Horror on the Orient Express: The Board Game Rulebook

Table of Contents

Components
Setup
General Overview
Sequence of Play
Moving the Train
Narrative Cards, Game End
Changing Difficulty
Appendix 1 — Rituals
Appendix 2 — Event Tokens List

Components

4 Investigator boards
78 Investigator Skill tiles
6 Rest tiles (4 regular and 2 special)
12 General Skill tiles
6 Investigator Portrait tiles
6 Investigator minis
6 Investigator Basic Action tiles
12 Attribute tiles
4 Investigator bases
4 Health markers
4 Stamina markers
6 Suspect minis
4 Silver Rest Action markers
28 Sanity markers
32 Gold Action markers
6 Suspect bases
Main board
Train mini
Locomotive
6 Car Action plaques
6 Car Chassis and Windows
6 Car Curtains
6 Starting Landscapes, 10 Large Landscapes, 8 Medium Landscapes, 10 Small Landscapes
3 Monster cards
7 Monster Unleashed cards
15 Monster minis
8 Block tokens
12 Witness Tampering tokens
10 Fade tokens
22 Passenger dice
7 Incantation cards
5 Ritual sheets
10 Ritual tokens
30 Essence tokens
10 Illness markers
12 Desire Clue tokens
6 Ticket Clue tokens
15 Feature Clue tokens
6 Suspect boards
6 Cultist/Not Cultist tokens
6 Suspect tiles
Vampire board
Vampire mini
Conversation bag with 22 Conversation tokens
1 Landscape Setup card
20 Item cards
7 Coffin minis
10 Vampire Strength tiles
Event bag with 30 Event tokens
Event board
9 Passenger cards
Clue sheet notepad
12 Spell cards
Grimoire board
12 Occult tokens
5 Help cards
45 Story cards
30 Quest cards
25 Feature cards
6 Fez Council cards

Before the first game, assemble the Cars and the Locomotive following the instructions added to the box.

Setup

We recommend sitting in "theater style," with all Investigators on one side.

Main Game Area

Place the Main board in the middle of the table.
Place the Locomotive at the far right spot on the Main board. Set its Speed dial to "1." Place the Locomotive Action plaque (the one with "Train Speed +1") in the designated spot.
Place the Monsters Unleashed deck and the Locomotive Event tokens near the Locomotive.
Assemble the 6 Cars by mounting the Windows and Curtains. Then randomly select 3 Action plaques and place them with the Action side facing out and the remaining 3 with the inactive side facing out (Action facing in). Randomize which Trains get the Actions and which do not. Place the Cars behind the Locomotive in a random order.
Place Passenger Dice according to the "Starting Passengers" Help card (you can choose either Base or Harder setup — page 43). There will be a few dice left—put them aside.
Hang the Vampire mini outside the Car indicated by the "Starting Passengers" Help card.
Randomly select or choose 1 of the 6 Starting Landscape tiles and place it face up above the railroad tracks. Next, choose 1 of the 6 layouts from the Landscape Setup card and fill the spaces to the right by placing Landscape tiles face down in the size and order shown on the card.
Place all Coffin minis next to the Main board.
Place all 8 Block tokens next to the Main board.
Pull the Conversation token with the Clue icon and set it aside. The game will indicate when to use this one. Place the remaining 21 of the 22 Conversation tokens in the Conversation bag and set it next to the Main board.
Place the 3 Monster cards to the left of the Main board in the order depicted by the Monster Portal of the Starting Landscape. Place 5 Monster minis of each color next to their matching card.
Using the order depicted on the Monster Portal on the Starting Landscape tile, place 1 Monster next to each of the 3 rearmost Cars.
Choose and place a Ritual sheet and Ritual tokens next to the Main board. For your first game, we recommend choosing the Black Magic ritual.
Read the back of the chosen Ritual sheet and resolve its setup steps.
Place the number of Essence tokens specified by the Ritual sheet next to the Main board. Follow the Ritual sheet instructions regarding the Essence tokens.
Place the Grimoire board and the deck of shuffled Spell cards below the Main board.
Place all 12 Occult tokens on the Grimoire board. Place 1 token on both spaces in the 1st row, 2 tokens on both spaces in the 2nd row, and 3 tokens on both spaces in the 3rd row.
Shuffle the Item cards and set them next to the Grimoire board.
Place the Quest, Feature, Fez Council, and Story cards next to the board. You don't need to shuffle them—you will be searching for specific cards during the game.
Place the Locomotive mini at the track so that its front is touching rail space #43.

For Each Player

Choose 1 of 4 player colors, and take its matching Investigator board.
Choose an Investigator, and place their Portrait tile stable side up (the side without the shattered glass) in its dedicated slot.
Of their 13 Skill tiles, place 5 of your Investigator's First Level Skills in the slots on your Investigator board.
Take all 5 of your Investigator's Second Level Skill tiles, and place them close to your Investigator board. You may look at them at any time during the game.
Take all 3 of your Investigator Specialty Skill tiles, and place them close to your Investigator board. You may look at them at any time during the game.
Take the Rest Skill tile and place it in its dedicated slot.
Take the mini matching your Investigator, and place it in the base matching the color of your Investigator board.
As per the back of your Investigator's Basic Action tile:
- Place your mini in its starting Car.
- Place the Sanity tokens.
Set the Stamina and the Health markers at 7 on their tracks—Stamina below and Health above and to the right.
Place the Investigator Basic Action tile with the Basic Actions side up on your Investigator board.
Take 9 Action markers (1 Silver and 8 Gold). Place the Silver one next to the Rest Skill tile and the Gold ones on the Action track.

For All Players

Randomly draw 6 General Skill and 6 Attribute tiles, and place them face up where all players can see them.
From these tiles, each player chooses 1 General Skill and places it on their Investigator board.
Then, each player chooses 1 Attribute, resolves its effect, and then places it face down on their Investigator board.
Return all unchosen Attributes and General Skills to the box—you won't need them for this playthrough.

Suspects

Place the 1st Class and 2nd Class Suspect boards—3 of each—within view of all players.
Randomly assign each Suspect board a Suspect tile. Place the Suspect tiles with their active (not crossed-out) side up on their dedicated spaces.
Shuffle all Ticket, Desire, and Feature Clue tokens, and place all of them face down on their matching Suspect board spots. No Clue tiles should remain unplaced.
On the middle Suspect board of each class type reveal 1 Desire Clue token (2 total), so that a 1st Class Suspect and a 2nd Class Suspect each start with 1 Desire Clue token revealed.
Flip the Suspect tiles on these 2 Suspect boards to their crossed-out sides.
Find 2 Quest cards matching the revealed Desire Clue tokens (do not look at the backs of these cards!), and place them underneath the respective Suspect boards so that only the bottom part sticks out.
Take 6 Suspect minis and 6 Suspect square bases. Attach each mini to the base matching the color of their Suspect board.
Randomly place 1 Suspect mini in each Car, excluding the Locomotive.

Event Board

Place the Event board next to the Main board.
Place 8 Event tokens shown in the setup image into the green Event bag.
Shuffle the Passenger cards, and place the deck face down on its dedicated spot on the Event board.
Place 11 Event tokens shown in the setup image on the discard area of the Event board.

Help Cards and Clue Sheet

Keep all 5 Help cards nearby to be used as player aids during the game.
Use a Clue sheet notepad to aid in your investigation. Use a pencil to mark the Clue tiles that have already been revealed.

Vampire Board

Place the Vampire board next to the Main board.
Place 5 Vampire Strength tiles as shown in the setup image.
Place the next layer of Vampire Strength tiles on the last 3 spots as shown in the setup image. In total, there should be 8 Vampire Strength tiles placed on its board.

Remaining Components

You will only use the game-difficulty components if you took specific Attribute tiles during the Investigator setup or you used specific Items during the game.
You will use certain components when the game instructs you to.
You will only use certain components if you decide to play an easier game—read more about game difficulty later in this rulebook.

Turn Order

Decide together who will be the first player. Play will proceed clockwise, starting with this player's turn.

General Overview

What Is Going On Here?

It is the early 1920s. You are playing as Investigators who boarded the Orient Express. At some point in your journey, something odd happened—the Train is not moving through the green fields of Europe anymore. Someone has cast a horrible spell, and you are in the mysterious Dreamlands right now. You need to survive this journey and find the Cultists responsible for this nightmare to stop them from doing any more harm!

You Are in This Together

Remember that Horror on the Orient Express is a fully cooperative game. There is no hidden information, no traitors, no bluffing. You may—and should—discuss your plans and Actions with other players.

