The Bloody Inn: The Carnies Rulebook

Table of Contents

Table of Contents

• General Concepts
  • Contents
• Module 1 – The Carnies
  • Setup
  • Event Card Setup
  • Playing the Game
    • Asymmetrical Ranks
    • Trailers
    • Special Burials
  • Playing Using Event Cards
• Module 2 – The Notables
  • Setup
  • Playing the Game
    • Asymmetrical Ranks
    • Annex Effects
• Module 3 – Aunt Ginette's Tips & Tricks
  • Setup
  • Playing the Game
• Clarifications
  • Module 1 & 2 Setup
  • End of the Season and End of the Game
  • Carnies
  • Events
  • Notables
  • Objects

General Concepts

The Carnies is the first expansion for The Bloody Inn. It contains 52 new cards, spread across 3 separate modules that can be used in any combination. Each expansion module has new rules that are detailed here and help renew the base game. Except for the following modifications, the base game rules remain unchanged.

Contents

• 1 rulebook
• 52 cards, across 3 modules:
  • Module 1 – The Carnies: 14 Guest cards and 8 Event cards
  • Module 2 – The Notables: 14 Guest cards
  • Module 3 – Aunt Ginette's Tips & Tricks: 16 Object cards
• 4 50F Check cards

At any time during the game, you can exchange five 10F checks for a 50F Check card. This does not count as an action.

Note: The Guest cards from this expansion have a symbol ★ next to their name to help you sort them out at the end of the game.

Card examples (page 2 of the rulebook, captioned "Carnie Card", "Event Card", "Notable Card", "Object Card"):

• Fire Eater (Carnie card, annex Trailer): "When welcoming travelers, if there are no corpses buried under this trailer, you must place a traveler on it."
• Broken Safe (Event card): "At the end of the round, after travelers leave, each player loses half the value of his checks (rounded up)."
• Surgeon (Notable card, annex Laboratory): "From now on, each time travelers leave, gain 3F if another player has an unburied corpse."
• Wolf Trap (Object card): "Play this card when you perform a Kill a Guest action. You are not required to discard accomplices to perform this action."

Module 1 – The Carnies

The carnies are a new type of guest. This module can be played with or without the Event cards. Before the start of the game, decide if you want to include the Event cards.

Setup

• Add the 14 carnies to the Traveler deck.
• Follow the base game rules to form the Entrance Stack, returning a certain number of cards to the box without looking at them, depending on the number of players and game length.

Note: When using this module, we recommend playing a long game.

Event Card Setup

• Shuffle the 8 Event cards.
• Place them facedown in a pile near the board to form the Event deck.

Playing the Game

Carnies are travelers. You can bribe, kill, bury them or build the annex on their card (if they have one) just like the travelers from the base game. However, they have a few differences:

Asymmetrical Ranks

Carnies have two ranks: a rank used while they occupy a room of the inn, and another rank used when they are outside the inn. The top rank (above the pillow icon) is used to determine how many accomplices are required to bribe or kill them. The bottom rank (above the annex icon) is used to determine how many accomplices are required to bury them or build their annex.

Example: The bearded lady's top rank is 2 while her bottom rank is 1. If you want to kill her, use her top rank (in this case, 2), but to bury her, you must use her bottom rank (in this case, 1).

Trailers

(See clarification and diagram on page 12.)

Four carnies allow you to build a trailer as their annex. Each time you build a trailer, place it next to the inn board and place one of your Key tokens on it.

Phase 1: Welcome Travelers (Evening)

The player responsible for welcoming travelers must place a traveler in each trailer that does not have a corpse under it. He must place the Traveler card on top of the trailer so that it covers only the top part of the trailer.

Phase 2: Player Actions (Night)

When you bury a corpse, you can choose to place the corpse under an unoccupied trailer. In this case, the owner of that trailer moves the trailer with the corpse to his play area (next to his barn) and retrieves his Key token. The number of bodies that can be buried under a trailer is equal to the bottom rank of that trailer.

