The Bloody Inn Rulebook

Table of Contents

Table of Contents

• Contents
• Object of the Game
• Important Game Concepts
  • Guest cards
  • The Inn Board
• Setup
• Playing the Game
  • Phase 1: Welcome Travelers (evening)
  • Phase 2: Player Actions (night)
    • 1. Bribe a Guest
    • 2. Build an Annex
    • 3. Kill a Guest
    • 4. Bury a Corpse
    • 5. Pass (and Launder Money)
  • Phase 3: End of Round (morning)
    • a. Police Investigation
    • b. Travelers Leave
    • c. Pay Wages
• End of the Game
• Alternate Scenarios (variants)
  • Unlimited Wealth (to explore the game)
  • First Come, First Served (for beginners, or for a slightly faster game)
  • Solitaire Game
• Annex Effects
• Game Round Summary
• Player Aid Card
• Credits

Contents

• 78 Guest cards (70 travelers and 8 peasants)
• 4 Player Aid cards
• 1 Inn game board
• 1 First Player card
• 30 10F (10-franc) Check tokens
• 32 Key/Room Service tokens in the four player colors (8 red, 8 green, 8 blue, and 8 yellow)
• 4 white Key tokens
• 4 wooden disks in the four player colors
• 1 rulebook

Object of the Game

In this family, it's every man for himself! At the end of the game, there will be a final tally: The richest of the innkeepers will be proclaimed victorious!

Important Game Concepts

Guest cards

Each card represents a guest. The front of the card depicts the guest alive; the back depicts the guest dead. Here are the two sides:

Living Side

• The color of the card indicates the guest's type. The travelers who come to rent a room at the inn are divided into 5 types of guests: merchants (blue), artisans (red), police (grey), religious (purple), and nobles (green). Peasants (yellow) are a special kind of guest that spends a lot of time in the bistro at the inn.
• 4 of the 6 types of guests have a particular affinity for one action. This icon is a reminder of this affinity.
• Each guest has a rank, from 0 to 3.
• The money the guest has in his pockets.
• The lower part of the card shows the annex that the guest allows you to build. The effect of the annex both appears as an icon and in written form.

Dead Side

• Reminder of the guest's rank.
• The money the guest has in his pockets.

The Inn Board

• The Wealth Track indicates how much money each player has; the maximum is 40 francs ("40F").
• Each door to a room in the inn, numbered from 1 to 8, can accommodate one Key token and one Room Service token. The color of the Key token indicates which player owns that room.
• Each door leads to a room that can accommodate one Traveler card.
• At the inn's entrance, you will find the stack of cards representing guests that are entering the inn. This is called the Entrance Stack. Note: You can count the number of cards in this stack, as long as you neither look at the cards nor change their order.
• At the inn's exit, you will find the stack of cards representing guests that are leaving the inn. This is called the Exit Stack. Note: You can look at the contents of this stack at any time.
• The bistro, where the Peasant cards go.

Setup

• Give each player two Peasant cards and one Player Aid card. The peasants form your starting hand. Place your Player Aid card on the table, in your play area; it also acts as a barn. With fewer than 4 players, return the unused Peasant and Player Aid cards to the box.
• Create the Traveler deck: Depending on the number of players and the length of game you wish to play, return a certain number of cards to the box, without looking at them.

	Short Game	Long Game
2 players	remove 35 cards	remove 25 cards
3 players	remove 28 cards	remove 16 cards
4 players	remove 22 cards	remove 6 cards

Shuffle the rest of the cards to create a deck, and place it at the entrance to the inn, at the left of the board. Place the cards so the Living side is faceup. These cards form the Entrance Stack.

• Each player chooses a player color and receives 8 Key/Room Service tokens and the disk of that color. Place your disk on space "5" of the Wealth Track on the Inn board.
• Each player takes one 10F Check token. The other Check tokens form a supply near the gameboard.
• Determine which rooms are open:
  • Each player places a Key token of his color on an unclaimed room of his choice (the position of the room makes no difference, so just choose a room close to you).
  • In a 2- or 3-player game, place one white Key token on each of 3 doors of the inn. In a 4-player game, place one on each of 4.
• The greediest player takes the First Player card (as everyone knows, the greediest person is the one with the most coins in his pockets!).

Playing the Game

The game is divided into two seasons and a variable number of rounds. During the first season, travelers arrive at the entrance to the inn for the first time, and the lucky ones will be able to carry on their journey. They will be in the Entrance Stack for the second season.