Flow of the Game

Horror on the Orient Express is played in turns. On your turn you must perform 1 Main Action and up to 2 Basic Actions in any order. Main Actions let you use your Investigator's unique and powerful Skills to get closer to the goal of the game. Basic Actions are mostly the same for all Investigators, and they allow you to do common things, like moving around the Orient Express.

After you are done with your Actions, you must draw an Event token from the Event bag and resolve its effects. Some Events have immediate effects and may force you to draw yet another token. Others may be placed on a specific space of the Event Turn board and can activate all the tokens there, wreaking havoc to your plans.

At the end of your turn, the Train will move 1 space forward, bringing you closer and closer to the end of the game—one way or another. Moving the Train is the last thing you should do on your turn, then the next player can play.

Player Turn:

Taking Main Action and up to 2 Basic Actions.
Drawing Event token(s).
Resolving the Event board (conditional).
Moving the Train 1 space forward.

How to Win

Your goal in this game is to get to the end of the Train route and then correctly identify all the Suspects—establishing who is a Cultist and who is not. The Train will move forward at the end of each player's turn. You will Talk to the Passengers on the Orient Express to discover Clues placed on Suspect boards.

How to Lose

You must be careful, observant, and skillful, as the game will try to defeat you by countering your efforts in several ways. If any condition from the list below is met, the players instantly lose the game:

When the Monster pool is empty, the monstrosities overcrawl the Train and eat you all alive.
When the Essence pool is empty, the border between Dreamlands and reality collapses, and your world is lost.
When the Coffin pool is empty, too many Passengers have died, and all other Passengers fall into hysteria.
When any Investigator loses all their Sanity, they go insane and you all lose.
When any Investigator's Health drops down to the point marked with a skull icon on their Investigator board, the Investigator dies, and you all lose.
If you make even a single mistake while identifying the Cultists after the Train reaches its final destination, you fail to stop them from performing the malicious Ritual.

All ways you can lose are described in detail later in this rulebook.

Important General Rules

Golden Rule — When there is a clash in rules between the rulebook and a component, the component always takes precedence.

No Null Choices — Choosing an option that does nothing is only allowed if none of the options would impact the game state.

Everything Is Local — Unless specifically instructed otherwise, everything you do—to Monsters, Passengers, Suspects, etc.—happens in your Car.

Banish and Discard — Banish: return this component back to the box. It will no longer be a part of the current game. Discard: return this component back to its original pool. It can return to the game and be used again. When you need to discard a card, slide it to the bottom of its deck. When you need to discard an Event token, place it in the discard pool on the Event board.

Undefined Situations — If you are unable to find a ruling on a particular situation in the game, assume the least-beneficial interpretation and run with it. That is, unless it is about Spells or Items then strive for the most epic first!

Effects Resolution — When resolving any effects, always follow the order in the text and always resolve as many effects as possible. When there are multiple options, check the type of divider between them: an "or"-type divider allows you to choose which option you would like to resolve—if presented with multiple choices, you may make different choices with each go; a "then"-type divider means you must apply the first available option, and if it is unavailable, proceed to the next option after the icon.

All Evil Comes from the Front — Whenever you need to resolve an effect that concerns multiple targets or you have to decide which target to choose, always start with the Locomotive (the right side of the route of the Train) and move toward the back of the Orient Express.

The Investigators

Each player controls one chosen Investigator, which is represented by their own mini. Investigator bases have a round shape that matches the shape of the Investigator's Portraits. The color of the base should correspond with the color of the Investigator board.

There are components on your Investigator board that describe your Investigator.

Basic Actions — Each Investigator has a tile listing all their available Basic Actions. They are identical for all Investigators except for the last Basic Action from the list, which has a unique name and effect for each Investigator.

Attribute — Before the game, each Investigator chooses 1 Attribute—a personal feature that gives an extra boost at the start of the game.

Sanity and Unstable Status — Each Investigator starts the game with a different number of Sanity tokens. During the game, Sanity can be lost or spent—for example when you use Spells. When it reaches a certain level (different for each Investigator) marked by the Unstable icon on your Portrait, you have to flip your Investigator Portrait to the Unstable side. While you can gain Sanity during the game, you can never come back from the Unstable status. When any Investigator loses their last Sanity token, they go insane, and the players lose the game.

Health and Stamina — Health represents your physical condition. Losing Health represents wounds and other injuries. When your Health marker reaches the space with the skull icon, your character dies and all the players lose the game. Health also determines your maximum Stamina level. Stamina is your energy. It represents the ability to sustain your activity—you have to spend Stamina to perform most Basic Actions. When it reaches "0," your choices will be very limited and you will probably be forced to Rest.

Skills — Each Investigator has a unique set of Skills. When taking your Main Action, you choose one of your Skills and mark it with an Action marker that blocks that Skill until you Rest. Apart from the Skills that are assigned to your Investigator, each player chooses one additional General Skill for their character before the start of the game.

Rest — Rest is a special Main Action you can take instead of using a Skill. It is always available and lets you restore some Stamina, refresh used Skills, and develop your character.

The Suspects

There are 6 Suspects on the Orient Express. Each of them is represented by a mini with a square base that matches the shape of their portraits. The color of the base should match the color of the Suspect board.

Suspects travel in the 1st or 2nd Class as marked on their Suspect boards.

Suspects are important characters—hidden among them are the Cultists. The goal of the game is to correctly identify which of them are Cultists when the Train reaches its destination. In order to do that, you must reveal Clues on the Suspect boards—usually by Talking to the Passengers.

Each Suspect also has a Favor—a unique ability they can use to help the Investigators in their struggle.

The Passengers

The Passengers are the innocent people who found themselves in the wrong place at the wrong time. Unlike Investigators and Suspects, the Passengers are represented by custom dice. You do not roll these dice, you just use their 6 different faces to determine the status of each Passenger: Wounded, Panicked, Insane, Calm, Happy, Angry.

There is also the 7th status—a Dead Passenger. You mark this status by placing a Coffin mini onto that Passenger die. When the 7th Passenger dies (you have taken the last Coffin from the pool), the players lose the game.

The Orient Express

The Orient Express consists of 6 Cars and a Locomotive. Each Car has character spots for the Investigators, Passengers, and Suspects. Each Car has a name and possibly a special Action. Each Car also has Curtains that can be Opened or Closed to influence the way Monsters, Portals, and the Vampire impact the game. Opening and closing the Curtains is also relevant for some Skills.

The Locomotive is considered a Car like the 6 others, with a few differences. It has only 4 spots for the characters, the Vampire cannot enter the Locomotive, and it does not have any Curtains—always consider them Closed. The Locomotive is always the first Car of the Orient Express.

Sequence of Play

Player Turn

Each turn represents the passage of time aboard the Orient Express, bringing new challenges and dangers. The order of play should be decided by all the players before the first turn and then followed until the end of the game. Each player must finish their turn before the next player's turn starts.

Each turn consists of these four steps:

Take 1 mandatory Main Action and up to 2 Basic Actions in any order. In this step, your Investigator will impact the game in their own unique way. Main Actions are described on the Skill tiles placed on your Investigator board. When you use a Skill, mark it by placing an Action marker next to it. Basic Actions are seemingly "smaller," but can be as impactful as the Main ones! You have to pay for them in Stamina or, in the case of the Cast a Spell Action, in Sanity. The cost is listed on your Investigator Basic Action tile. "In any order" means you can perform the Main Action after, before, or in between the Basic Actions.
Draw an Event token. After your Investigator is done with their Actions, you must draw an Event token from the Event bag. You must resolve its effect (although there is a way to redraw a token, do not worry).
Resolve the Event board (conditional). If there are 3 different Event tokens on the Event board (there is only 1 space without any token), the game will now try to actively hurt everyone on the Orient Express.
Move the Train forward by 1 space. You must move the small Train on the track at the bottom of the Main board by 1 space forward.

After all these steps have been resolved, the next player begins their turn.

Basic Actions

Basic Actions are the most common moves you will perform in the game. In short, you will be able to:

Move around on the Orient Express.
Use Items—powerful Artifacts and Tomes.
Open and close the Curtains.
Interact with the Suspects—ask them about intriguing objects they carry, fulfill the Quests they have for you, or ask them to grant you unique Favors.
Cast powerful, yet dangerous Spells.
Perform a unique Basic Action, reflecting your Investigator's distinct skills.

Basic Action Cost — It costs 1 Stamina to perform each Basic Action, with the exception of Cast a Spell, which costs 1 Sanity. Select any Basic Action on your Investigator Basic Action tile, pay the cost, and resolve its effects.

Note: You may use the same Basic Action more than once in a turn.

