Psycho Killer
Psycho Killer Rulebook
Table of Contents
Table of Contents
Aim of the Game
The aim of 'Psycho Killer' is to finish the game with the fewest points in your injury pile. You will do that by ditching weapon cards, evading psycho killers, and, most importantly, screwing over your friends!
The Setup
Step 1: Split the Deck
Shuffle all the cards and then roughly split them into two decks, leaving enough room between them for the discard pile.
Step 2: No Supplies
You start off with no cards, so don't worry about dealing. Just pick someone brave to take the first turn and start playing!
Step 3: It Begins
The first heart-racing stages of the game will involve drawing cards and ending your turn quickly, all while hoping you're lucky enough to avoid the Psycho Killer.
Once you have collected supplies you will be in a better position to survive the Psycho Killer!
The Gameplay
To begin, ensure the playing area has both decks, space between them for the discard pile and enough room in front of each player to fit their injury pile.
- Deck — two piles of cards, one to either side of the play area.
- Discard pile — the pile between the two decks.
- Injury pile — the pile of weapon and psycho killer cards in front of each player.
The Rundown
In the deck there are five Psycho Killers... and the weapons he uses to attack you.
Players take turns drawing from the deck. If a player draws a Psycho Killer they must play it on the table in front of them. When that happens, any player holding a weapon card gets attacked.
Getting Attacked
When attacked, players must place all weapon cards in their hand face-up on the table in front of them. This is called your injury pile.
Each weapon and Psycho Killer is worth a certain number of points.
Psycho Killer (+3) + Baseball Bat! (+2) + Chainsaw! (+5) = 10 injury points
When you add weapon cards into your injury pile, they become injury points.
Weapon cards can only be played into your injury pile during an attack, and can never be put into the discard pile.
Taking Your Turn
Your turn consists of playing as many or as few cards as you wish but must end by drawing one card from the top of either deck.
Note: you do not need to play a card to draw a card.
Cards with fast forward symbols on them (see VHS Symbols section) allow you to end your turn a little differently than simply drawing the top card on either deck. In that case, follow the rule on the card to end your turn.
The Decks
If a card refers to 'either deck', you must choose between one deck or the other.
If a card refers to 'the deck(s)', this is referring to both decks, meaning you can choose one or the other or a combination of both.
When a deck runs out of cards, that deck is gone from the game permanently, and you can only interact with the remaining deck until the end of the game.
Once you draw a card, your turn is over and it is the next player's turn, unless you draw a Psycho Killer or a Predicament card!
Psycho Killers
If you draw a Psycho Killer, play it immediately into your injury pile, unless you have a Slam the Door or a Double Tap.
Predicament Cards
If you draw a Predicament card, and cannot or do not want to Slam the Door, you must play that card immediately. Follow the instructions on the card before ending your turn, unless you've been Left for Dead!
Left For Dead
You become Left for Dead when you have ten or more points in your injury pile.
Once you pass this threshold, you do not have to play Predicament cards immediately. Instead, you can hold them in your hand to play on a later turn.
You can also give Predicament cards to other players using cards like Drop Your Keys and Let's Split Up, or put them back into the deck(s) using cards like Disarm and Booby Trap.
There are a few things to remember when you are Left for Dead:
- Being Left for Dead does not affect how you play a Psycho Killer. Psycho Killer cards can never be in your hand.
- If you give a player a Predicament card, they must play it immediately, regardless of whose turn it is. Once the player has completed the predicament, the turn continues where it left off.
- If your injury points fall below ten points, you are no longer Left for Dead. You must immediately play all Predicament cards that are in your hand and go back to playing all predicaments you draw immediately.
Note: when playing with two players, only the player with the most injury points can be Left for Dead, even if both players are over the threshold.
VHS Symbols
Some cards have VHS symbols on them, and these symbols affect how you play the card.
- Eject — you must play this card immediately after drawing it.
- Stop — you must play this card immediately after drawing it, even when you're Left for Dead.
- Rewind — after you draw from the deck, you can choose whether or not to play a card with a Rewind symbol from your hand.
- Play — you can play this card at any time, even if it isn't your turn.
- Fast Forward — complete the action on this card and then end your turn without drawing a card.
You can play as many cards as you want during your turn, however, if you play a card with a Fast Forward symbol on it, your turn is over.
In 'Psycho Killer', it doesn't matter how many cards you have in your hand. If you don't have any cards in your hand, simply draw a card to end your turn or announce that you're resupplying (see The Choice Is Yours section) and draw three instead. Either way, cross your fingers and hope you get away with it unscathed!
Winning the Game
The game ends when the fifth Psycho Killer is played. The player with the fewest injury points after the game ends is the winner!
Tiebreakers
If any players have the same number of injury points, the player with the fewest Psycho Killers in their injury pile is the winner. If they have the same number of Psycho Killers, the player with the fewest weapons in their injury pile wins. If the game is still tied, flip the table over and fight to the death!
The Choice Is Yours
During Psycho Killer, there are three optional actions you can choose to take at certain stages of the game. These actions could be your shortcut to survival, or they could be the wrong turn... right into the killer's hands! Choose wisely.
PS. For your first few games don't worry about these rules. Come back here once you've had some experience surviving the Psycho Killer!
Dead Weaponing
When you draw a weapon card to end your turn, you can choose to draw again from either deck in the hopes of getting a more useful card.
If you draw multiple weapon cards in a row, you can keep drawing from either deck until you draw a non-weapon card, or you can stop drawing whenever you feel you've pushed your luck too far.
Pick Up, Put Down
If the card drawn to end your turn can be played, you can play it immediately. You must then complete the action on the card before ending your turn for good. You can only Pick Up, Put Down once per turn.
This rule can apply to any card you draw after playing cards like Slam the Door and Booby Trap. You can also Pick Up, Put Down the non-weapon card you draw at the end of your Dead Weaponing.
Resupply
If at any point in the game you have no cards in your hand - even at the start of the game - you can draw three cards to end your turn.
To Resupply, you must announce that you are resupplying before drawing. Draw each card one by one, dealing with any predicaments or Psycho Killers before drawing the next card.
Note: Pick Up, Put Down and Dead Weaponing do not apply when you are drawing as part of a Predicament or when you are Resupplying. You can, however, play cards drawn during a Resupply if they have Rewind or Play symbols on them.
Play By Your Own Rules
You can also write and design your own Psycho Killer rules using the blank cards and add them to your game for even more backstabbing and bloodshed! Make sure to share your new terrifying card ideas with us!