The Perilous Parlor Game Rulebook

Table of Contents

Table of Contents

• Object
• Contents
• Setting Up
• Overview
• Game Board
• How to Play
• Movement
  • General Movement
  • Moving Through Secret Passages
  • Moving Mr. Poe
  • Moving the Guardian
• Using Cards
  • Tragedy Cards
  • Clever Cards
  • Guardian Cards
• Using Tiles
  • Item Tiles
  • Disguise Tiles
• Frozen!
• The Guardian's Life Points
• Winning the Game

Object

One player assumes the role of Count Olaf, the other player(s) take on the roles of the Baudelaire children - Violet, Klaus and Sunny. Each group has a different objective:

COUNT OLAF must eliminate the Guardian before Mr. Poe returns from the bank to win.

THE BAUDELAIRE CHILDREN must keep the Guardian alive until Mr. Poe returns from the bank to win.

Contents

• 5 Pewter Movers: Violet Mover, Klaus Mover, Sunny Mover, Count Olaf Mover, Mr. Poe Mover
• 2 Guardian Markers
• 4 Dice (Red, Orange, Blue, Green)
• 7 Secret Passage Tiles
• 12 Item Tiles
• 12 Disguise Tiles
• 56 Cards: 23 Tragedy Cards, 22 Clever Cards, 11 Guardian Cards
• 1 Game Board

Setting Up

1. Decide who will play Count Olaf and who will play the children:
   • For a 2-player game, 1 player is Count Olaf, and 1 player is Violet, Klaus and Sunny
   • For a 3-player game, 1 player is Count Olaf, 1 player is Violet and Sunny, and 1 player is Klaus
   • For a 4-player game, each player is a different character.
2. Unfold the game board and set it in the middle of the playing area.
3. Place the movers on their start spaces:
   • Count Olaf begins on the eye-tattoo rug inside the front door.
   • The children begin in their bedroom: Violet on the RED BED, Klaus on the BLUE BED and Sunny on the ORANGE BED.
   • Mr. Poe begins on the brick space just outside the front door.
4. The Count Olaf player looks at the DISGUISE TILES - these tiles contain picture pairs of Count Olaf in various disguises - and places them on the board with Olaf's face down, one tile on each Disguise Space (the green coat racks). When the player(s) controlling the children land on a Disguise Tile, they may turn it over, along with one other Disguise Tile. If they find a matching pair, the Guardian heals 1 Life Point. If they don't, they lose a turn.
5. The player(s) controlling the children takes the 12 ITEM TILES (4 Gears, 4 Books, 4 Teeth), places them face-down (so only the trunk is showing) and mixes them up, then places all of them on the board, still face-down, one tile on each Item Space (the red trunks). The children collect these items by landing on them, and use them to power the special abilities of their cards.
6. Place the blue SECRET PASSAGE tiles face-down, shuffle them, then place all of them face-down on each of the blue Secret Passage spaces across the board. Once all tiles have been placed, flip them face-up. Both Olaf and the children can use Secret Passage tiles to jump to the matching tile wherever it appears on the board.

Overview

Count Olaf travels throughout the Guardian's house, collecting TRAGEDY CARDS with which he can do damage to the Guardian's Life Points. (see USING CARDS)

The Baudelaire children collect the necessary CLEVER CARDS and ITEM TILES they need to thwart Count Olaf and heal the Guardian. The children can also expose matching pairs of Count Olaf's DISGUISE TILES to heal the Guardian. (see DISGUISE TILES)

If Count Olaf moves into a space next to a child, he captures them! The captured child is immediately locked in the childrens' room and must remain there until a sibling frees them. (see FROZEN!)

Every turn, Mr. Poe moves one space further along his path to the Bank and back. Whenever he lands on a picture of Count Olaf's eye tattoo, a new GUARDIAN CARD is turned over and the Guardian travels to a new room in the house. (see USING CARDS)

If Mr. Poe returns to the house before Count Olaf reduces the Guardian's Life Points to zero, the Baudelaire children win the game. However, should Count Olaf force the Guardian's Life Points into his grave (which, although unfortunate, is highly likely), then Count Olaf wins the game.

Have fun, if you are able.

