Остров Страха
Остров Страха Rulebook
Table of Contents
Table of Contents
Setup
Players sit in a circle, and each draws a Character card. The cards should be selected beforehand according to the number of players, and only in the order indicated, starting from No. 1.
After looking at their card, a player learns which role they have been dealt. Someone has become a Werewolf, someone an ordinary Passenger, someone a Nurse, and so on. Character cards must never be shown to the other players. Each player also receives a voting token.
The player who was dealt card No. 1 becomes the Host of the game. The Host is neutral: they are simply the Spirit of the Island, for whom it makes no difference which side wins, as long as the duel is played according to the rules.
On the DVD: The game comes with an interactive DVD, which can be run on a computer or a DVD player. The disc helps you feel the atmosphere of the game, creates the necessary background sound at night, and can help keep time during the day phase. At the start of the disc, participants are shown an introductory story and an explanation of the abilities of all special characters.
Game Flow
The Host announces the first night. At night (this one and every later one) all players close their eyes. The Host asks the werewolves to open their eyes so they can recognise one another. After the werewolves have closed their eyes again, the Host similarly calls the roll of the remaining characters: "Now the Sex Maniac opens his eyes... yes, I see who that is, close your eyes..." and records in the Host's Table who is who.
When the Host has finished the roll call, day comes and everyone opens their eyes. During the night the people noticed werewolves near their sleeping place. The frightened passengers of Flight 119 must now urgently work out who the non-humans are and decide whose anger of the crowd will strike first.
Each day the players discuss the situation, and then vote by placing their voting token in front of the one they want to execute. More about voting and the defence of a player is described below. The person who is executed reveals their card to everyone. If it was a werewolf, the people rejoice, since their chances of survival have grown. If not, they have killed an innocent, and a new sinister night begins...
At night the Host runs all the events. They say when each character should open and close their eyes, and question all the characters in turn about their actions.
- Whom will the werewolves devour? The werewolves silently point at a victim, and the Host marks this in their table. If within a short time the werewolves cannot unanimously agree on whom to kill, they are considered to have "chased several hares", and in that case on this night they return from the hunt empty-handed.
- Now the werewolves close their eyes. The Sex Maniac opens his eyes. Whom does he assault? The Sex Maniac silently points at his victim, and the Host marks it.
- Understood. The Sex Maniac closes his eyes. Now the Nurse opens her eyes. Whom is she trying to save?
And so on, until all the night characters have carried out their actions.
From the completed table the Host understands what has happened overall. They announce the start of the next day and describe the situation: "You have been mauled by the werewolves... you have been assaulted by the maniac... and your Black Glasses have been stolen!"
A new day begins, and with it a new vote.
Voting
First the players simply discuss the situation, share opinions, put forward hypotheses, and try to work out which of them are werewolves. After 3-5 minutes of discussion, the Host calls the vote, going clockwise and asking everyone seated whom they suspect. Each player places their voting token in front of the one they want to execute. If the result of the vote makes the victim obvious, they may give a defence speech lasting no more than 30 seconds. The Host then asks whether anyone has changed their decision. If after a revote a new victim appears, it is their turn to make a defence speech.
On the DVD: It is possible to play with time control for the day vote (a clock icon in the menu) or without it. In the first case, if the key for execution is not pressed within the allotted 5 minutes, no one is executed. The passengers have got bogged down in arguments and have not managed to carry out justice before sunset. And now they have no time for it.
If, at a vote, two or more candidates for execution have the same number of votes, each of them makes a defence speech. If the players still cannot decide which of the candidates to bring to trial, the day ends without an execution.
Ghosts and Special Abilities
The person who has been executed, or killed by the Werewolves or the Witch, is no longer a living human but a ghost. They show everyone their card. Their voting token is taken by the Host. Without a vote, they may still take part in the discussion, but must always speak only in a whisper. A ghost who raises their voice falls completely silent for that day. At night ghosts also close their eyes as before. If the ghost was a character with special abilities, they lose those abilities: the Host no longer calls their night phase.
Victory
The Werewolves win if they remain in the majority, that is, if a vote can no longer lead to the execution of one of them. In this case the Half-Breed also celebrates the victory. The people win if they have identified and executed all the werewolves. The Hamster Werewolf wins if it survives to the end of the game.
