Run, Ghost, Run!
Run, Ghost, Run! Rulebook
Table of Contents
Table of Contents
Object of the Game
Get as many of your ghosts as possible across the hall within 5 turns. The bigger the ghost you manage to get out, the more points you score.
Components and Setup
- Place the board in the middle of the table.
- Each player chooses a ghost colour, made up of 1 large, 2 medium and 4 small ghosts. They place them on one side of the board (the side facing them): this is their starting side. There can be only one ghost colour per side.
- Place the 6 pieces of furniture on the board so as to make a nice hotel hall.
- Randomly place the keyhole on one of the doors surrounding the hall.
- The last person to have looked through a keyhole places the die in front of them (in the example, this is the Blue player).
- In a 2-player game, randomly remove 10 Movement cards; in a 3-player game, remove 5; keep them all for a 4-player game. Removed cards are put back in the box. Shuffle the remaining Movement cards and make a pile at the edge of the board.
For a first game, we advise leaving the Midnight Strikes cards in the box (see section "Once you master the game", below).
Game Turn
In turn, players draw a Movement card and move a piece of furniture if their card allows it. Then, all at the same time, they advance their ghosts through the hall. One of the players is picked by the dice to choose the side where the keyhole is placed. They roll the die again to determine its exact position, and then everyone looks through it: the visible ghosts go back to their side!
Sequence of a Turn
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Starting with the player who has the die in front of them and going clockwise, each player draws a Movement card. Players whose card shows pieces of furniture may then move only one of the two (see "Moving Furniture").
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Simultaneously, all players distribute the value of their Movement card among the ghosts they wish to move, and advance them through the hall, hiding them as best they can (see "Moving Ghosts").
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Players then roll the die. The one with the highest score chooses one of the sides of the board on which to place the keyhole this turn (see "Placing the Keyhole").
Note: After the 1st turn, the player(s) who have already chosen the side on which to place the keyhole do not roll the die until all players have done so the same number of times. Thus, all players will choose the keyhole's location in turn.
Example: On the 1st turn of a 3-player game, the Orange player gets the highest die score, so she chooses the side on which to place the keyhole. On the 2nd turn, only the Red and Green players roll the die; Green gets the highest score, so she chooses. On the 3rd turn it is Red's turn to choose. On the 4th turn, the three players have each chosen the keyhole's side once, so all three roll the die again.
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Once the player has chosen the side, they roll the die again and place the keyhole on the door corresponding to the value obtained. Then they pass the die to their left-hand neighbour (it is therefore this neighbour who will start drawing next turn).
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Players look at the hotel hall through the keyhole. All visible ghosts get scared and go back to their side, off the board. The keyhole is then left in position.
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Discard the used Movement cards and begin a new turn.
Moving Furniture
Some Movement cards show furniture in addition to the number, as in the example on the card. Players who draw them may then move one of the two pieces of furniture this turn.
Furniture can be placed freely on the board, without regard for the spaces. It can be lying down, standing, at an angle, stacked on other furniture, resting on a ghost... Its placement is totally free, but it may not extend beyond the hotel hall.
- It is not possible to move a piece of furniture that has already been moved this turn. If both pieces of furniture on a Movement card have been moved, move any other piece of furniture that has not yet been moved.
- Once a player has grasped a piece of furniture to move it, they cannot change their mind and take another one.
- If, in order to move a piece of furniture or a ghost, another piece of furniture or another ghost is in your way, you may gently lift the obstructing elements, provided you put them back as faithfully as possible in the position they occupied before your move.
- If a ghost is placed on or in a piece of furniture that is moved, the ghost is removed from it and placed on the space where it is.
Moving Ghosts
Ghosts...
- Always start from the same side, from the door of their choice, and score points as soon as they reach a door located on the side opposite their starting side. They then stay there to count their points.
- Share the number on the Movement card to move from space to space, but they cannot cross and leave the hotel hall on the same turn they enter it. They can change direction during their move but do not move diagonally. Once moved, they must not extend beyond the space they occupy and must remain standing. Large ghosts must not fit over other ghosts.
- Pass through furniture without movement penalty and can also be placed on or inside it.
- During a move, if you move opposing ghosts or furniture serving as hiding places, it is up to the penalised player to put the game element back as it was.
Example: The Red player gets a 9 on her Movement card.
- A. She sends a small ghost from her side for 2 moves.
- B. For 2 other moves, she advances her medium ghost 2 spaces and takes it out (it therefore stays on this side).
- C. She hides, 4 spaces away, a small ghost that was already on the board, for 4 moves.
- D. She exits and advances her large ghost 1 space, for her last move.
Placing the Keyhole
The player who got the highest score this turn chooses one of the sides of the board on which to place the keyhole. It is not possible to move it beforehand to test the best side.
