Sacred Rites Rulebook

Table of Contents

Table of Contents

• Materials
• Preparation
• Objective
• Initiation
• Roles
  • Believers
  • Outsiders
• Ritual
• Scoring

Materials

1. 84 Rite cards
   • 74 filled / 10 blank
2. 12 Tradition tiles
3. 50 Flower tokens
   • 40 white / 10 pink
4. 9 Believer envelopes
5. 2 Outsider envelopes
6. Cloth Bag

Preparation

1. Take one Believer envelope (with a window in one side) per player and remove the rest from play. Take both Outsider envelopes (no window).
2. Shuffle the envelopes together with the crown facing up. Each player takes one, and the remaining two are placed aside. Keep these with the crown face-up at all times.
3. Shuffle the non-blank Rite cards and Tradition tiles into two stacks and place them face-down nearby.
4. Place the Flower tokens within reach and begin Initiation. There are 40 white flowers (1 point each) and 10 pink flowers (5 points each).

You are now ready to begin.

Objective

The first to get thirteen points (or more) wins.

Initiation

At the start of a round, one player takes a Rite card and, keeping it face-down, slides it inside their envelope. They then look at the other side of the envelope in secret.

If they are a Believer, the window in their envelope allows them see the Rite. If they are an Outsider, their envelope has no window—they cannot see the Rite, but should pretend to.

The player removes the Rite, face-down, and passes it to the next player to repeat this step until every player has done so. Place the Rite face-down in the center of the table.

Each player then also takes a Tradition tile at random and views it secretly.

Keep envelopes with the crown face-up at all times. You cannot use your envelope to signal your role in any way. You cannot communicate about the Rite outside of the Ritual phase.

Roles

Believers

During the Ritual, Believers are trying to communicate to the other Believers that they have seen and know the Rite. The Clue they give should signal they know the Rite without making the Rite obvious to the Outsider(s).

Outsiders

During the Ritual, Outsiders are trying to blend in with the Believers. They have not seen the Rite, so they must give a Clue that tricks the Believers into thinking they are one of them. Waiting and listening to other players' Clues is a good way to say something that will fit in. Going confidently first with a vague Clue may also trick the Believers.

Ritual

Once Initiation is complete, in no particular order, players will each show their Tradition tile and present an aspect of the ritual like so:

The [Tradition] of our Sacred Rite is...

The player then gives a word, motion, sound, pose, poem, or other Clue trying to signal Believers that they know the Rite. The Clue must be related to the Tradition. You cannot repeat a clue that has already been given. After presenting, all players must reply with:

Ahhh... [repeat the Clue in unison]

Outsiders give Clues as well, either confidently going early, or waiting for more information to use. Believers don't want to be accused of being Outsiders, but also don't want to give too much away about the Rite, so they should neither be too vague nor too specific.

During the Ritual phase, there is no other communication. Scoring begins immediately after the last player has given their clue.

Scoring

Without discussion, all players count to three and point at who they think the Outsider(s) is/are, or point up if they think there are no Outsiders. Players then flip over their envelopes to reveal their role.

Any players (including Outsiders) who guess correctly gain 2 points (flower tokens). Any player who is not pointed at by anyone gets 1 point. Then, all Outsiders get to guess the Rite once each, getting 2 points if they guess the correct answer. They do this in any order or at the same time.

Repeat Preparation (including shuffling envelopes) and start again (randomizing the Believers and Outsiders). The first player with 13+ points wins and becomes Master of Ceremonies. Ties are broken with additional rounds.