Note: Each Investigator has a Basic Action available only for them, listed at the bottom of their Investigator Basic Action tile.

Main Actions

Main Actions are your powerful moves. Each Investigator has their own unique set of Skills that can be used as such. In short, you will be able to:

Talk to the Passengers to reveal the truth about the Cultists hiding among the Suspects on the Orient Express. You need to correctly identify all the Suspects to win the game.
Fight the Monsters in order to save the very lives and souls of everyone on board. It is important—if you let all the Monsters catch up with the Orient Express, you will lose!
Discard Essence tokens into the Essence pool to dispel the powerful magic feeding the Portals. If the pool ever runs out of Essence tokens, the border between the Dreamlands and your world will collapse and you will lose!
Manage the Passengers to keep them from getting hurt. If too many of them die, it means you failed your mission to protect them and lose the game.

Main Action Cost — Select any Skill tile on your Investigator board that does not have an Action marker next to it. Place the leftmost Action marker from the Action track next to the chosen Skill, then resolve its effects.

Note: Some Skills have conditions (highlighted in yellow) that specify where or when you can use them. You cannot use a Skill whose condition is not met.

Main Action — Talking

Suspects — Suspects are the people on board the Orient Express who may be Cultists. Suspects travel either 1st or 2nd Class as indicated by their Suspect boards. Each Suspect has an ability that can be used to help Investigators in various ways. This ability is called a Favor.

At the end of the game, the Investigators must correctly identify which Suspects are Cultists. If any Suspect is wrongly identified, the players lose the game.

Clues — At the start of the game, all Clues are placed on the Suspect boards with most placed face down. Revealing Clues gives you information that is used to determine whether or not a Suspect is a Cultist. The main way to reveal the Clues is to Talk to the Passengers.

There are 3 types of Clues:

Ticket — Each Suspect has exactly 1 Ticket Clue.
Desire — Each Suspect can have one or more Desire Clues. Whenever the first Desire Clue of a Suspect is revealed, find the corresponding Quest card and, without looking at the back side of the card, slide it under this Suspect's board.
Feature — Each Suspect can have one or more Feature Clues. You can Ask the Suspect about some of their Features.

Mystic Clue Tokens — On the face-up side, Clue tokens can be either Regular (grey background) or Mystic (green background). Clue tokens are important for Cultist identification.

Talking — Talking allows you to reveal the Clues about Suspects and additionally may let you gain Favors, Items, or Occult tokens. When using an Action to Talk, you target a Passenger or a Suspect in the Car you are in. Talking is a Skill with a keyword Talk X with an indicated target. While Talking, you will be drawing Conversation tokens from the beige Conversation bag.

There are 3 types of Conversation tokens:

Horizontal — information
Vertical — rewards
Vertical — penalties

Talking happens in 3 steps: Prepare, Converse, and Resolve.

1. Prepare the Talk — Draw Conversation tokens equal to the number in your Talk X Skill on your Investigator board. You may return any or all to the bag before proceeding to step 2.

2. Converse — Continue to draw tokens, hoping to match 2 Horizontal tokens and rewards. A Talk ends when:

a. You decide to stop drawing tokens. This is considered a successful Talk. b. You draw a 3rd Horizontal token with the same icon on it. In that case, the Talk is considered a failure.

3. The Resolution

Success — If the Talk is successful, you may gain 2 types of rewards: Clues or additional bonuses. For each pair of identical Horizontal tokens, choose and reveal any single Clue of the indicated type. After you reveal all the Clues, resolve all rewards from the Green tokens. Ignore Red tokens because your Talk was successful. Rewards from Green tokens include: gain a Favor with any Suspect, draw an Item from the Item deck, reveal any Clue token, or gain an Occult token.

Failure — If the Talk failed, reveal 1 Clue of the type that caused the Talk to fail (i.e. was the 3rd one of its type). Then, resolve all penalties from the Red tokens. Ignore Green tokens because your Talk failed. Penalties from Red tokens include: lose 1 Sanity, lose 1 Health, or banish 1 Essence from the pool.

Regardless of the result of the Talk action, put all the tokens back into the Conversation bag.

Clue Revealing Rules — The Conversation bag contains 3 Horizontal tokens for each Clue type. Matching 2 Horizontal tokens allows you to reveal Ticket, Desire, or Feature Clues, as well as 1st Class Suspect and 2nd Class Suspect Clues. When you reveal the 1st or 2nd Class Suspect Clues, you can choose any 1 Clue of a Suspect in this specific class. You may reveal the Clues in any order. You may reveal a Clue token on a Suspect anywhere. This Suspect does not have to be in the same Car as your Investigator.

Desire Clues and Quests — When you reveal the first Desire Clue on a Suspect, place the corresponding Quest card below their Suspect board. This means that you do not place a Quest card if this Suspect already has a revealed Desire Clue token.

Talking Examples — Example: a player with the Talk 4 Skill prepares a Talk by drawing 4 Conversation tokens. They return the Red Penalty token to the bag, and also return the "Ticket" Conversation token, since all the Tickets have already been revealed and it is no longer useful. They proceed to Conversing.

In one continuation, the player draws 8 more tokens, stopping after the third Red Penalty token. Since they did not draw 3 Horizontal Clue tokens of the same type, the Talk is a success. They drew 2 Feature Clues and 2 Desire Clues, so they reveal 1 of each on any Suspect. They also gain 1 Occult token due to the Green Reward token.

In an alternate continuation, the player draws 8 more tokens, but unfortunately draws 3 Feature Clue tokens, so the Talk fails. They still reveal 1 Feature Clue, but due to the Red Penalty tokens, they lose 1 Health and banish 1 Essence token from the pool. The Clues and Rewards are lost and returned to the bag.

Cultist Identification — Identifying Cultists requires revealing Clue tokens on the Suspect boards. A Suspect is a Cultist if at least one (or two or even all three!) of the following conditions is met when all the Clues are revealed:

Chosen — They carry a Blood-Red Fez (there is only 1 such Feature Clue token).
Herald — They are going to Constantinople (there are 3 Constantinople Ticket Clue tokens), they want an Artifact (there are 2 such Desire Clue tokens), and they do not possess a protective Elder Sign (there are 3 such Feature Clue tokens).
Zealot — They carry 4 or more Mystic (green background) Clue tokens.

If a Suspect does not meet any of the conditions listed on the Cultist Identity Help card, they are not a Cultist. This information is also listed on the Cultist Identity Help card.

Note: Due to the random setup of the Clue tokens it is possible to have between 1 and 6 Cultists on the Orient Express each game.

Main Action — Fighting Monsters

When using a Skill to fight a Monster, you target a Monster by the Car you are in.

There are 3 ways of fighting Monsters, each using its own keyword: Kill, Push +X, and Stun.

Kill — Discard the Monster from the Orient Express and place it back in the Monster pool.

Push +X — Pushing a Monster moves it toward the back of the Orient Express. The number of Cars that the Monster is pushed back by is equal to X in the Push +X plus the Train's Speed value (indicated on the Locomotive Speed dial). If the Monster is pushed back by a number of Cars that is greater than the number of Cars behind that Monster (i.e., pushed off the Orient Express), Kill that Monster.

Example: The Train's Speed is 1. A Skill with Push +1 value against a Monster gives total Push power of 1 (from the Skill) + 1 (from the Train's Speed) = 2, which may be just enough to Push the Monster off the Orient Express (behind the last Car).

Stun — Stunning a Monster prevents it from attacking the Orient Express during the next resolution of the Monster Event. Place the stunned Monster in the Pursuit section at the bottom of the Event board. After resolving the Monster Event, move all the Monsters from the Pursuit to the rearmost Car.

Note: If the Monster pool is entirely empty—there are no Monsters of any color left—you lose the game. Therefore, fighting the Monsters not only keeps you safe but is also necessary to avoid losing. Remember, the Monsters in Pursuit are not in the pool. Stunning Monsters will not prevent you from losing the game this way!

Main Action — Essence and Passengers

Discarding Essence — If a Portal has any Essence on it (either as a token or printed icon on it), it is active. It means that this Portal will be resolved during the Event board resolution. Portals are deactivated when the last Essence token is discarded from them. When Essence is discarded, it is placed back in the Essence pool to be used again.

Note: Some Skills affect only Portals on current or past Landscapes. A Landscape is considered past when it is fully behind the Train (no part of the Train mini below that Landscape). Current means that the Landscape or Landscapes are above any part of the Train mini.

Some Portals have an Essence icon printed on them (e.g., the Portals on the Starting Landscapes) and are considered always active. Never place any Essence token on such Portals.

Note: Some game effects add Essence to Portals. This might reactivate a previously deactivated Portal!