Each round is divided into 3 phases: welcome travelers (evening), player actions (night), and end of round (morning).

Phase 1: Welcome Travelers (evening)

The First Player is responsible for welcoming travelers for this round. He must perform the following steps:

• Draw the top card from the Entrance Stack (thus revealing the next traveler in the stack).
• Place the traveler in an open (i.e. has a Key token), unoccupied (i.e. has no traveler) room of his choice.
• Repeat this process until there is a traveler in each open room.

Note: The first time the Entrance Stack becomes empty, shuffle the cards of the Exit Stack in order to form a new Entrance Stack. The second time the Entrance Stack becomes empty, play a normal final round, even if the inn is not completely full (Exception: Don't play the final round if there are fewer travelers in the inn than the number of players - see End of the Game).

Example: In a 3-player game, Anna is responsible for welcoming the travelers because she is the first player. She takes the first card of the Entrance Stack, the landscaper, and chooses to place him in the yellow player's room. Anna welcomes the next 5 travelers in a similar fashion in order to fill the 6 open rooms of the inn.

Phase 2: Player Actions (night)

Starting with the first player, then going clockwise, each player performs a first action. Then, each player in turn must perform a second action.

On your turn, you may:

1. Bribe a Guest
2. Build an Annex
3. Kill a Guest
4. Bury a Corpse
5. Pass (and Launder Money)

The first four actions in the list are resolved the same way. When you perform one of these actions:

• Choose a Guest card in play (in your hand, play area, or in the inn, depending on the action).
• Play a number of cards equal to the rank of the chosen Guest card.
• Take back any cards played that have an affinity for the action you are performing; discard the other cards.
• Perform the action.

1. Bribe a Guest

Perform this action to take a Guest card from the inn into your hand. Guests in your hand are your accomplices, who help you in your macabre enterprise.

There are 4 steps to bribing a traveler in a room of the inn:

• Choose a traveler you want to bribe among any rooms of the inn, regardless of who owns that room.
• Play a number of Guest cards from your hand equal to rank of the traveler you just chose (e.g. 0 cards for a rank-0 traveler; 3 cards for a rank-3 traveler).
• From the cards you just played, return cards with the Bribe a Guest affinity icon to your hand (these guests have an affinity for bribery); place the other cards on the Exit Stack. (Exception: If you played any peasants, place them in the bistro, instead of the Exit Stack.)
• Add the bribed guest to your hand.

In the same way, you can bribe the peasants that are in the bistro. If you choose to bribe peasants, you can take one or two (your choice: it is easier to corrupt peasants!). Peasants are rank-0 guests, and thus do not require playing any cards to bribe them.

Example: Anna wants to bribe the rank-3 landscaper in Madeline's room. To do this, she plays 3 cards from her hand. The peasant returns to the bistro because peasants always return to the bistro. The novice is placed on the Exit Stack because he has no affinity for bribery. The newsboy returns to Anna's hand because he has an affinity for bribery. Anna then takes the landscaper into her hand as an accomplice.

2. Build an Annex

Perform this action to place one of your accomplices (one of the Guest cards from your hand) in front of you in order to benefit from its effect. You also need annexes to bury corpses, but more on that topic later…

Note: Your accomplice has allowed you to build this annex, but you will no longer be able to count him to help, because he is too busy!

There are 4 steps to building an annex:

• Choose a Traveler card from your hand that depicts an annex (house icon).
• Play a number of accomplices equal to the rank of the card you chose.
• From the cards you just played, return cards with the Build an Annex affinity icon to your hand (these guests have an affinity for building annexes); place the other cards on the Exit Stack. (Exception: If you played any peasants, place them in the bistro, instead of the Exit Stack).
• Place the chosen Traveler card in front of you on the table, with its Living side faceup; this now becomes an annex. There is no limit to the number of annexes you can have in front of you, and you can have several copies of the same annex. The effects of the annexes are explained at the end of the rulebook.

Note: Police and Peasant cards cannot become annexes (notice that there is no house icon at the bottom of these cards), so they cannot be chosen to perform the Build action.

Example: Madeline wants to build the distillery associated with the distiller she has in her hand. Because the distiller is rank 2, she plays 2 other cards from her hand. The viscount is placed on the Exit Stack because he has no affinity for building annexes. The mechanic returns to Madeline's hand because he has an affinity for building annexes. Madeline then places the distiller on the table, in her play area, as an annex. From now on, she can benefit from its effect.

