Masque of the Red Death
Masque of the Red Death Rulebook
Table of Contents
Table of Contents
Summary and Objective
As nobles, you will spend the evening going from room to room gaining popularity, but don't neglect the latest gossip and rumors you all bring throughout the ball. Before midnight strikes, each noble must plan out six movements to make after midnight.
When midnight strikes, the Red Death will appear and move from room to room. You cannot be in a room that the Red Death visits if you hope to survive! Between some of the Red Death's movements, the nobles will move as well, trying to avoid the Red Death's next destination. If you manage to survive the Red Death, you will win if you have more popularity than any other surviving noble.
Components
- 1 Abbey board
- 1 Prince board
- 7 Player boards
- 73 Action cards: 63 Standard cards, 10 Personality cards
- 54 Rumor cards: 42 Gossip cards, 12 Evidence cards
- 7 Player screens
- 1 Clock standee
- 14 Prince tiles
- 42 Movement tiles
- 7 Popularity trackers
- 1 Prince standee
- 1 Red Death standee
- 7 Noble standees
Setting up the Masquerade
- Take nobles. Each player takes 1 Noble standee, their Popularity tracker of the same color, and the matching player board and player screen to put over it.
- Set popularity. Take the Popularity trackers from each player and place them all randomly, one after the other, in clockwise order on the Popularity track, beginning with the 1 space.
As shorthand, these rules refer to the player highest (furthest clockwise) on the Popularity track as the most popular player, and refer to the player lowest on the Popularity track as the least popular player.
- Deal unique Personality Action cards. Separate the 10 unique Personality cards (marked with a heart) and deal one to each player, then return the remaining unique Personality cards facedown to the game box.
- Take Action cards. Each player takes an identical set of the nine standard Action cards. So each player should receive 1 of each of the following cards: Discuss, Dance, Jest, Admire, Mock, Flirt, Swindle, Threaten, Menace.
- Make Movement tile supply. Form a supply of 42 Movement tiles within easy reach of all players. It does not matter whether the tiles are face-up or facedown.
- Place Prince tiles. Shuffle the 14 Prince tiles and return two tiles facedown to the game box. Then draw, one by one, the remaining 12 Prince tiles. As each Prince tile is drawn, randomly place it face-up on an empty time slot of the Prince board.
- Place the Clock standee. Place the clock standee somewhere that all players can see it, and at least 1 player can reach it. Set the time to 8 (VIII on the clock face).
- Place Prince standee. Place the Prince standee on the Abbey board in the room that matches the color of the Prince tile on the "8:00" time slot of the Prince board.
- Place Rumor cards. Separate the 42 Gossip Rumor cards from the 12 Evidence Rumor cards (see p. 14 to reference card type). Split the 42 Gossip Rumor cards into six stacks matching the six time slots: "12:00" to "12:50." Then, flip each stack facedown, shuffle it, draw 2 Rumor cards, and place them facedown in the matching time slot along the bottom of the Abbey board. Do this for all six stacks. These 12 Rumor cards placed along the Abbey board are called Red Death cards.
- Make Rumor deck. Shuffle the 30 remaining Gossip Rumor cards with the 12 Evidence Rumor cards together to form the Rumor deck.
- Place Noble standees. Starting with the least popular player and proceeding clockwise, each player places their other Noble standee on any room on the Abbey board. Multiple Noble standees can share the same room.
The Abbey's Rooms
The Abbey has seven rooms. Each room has a unique color and icon. Each room is also adjacent to 2 other rooms.
- Blue
- Purple
- Green
- Orange
- White
- Violet
- Black
The time is 8:00 in the evening, and the guests are filing into the abbey. Each room is full of opportunities for juicy gossip and rumors. The masquerade ball is ready to begin!
The Board
The Abbey board is a wheel of seven rooms surrounded by a ring of 40 numbered spaces that form the Popularity Track, going around: Black Room, Blue Room, Purple Room, Green Room, Orange Room, White Room, and Violet Room. Along the bottom of the board is the Red Death Card Track, with six time slots running from 12:00 to 12:50.