Game Board

The game board's Room Legend lists these rooms:

• A: The Ominous Observatory
• B: Childrens' Bedroom
• C: The Bleak Bedroom
• D: The Lonely Library
• E: The Menacing Menagerie
• F: The Wretched Water Closet
• G: The Sinister Study
• H: The Lethal Living Room
• I: The Creepy Kitchen
• J: The Dismal Dining Room
• K: The Ghastly Garage
• L: The Dangerous Den

The board diagram also labels: DISGUISE SPACES (12), ITEM SPACES (12), SECRET PASSAGE SPACES (7), CARD SPACES (the yellow card tables), and the GUARDIAN'S LIFE PATH.

How to Play

Play always proceeds in the same order:

• Violet goes first (red die)
• Klaus goes second (blue die)
• Sunny moves third (orange die)
• Count Olaf moves fourth (green die).

After Count Olaf finishes his turn, the player controlling Olaf moves Mr. Poe one space along his sidewalk path.

NOTE: To speed up a 2-player game, the player controlling the children should roll all three dice at once and move each child mover according to its dice color; the children must always move in their regular turn order.

Each character's basic turn sequence follows the same pattern:

1. Roll the die and move.
2. Collect Cards or Tiles.
3. Use cards.

Movement

General Movement

• A player rolls the die and can move UP TO the number of spaces that they rolled; however, they must always move at least one space.
• Movers cannot travel diagonally.
• Movers cannot share the same space, except with the Guardian marker.
• Movers can move through spaces occupied by other movers.
• Movers can only enter and exit rooms through doorways. They can pass through any door, whether it is open or closed.
• Violet, Klaus, Sunny and Count Olaf cannot move out of the house.
• A mover must stop on a Card Space, Item Space, or Disguise Space if the player wishes to draw a card or item, or to look at the disguise.
• A mover cannot end its movement on the space from which it started.

Moving Through Secret Passages

• If a mover lands on a Secret Passage tile it may instantly travel to a matching Secret Passage tile anywhere in the house to finish its move.
• Traveling between two Secret Passage tiles does not count as a move.

EXAMPLE: Violet is one space from a Secret Passage tile and rolls a 2. She moves one space onto the tile, immediately jumps to the matching tile - this doesn't count as a move - and still has 1 space left to move.

[Diagram: Violet's example move, showing the Secret Passage jump from tile 1 to tile 2 on the board.]

• If a mover lands on a Secret Passage space on it's last move, it may jump to the matching Secret Passage space and remain there.

Moving Mr. Poe

• The player controlling Count Olaf always moves Mr. Poe at the end of Olaf's turn.
• Mr. Poe always moves at least one space each turn unless a card has been played that affects his movement (see USING CARDS).
• Mr. Poe travels from the brick space in front of the house [A] to the stairs in front of the BANK [B] (the stairs count as a space) and ends his journey back on the brick space in front of the house [A].

[Diagram: Mr. Poe's path from house [A] to the Bank [B] and back.]

Moving the Guardian

• Whenever Mr. Poe ends his movement on a space marked with Count Olaf's eye tattoo, the player controlling Count Olaf draws a new Guardian Card, then moves the Guardian marker located in the house to whichever room the card identifies.
• It doesn't matter which space the Guardian marker occupies in a room because any other mover can share a space with the Guardian marker.

Using Cards

• Whenever a player's mover lands on one of the Card Spaces (the yellow card tables) they get to draw one card - the children draw from the CLEVER DECK and Count Olaf draws from the TRAGEDY DECK.
• Count Olaf can hold 6 TRAGEDY CARDS in his hand at one time.
• The Baudelaire children can collectively hold 6 CLEVER CARDS in their hand (it doesn't matter if there is one player controlling the children or 3 players, between them all they may have no more than 6 cards).
• If players have 6 cards but are not happy with the cards in their hand, they may draw a new card and discard back down to 6.
• Each character may play one card at any time during their turn.
• Whenever a card is played, place it face-up in a DISCARD PILE beside the matching deck.
• Whenever you finish a deck, shuffle the cards in Discard and start a new draw pile.

Tragedy Cards

• Count Olaf travels around the board collecting TRAGEDY CARDS.
• Each Tragedy Card does 3 points of damage to the Guardian.
• Count Olaf can play a Tragedy Card against the Guardian whenever he is in the same room as the Guardian; he does not need to be in the same room as the action described on the card.
• The bottom of each Tragedy Card displays three THWART SYMBOLS - these symbols will be RED GEARS, BLUE BOOKS, or ORANGE TEETH. The children need these items to cancel the effect of that card.
• The Baudelaire children do not need to be in the same room as Count Olaf or the Guardian to thwart a Tragedy Card.
• Wild Thwart Symbols: Sometimes a question mark will appear in place of a Thwart Symbol. These are WILD THWART SYMBOLS. Any type of Item (Gear, Book or Tooth) can be used in place of this symbol.