Note: Essence can also be banished by other game effects, like Spells, Cultist activity, etc. You can never be too cautious about how much Essence is left in the pool!

If the Essence pool becomes empty, you lose the game. So, discarding Essence not only helps you deactivate Portals but is also necessary to avoid losing!

Managing Passengers — Some Skills allow you to move the Passengers around as well as change the Passenger status. The Passenger must be in the same Car as you, unless stated otherwise.

There are 2 ways of moving the Passengers between the Cars: Gather and Send.

Gather — Gathering is moving the Passengers from any other Car to your Car. You may not Gather the Passengers if there are no empty spaces in your Car.

Send — Sending is moving a Passenger from your Car to a designated Car. You may not send the Passengers if there are no empty spaces in a designated Car.

Note: Some Skills allow you to move the Suspects or even other Investigators in a similar way as you would move Passengers.

Changing the Passenger Status — During the game, the status of Passengers will often change. This can happen through Investigator Actions or as a result of game effects. The process is generally the same—you take a Passenger die and set it to the new face—but there are important differences depending on whether it is caused by a player or the game.

If the status change is the result of an Investigator Action (Main or Basic), all possible choices are made freely by the players. An icon meaning "any" means you can choose any Passenger die in your Car, regardless of their current status. This is why all player Actions use the "or" divider—players are free to choose between different types of Passengers separated by that symbol.

This works differently when the change in Passenger status is caused by a game effect, rather than a player Action. In those cases, Passengers are chosen according to a universal order (found on the back of Passenger cards, and also depicted on the Vampire board, indicating how it chooses its victims).

Example: If in the Sanctuary Car, an Investigator can use "Joint Prayer" to discard 1 Essence from any Portal, and then discard another 1 Essence from that Portal if the requirement of 3 Calm Passengers is met.

Main Action — Resting

Every Investigator is able to Rest as a Main Action. The Rest tile is exactly the same for all the Investigators.

Resting lets you restore some Stamina, refresh your used Skills, and develop your character. It works like any other Main Action, so you can take up to 2 Basic Actions before and/or after you Rest.

When Resting, perform these 3 steps:

Restore Stamina.
Spend Experience.
Return Action markers.

1. Restore Stamina — The Investigator restores the amount of Stamina indicated on the Rest tile (in most cases it will be 5). Stamina is limited by your Health marker. If the Investigator were to restore more Stamina than the Health marker would allow them to, the excess Stamina is lost.

Note: There are some special Rest tiles your Investigator can get during the game (for example, if you choose the "Vigorous" Attribute, you will get the "Quality Rest" tile that replaces the basic Rest tile). These tiles have small but important differences, so read them carefully.

2. Spend Experience — In this step, you can spend Experience to develop your Investigator. For each Experience symbol that is visible on your Action track on the bottom of your Investigator board, you can choose one of the following:

A. Upgrade a First Level Skill. B. Learn a new Specialty Skill. C. Gain 1 Occult token.

2A. Upgrade a Used Skill — Upgrading a First Level Skill lets you replace it with the corresponding Second Level Skill. You can only upgrade a Skill that you have used recently—there has to be an Action marker next to it. Each Skill can be upgraded only once during a game, and you cannot upgrade Rest, General Skills, or Specialty Skills.

2B. Learn a New Skill — Choose any Specialty Skill of your Investigator that you have not learned yet. Place that Skill on your Investigator board in an empty slot or replace any other Skill you have on the Investigator board with it.

2C. Gain an Occult Token — Move 1 Occult token from the Spell slot in the Grimoire with the fewest Occult tokens on it to the Investigators' common pool. If that Spell slot is now empty (with no Occult tokens or Spells on it), gain a new Spell.

3. Return Action Markers — Return all Action markers from the used Skills on your Investigator board to the Action track. This refreshes these Skills, making them available again in subsequent turns.

Note: The Rest Action marker has a distinct color and a designated space. After moving it and performing the Rest Action, return the marker to its starting position on your Investigator board.

Note: Since Actions may be taken in any order, it is possible to Rest first and then use the restored Stamina for Basic Actions.

Example: An Investigator with no Stamina left decides to take a Rest Action. In the first step, they restore 5 Stamina. Then, they may spend 2 Experience, since that is the number of visible symbols on their Action track. They decide to upgrade a Level 1 Skill to Level 2 (they can do this because there is an Action marker next to that Skill), replacing the Level 1 tile with the new one. The second Experience point is used to learn a new Specialty Skill, placed in a free spot on their board. Finally, all Action markers are returned to the Action track. After resolving the Rest, the Investigator still has the opportunity to perform up to 2 Basic Actions this turn.

Basic Actions — Essentials

Unique Basic Actions — Each Investigator has a special Basic Action that is available only to them. This Basic Action has its own name and is listed last on the Investigator's Basic Action tile. It can be used like any other Basic Action, simply by spending 1 Stamina and resolving its effect.

Use Car Action — In each game, the Locomotive and 3 random Cars will have unique Actions available. An Investigator that is in one such Car can use its Action.

Available Car Actions:

1st Class Sleeping — If you (collectively, since Items are shared) do not have an Item, gain an Item.
2nd Class Sleeping — Restore 3 Stamina. You still have to spend 1 Stamina to use this Action.
Salon — Change the status of 1 Angry or Panicked Passenger to Calm.
Dining — Gain a Favor with a Suspect present in this Car.
Sanctuary — Gather 1 Passenger, Suspect, or Investigator from anywhere to this Car.
Fourgon — If there are no Suspects in this Car, reveal 1 Ticket Clue.

Locomotive Car Action — The Locomotive Action is available in the game from the beginning. Unlike other Car Actions, the Locomotive Action can be used only twice per game. When you use this Action, increase Train Speed by 1 on the Locomotive Speed dial. Then add 1 "Train Moves" Fast Event token to the Event bag. Then, Push each Monster back by 1 Car—Monsters in the last Car will immediately be killed.

Note: There are only 2 additional "Train Moves" Event tokens. This tracks how many times you may still use the Locomotive Action—if there are no tokens left, you cannot use it anymore.

Move By Up to 2 Cars — Move your Investigator by up to 2 Cars away from their current Car.

Overcrowded Cars — Sometimes it can happen that all spots in a Car are occupied by Investigators, Suspects, Coffins, or Passengers. In that case, if an Investigator wants to enter that Car, they can exchange places with one chosen Passenger (and only with a Passenger). This Passenger is placed in the first Car with a free spot away from the direction of the Investigator's move.

Note: This rule does not apply to the situation when a Suspect or a Passenger wants to move to an overcrowded Car with all spots occupied. In that case, the Suspect or Passenger cannot move there and stays in their Car.

Example: An Investigator moves 2 Cars to the Sanctuary, where all spots are occupied. They can choose any Passenger (but not a Coffin or a Suspect) from the Sanctuary and place them elsewhere—for example, moving a Happy Passenger to the first Car with a free spot in the direction they came from.

Close/Open Curtains — Slide the Curtains in your current Car to Open or Closed. A Car with banished Curtains is always considered Open. The Locomotive is always considered Closed.

Basic Actions — Interactions with Suspects

When you are in a Car with a Suspect, you can interact with them in 3 different ways: Use Suspect Favor, Ask about Feature Clue, or Fulfill Suspect's Quest. Each of these is a different Basic Action.

Use Suspect Favor — Each Suspect has a special ability that can be used when you are in the same Car with that Suspect and they owe you a Favor (their tile is active side up). Spend the Favor by flipping the Suspect tile to the crossed-out side. Then resolve the Suspect's ability.

Example: An Investigator shares a Car with a Suspect (the Psychologist) and spends 1 Stamina to use this Suspect Favor, since it is active. They move the Suspect to an adjacent Car, where they change the status of a Passenger from Insane to Calm. Afterward, the Suspect tile must be flipped to the side with the inactive Favor.

Ask About a Feature Clue — You can Ask about some previously revealed non-Mystic Feature Clues. These Clues are marked with a question mark icon. Rotate that Clue upside down to indicate that it has already been Asked about, and read the description on one of the corresponding Feature cards, then resolve all of its effects. You cannot Ask about this Feature Clue again.

Note: Effects of the Feature cards connected with the Feature Clues are always positive or at least neutral. They are never negative.

Example: An Investigator asks a Suspect in their Car about their Feature Clue—a Talking Parrot. After spending 1 Stamina to use the appropriate Basic Action, the player rotates the Talking Parrot Clue token upside down, then finds 1 random Feature card corresponding to the Talking Parrot and resolves its effects.