Playing the Masquerade
The masquerade takes place over 12 rounds. During each round, perform the following steps in order:
1. The Prince Rewards
Any player whose Noble standee is in the same room as the Prince standee gains 1 popularity. If multiple players gain popularity, they each gain 1 popularity, gaining it in order from most popular to least.
As your popularity changes, move your Noble's Popularity tracker along the Popularity track on the Abbey board. There are a few rules that must be followed while moving on the Popularity Track, for these rules please see The Popularity Track on page 14.
2. The Nobles Mingle
First, each player secretly chooses one Action card from their hand, and then the players reveal their cards simultaneously.
Next, starting with the least popular player and moving clockwise around the table, each player resolves their revealed Action card. (More details in The Action Cards on page 12.)
Finally, each player may move their Noble standee to an adjacent room. The players may move simultaneously to save time. However, if any player disagrees with moving simultaneously, the players move in order from most popular to least popular.
3. The Prince Moves
Remove the Prince tile from the current time slot on the Prince board, then move the Prince standee to the room shown by the Prince tile on the next time slot.
After these three steps, the round ends. To show this, advance the clock hand on the Clock Standee to the next notch on the clock face. In total, there are 12 notches on the clock face that equate to 12 standard rounds of play.
At the end of the 12th round, the clock strikes midnight, indicating the climax of the evening and a change in the way the game is played.
First, make sure every player has finished placing Movement tiles, as described in the next chapter, Planning for Midnight. Once every player has decided they are finished, their Movement tiles cannot be moved or exchanged. Then, follow the instructions in The Clock Strikes Midnight! on page 9.
Planning for Midnight
Your Player board has six empty spaces matching the six time slots on the Abbey board. At any time throughout the game, you can freely take Movement tiles from the supply and place them on the six spaces on your Player board, one tile per space.
These Movement tiles will determine how your Noble standee moves throughout the Abbey after midnight, as you try to avoid the Red Death. Movement tiles are double sided:
- Clockwise: Your Noble standee will move to the adjacent clockwise room.
- Counterclockwise: Your Noble standee will move to the adjacent counterclockwise room.
- Stay: If you wish to stay in the room you currently occupy, then do not place a token on this time.
Keep your Player board behind your Player screen so you don't give information away to other players! Also, make sure to put any unplaced tiles back in the supply, so the other players can use them.
REMEMBER: The room your Noble standee is in when the clock strikes midnight will be where you will begin your movements after midnight.
The Clock Strikes Midnight!
The prince has been killed! Remove the Prince standee from the Abbey and place the Red Death standee in the center of the Abbey.
The nobles now try to avoid the Red Death. Each round from midnight and on resolves in a precise order:
1. Nobles reveal their planned movements
Remove your player screen from covering your Player board and Movement tiles. All players should be able to see how all the others have decided to move. This step is only performed at 12:00, Player boards should remain revealed for all subsequent rounds.
2. Nobles move
All players will move their Noble standee according to the Movement tiles they have placed on the 12:00 spot. Again, movement can be done simultaneously, however, if any player disagrees with moving simultaneously, the players move in order from most popular to least popular.
3. Red Death moves
Reveal the first Red Death card in the "12:00" time slot, and place the Red Death standee in the room shown on the card. The Red Death kills all nobles in this room; remove all Noble standees from this room and remove their matching Popularity tracker. Then, reveal the second Red Death card in the "12:00" time slot and place the Red Death standee in the indicated room, killing all nobles there, as before.
4. Red Death returns to the shadows
After resolving both Red Death cards in the "12:00" time slot, place the Red Death standee back in the center of the Abbey board.
5. Advance the clock
Once the clock has advanced to the next indicated time, in this case 12:10 would be next, players repeat steps 2-5 in the same order as outlined above. Continue this until the clock has advanced for the final time, which will reset the face to 8:00.
Determine the winner. The winner is the most popular player among those who survived the Red Death.
Example
At 12:00, a noble resides in the Blue room, another is in Purple, and another is in White.