Phase 3: End of Round (Morning)

During the Travelers Leave step, each player gains 1F for each of his trailers occupied by a traveler.

Special Burials

Three carnies (the dwarf, the bearded lady, and the twins) have special rules that you must follow when you bury them. For more details, refer to the card text and the clarification section at the end of the rulebook.

Exemple: If you kill the bearded lady, you must bury her under another player's annex. If no other player has an available annex, you cannot bury her!

Playing Using Event Cards

When welcoming travelers (phase 1), the first time a carnie is placed on a room (or a trailer), reveal the top card of the Event deck. The player responsible for welcoming travelers reads it aloud before proceeding.

Important: Reveal the Event card only the first time a carnie is placed on a room or trailer.

At the end of the round (phase 3), before the Police Investigation step, if at least one carnie occupies a room of the inn (or a trailer), you must resolve the Event card this round. Each Event card specifies exactly when you resolve its effect. If needed, refer to the clarification section at the end of the rulebook. Then, whether it was resolved or not, discard the Event card and proceed as usual. If the Event card deck is empty, shuffle the discarded Event cards to form a new deck.

Module 2 – The Notables

The notables are a new type of guest. They replace the nobles from the base game.

Setup

• Remove the 14 nobles from the Traveler deck and replace them with the 14 notables.
• Follow the base game rules to form the Entrance Stack, returning a certain number of cards to the box without looking at them, depending on the number of players and game length.

Playing the Game

Notables are travelers. You can bribe, kill, bury them or build the annex on their card just like the travelers from the base game. However, they have a few differences:

Asymmetrical Ranks

Notables have two ranks: a rank used while they occupy a room of the inn, and another rank used when they are outside the inn. The top rank (above the pillow icon) is used to determine how many accomplices are required to bribe or kill them. The bottom rank (above the annex icon) is used to determine how many accomplices are required to bury them or build their annex.

Example: The surgeon's top rank is 1 while his bottom rank is 2. If you want to kill him, use his top rank (in this case, 1), but to bury him, you must use his bottom rank (in this case, 2).

Annex Effects

The effects of the notables' annexes vary depending on room occupancy or other players' actions and/or possessions.

Module 3 – Aunt Ginette's Tips & Tricks

Ginette—your old grumpy aunt who manages the neutral rooms—has decided to share a few of her old tricks so you can be successful and worthy of the family reputation! But she wasn't born yesterday so it will cost you!

Setup

• Shuffle the 16 Object cards. Deal 4 cards facedown to each player. With less than 4 players, return the remaining cards to the box, without looking at them. Then, each player must follow these steps:
• Secretly choose one of the four Object cards dealt to you. Place it facedown in front of you. Then, pass the other three cards to the player on your left.
• Secretly choose one of the three Object cards passed to you. Place it facedown in front of you. Then, pass the other two cards to the player on your left.
• Secretly choose one of the two Object cards passed to you. Place it facedown in front of you. Then, return the other card to the box without revealing it.
• Take the three chosen cards in your hand and keep them secret.
• Place your disk on space "10" of the Wealth Track on the Inn board (instead of space "5" as instructed in the base game). Then, subtract the total cost of the Object cards in your hand from it (objects cost 0F to 3F).

Playing the Game

You may play an Object card during the phase specified on the card. Playing an Object card does not count as an action. You can play multiple Object cards during the same turn if able. Each object can be played only once: after playing an Object card, return it to the box.

Note: If multiple players play an Object card at the same time and there is a dispute to determine which card effect occurs first, resolve each card effect according to the turn order.

Example: After welcoming travelers, Noélie plays her poison card on the bishop while Madeline plays her coffee card on the same bishop. Because Noélie plays before Madeline in turn order, the effect of the poison card is resolved first. Madeline can then choose to place her coffee card on another traveler or take it back in her hand to use it on a later round.