Fulfill a Suspect's Quest — Each Suspect has personal Desires that provide Quests. You can learn about them by revealing Desire Clues. Fulfilling Quests can be beneficial provided you, ideally, help Suspects who are not Cultists.

When the first Desire Clue is revealed on a Suspect, a corresponding Quest card is placed below them. Desire Clue tokens have an exclamation icon as a reminder.

If the requirements of the Quest are met, the Investigator may choose to fulfill the Suspect's Quest. The Investigator must be in the same Car as the Suspect.

When this happens, reveal all of that Suspect's Clues and check whether they are a Cultist or not. Then, read the corresponding section on the back of the Quest card.

Example: An Investigator is in a Car with a Suspect who has a Quest requiring an Artifact Item. If the Investigators only have one Artifact, they must banish it to fulfill the Quest. As a result, they reveal all of that Suspect's Clues. If 4 of them turn out to be Mystic Clues (green background), the Suspect is a Cultist, and the players must now resolve the effect on the back of the Quest card—the part describing what happens when the fulfilled Suspect turns out to be a Cultist.

If you know that a Suspect is a Cultist, and all their Clue tokens are revealed, use the alternate Quest resolution—read a random Story card "01." The reminder of this rule is printed on the front of each Quest card.

Note: While you can fulfill Quests for any Suspect, helping someone who turns out to be a Cultist will have unspeakable consequences.

Basic Actions — Items and Spells

Use Item — Item cards come in two types: Tomes and Artifacts. You can use both of them to fight back against the nightmare more effectively. Be careful though—using them will always cost some of your Sanity or Health.

You can use an Item gained by any player—Items go to a common pool and are available to all Investigators. To use an Item, resolve the effect from the card (starting with losing Sanity or Health), then banish the card.

Note: Whenever the game instructs you to gain an Artifact or Tome Item, draw cards from the Item deck until you find the specified type of card. Keep it and shuffle all other drawn cards back into the deck.

Example: An Investigator uses the "Pnakotic Manuscripts" Item from the Investigators' inventory. First, they discard the leftmost Sanity token from their Investigator board. Then, according to the Item card's effect, they return all Action markers to their slots on the Action track. Finally, they restore all of their Stamina—up to their maximum based on their current Health level.

Cast a Spell — Spells are a more direct way to use magic in your favor. When you learn a new Spell you can use it—unlike Items—many times.

To Cast a Spell, you may choose any Spell in the Grimoire that does not have a Sanity token on it. (When you fully unlock a Grimoire slot by gaining enough Occult tokens, you physically place a Spell card there; this is how you gain a Spell.)

Then, take your leftmost Sanity token and place it on that Spell. This is the cost of the Cast a Spell Basic Action—unlike any other Basic Action, you must pay Sanity instead of Stamina in order to use this Action.

After that, resolve the Spell's effect. If your Investigator is Unstable, usually the effect of the Spell is more powerful.

Note: Sanity lost in Casting the Spell may make your Investigator become Unstable at that point. It happens immediately, so the Spell that is being Cast works with the stronger effect immediately.

Do not remove the Spell from the Grimoire after Casting it. You will be able to use it again when the Sanity token moves from the Spell to the bottom part of a Grimoire.

Occult Tokens and Grimoire

Occult Tokens — During setup, you place all 12 Occult tokens on the slots in the Grimoire. In each Spell slot, there are 1, 2, or 3 Occult tokens at the start of the game. Each time you gain an Occult token, take it from one of the Spell slots with the fewest Occult tokens on it.

When you gain the last Occult token from a Spell slot, you immediately learn a new Spell. Draw the top card from the Spell deck and place it face up in the just-emptied slot in the Grimoire—you and all other Investigators know that Spell now!

Acquired Occult tokens go to the Investigators' pool. Occult tokens (like Spells and Items) are shared by all players, and anyone can use Occult tokens regardless of who gained them. Occult tokens can change the fate of the Orient Express! You might use them to redraw Event tokens and to diminish the power of some Rituals.

Example: A successful Talk rewards an Investigator with an Occult token. Taking this token from the Grimoire completely clears the first Spell slot. As a result, players draw 1 Spell card from the Spell deck and place it on the just-emptied Grimoire slot. From now on, all Investigators can use this Spell.

Note: The number of Occult tokens is limited. There are only 12 of them, and whenever any are spent, they are banished, so use them wisely.

Grimoire — The Grimoire represents the Investigators' knowledge of the Spells and is shared by all Investigators. Slowly, as the Investigators learn more about the Occult by gaining Occult tokens, they learn new Spells.

Playing with magic has its price though: Each time an Investigator Casts a Spell, they have to pay 1 Sanity, which is placed on the just-cast Spell's card in the Grimoire. This blocks using that Spell until someone draws a "Grimoire" Event token from the bag. It also shows how often you use Spells during the game. It is important because playing with magic destabilizes the border between the Dreamlands and your reality.

Grimoire Event Tokens — Whenever you draw a "Grimoire" Event token from the Event bag, move all Sanity tokens from the Spell cards to the bottom of the Grimoire. Then, banish 1 Essence from the Essence pool for each Sanity token now at the bottom of the Grimoire (including tokens that were already there). Sanity tokens stay at the bottom of the Grimoire until the end of the game—the more magic you use, the harder it will hit you at some point in the future.

Example: After drawing a "Grimoire" Event token from the Event bag, a player must take 1 Sanity token from a Spell card that has one on it and place this token on the designated spot at the bottom of the Grimoire. If there are now 3 Sanity tokens at the bottom of the Grimoire, the player banishes 3 Essence tokens from the Essence pool.

Unstable Status — When you lose the Sanity token marked by the Unstable icon on your Investigator Portrait, flip the Portrait to the other side, marking that this Investigator has become Unstable. If your Investigator Portrait is on its Unstable side, you may use the stronger version of all the Spells you Cast. These stronger effects are described next to the Unstable icon on each Spell card.

If you become Unstable while Casting a Spell, you do that immediately, meaning you Cast that Spell immediately with the stronger effect.

Note: Once you become Unstable it is irreversible.

Draw an Event Token

Drawing an Event Token — After a player finishes their Main and Basic Actions, it is time to draw an Event token from the Event bag.

There are 3 types of Event tokens with different rules that apply to them after you draw them from the Event bag. You can distinguish them by their different outlines.

Regular Events (black & gold border)

Do not resolve this token's effect (yet).
Place the token on the Event board in a space matching this type of token. Note that the token is marked with the same number of dots on the outline as its dedicated space.
If another Event token or tokens already occupy this space, place the newly drawn one on top of them.
Do not draw any more Event tokens.

Fast Events (green border)

Resolve this token's effect.
Discard this token onto the discard pile on the Event board.
Draw another Event token and resolve it.

Slow Events (red border)

Resolve this token's effect.
Discard this token onto the discard pile of the Event board.
Do not draw any more Event tokens.

In this step, you can draw one or more Event tokens, resolving them one by one. You keep drawing Event tokens as long as you draw Fast Event tokens. When you draw a Regular or a Slow Event token, the Event step ends after resolving that token (or placing it on the Event board if it was a Regular Event).

Redrawing a Token — After drawing a single Event token (but before resolving its effect), you may spend an Occult token to place the just-drawn token back into the Event bag and draw a new one. Banish the spent Occult token. You may do this as many times as you want, as long as you have Occult tokens to spend. You cannot do this if, after drawing an Event token, the Event bag would be empty.

Empty Event Bag — When you have drawn the last Event token from the Event bag, it remains empty until you need to draw another token. In that case, return all Event tokens from the Event board discard area to the Event bag before drawing the Event token. Do not return any Event tokens from the dedicated spots on the Event board (meaning each Regular Event token placed there cannot be removed without resolving it).

Example: After a turn, the players must draw a token from the Event bag. The Event board already has 2 spaces occupied: 1 with a Ritual token and 1 with a Passenger Reaction Event token. The players also have 2 Occult tokens. There are only 5 tokens left in the Event bag. The first token drawn is an "Inscription Portal" Event token, which is unfavorable because it triggers an Event board resolution. They decide to spend 1 Occult token to put this token back into the bag and draw again. This time, they draw a Favor Fast Event token. They choose to resolve it, gaining a Favor with a Suspect, but since it is a Fast token, they must draw again. The next token drawn is a crossed-out "Inscription Portal" Event token. This is still not ideal, as it also causes Event board resolution. However, since the players have only 1 Occult token left, they decide not to redraw this time. At least the Inscription Portals will not activate during this Event board resolution.

Resolve the Event Board

This step only occurs if, after the previous step, there are at least 3 spaces on the Event board with at least one Regular Event token on them. In other words, it happens when only 1 space remains uncovered.