The first 12:00 Red Death card is revealed: Green — everyone is safe! The second 12:00 Red Death card is revealed: Purple! The noble in Purple is killed, removing their standee and Popularity tracker from the Abbey board.
The two surviving players reveal their Movement tiles for 12:10. The noble who was in Blue has chosen to move clockwise, into the Purple room, while the noble who was in White has chosen to stay in White.
The first 12:10 Red Death card is revealed: Black — everyone is safe! The second 12:10 Red Death card is revealed: Violet — everyone survives this, as well.
The Action Cards
Each round, each player must play one Action card. To play an Action card, you must be able to resolve all of its effects, whether positive or negative.
When you play an Action card, resolve all of its effects in the order written on the card, left to right. After resolving the Action card's effects, discard it face-up to the left side of your Player board.
Certain unique Action cards will return your discarded Action cards to your hand. Otherwise, there is no way to return a played Action card to your hand.
A nearby noble is a player whose Noble standee is in the same room as your Noble standee. If there are multiple nearby nobles, you choose which nearby noble to target.
Whenever you play an Action card that instructs you to look at or take 1 Rumor card from a nearby noble's hand, you must specify a time slot (e.g., "12:30").
- If your target noble has one card of that time slot, they must give you that card to look at or take.
- If your target noble has multiple cards of that time slot, you must pick one card randomly from only those cards.
- If your target noble has no cards of that time slot, you must pick one card randomly from their entire hand.
Standard Action Cards
- Discuss: Draw 1 card from the Rumor deck. Do not discard Discuss when played.
- Dance: Gain 2 popularity. During this round, you may move twice, rather than once. Do not discard Dance when played.
- Jest: Gain 3 popularity.
- Admire: Gain 3 popularity, and a nearby noble gains 3 popularity.
- Mock: Gain 2 popularity, and a nearby noble loses 2 popularity.
- Flirt: Gain 1 popularity and look at any Rumor card from a nearby noble's hand.
- Swindle: Look at 2 Rumor cards from a nearby noble's hand. You may specify a different time slot for each card.
- Threaten: Take 1 Rumor card from a nearby noble's hand.
- Menace: Lose 1 popularity and take 1 Rumor card from a nearby noble's hand.
Personality Action Cards
Personality Action cards are unique cards, one dealt to each player at setup. Each has its own name and its own effect, printed on the card in the same Card Name / Effect Text / Card Ability format as the standard Action cards.
The Rumor Cards
Throughout the game, players will have chances to draw cards from the Rumor deck. Keep your Rumor cards in hand. You may not reveal or give them to other players, unless prompted by an Action card.
When you draw gossip, take note of the time and room (e.g., "12:10" and blue). At this time, this room will be safe from the Red Death.
When you draw evidence, immediately look at one of the two Red Death cards for the time slot shown on the card, and take note of the time and room (e.g., "12:30" and orange). At this time, this room will be plagued by the Red Death; avoid it at all costs. You may only look at the Red Death card once, and then you must discard the Evidence card to a shared face-up pile.
The Popularity Track
Popularity trackers cannot occupy the same space on the Popularity track. When moving a Popularity tracker forward or backward on the Popularity track, count only the open spaces, ignoring any spaces occupied by another Noble's Popularity tracker.
If you move past 40 on the Popularity track, place a Movement tile from the supply beneath your Popularity tracker to show that you are on your second lap. Likewise, if your Popularity tracker moves backwards, to 40 or below, remove the Movement tile.
Example: A noble shares a space with the Prince at the beginning of the round, gaining 1 popularity. Since another noble's Popularity tracker occupies the next space on the track, the gaining noble skips over that tracker to place their own Popularity tracker on the following open space.
Variant Game Modes
If you're looking for a greater challenge, you can make the Red Death even more difficult to survive.
During setup, place 3 Rumor cards (instead of 2) on each time slot along the bottom of the Abbey board. Doing this means fewer Rumor cards will be available to the players, and the Red Death will visit 3 rooms (instead of 2) during each time slot after midnight!