On the DVD: In the day phase, select "Victory of the People" or "Victory of the Werewolves" in the menu to end the game and show the corresponding victory screen.
Characters
Depending on the number of players, use the required number of cards. It is recommended to use them in the order indicated.
| No. | Character (Russian name) | No. | Character (Russian name) | No. | Character (Russian name) |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Spirit of the Island (Дух Острова) | 10 | Nyura Galushko (Нюра Галушко) | 19 | Arkady Troubadour (Аркадий Трубадур) |
| 2 | Vadik Puchegluzoe (Вадик Пучеглазое) | 11 | Eva Bolotnaya (Ева Болотная) | 20 | Palmira Petrova (Пальмира Петрова) |
| 3 | Valentin Galushko (Валентин Галушко) | 12 | Fyodor Zubatov (Фёдор Зубатов) | 21 | Makar Oskalov (Макар Оскалов) |
| 4 | Mikhail Shchikatillo (Михаил Щикатилло) | 13 | Galina Kleptomina (Галина Клептомина) |
If there is someone who wishes to lead the game (or a player who does it better than the others), the Host card need not be drawn and can be handed to them instead. You may ignore the numbers on the cards and put together a set for each game in your own way. For example, take more Werewolf cards, or simply play with new characters from the lower part of the list. In addition, the set includes several "blank cards": you can create your own special characters. But be careful: all these rearrangements and additions may lead to an unpredictable change in the balance of the game.
Host's Table
The Host keeps a table to record the characters and events. The printed Host's Table (Таблица ведущего) has the following columns and rows. Its purpose is stated as: "To avoid getting confused about players and events, record here the roles and actions of the players. Make a copy of this page for the game."
Characters (columns): Werewolves, Seer, Sex Maniac, Nurse, Untouchable, Authority, Witch, Sleepwalker, Half-Breed, Hamster.
Rows: "Who" rows 1-5 (one per player entry); "Day" row; "Night" rows 1-16.
Day row entries: Authority: "Takes away the vote". Half-Breed: "Harms".
Night row entries (column headers): Werewolves: "Attack". Seer: "Checks". Sex Maniac: "Assaults". Nurse: "Saves". Untouchable: "Invulnerable". Witch: "Casts a spell". Sleepwalker: "Steals". Hamster: "Attacks".
The printed table has no entry in the night row for the Authority or the Half-Breed columns.
The printed rules do not describe the individual abilities of each special character. The rulebook says these are explained in the introduction on the DVD, which is not part of this transcription.
Items
Two supplements can be used, or ignored: Items and Events. It is better to add the supplements to the game one at a time (for gradual familiarisation), and once you know the game you can play with all of them at once.
At the start of the game each player draws a card with one of the Items. Items can be useful or harmful. All items are also divided into passive and activatable. Passive items are always placed face up, and all other players can see what item you have. Activatable items are placed face down, and the other players do not know what is at your disposal. At the right moment, it can be turned face up, that is, used (activated), showing it to everyone. This is a one-time option, and the card stays lying beside you on the table, face up. But if the Sleepwalker character is in the game, at night they can turn them face down again, that is, "recharge" them. The events "Mystic Light" and "Tsunami" can also turn cards back over. Each player may have only one item. Therefore, if a player acquires a new item, they must return the old one to the pile of Item cards (the Host then shuffles the pile). Players may not exchange items. When a player leaves the game, the Host takes their item and shuffles it into the pile of cards.
Useful items (18): Totem of Power (1); Camouflage Robe (2); Black Glasses (2); Moon Fern (2); Werewolf Fang (2); Stun Gun (2); Megaphone (1); Voodoo Doll (2); Sheepskin (2); Love Note (2).
Harmful items (8): Trap (2); Poisonous Thorn (2); Totem of Weak Will (2); Handcuffs (1); Bomb (1).
Items printed without a count in the rulebook's lists are shown here with (1).
Events
Another supplement to the game is the event cards. Each morning one of the players draws an event card and lays it in the middle of the table for everyone to see. It has an effect on that day or night.
Events (20 cards): Foggy Night (2); Fear; Full Moon; Thunderstorm; "Choose Me!"; Day of Feud; Bunker (2); Mystic Light (2); Fury; Magnetic Storm; Summoning of a Spirit; Solar Eclipse; Tsunami; Palms Bloom; Day of Pretence; Lunar Eclipse; Exchange.