Ghosts Love Candy
Ghosts Love Candy Rulebook
Table of Contents
Table of Contents
Contents
- 54 Ghost Cards (6 sets of 1-9)
- 6 Love Cards
- 48 Candy Cards (6 sets of 8 candy types)
- 24 Kid Cards
Object of the Game
Haunt kids and gobble up as much candy as you can, but be careful not to scare the kids! The player with the highest score at the end of the game wins.
Game Setup
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Each player takes a set of ghosts (9 cards of the same color). These cards form your starting hand. Leave space in front of you for your stash, which is where you will place all collected candies (and kids, if you're unlucky).
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Shuffle the Love cards and deal one to each player, face down. Place unused Love cards back in the box without looking at them. Your Love card indicates how valuable each candy type is to you at the end of the game, so keep it hidden from the other players. (The sample Love card lists values such as Peppermint 5, Gummies 4, Licorice 3, Candy Corn 2, Lollipops 1, Chocolate 0.)
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Shuffle the kids together to form the Kid deck and place it at the edge of the play area. Based on the number of players, deal kids into the neighborhood (face up, in a row next to the Kid deck).
- For three or four players, deal six kids into the neighborhood. The game will last eight rounds.
- For five or six players, deal eight kids into the neighborhood. The game will last six rounds. Return ghosts numbered 4 and 6 to the box.
Leave space on the opposite side of the Kid deck for discarded kids and ghosts. If the Kid deck ever runs out, remove all of the kids from the discard pile and shuffle them together to form a new Kid deck.
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Shuffle the candies together to form the Candy deck and place it immediately above the Kid deck. Leave space next to the Candy deck for discarded candies. (The Neighborhood diagram shows a sample setup: Candy Discard and Candy Draw above; Kid and Ghost Discard and Kid Draw below, with the kids in a row.)
How to Play
The basic rules for Ghosts Love Candy are described below. However, if any card in the game contradicts these rules, follow the rule on the card. If a card or rule tells you to do something that you can't do, skip that action.
The game is played in a series of rounds, each consisting of four steps. Follow these steps in order during each round.
1. Place Candy
At the start of the round, add one candy to each of the kids in the neighborhood (in the space immediately above each kid). All candies on a kid should be easily visible to all players.
2. Choose a Ghost
Choose a ghost from your hand and place it face down in front of you. On your turn, that ghost will haunt a kid. Once all players have chosen their ghosts, reveal them simultaneously.
3. Determine Turn Order
The player who revealed the highest-value ghost goes first, then the player who revealed the next-highest ghost goes next, and so on until all players have placed their selected ghosts.
Tied players each draw and reveal one card from the Kid deck. Look at the small numbers printed on the bottom right of each card. The player who reveals the highest of these numbers wins the tie, followed by the player who revealed the next-highest number, and so on. After resolving all ties, discard those kids and move on to the next step.
4. Players Take Turns
Each player completes a turn by following the steps in the On Your Turn section below.
Kid Card Anatomy
A Kid card shows: the Kid in Costume, the Character name, the Courage (the circled number), the Ability text, and the Card Number (small, bottom right). Example: WEREWOLF, Courage 15, "If you haunt the WEREWOLF with a ghost of equal or lower value than the last ghost that haunted him before you, place 1 candy from your stash on him." Card number 02.
On Your Turn
1. Place Your Ghost
Pick a kid to haunt. Place your ghost face up below that kid in the neighborhood.
If no other ghosts are haunting that kid, your ghost is the top ghost of a new pile. If ghosts are haunting that kid, play your ghost on top of all previous ghosts so that the number on each ghost is visible.
When a ghost is placed below a kid - for any reason - always place it on top of the pile. The ghost on top is the last ghost haunting that kid.
2. Take Candy
Immediately after haunting a kid, take all candy from that kid and place it face up in your stash.
3. Resolve Kid Ability
Resolve the ability listed on the haunted kid. Then move to the Scare Kids step. You may still haunt kids and use their abilities when they have no candy.
Read the ability on each kid carefully to see when it takes effect.
- Ability text in a blue box takes effect immediately after you take candy.
- Ability text in a yellow box takes effect in a unique way.
4. Scare Kids
If the total value of all ghosts haunting a kid equals or exceeds that kid's Courage (the circled number on the Kid card), that kid becomes scared.
Check the kids in the neighborhood to see if any are scared. Begin with the kid closest to the Kid deck, then check the adjacent kid, and keep moving down the line until all kids have been checked once.
If a kid becomes scared:
- Put that card into the stash of the last player who haunted that kid.
- Discard all ghosts on the scared kid.
- If any candy is on the kid, discard it.
- Immediately reveal the top card of the Kid deck and place it face up in the neighborhood in the same spot the scared kid just left.
Then continue checking to see if any remaining kids have become scared. When the Scare Kids step is completed, your turn ends.
End of Round
After all players have taken a turn, the next round begins. All cards in the neighborhood (kids, candy, and ghosts) remain in play.
End of Game
When the last Candy card is placed, finish the round. The game is over.
All players reveal their Love cards. Your Love card tells you how many points each candy in your stash is worth. Look at the kids still in the neighborhood, because they may change these values or your total score.
Subtract 2 points for each kid in your stash, unless that kid's ability says otherwise.
The player with the highest score wins. If there is a tie, the tied players shout "BOO!" and everyone plays again.
Sample Kid Cards (from the Neighborhood diagram)
- SKELETON (Courage 10): Move a scared kid from any player's stash to any other player's stash.
- ANGEL (Courage 10): You may swap a ghost from your hand for a ghost of your own that is in the discard pile.
- ZOMBIE (Courage 1): If the ZOMBIE is in your stash the next time you scare a kid, a new kid is not revealed. Instead, return the ZOMBIE to the neighborhood to replace the scared kid.
- NINJA (Courage 10): Move a ghost in the neighborhood to any other kid. That ghost's player does not receive candy or use an ability for this move.
- BLACK CAT (Courage 15): The player who scares the BLACK CAT may place her in any player's stash.
- VAMPIRE (Courage 10): Give 1 candy from your stash to the last player who haunted the VAMPIRE before you.
- PIRATE (Courage 10): You may take candy from any kid instead of the PIRATE.