When this is the case, you will resolve the Event board from top to bottom, space by space. If there are any tokens on the space you are resolving, resolve the topmost Event token from that space (the number of tokens in the stack is irrelevant). If the space is empty, resolve it according to the information presented on the Event board itself.

Each space represents one aspect of the horror experienced by the people aboard the Orient Express: Portals, Vampire, Ritual, or Passenger Event. The spot without any token on it is also resolved—it represents the Monster Event.

If the topmost token has a crossed-out icon, resolving that space has no effect.

After resolving all Events, discard the 3 resolved Event tokens from their spaces to the Event board's discard pile. Discard only the topmost token from each space—if there is more than one token in a space, some tokens will remain for future turns.

Inscription Portals — Resolve effects of all active Inscription Portals, starting with the frontmost portal (the one closest to the end of the Train route). Active Portals are those that have Essence on them—either Essence tokens or Essence marked directly on the Portal.

Vampire — An immortal Vampire is also traveling aboard the Orient Express, preying on the Passengers. The more it feeds, the greater a threat it becomes. As a creature of the dark, it is also more powerful in Cars with Closed Curtains. The Vampire preys on a Passenger in its current Car, then moves to another Car.

Ritual — The Ritual is a malicious undertaking initiated by the Cultists to bring destruction upon everyone aboard the Orient Express. There are different types of Rituals in the game. They are described on the Ritual sheet.

Passenger Reaction — Passenger cards represent the Passengers' responses to what is happening around them. These innocent people were not prepared for this kind of adventure, so do not expect rational or wise behavior. On these cards, you can also find effects that force Suspects to move. When you resolve this token, draw and implement 1 Passenger card.

Monsters and Their Portals — These are effects found on the empty spaces of the Event board, all related to Monsters. Three of these spaces are very similar: when you resolve them, some Monsters attack the people on the Orient Express and new Monsters spawn through the active Monster Portals. The fourth effect causes Monsters to move instead of attacking and spawning.

The Pursuit — In the final step of resolving the Event board, all Monsters from the Pursuit (the bottom section of the Event board) return. Place all Monsters from the Pursuit next to the rearmost Car.

Events — Inscription Portals

The "Inscription Portal" Event tokens are placed on the topmost space of the Event board. Both the tokens and the space have 1 dot on their outline to indicate this. When resolving the Event board, this token is always resolved first.

All active Inscription Portals are resolved one by one, starting with the frontmost one—the one closest to the end of the Train.

Note: Remember that Monster Portals are not resolved as an effect of these tokens. You will resolve some of them together with the Monsters' attacks.

Landscapes with "On Reveal" effects are not resolved in the Portal Event step because they are activated only once when the Landscape is revealed, which has surely already happened by this time!

An Inscription Portal is active when there is at least 1 Essence on it. Some Portals (like the one on the Starting Landscape) have Essence printed on them and are always active.

Most Inscription Portals affect different Cars that meet certain conditions. You must resolve each Portal's effects Car by Car, starting from the Locomotive and proceeding through each subsequent Car.

Note: Many Inscription Portals affect the Cars with Open Curtains, so stay vigilant!

Example: A player starts the Event board resolution by resolving the "Inscription Portal" Event token. They start with the frontmost Portal, which does nothing because there is no Essence on it. On the next Landscape, there are 2 Monster Portals that are not activated because they are not Inscription Portals. The next one is on the starting Landscape, and because there is Essence printed on it, it has to be resolved.

Events — Vampire

The "Vampire" Event tokens are placed on the second space from the top of the Event board. Both the tokens and the space have 2 dots on their outline to indicate this.

Resolving these tokens involves two separate steps: first, the Vampire preys, then it moves to another Car.

Vampire — Preying — The Vampire preys in the Car to which he is attached (hanging on the wall of that Car). He affects his victim based on his current strength, as indicated by the Vampire Strength tiles on the Vampire board.

The top row shows his effect in a Car with Closed Curtains, while the bottom row shows his effect in a Car with Open Curtains. A blank space on a Vampire Strength tile means he is too weak (i.e., unable) to affect that type of Passenger.

The Vampire chooses the leftmost present (most vulnerable) Passenger from the Vampire board. Then, depending on the status of the Curtains, applies the preying effect for that Passenger. If the effect is blank the Vampire searches for the next Passenger according to the Vampire board.

Note: The order of Passengers on the Vampire board is exactly the same as in any other case when the game affects a Passenger, and it can also be found on the back of the Passenger cards.

Note: The Vampire can only attack 1 Passenger at a time.

If the Vampire changes a Passenger's status to Wounded or Dead, remove the leftmost Vampire Strength tile from his board. Small blood droplets serve as a reminder of this. Do not remove any tiles if the Vampire only changes a Passenger's status to Panicked.

Note: Changing a Passenger's status to Dead means you have to place a Coffin on that Passenger.

If the Coffin pool is empty (all the Coffins have been banished or placed on Passengers), the game ends immediately in failure.

Example: With the Curtains Closed, the Vampire is able to affect a Panicked Passenger, so it Kills them. This allows the Vampire to become more powerful; to mark this, remove the leftmost Vampire Strength tile. In a Car with Open Curtains, if the Vampire currently cannot affect the Insane Passenger (who is first in the universal order), it affects the next Passenger in order—the Calm one. That Passenger becomes Panicked.

Vampire — Moving — After preying—regardless of whether the Vampire successfully affected any Passenger—he looks for another victim for the next time he preys. The Vampire moves to a new Car. It moves to the closest Car with at least 1 Passenger in the direction indicated by the arrow on the Event token. If there are no Cars with Passengers in the indicated direction, the Vampire goes the other way. The Vampire can never enter the Locomotive.

Example: The Vampire token indicates that the Vampire should move to the right after preying on the Passenger. However, since the Vampire cannot enter the Locomotive, it needs to move to the left instead. If the next Car in that direction has no Passengers, the Vampire moves to the next available Car containing a Passenger.

Events — Ritual and Incantation

Ritual — The "Ritual" Event tokens are placed on the third space of the Event board. Both the tokens and the space have 3 dots on their outline to indicate this.

The effect of this token is described on the Ritual sheet and varies depending on which Ritual you use in your game. However, part of the effect will always be adding a Ritual token to the Ritual sheet. This makes the Ritual more and more powerful.

Incantation Tokens — An "Incantation" Event token represents the Cultists performing part of the Ritual. The token's exact effect is explained on the Ritual sheet next to this symbol. This token can be Fast or Slow. The only difference when resolving them is whether you draw another token afterward.

When an Incantation token is resolved, players can always spend some of their Occult tokens to weaken it. This applies only to the current resolution of that Incantation token.

Example: Players using a Ritual with an Incantation effect that resolves a number of listed effects equal to the number of Ritual tokens on the Ritual draw an "Incantation" Event token. As a result, they reveal 1 Clue from a Suspect board—a Desire Clue token. Then, they must resolve the first four effects listed on the Ritual sheet, because there are 4 Ritual tokens on the Ritual. The first effect causes the frontmost Wounded Passenger in the Locomotive to die. The second effect has no impact because there are no Panicked Passengers on the Orient Express. The third effect changes a Calm Passenger in the Salon to Wounded. The fourth effect would cause that Passenger to die, but the players decide to spend 1 Occult token to weaken the Incantation effect by 1, so they only resolve the top three effects instead of all four.

Note: "Ritual" and "Incantation" Event tokens are distinct, but their effects synergize—so keep an eye on both!

Ritual Sheet — There are 5 different Rituals in the box, and during setup you always choose one of them to use in your game. On the back of each Ritual sheet, you will find setup rules for that Ritual.

On the front side of each Ritual sheet, you will find specific rules for that Ritual. These always include rules for resolving "Ritual" Event tokens, "Incantation" Event tokens, and Escalation.

Note: Some Rituals can also introduce additional components to the game, like Incantation cards for the "Black Magic" Ritual.

Ritual Escalation — Each Ritual also has a Ritual Escalation section at the bottom of the Ritual sheet which is applied for certain situations. For example, when you complete a Suspect Quest and they turn out to be a Cultist, part of the effect will be "Ritual Escalates." You must then resolve the corresponding part of the Ritual sheet.

Ritual Escalation always forces you to add an "Incantation" Fast Event token to the bag and triggers additional effects depending on the specific Ritual you are playing with.

Events — Passengers

Passenger Reactions — The "Passenger" Event tokens are placed on the fourth space from the top of the Event board. Both the tokens and the space have 4 dots on their outline as a reminder. When resolving the Event board, this token is always resolved last.