(The Player Aid card is a rank-1 annex, so you can bury a corpse under it — it acts as a barn.)

3. Kill a Guest

When you kill a guest of the inn, you put him in front of you, with its Dead side faceup. It pains you, but what can you do? This is the life you have chosen! Keep in mind that you have a code of honor: You only steal money from a guest when you bury him!

There are 4 steps to killing a guest:

• Choose a guest you want to kill from the inn (a traveler from any room of your choice or a peasant from the bistro).
• Play a number of accomplices equal to the rank of the card you chose.
• From the cards you just played, return cards with the Kill a Guest affinity icon to your hand (these guests have an affinity for killing guests); put the other cards in the Exit Stack. (Exception: If you played any peasants, place them in the bistro, instead of the Exit Stack).
• Place the Guest card in front of you on the table, with its Dead side faceup; this now becomes a corpse. There is no limit to the number of corpses you can have in front of you, but watch out for the police!

Example: Madeline wants to kill the baron in Anna's room. Because the baron is rank 0, Madeline does not need to play any cards in order perform this action. Madeline takes the baron and places him on the table, in her play area, with his Dead side faceup.

4. Bury a Corpse

You can bury the corpse of a guest you previously killed.

There are 4 steps to burying a corpse:

• Choose a corpse you want to bury from among those in front of you.
• Play a number of accomplices equal to the rank of the card you just chose.
• From the cards you just played, return cards with the Bury a Corpse affinity icon to your hand (these travelers have an affinity for burying corpses); place the other cards on the Exit Stack. (Exception: If you played any peasants, place them in the bistro, instead of the Exit Stack).
• Place the corpse under an annex of your choice, regardless of who owns it, leaving enough of the card sticking out so that you can see the amount of money in the corpse's pockets. The number of bodies that can be buried under an annex is equal to rank of the annex (e.g. you can bury 2 corpses in a rank-2 annex, and no corpses under a rank-0 annex). You and the owner of the annex share the money in the corpse's pockets, by advancing your disks on the Wealth Track (if you bury the corpse under one of your own annexes, you take all the money for yourself).

Note: You can bury a corpse under the barn.

Important: It is impossible to have more than 40 francs on the Wealth Track. If your earnings would take you over 40 francs, you have nowhere to stash the excess, tough luck! However, 40 francs is not the maximum score, as we will explain a little further below.

Example: In order to bury her rank-2 corpse, Madeline plays 2 cards from her hand. The peasant returns to the bistro. The grocer goes on the Exit Stack. She slips the corpse under her own rank-3 annex, and advances her disk 18F on the Wealth Track.

5. Pass (and Launder Money)

You can choose not to do any of the above actions on your turn. In this case, you are allowed, but not required, to meet with the crooked village notary to launder money. You can then either:

• Exchange a portion of your money for 10F checks (for example, you can give up 20 francs on the Wealth Track to gain two 10F checks).
• Cash checks in order to advance your disk on the Wealth Track by 10 spaces for each check returned to the supply.

Phase 3: End of Round (morning)

The end of the round is divided into 3 steps: police investigation, travelers leave, and pay wages.

a. Police Investigation

If there is at least one Police card in an open room of the inn, the police investigates! Each player having at least one unburied corpse must call upon the village gravedigger, in order to avoid being arrested. Each player must pay 10 francs for each unburied corpse he has, using his money or checks, and then return his unburied corpses to the box.

Note: If you are unable to pay the gravedigger, pay what you can with coins and checks, and the gravedigger will still assist you in getting rid of all your unburied corpses! What a guy!

b. Travelers Leave

Each player gains 1F for each room of his color (i.e. each room with a Key token of his color) occupied by a Traveler card.

Note: The players gain nothing from the rooms with white Key tokens.

The inn is then emptied. Place all the Traveler cards from the inn rooms on the Exit Stack with their Living side faceup.

c. Pay Wages

Each player must pay his accomplices: Move your disk back on the Wealth Track one space for each Guest card in your hand.

Be careful, your accomplices do not trust you enough to accept checks! If you reach 0 on the Wealth Track, you must let any unpaid accomplices go; place them on the Exit Stack (except for peasants, who are placed in the bistro)!

