Ghost Lift Rulebook

Table of Contents

Table of Contents

• Components
• Rules (3 to 6 Players)
  • Setup
  • Gameplay
    • A. Play Cards
    • B. Pass
  • Ending Your Turn
  • End of the Round
  • End of the Game
• 2-Player Games
  • Setup
  • Ending Your Turn
• Simplified Rules (For 3 to 6 Players)
  • Setup
  • Gameplay
    • A. Play Cards
    • B. Pass
  • Ending Your Turn
• Credits

Components

• 60 Cards (6 of each, numbers 1-10)
• 60 Ghost Tokens (6 of each, numbers 1-10) — each token has a white front and a green back.
• 1 Indicator tile, needle & peg set. Push the needle into the Indicator tile ready for your first game.

Some cards show an icon called the Up icon. You'll see it on all number 1 cards, and some number 3, 7, and 9 cards. Other cards show the Down icon instead. You'll see it on all number 10 cards, and some number 2, 4, and 8 cards.

Rules (3 to 6 Players)

Your goal is to play all the cards in your hand before the other players do, by making the most of the number combinations you have.

Setup

1. Shuffle all the cards together and deal 6 cards to each player. These cards become your hand.
2. Make a face-down pile in the center of the table with the remaining cards. This is the deck.
3. Leave space in the center of the table; this is where you will play your cards face up.
4. Take 1 card from the top of the deck and place it face up in that space. This is the first of the Center cards.
5. Place the Indicator tile near the Center card. If the Center card shows a number from 1 to 5, move the needle on the Indicator to the Up position. If it shows a number from 6 to 10, move the needle to the Down position. Just this once, ignore any Up or Down icons on the card.
6. Turn cards over from the deck and line them up next to it, until there are 3 different numbers. These make up the Revealed row. If you draw multiple cards with the same number, stack them so they slightly overlap, keeping all cards visible. (Cards with the same number are considered matching, regardless of any icons.)
7. Separate the Ghost tokens by number and place them to the side.
8. Whoever had a scare most recently becomes the first player.

The table area is laid out as: your Hand, the Space in the center (where Center cards are played), the Revealed row, and the Deck, with the Indicator and the Ghost tokens set to the side.

Gameplay

Players take turns, starting with the first player and continuing clockwise. On your turn you can either Play Cards or Pass. Then, the next player takes their turn.

A. Play Cards

A1. To play a card, take it from your hand and place it on the table, face up, following these rules:

How to Play Cards

When There Are Center Cards

• If the Indicator needle points to the Up icon, you must play a card with a higher number than the Center card(s). If it points to the Down icon, you must play a card with a lower number than the Center card(s). You cannot play cards with the same number as the Center card(s).
• You can play several cards of the same number at once. However, the amount of cards you can play always depends on how many Center cards have just been played. Count how many Center cards there are, and then play the same amount of cards, or 1 extra (following the Up or Down needle). In other words, if there are 2 Center cards, you must play 2 or 3 cards of the same number. You could not play 1 or 4 cards. If you do have 4 cards of the same number, you don't have to play them all at once. You can play just 2 or 3 of them.

When There Are No Center Cards

• You may play any 1 card. If all the cards in your hand have the same number, you may play them all together to empty your hand.

A2. Some cards have Up and Down icons on them. When you play a card with one of these icons on it, move the needle on the Indicator tile to match that icon. When you play multiple cards of the same number, you can play cards that have icons together with ones that do not. If any of the cards you played show a Up or Down icon, move the needle on the Indicator tile to match it.

A3. The card(s) you played become the new Center card(s).

B. Pass

When you can't play a card — or don't want to — you can say "pass" to skip your turn. However, you will still keep taking your future turns. You get to choose between Play Cards or Pass each time your turn comes around.

If every player chooses to pass after the last person to play their cards, take all of the Center cards and move them to the side. Then, the last person that played cards chooses any card(s) from their hand to play, and the game continues.

Ending Your Turn

After playing cards or passing, you may choose 1 card stack from the Revealed row to add to your hand. If you do, you must take all the cards in that stack.