Draw the topmost card from the Passenger deck and resolve all its effects from top to bottom. Afterward, discard that card by placing it at the bottom of the Passengers deck.

Passenger Card — Effects on Passenger cards affect Passengers and sometimes Suspects. Most cards have two separate effects: the first changes the status of some Passengers, and the second focuses on moving Passengers and/or Suspects.

As with all other cards in the game, you should resolve a Passenger card from top to bottom.

Most cards affect Passengers in Cars that meet the condition described on the card. You should check those conditions and resolve the effects in each Car separately, starting from the Locomotive and proceeding through each subsequent Car.

Changing Passenger Status — If a game effect changes the status of a Passenger, players do not choose which Passenger is affected. Instead, Passengers are affected according to the universal order, which is shown on the back of the Passenger cards and on the Vampire board.

The "then" divider means you must check whether the first option is available in the affected Car. If not, move on to the next one. Stop as soon as the effect is applied to the first eligible Passenger.

If the effect comes from the game (not a player Action), the divider icon indicates that you must follow the universal order—first looking for a Wounded, then a Panicked Passenger, and so on.

Note: This works completely differently when the status change is the result of a player Action. In that case, all choices are entirely up to the player.

Passenger and Suspect Moves — If a Passenger or a Suspect has to move but cannot because there is no additional Car in that direction or the Car is full, the Passenger or Suspect does not move.

Example: A Passenger card is drawn and must be resolved. Nothing happens in one Car because there is a Happy Passenger there. In another Car, one of the Wounded Passengers dies. Then, all Panicked Passengers move left by 1 Car, except that a Panicked Passenger in the last Car does not move because there is no further Car in that direction.

Passenger Deaths — Whenever a Passenger dies (for example, as a result of a Passenger card), place a Coffin token on top of them.

If the Coffin pool is empty (all the Coffins have been banished or placed on the Passengers), the game ends immediately in failure.

Events — Monsters and the Pursuit

Empty Event Token Space — Resolving the Event board is triggered when a player places a Regular Event token and, as a result, 3 out of 4 spaces for tokens are occupied (each having at least 1 Event token). This means there will always be 1 empty spot without any token on it. This free space determines the Monster Events.

On each spot for Regular Event tokens on the Event board, there are already printed tokens related to Monsters. Events that are not physical tokens are treated and resolved in the same way.

Monster Attacks and Spawns — The top 3 Monster Events cause some Monsters to activate and others to spawn from the Monster Portals. They differ only in the Monster colors assigned to specific effects.

They should be resolved starting from the icon in the upper left (big Monster with an infinity icon, meaning all Monsters of the indicated color activate, starting from the frontmost Monster), then the upper right (smaller Monster, meaning the frontmost Monster of that color activates), and finally the bottom part (Monster Portal, meaning Monsters of that color spawn: one monster for each active Monster Portal of that color is spawned).

Example: All Red Monsters are activated, as well as the frontmost Green Monster. The Red Monster uses its attack ability since it is by a Car with Passengers. Because the Green Monster is by a Car with no Passengers, it uses its move ability instead.

Monster Activation — When a Monster is activated, resolve its activation according to its Monster card. Monster activation is always resolved in relation to the Car next to which it stands. Monsters can react in one of two ways depending on whether there are any Passengers in that Car:

a. If there are any Passengers in that Car, the Monster will attack, harming the Passengers and Investigators. The effects differ for each Monster species (color).

Note: Monsters attack Passengers using the universal order. You can find this on the back of the Passenger cards or on the Vampire board.

b. If there are no Passengers in that Car, the Monster will move 2 Cars forward toward the Locomotive. This effect is the same for every species (color).

Note: Monsters in the Pursuit are never activated.

Spawning New Monsters — The Monster Portal icon shows which color of Monster will spawn. Count the active Monster Portals of that color (those with any Essence on them—tokens or printed). Then take that many Monsters of that color from the pool and place them one by one by each Car, starting from the last Car of the Orient Express.

All Monsters Move — The fourth Monster Event is a bit different and does not activate or spawn any Monsters like the spaces described earlier. Instead, when you resolve this token, you must move all Monsters forward by 1 Car. You should start moving them from the frontmost Monster (the one closest to the Locomotive).

Note: Some Portals have Monster icons in more than one color. Those Portals count as a Monster Portal for each of those colors.

If there are not enough Monsters of the color indicated by the icon in the pool, take Monsters from the next color in order. The order of Monster colors is indicated by the Starting Landscape Monster Portal.

If you have to place a Monster in the Locomotive, treat that Monster as if it reached the Locomotive by moving there (this is described in detail in the Monster Unleashed section).

If the Monster pool is empty (i.e., all the Monsters have been placed on the Train or are in Pursuit), the game ends immediately in failure.

Example: Three new Green Monsters should be spawned from the pool. Since there are only 2 Green Monsters left, a Red Monster will be placed as a replacement. They are placed in the 1st, 2nd, and 3rd rearmost Cars of the Train (first the Green ones, then the Red replacement).

Note: There is no limit to the number of Monsters that can be adjacent to a single Car.

Monster Unleashed — When Monsters move (either as a result of their activation or by resolving the token that moves all Monsters forward by 1 Car), they can reach the Locomotive. If any Monster reaches the Locomotive, immediately draw a card from the Monster Unleashed deck and resolve it. This card will always send that Monster to the Pursuit and introduce some unpleasant effects for the players. Afterward, discard the card by placing it at the bottom of the Monster Unleashed deck. Resolve this effect separately for each Monster that reaches the Locomotive.

The Pursuit — The very last step in resolving the Event board is to take all Monsters from the Pursuit area and place them next to the last Car. The Pursuit area is located at the bottom of the Event board and is where all stunned Monsters are placed.

Moving the Train

Train Movement — After drawing an Event token and possibly resolving the Event board, move the Train forward 1 (no matter the Speed) on the Train route. This represents the passage of time during the game. Sometimes, the Train will move additional spaces due to specific Event tokens.

Your goal is to survive until the Train reaches the end of the route. Then, the dream ends, and you must correctly identify all Suspects in order to win the game.

Landscapes

Landscapes are fragments of the Dreamlands through which the Train is traveling. There are 3 sizes: large (5 train tracks), medium (4 train tracks), and small (3 train tracks). After you move the Train, it may enter a new Landscape (this happens when any part of the Train overlaps a new Landscape tile). In that case, immediately flip the Landscape tile. Depending on its type, either resolve its "On Reveal" effect or place Essence on the Portal located there.

There are 2 types of Landscapes in the game: those with Portals and those with an "On Reveal" effect.

On Reveal — If a Landscape has an "On Reveal" effect, it is triggered only once during the game—when the Train enters the Landscape and the tile is revealed. When that happens, immediately resolve the effect of the newly revealed Landscape.

City — Some Landscapes are CITY Landscapes. This distinction is important for some game effects.

Portals

Most Landscapes have 1 or 2 Portals on them. These Portals come in one of two types: Monster Portals allow a Monster to spawn; Inscription Portals affect the Orient Express and the people on board.

When you reveal a Landscape with Portals, you must place Essence from the pool onto them. First, place the amount of Essence indicated on each Portal. Then, count the number of Insane Passengers on the entire Orient Express. For each of them, take 1 additional Essence from the pool and place it on the Portals of the newly revealed Landscape. Try to distribute this additional Essence evenly between the Portals on that Landscape. If an even distribution is not possible, prioritize placing Essence on the frontmost Portals.

Example: A player draws a "Train Moves" Fast Event token, so the Train moves once but has not yet entered the new Landscape. The next drawn token is a "Lucky" Slow Event token, so nothing happens, but as the last step of the turn, the player must move the Train once more. This time, the Train enters the space under the new Landscape, which must be revealed immediately. The revealed Landscape has 2 Portals that require Essence. Place Essence tokens on each as indicated. Then, add 1 additional Essence to the Portals on that Landscape for each Insane Passenger on the Orient Express. If there are 3 Insane Passengers, 3 Essence tokens must be added to those 2 Portals as evenly as possible; when this is impossible, additional Essence goes to the rightmost Portal—for example, 2 Essence on the right Portal and 1 on the left, ending with 3 Essence tokens total on each Portal of this Landscape.

If the Essence pool is empty (i.e., all Essence has been placed on Portals or banished), the game ends immediately in failure.

Block Tokens

Block tokens are mechanical indicators that prevent effects from triggering. When an Investigator ability or other game mechanism instructs you to place a Block token, place it on the indicated area. Each Block token is double-sided.

The x1 side cancels the next activation of the effect where the token is placed. After this happens, remove that Block token. If there are multiple tokens, remove only one.