The first player gives the First Player card to the player on his left and a new round can begin.

Example: Each player has performed two actions. One Police card remains in the inn, which triggers a Police Investigation. Madeline, who still has an unburied corpse, must rely upon the services of the village gravedigger, paying 10F. Sebastien gains 2F because his 2 rooms are occupied. After placing the 4 Traveler cards remaining in the inn on the Exit Stack, each player pays 1F for each Guest card in his hand.

End of the Game

The second time the Entrance Stack becomes empty, finish the round, and the game ends.

Note: After welcoming travelers, if there are fewer travelers in the inn than there are players, the game ends immediately. In this case, place those Traveler cards on the Exit Stack.

Each player with at least one unburied corpse must call upon the village gravedigger, in order to avoid being arrested. Each player must pay 10 francs for each unburied corpse he has, and then return his unburied corpses to the box (pay using checks if needed).

Then, each player advances his disk on the Wealth Track for each rank-3 annex that allows him to gain money at the end of the game (such as the Park or the Grocery).

Note: You still cannot have more than 40 francs on the Wealth Track!

Calculate each player's loot by adding 10 francs for each Check he has to his space on the Wealth Track.

The richest player wins the game! In case of a tie, the winner is the richest player who has the most corpses under his annexes. If there is still a tie, the game ends in a tie, and you must play again!

Alternate Scenarios (variants)

Unlimited Wealth (to explore the game)

The Wealth Track no longer limits you to 40F, and the Launder Money action no longer exists: You can exchange money for checks, and vice versa, at any time, and as often as you wish.

First Come, First Served (for beginners, or for a slightly faster game)

When welcoming travelers, the first player does not decide in which room to place each traveler who arrives, but instead places them according to the order in which they arrive: The first traveler goes in Room #1; the second in Room #2; etc.

Solitaire Game

The solitaire game is played the same way, with the following exceptions:

• Setup:
  1. Create the Guest deck by removing 34 cards (short game) or 26 cards (long game).
  2. Place 1 Key token of your color and 3 Key tokens of a neutral color on the doors of the inn.
  3. In addition to the 2 peasants in your hand, place 2 peasants in the bistro.
• You lose the game if you have any unburied corpses either during a Police Investigation or at the end of the game.
• Your goal is to get the best score you can. In a long game, check your rank according to your score:
  • 110F-129F: Troubling Innkeeper
  • 130F-149F: Dangerous Innkeeper
  • 150F-169F: Evil Innkeeper
  • >170F: Demonic Innkeeper