Immediately replace the stack in the Revealed row by turning over new cards from the deck. If you draw multiple cards with the same number, stack them so they slightly overlap, keeping all cards visible. (Cards with the same number are considered matching, regardless of any icons.)

Replenishing

If the deck runs out, shuffle together any cards that were moved to the side, as well as any cards beneath the current Center card(s), to form a new deck.

End of the Round

As soon as any player completely empties their hand by playing their last card(s), the round ends.

If you have any cards left in your hand when the round ends, you get haunted by the ghosts! Take 1 Ghost token for each matching number remaining in your hand. Place each token in front of you, with the white side facing up. The white side shows that you have been haunted by that numbered ghost once. You only need to take 1 Ghost token for each number in your hand, even if you have multiples of that number.

If you already have a Ghost token in front of you that matches a number left in your hand, flip the token to the green side. The green side shows that you have been haunted by that ghost a second time.

To start the next round, the player to the left of the one who played all their cards becomes the new first player.

End of the Game

As soon as a player is haunted by Ghost tokens one too many times, the game is over and that player loses! The other players all win. You lose if:

• You are haunted by the same ghost 3 times. If you have a green Ghost token in front of you and you have cards left in your hand with that number at the end of the round, you lose.
• You are haunted twice by 3 or more different ghosts. If you reach 3 or more green Ghost tokens in front of you at once, you lose.

If several players lose at the same time, use the following tiebreakers to find the most haunted player:

1. The player with the most green Ghost tokens.
2. The player with the highest number on a green Ghost token.
3. The player with the most white Ghost tokens.

2-Player Games

In a 2-player game, you are still aiming to play all the cards in your hand before your opponent by making the most of your number combinations. However, victory now comes by forcing your opponent to pass on their turn. Be creative with your cards and move your opponent into situations where they can't play any!

There are some rule differences for 2 players, as outlined below.

Setup

1. Shuffle all the cards together and deal 10 cards to each player (instead of 6) to form your hand.
2. Turn cards over from the deck and line them up next to it until there are 4 different numbers (instead of 3) to make the Revealed row. If you draw multiple cards with the same number, stack them so they slightly overlap, keeping all cards visible. (Cards with the same number are considered matching, regardless of any icons.)

Ending Your Turn

Firstly, take cards from the Revealed row. If you played card(s) on your turn, you can take one stack of cards from the Revealed row to add to your hand, but you do not have to.

If you passed on your turn, you must take 1 stack of cards from the Revealed row and add it to your hand. Then, take all of the Center cards currently in play and move them aside. The last person that played cards chooses 1 card from their hand (or all of them if they are all the same number) to play, and the game continues.

Immediately replace an empty stack in the Revealed row by turning over new cards from the deck. If you draw multiple cards with the same number, stack them so they slightly overlap, keeping all cards visible. Keep going until you have 4 stacks (instead of 3).

Simplified Rules (For 3 to 6 Players)

These rules make Ghost Lift quicker to pick up and play. You'll still be trying to play all the cards in your hand before your opponents, but you don't need to work on the combinations you have. Instead, you need to think about what to do in case you don't get rid of your cards first!

The rule changes are outlined below:

Setup

1. Shuffle all the cards together and deal 8 cards to each player (instead of 6) to form your hand.
2. There is no Revealed row.

Gameplay

A. Play Cards

How to Play Cards

• Ignore how many Center cards there are when you play your cards.
• You may play multiple cards of the same number at once, regardless of how many Center cards there are (instead of the same amount or 1 more).
• If there are no Center cards, you can play as many as you like (instead of just 1) as long as they are all the same number.

B. Pass

If you choose to pass, you must take 1 card from the top of the deck and add it to your hand.

Ending Your Turn

Do not take any more cards, your turn is over once you play cards or pass.

Credits

Game Design: onegear Illustration: Sai Beppu Graphic Design: Sai Beppu Game Development: Takafumi Sugiki, Naoki Hashimoto English translation: Maisy Hatchard

Engames Inc. 2-3-1, Distribution Center Mitoda, Imizu, TY 9390402, Japan https://engames.jp