Warning: the keyhole must change sides; you cannot choose to leave it on the side where it is placed.
The keyhole's marks must be aligned with the edges of the space.
Example: In the example, the orange and red ghosts are visible; they return to their respective sides.
End of the Game
The game ends when there are no more Movement cards to draw at the start of a turn. Each player then counts their points.
Ghosts that have exited on the other side of the hall:
- Small ghost = 1 point
- Medium ghost = 3 points
- Large ghost = 5 points
Ghosts still present in the hall:
- 2 small ghosts = 1 point (together, as a pair)
- Medium ghost = 1 point
- Large ghost = 2 points
The player with the most points wins the game!
Tie-break: The player who got the most ghosts out on the other side wins the game. Still tied? The player with the fewest ghosts on their own side of the board wins.
Once You Master the Game...
...add these rules to spice up your games! Add more tactics with the ghost merging rule and/or even more fun with the Midnight Strikes cards.
Ghost Merging
Ghosts are always small when they leave their starting side for the first time, and only grow by merging. At the end of its move, if a small ghost is on the same space as a ghost of its colour, either small or medium, it may merge. Replace the two ghosts on the board with a single one of the next size up (the replaced ghosts return to their starting side).
2 medium ghosts cannot merge. If an obstacle gets in the way and the medium or large ghost resulting from the merge does not fit in the space without extending beyond it, the merge is not possible.
Notes:
- The ghost obtained from a merge cannot be moved this turn. 2 small ghosts that have just merged into a medium ghost cannot merge again to become a large ghost on the same turn.
- Medium or large ghosts that were seen through the keyhole return to their starting side, but remain on the edge of the hall, which they can leave with their current size.
- If you no longer have a small ghost to send from your starting side, you may take back one that has already exited. But it will count no points until it has exited again.
Example: The Red player gets 8 for Movement.
- A. She uses 1 move to send a small ghost from her side, which advances one space.
- B. For 1 other move she sends another small ghost, which she merges with the previous one. She replaces the 2 small ghosts with a medium ghost. The 2 small ghosts are placed on their starting side.
- C. With the remaining 6 points, she sends a medium ghost that had been seen the previous turn and was therefore at the edge of the hall. It joins a small ghost and merges. Both ghosts are replaced by a large ghost and are placed on their starting side.
Midnight Strikes Cards
At the start of the game, shuffle the Midnight Strikes cards and make a pile. From the 2nd turn on, before drawing Movement cards, the player who has the die in front of them draws a Midnight Strikes card and reads the corresponding text aloud. The card's effect is applied immediately; if the action must be performed by the players one after another, they do so clockwise, starting with the player who has the die in front of them. The turn then continues normally.
Double Curious (Double curieux) At the end of this turn, after looking through the keyhole, it will be placed on the door with the same number, on the opposite side, and the observation sequence will be replayed. The keyhole will then be left in this position.
Everybody to Shelter (Tous aux abris) Lay down your ghosts in the hall. All ghosts will move lying down this turn.
Overexcited (Surexcité) Tip the furniture over onto its side. In their new position they must still not extend beyond the hall.
Grimace Contest (Concours de grimaces) Stand the mirror up and orient its reflection toward the centre of the hall. In turn, each take a small ghost from your reserve (if you still have any) and place it as close as possible to the mirror, facing its reflection. These ghosts will not move this turn.
Tag, You're It (Touché, c'est toi le chat) In turn, replace one small ghost of your right-hand neighbour, hidden in the hall before this card, with a small ghost from your reserve (if you still have any). If your neighbour had none, place one from your reserve 3 spaces away from your starting side.
Dance Floor (Piste de danse) Move each piece of furniture to the door closest to where it is, without extending beyond the hall. Ghosts stay on the spaces where they are.
Perched Cat (Chat perché) Ghosts that are not "perched" on a piece of furniture at the end of the turn return to their starting side.
I'll Tell My Big Brother (Je vais le dire à mon grand frère) If you can, replace one of your ghosts present in the hall with a ghost of the next size up from your reserve.
Knock, Knock, Knock (Toc, toc, toc) At the end of this turn, nobody will choose the side of the keyhole: it will stay on the same side. The die will still be rolled to find its new exact position.
I'm Dizzy (J'ai le tournis) Rotate the board a quarter turn clockwise. Your ghosts now face a new starting side and you must get them out on the opposite side of it.
Crystal Ball (Boule de cristal) Roll the die: this turn, the player who chooses the keyhole's location must place it on a door corresponding to the number obtained.
1, 2, 3, Sun! (1, 2, 3, soleil) Move your ghosts one space toward their respective exits (you may thereby get some of them out).