).

Nightmare Cards

Nightmare cards (carte-incubo) number 66, and anything can happen when one is drawn. Each time a player lands on a square reading "PRENDI UNA CARTA INCUBO" (take a nightmare card), they draw a card from the nightmare deck placed in the centre of the playing area and follow the instruction written on it. The nightmare deck contains 6 cards that have no effect; once drawn, these are returned to the deck.

Some important notes on nightmare cards:

When a player is moved, following the instruction of a nightmare card, to another position on the board, they must carry out the behaviour provided for that position. For example, if the player is sent to a crypt, they draw a card from the crypt; if they arrive on the forced exchange, they may make an exchange, and so on.
When instead, again following a nightmare card, a player moves the pawn of another player, that other player is not entitled to carry out other behaviours until their next turn.
When a nightmare card says to "enter a dimension", the player must place their pawn on the entry square of the path leading to the crypt in question.

Shadow Cards

Among the nightmare cards there are also shadow cards (carte-ombra), useful for escaping the traps of the shadow squares (caselle-ombra) placed on the mystery plane. Shadow cards must be kept face up. They can be used only if their shadow matches a shadow on one of the player's own story cards; otherwise they may serve as trade goods. To show that they hold a "useful" shadow card (and can therefore play it when needed), the player must show the others the matching shadow on one of their story cards.

Dylan Dog Cards

"Dylan Dog" cards serve to avoid the traps of the shadow squares. They also let a player who has been "sent" by a nightmare card to a crypt that is already empty climb back onto the nightmare plane, even without looking for the dimensional passage. Finally, these cards serve to counter horror cards.

Shadow Squares

Landing on one of these squares can be dangerous. If the player has neither a "Dylan Dog" card nor a playable "valid" shadow card, they return to reality, where they place their pawn, as always, on one of the white squares.

Reaching the Mystery Crypts

There are three ways to reach the mystery crypts:

by a direct passage;
following a lucky nightmare card;
through the paths on the mystery plane.

In the last case, it is not necessary to reach the crypt with an "exact" throw; it is enough to arrive there.

When a player arrives in front of a mystery crypt, they draw a card (not necessarily the top one):

If it is a mystery card (carta-mistero), the player keeps it, declared, in front of them. Only the player who drew it knows whether the card is useful to them or not; the others do not know (unless the card is useful to them too).
Useful mystery cards serve for the final victory: the first player to hold the 4 useful mystery cards for their story has won the game of nightmares.
Useless mystery cards may serve as trade goods (see "Exchange").

After drawing a mystery card, the player immediately returns, with a jump, to the reality plane, where they place their pawn on one of the white squares.

The crypts also hide horror cards (carte-horror), which are explained below.

Horror Cards

There are 12 horror cards (carte-horror), each one different, hidden inside the mystery crypts. They come into play only when a player draws one.

A horror card can be an obstacle, both for the player who drew it and for the other players, on the road to victory (and to salvation). Besides the picture, each card has a value, for example 4+. This means the player who drew it must throw the die and hope to get a 4, more than 4, or the face of Dylan Dog.

If the card shows a 6, the only "useful" results are the 6 and "Dylan Dog".
If the card shows only "Dylan Dog", that is the only useful result.

If the throw is successful, the player takes possession of that horror card and may play it against one of the other players at any time during the game.

A horror card can also be defeated by playing a "Dylan Dog" card. In this second case, the player must of course declare it before attempting the die throw.

If the player who drew the horror card neither defeats it nor takes possession of it in one of the ways provided, they must return to reality and put one of their mystery cards back into the crypt. The horror card leaves the game.

During the game, a player who has acquired a horror card may decide not to throw the die, and instead challenge another player who is on the same plane, using the horror card. The challenged player must fight following the rules already seen:

if they defeat the horror card, it is removed from the game with no further consequences;
if they are defeated, they must hand over a mystery card, on request, to the player who challenged them. The horror card is then removed from the game.

Exchange

Before making their own die throw, each player is free to propose a card exchange to the others. All cards may be exchanged, except story cards.

When instead a player, after their own throw, finds themselves on the square "SCAMBIO OBBLIGATORIO" (forced exchange) lined up with the "SCAMBIO OBBLIGATORIO" square of the plane below, they may decide a card exchange, with whomever they choose and as they wish. The player involved in the exchange must give up their card even if they need it.

The End of the Game

The first player to find the 4 useful mystery cards needed to "get out" of the story in which they became involved has won, and is safe... at least for this time!

Final Notes Before Starting

Every nightmare card drawn must be returned to the bottom of the nightmare deck.
Every "Dylan Dog" card and every shadow card used must be returned to its respective deck.
The direction of movement cannot be reversed during the same move (unless the pawn moves from one plane to another).
Each time, first throw the die, then carry out the action of the passage, the matching square, or whatever the square you landed on dictates.

The rulebook closes with the words "Avete capito tutto? Beh, nel mondo dell'incubo c'è sempre spazio per l'incertezza. Ma vedrete che già dalla seconda partita, nella nebbia, incomincerete a vedere delle strane ombre... Auguri a tutti voi!!!" ("Have you understood everything? Well, in the world of nightmares there is always room for uncertainty. But you will see that already from the second game, in the fog, you will begin to see strange shadows... Good luck to you all!!!").