Clarifications

Module 1 & 2 Setup

When playing with both Module 1 and 2, follow these steps to form the Entrance Stack:

• Remove the 14 nobles from the Traveler deck and replace them with the 14 notables.
• Add the 14 carnies to the Traveler deck.
• Follow the base game rules to form the Entrance Stack, returning a certain number of cards to the box without looking at them, depending on the number of players and game length.

Note: When using modules 1 and 2, we recommend playing a long game.

End of the Season and End of the Game

• Depending on which modules you are playing with, it is possible for the Entrance Stack to become empty when welcoming travelers (phase 1). When the Entrance Stack becomes empty, shuffle the cards of the Exit Stack in order to form a new Entrance Stack. Then resume welcoming travelers until there is a traveler in each open room and trailer.
• The second time the Entrance Stack becomes empty, play a normal final round, even if the inn is not completely full. However, if there are fewer travelers in the rooms and trailers than there are players, the game ends immediately. In this case, place the remaining Traveler cards on the Exit Stack.

Carnies

Trailer - Like other annexes, you can bury a corpse under another player's trailer and share the money in the corpse's pockets. Each time the base game rules refer to "a room of the inn", this also includes trailers except for the room service and silk farm effects.

Example: At the start of phase 3, if there is a Police card in a trailer, the police investigates. If you do not have an available Key token, you cannot build a trailer.

Diagram (page 12, image only): the diagram's caption reads "Trailers 1 and 3 - Occupied Trailer 2 / Unoccupied Trailer 4" (numbered markers as printed). It shows the Cultivator's trailer as occupied and the Juggler's trailer as unoccupied (dashed outline). The Cultivator card reads: "Immediately gain 1F per red annex you have built, including this one." The Grocer card reads: "Immediately gain 4F. At the end of the game, gain 4F per blue card in the Exit Stack." The Abbot card reads: "From now on, play 1 fewer accomplice to perform the Bury a Corpse action."

Bearded Lady - Share the money with the owner of the annex where you bury the bearded lady. If no other player has an available annex, you cannot bury her.

Dwarf - Place the card sideways under the annex to distinguish it from other cards. Example: If you bury the dwarf under a rank-2 annex, you can still bury 2 corpses under that annex.

Twins - Place the twins and another card from among those returned to the box during setup facedown under the annex. However, you gain only the money from the twins.

Barker (Carnival Booth) - No remarks.

Bear Tamer (Bear Cage) - Example: You can kill a rank-2 guest by playing only 1 card from your hand. This effect is optional.

Companion (Nook) - Example: You can take back into your hand the peasant that you played to bribe a rank-1 guest.

Events

Blackmail - Whether or not the police investigates, the players must call upon the village gravedigger and pay 10F for each unburied corpse he has. Corpses placed under the tomb or snow pile are not taken into account.

Broken Safe - Example: If you have a 50F check and 2 10F checks, for a total of 70F, immediately lose 40F in checks.

Cirrhosis - If there are no peasants on the bistro at the end of the round, nothing happens.

Extortion - The effect of the distillery still applies (do not pay one of your accomplices).

Fiasco - Return the peasants to the bistro and place all other accomplices on the Exit Stack. You do not pay wages for the discarded accomplices.

High Season - No remarks.

Pickpockets - Resolve this event after travelers leave and after using the effect of certain annexes (such as the gardens or laboratory).

Red Herring - If a player plays the letter of denunciation, each player with at least one unburied corpse must call upon the village gravedigger, whether or not the police investigates.

Notables

Sericulturist (Silk Farm) - Apply this effect once, after building the silk farm. This effect only applies to occupied rooms not trailers. Example: When you build the silk farm, if 2 of your rooms are occupied by a traveler, immediately gain 6F.

Winemaker (Wine Cask) - Apply this effect once, after building the wine cask. Example: When you build the wine cask, if 2 neutral rooms are occupied by a traveler, immediately gain 6F.