Annex Effects

Rank	Traveler (Annex) - Effect	Tip/Example/Clarification
0	Cultivator (Vegetable Garden) - Immediately gain 1F per red annex you have built, including this one.	It is better to build a vegetable garden toward the end of the game, because you cannot bury corpses under it.
1	Mechanic (Workshop) - From now on, play 1 fewer accomplice to perform the Build an Annex action.	Example: You can build a rank-1 annex without playing any cards from your hand. This effect is optional.
2	Distiller (Distillery) - At the end of the round, do not pay the wages for one of the accomplices in your hand.	Example: You only pay 1F if you have 2 accomplices in your hand. If you have no cards in your hand at the end of the round, you do not gain 1F.
3	Gardener (Gardens) - At the end of each round, gain an additional 2F during the Travelers Leave phase.	At the end of each round, gain 2F.
3	Landscaper (Park) - Immediately gain 4F. At the end of the game, gain 4F per red card in the Exit Stack.	When you gain money, you advance your disk on the Wealth Track, so you must respect the 40F limit.
3	Butcher (Butcher Shop) - From now on, you can kill as many travelers as you want in one Kill a Guest action.	You must play a number of Guest cards from your hand equal to the sum of the ranks of the killed travelers. Example: To kill a rank-1 traveler and a rank-2 traveler, play 3 accomplices from your hand. Note: This effect only applies to travelers in rooms, not to peasants.
0	Newsboy (Kiosk) - Immediately gain 1F per blue annex you have built, including this one.	It is better to build a kiosk toward the end of the game, because you cannot bury corpses under it.
1	Representative (Parlor) - From now on, play 1 fewer accomplice to perform the Bribe a Guest action.	You can bribe a rank-2 traveler by playing only one card from your hand. This effect is optional. When used in combination with the Shop, you get a discount of only 1 accomplice for the entire action.
2	Concierge (Room Service) - Immediately place a Room Service token next to a Key token. From now on, when a Guest rents this room, immediately gain money equal to his rank.	There can only be one Room Service token per room. Example: The owner of the Room Service token gains 3F when a rank-3 traveler is placed on that room.
3	Grocer (Grocery) - Immediately gain 4F. At the end of the game, gain 4F per blue card in the Exit Stack.	When you gain money, you advance your disk on the Wealth Track, so you must respect the 40F limit.
3	Shopkeeper (Shop) - From now on, you can bribe as many travelers as you want in one Bribe a Guest action.	You must play a number of Guest cards from your hand equal to the sum of the ranks of the chosen cards. Example: To bribe 2 rank-2 guests, play 4 cards. Note: This effect only applies to travelers in rooms, not to peasants.
3	Brewer (Brewery) - From now on, you can bribe up to four peasants simultaneously in one Bribe a Guest action.	Be careful, you must pay wages at the end of the round!
0	Novice (Altar) - Immediately gain 1F per purple annex you have built, including this one.	It is better to build an altar toward the end of the game, because you cannot bury corpses under it.
1	Monk (Bedroom) - Immediately replace one of the white Key tokens with one of your Key tokens.	The Monk allows you to claim one of the neutral rooms (the number of open rooms remains the same; this has no effect if there are no more neutral rooms).
2	Abbot (Cellar) - From now on, play 1 fewer accomplice to perform the Bury a Corpse action.	Example: You can bury a rank-3 corpse by playing only 2 cards from your hand. This effect is optional. When used in combination with the Crypt, you get a discount of only 1 accomplice for the entire action.
3	Priest (Chapel) - From now on, you are not required to discard accomplices of the other types when you play them to perform a Bury a Corpse action.	Example: You can take the peasant that you played to bury a rank-1 corpse, back into your hand.
3	Archbishop (Crypt) - From now on, you can bury as many corpses as you want in one Bury a Corpse action.	You must play a number of accomplices, all at once, equal to the sum of the ranks of the chosen corpses. Example: To bury 2 rank-1 corpses in a single action, you must play 2 cards.
3	Bishop (Bishopric) - Immediately gain 4F. At the end of the game, gain 4F per purple card in the Exit Stack.	When you gain money, you advance your disk on the Wealth Track, so you must respect the 40F limit.
0	Baron (Grand Chandelier) - Immediately gain 4F.	-
1	Viscount (King Size Bed) - Immediately gain 6F.	-
2	Count (Dining Room) - Immediately gain 9F.	-
3	Duke (Stables) - Immediately gain 4F. At the end of the game, gain 4F per green card in the Exit Stack.	When you gain money, you advance your disk on the Wealth Track, so you must respect the 40F limit.
3	Prince (Greenhouse) - At the end of the game, gain 3F per check you have.	When you gain money, you advance your disk on the Wealth Track, so you must respect the 40F limit.
3	Marquis (Pavilion) - Immediately gain 18F.	-

Game Round Summary

Phase 1: Welcome Travelers

Phase 2: Player Actions

Starting with the first player and going clockwise, each player performs a first action. Then each player performs a second action.

On your turn, you may:

1. Bribe a Guest
2. Build an Annex
3. Kill a Guest
4. Bury a Corpse
5. Pass (and Launder Money).

Phase 3: End of Round

• a. Police Investigation
• b. Travelers Leave
• c. Pay Wages

Player Aid Card

• Phase 1 – Welcome Travelers
• Phase 2 – Player Actions (2 action rounds)
  • BRIBE A GUEST: Take a traveler or two peasants from the inn into your hand.
  • BUILD AN ANNEX: Play an accomplice from your hand to the table (living side).
  • KILL A GUEST: Put a guest from the inn on the table (dead side).
  • BURY A CORPSE: Tuck a corpse under an annex.
  • PASS: Do nothing or launder money.
• Phase 3 – End of Round
  • a. Police investigation
  • b. Guests leave
  • c. Pay wages

Credits

Designer: Nicolas Robert • Illustrations: Weberson Santiago • Graphic Design: Luis Francisco • French Rules: Sébastien Dujardin & Nicolas Robert • English Translation: Nathan Morse

Thanks: The designer thanks his spouse Laureline and his children Maë and Këo for their unfaltering support and innumerable playtesting sessions since the first prototype, and also Sébastien for his confidence, his advice, and his always-relevant suggestions!