The ∞ side indicates that the area where the token is placed will remain inactive and/or will not trigger for the rest of the game.

When placing a Block token on a Portal, place it on the effect, not the Essence area. A Block token does not block the Essence aspect of the Landscape—only its effect or summoning mechanics. Essence can still be discarded or added to the Portals, since Block tokens only affect the effect.

Moving the Train and Its Speed

Regardless of the Train Speed you always move the Train by 1 space—either at the end of each turn or when a player draws a "Train Moves" Fast Event token. However, the speed influences how quickly you reach the end of the Train route by increasing the number of "Train Moves" Fast Event tokens in the Event bag. Each time you raise the Train Speed, add one such token to the Event bag.

There are 2 of these tokens in the bag at the start of the game, and you can add up to 2 more during the game. You cannot raise the Train Speed more than twice—there are only 2 additional tokens available as a reminder of that limit.

End of the Turn

After the Train moves, and you resolve any newly revealed Landscapes if necessary, then the next player takes their turn.

Narrative Cards, Game End

Narrative Cards

Narrative cards introduce small story arcs to the game. They are triggered in different ways. When the game asks you to read one of them, they will introduce a short description of what happened and how it affects the gameplay. There are a couple of different types of these cards.

Note: All Narrative cards (except the Blood-Red Fez) have multiple copies with the same back. Each of these cards contains a different Story on the front, so you should not look at their fronts before choosing which one will be used in a particular game.

Quest Cards — These cards are connected to the Desire Clue tokens. When you reveal the first Desire Clue of any Suspect, place the corresponding Quest card face up (showing the requirements side) under that Suspect's board. There is an exclamation icon on Desire Clue tokens to remind you. Once you fulfill the Quest, reveal all Clues for that Suspect and read the appropriate Story on the other side of the Quest card.

Feature Cards — These cards are linked to some of the Feature Clue tokens. When a Suspect in your Car has a Feature Clue with the question mark icon, you can Ask them about the Item they are carrying. If you do, find the corresponding card and read what happens.

Note: Feature cards are never bad for the players, so it is always worth asking about them if you have enough time.

Story Cards — These cards have numbers on them, and other cards may direct you to one of these numbers.

Blood-Red Fez and Fez Council Cards — These cards are connected to the Blood-Red Fez story arc. When you reveal the Blood-Red Fez Feature Clue token, you will see a small Event token icon in the right corner. This means you should place the "Blood-Red Fez" Slow Event token into the Event bag.

When that token is drawn, read the Blood-Red Fez card (there is only one copy). It instructs every player to draw a random Fez Council card. Then, the players collectively decide what to do with the Blood-Red Fez and its owner by choosing one of the Fez Council cards.

Game End — Winning

When the Train arrives at its destination (the front of the Train mini reaches track #0), the game ends immediately.

The Investigators must then unanimously decide whether they believe each Suspect is a Cultist or not.

Use the special Cultist/not Cultist tokens to mark the Suspects accordingly.

After all Suspects have been marked as Cultist or not Cultist, reveal all their Clues and check if your accusations were correct.

If all Suspects have been identified correctly, the Investigators win the game!

Game End — Losing

The game can be lost in many ways, even before the Train reaches its destination.

Insane Investigator — If an Investigator loses their last point of Sanity, they lose their mind and the players lose the game.

Dead Investigator — If an Investigator's Health drops to the skull icon on the Health track, they die and the players lose.

Too Many Dead Passengers — If the Coffin pool is empty (all Coffins have been banished or placed on Dead Passengers), the players lose.

Too Much Essence — If the Essence pool is empty (all Essence tokens have been placed or banished), the players lose.

Too Many Monsters — If the Monster pool is empty (all Monsters have been placed on the Train or are in the Pursuit), the players lose.

Wrong Cultist Identification — If any endgame identification is incorrect—whether Cultist or not Cultist—the players lose.

Changing Difficulty

Game Difficulty — "There Is Still Time" Event Token — You can adjust the difficulty level by adding or removing the "There is still time" Slow Event token during setup.

Playing Solo — There are no rule changes for solo play. Simply take control of 2 to 4 Investigators and manage them yourself over the course of the game. Although it might be tempting, we do not recommend playing with one Investigator only. Imaginary friends can also be fun!

Easy Difficulty — Add 1 "There is still time" Slow Event token to the initial Event bag.

Normal Difficulty — Add 1 "There is still time" Slow Event token to the discard on the Event board.

Proper Difficulty — Do not change the setup. This is the designers' recommended mode of play for experienced players.

Beyond Proper Difficulty — Before starting the game, resolve the Ritual Escalation effect, but place the resulting token on the discard. How many times can you do this and still win?

Difficulty — Starting Passengers — Passenger setup at the beginning of the game can also be used to adjust difficulty by choosing the harder option.

Appendix 1 — Rituals

There are 5 Rituals in the game, each offering a unique challenge and shifting what players should prioritize to win. One side of the Ritual sheet features a short narrative to give context for the scenario and includes setup information: how many Ritual tokens to place (usually 2, though this may vary in expansions), how much Essence goes into the pool and on the Starting Landscape Portal (always place it on a Portal without a printed Essence icon), and sometimes additional setup instructions.

Three Rituals introduce new components:

Black Magic adds Incantation cards.
Pestilence and Plague adds Illness markers.
Fade to Black adds Fade and Witness Tampering tokens.

The other side of the Ritual sheet contains the rules used during gameplay. Most are straightforward, though some Rituals may include more complex effects that require closer attention or additional explanation, explained below.

Fade to Black — Playing with this Ritual makes revealing Clues much harder. Each time an Incantation is resolved, you place Fade tokens on one Suspect's Clues. When you try to reveal a Clue with a Fade token, you must discard the token instead of revealing the Clue. Witness Tampering tokens determine which Suspect and which of their Clues get Fade tokens. At the start of each Incantation resolution, take the topmost Witness Tampering token from the stack (which is face up) and move it to the left side of the stack (on top of any existing token there). The left token tells you which Suspect is affected (this was already visible before you moved it). The right token tells you which Clues of that Suspect receive Fade tokens, in the shown order.

Pestilence and Plague — This Ritual introduces Illness markers, which are placed on Passengers by putting them directly on top of their die. Passengers with an Illness marker are considered Ill. There are two special passive rules for Ill Passengers (found between the Incantation token and the Ritual Escalation section on the Ritual sheet): Ill Passengers are one step from death—if an Ill Passenger's status changes to Wounded, Panicked, Insane, or Angry, that Passenger dies instead. Healing Illness is difficult—if you try to change an Ill Passenger's status to Calm or Happy, you do not change their status. Instead, simply remove the Illness marker.

For Whom the Bell Tolls — Incantation of this Ritual may be a little confusing. It starts with "Reveal any 1 Desire Clue," which is the only part where resolving an "Incantation" Event token gives you any benefit—but this is how it works, and players decide which Desire Clue they want to reveal.

The second part is not so nice for the Investigators. Here, depending on the number of Ritual tokens on the Ritual, you have to resolve that many effects, starting from the first one and moving down the list. For example, if there are 5 Ritual tokens on the Ritual, it means you must resolve effects numbered 1 to 5—each of them once and in order, starting from number "1" at the top of the list.

Appendix 2 — Event Tokens List

Fast Tokens — When you draw a Fast Event token, resolve it, place it on the discard pile of the Event board, and draw another Event token from the Event bag.

"Incantation" Fast Event token — Resolve the text next to this icon on the Ritual sheet.
"Train Moves" Fast Event token — Move the Train 1 space forward (the Train Speed does not affect this).
"Occult" Fast Event token — Gain 1 Occult token.
"Favor" Fast Event token — Gain a Favor with any Suspect in the Orient Express.
"Grimoire" Fast Event token — Move all Sanity tokens from Spells to the bottom part of the Grimoire. Afterward, banish 1 Essence for each Sanity token there.

Slow Tokens — When you draw a Slow Event token, resolve it, place it on the discard pile of the Event board, and do not draw another Event token from the Event bag.

"Incantation" Slow Event token — Resolve the text next to this icon on the Ritual sheet.
"Blood-Red Fez" Slow Event token — Read the indicated effect from the Fez Feature or Fez Council card.
"Lucky" Slow Event token — You are lucky—nothing happens!
"There is still time" Slow Event token — The Train does not move in the last step of this turn. Immediately start the turn of the next player. This is a difficulty-based token that is used only in easier settings.

Note: If the last token you draw from the Event bag is a Fast Event token, after resolving it you still have to draw another token. Place all tokens from the discard to the Event bag (including the just-drawn token), and then draw another token.