Surgeon (Laboratory) - This effect occurs after the police investigation and after the effects of the blackmail, tomb, and letter of denunciation. A corpse placed under the snow pile is not taken into account. If other players have multiple unburied corpses, you still gain 3F. If you have multiple laboratories, you gain 3F for each laboratory you have. Example: If you have 2 laboratories, gain 6F when travelers leave if another player has at least one unburied corpse.

Banker (Safe) - When you gain money, advance your disk on the Wealth Track. Example: An opponent buries a corpse and gains 18F. Because he already has 28F on the Wealth Track, he can gain only 12F and you gain the excess of 6F.

Notary (Study) - This effect occurs only during other players' turns.

Pharmacist (Pharmacy) - This effect occurs after the effect of the fiasco. If multiple players have 3 or more accomplices, you still gain 2F.

Objects

Cake (0F) - With carnies and notables, use the top rank. Discard the cake when the traveler leaves the room (at the end of the round, or because of a player's action). Example: If you place the cake on the surgeon's room, gain an additional 2F (2x 1F) when the surgeon leaves the inn at the end of the round.

Gold Teeth (0F) - With carnies and notables, use the bottom rank. Example: If you bury the surgeon, gain an additional 4F (2x 2F) for a total of 20F.

Letter of Denunciation (0F) - You can play this card only during phase 1. At the start of phase 3, even if the police does not investigate, each player with at least one unburied corpse must pay 10F for each unburied corpse and then return his unburied corpses to the box. This also includes the player who plays this card.

Rug (0F) - You can play this card only during phase 1, after welcoming travelers. The corpse now belongs to that player, as if that player had just killed that guest.

Coffee (1F) - You can play this card only during phase 1, after welcoming travelers. Discard the coffee when the travelers leave at the end of the round. You cannot place the poison on a traveler with the coffee card. With carnies and notables, use the top rank. Example: If you place the coffee on the surgeon occupying a room of the inn, immediately gain 1F.

Hammer (1F) - You must still have the required number of accomplices to perform the action. Example: You can take back into your hand the peasant and the newsboy that you played to build the distillery.

Liquor (1F) - You must still have the required number of accomplices to perform the action. Example: You can take back into your hand the peasant and the monk that you played to bribe the distiller.

Snow Pile (1F) - When you play this card, place it on one of your unburied corpses before the police investigation. When the police investigates, you do not call upon the village gravedigger for that corpse. Because the snow pile is discarded at the end of the round, it is up to you to bury the corpse before the next police investigation!

Bible (2F) - You must still have the required number of accomplices to perform the action. Example: You can take back into your hand the peasant and the newsboy that you played to bury the distiller.

Confessional (2F) - You benefit from this card effect at the end of a round only if you have less buried corpses than the player who has the most. If you must gain 6F from a player who has less than 6F on the Wealth Track, gain all of that player's money. When determining who buried the most corpses, the dwarf counts as 1 corpse and the twins count as 2 corpses.

Tomb (2F) - If multiple players, including you, must call upon the village gravedigger, choose which corpse to place under the tomb. The player from whom you took the corpse no longer pays the village gravedigger. After playing the tomb, return it and the corpse to the box.

Wolf Trap (2F) - You must still have the required number of accomplices to perform the action. Example: You can take back into your hand the peasant and the newsboy that you played to kill the distiller.

Poison (3F) - Because you play this card after welcoming travelers, this effect does not affect the room service and cannot trigger the end of the game. The poisoned traveler is not replaced by another traveler. You cannot place the poison on a traveler with the coffee card.

Quicklime (3F) - You can play the quicklime to bury the bearded lady under another player's annex.

Well (3F) - When you play this card, the corpse of the traveler you just killed no longer needs to be buried, instead return it to the box.

Wheelbarrow (3F) - You must still have the required number of accomplices to perform the action. Example: You can build the room service annex of the concierge occupying a room of the inn (or a trailer) without first performing a Bribe a Guest action to add the concierge to your hand. You cannot play the wheelbarrow to build the annex of the traveler with the coffee card.