Clever Cards

• The Baudelaire children may collect up to 6 Clever Cards between them.
• Clever Cards are used to heal the Guardian, move Mr. Poe extra spaces, or free captured children (see FROZEN!). However, they can only be played if the children have collected the correct Item Tiles required to activate them.
• To use a Clever Card, simply spend the Item Tiles listed at the bottom of the card, then follow the directions on the card. After spending the Item Tiles, you must return them to the board (see ITEM TILES).
• Each character (Violet, Klaus, Sunny) can play 1 Clever Card on their turn.
• Movers do not need to be in the same room as the mover they are affecting to play a Clever Card.

Guardian Cards

• GUARDIAN CARDS are flipped over whenever Mr. Poe ends his movement on an image of Count Olaf's eye tattoo.
• The player controlling Count Olaf turns over the Guardian Cards at the end of Olaf's turn, and then moves the Guardian marker located in the house to whatever room the card identifies.
• Note: It doesn't matter which space in the room the Guardian occupies.

Using Tiles

Item Tiles

• The Baudelaire children collect ITEM TILES marked with RED GEARS, BLUE BOOKS and ORANGE TEETH.
• Count Olaf CANNOT pick up Item Tiles.
• If the children hold the combination of Item Tiles listed on Olaf's Tragedy Card or on one of their Clever Cards, they can spend the Items to cancel Olaf's Card and prevent the Guardian from taking any damage or to activate their Clever Card.
• The children should keep their Item Tiles hidden from Count Olaf so that Olaf won't know which of his Tragedy Cards the children are able to thwart.
• After spending Item Tiles to thwart a Tragedy Card or activate a Clever Card, the player(s) controlling the children places the Item Tiles face-down on any empty Item Spaces on the board. An Item Tile may be placed on a space already occupied by a mover; however, that mover does not automatically get to collect it.
• The children may hold as many Item Tiles as they want.

Disguise Tiles

• The 12 DISGUISE TILES contain 6 pairs of matching illustrations that show Count Olaf in various disguises.
• Whenever one of the Baudelaire children lands on a Disguise Tile, the player(s) may look at it then replace it face-down.
• The player who lands on a Disguise Tile may attempt to guess where the matching Disguise is and flip it over as well.
• The other player(s) can help guess. If they are correct, the Guardian regains one Life Point and the two matching tiles are removed from the board. If the guess is incorrect, the player who landed on the Disguise Tile Space loses their next turn and the tiles are replaced face-down on the board.
• A player may only guess where matching Disguise Tiles are when their Mover is sitting on a Disguise Tile. The tile they are on must be the first Tile they flip over.

Frozen!

Whenever Count Olaf ends his movement on a space adjacent (not diagonal) to one of the Baudelaire children, he may lock that child in the children's bedroom. Count Olaf CAN NOT capture a child on the other side of a wall.

The captured child is placed on their bed in the children's bedroom and remains FROZEN there; a frozen child may not move or play any cards until one of the other children unfreezes them, either by playing a Clever Card or by entering the room and staying there. Even if the new child enters because it has been captured, the first captured child is released.

Remember: Olaf can only keep one child captured at a time.

The turn order always remains the same. A freed child must still wait for their turn in the sequence before they can take any action.

[Diagram: "KLAUS IS CAPTURED!" board illustration.]

The Guardian's Life Points

The Guardian marker on the Life Path keeps track of the Guardian's current Life Points. The marker moves closer to the tombstone when Olaf damages the Guardian and away from the tombstone when the children heal the Guardian. The Guardian is eliminated when the Guardian marker on the Life Path reaches the tombstone space.

[Diagram: Guardian marker on the Life Path.]

Winning the Game

The game ends in one of two ways:

• If Mr. Poe reaches the brick space in front of the house before Count Olaf eliminates the Guardian, the game ends and the Baudelaire children win.
• If Count Olaf eliminates the Guardian before Mr. Poe reaches the brick space in front of the house, the game ends and Olaf wins.