Die VampirConnection Rulebook

Table of Contents

Table of Contents

• 1. Game Setup
• 2. Course of Play
  • I. The Vampire Connection
  • II. Movement, or How Does One Get to Victims?
  • III. Special Rules for Movement
  • IV. Turning Over Village Cards
  • V. Theft in Foreign Castles
  • VI. Playing Protection Cards
  • VII. Vampire Hunters
  • VIII. What to Do When Staked?
  • IX. Drinking Blood and the End of a Turn
  • X. End of the Game
• 3. Card Notes
  • I. Base Cards (18 cards)
  • II. Vampire Cards (58 cards)
  • III. Village Cards
• 4. Tips for the First Game
• Overview of a Turn

1. Game Setup

Each player receives one vampire, which is either chosen freely or drawn face down. Along with it he receives a castle and a crypt. The remaining vampire, castle and crypt cards are set aside and are not needed for the rest of the game.

Next, from the village cards (cards with the village on the back), the four cards that have the village in the background (1 x Masked Ball, 1 x Sunrise, Angel and Unrest) are set aside and shuffled into the lower half of the remaining, well-shuffled village deck. Then the village deck is placed face down in the middle of the table, within reach of everyone.

This card stack represents the village.

Each player then receives a "Hunchback Assistant" from the vampire cards (cards with the vampire on the back). The rest of the vampire cards are shuffled, and each player is dealt 4 cards. The remaining cards are placed face down in the middle of the table, within reach of everyone.

This stack represents the draw pile for the vampires.

There should be enough room next to both card stacks for a separate discard pile. Each player lays out his castle and crypt in front of himself, so that the castle is on the left and the crypt is on the right. He then places his vampire in the castle (i.e. onto the castle card).

One player is chosen to manage the Blood Bank. He receives all the blood drops and is responsible for distributing them during the game.

Before the game begins, he gives each player one blood drop. The palest player is the starting player and begins the game.

[The rulebook shows a picture of the setup in a 4-player game here; it is an illustration only and is not transcribed.]

2. Course of Play

Starting with the starting player, the game is played continuously in clockwise order. The player whose turn it is may play as many cards as he likes, in any order. Unless his turn is interrupted by an event, he ends his turn by drinking the blood of his victims (if he has victims he can drink from) or by resting in his crypt.

I. The Vampire Connection

The life of an undead is not easy, and so one is occasionally forced to support one another. At the start of his turn, before he has played a hand card, the player whose turn it is may trade 1-2 hand cards with another vampire. The number of cards given does not have to match. Each participating player must give at least one and at most two cards. The trade may be linked to all kinds of conditions, but these conditions do not have to be kept. Example: "I will give you my two stakes only in exchange for the Hunchback Assistant, provided you do not use the stakes to stake me."

II. Movement, or How Does One Get to Victims?

This game has three locations: the crypt, the castle and the village. To get from one location to another, a vampire must play a movement card (Mist, Wolf, Bat or Carriage).

A vampire always moves from the crypt to the castle first. From the castle he starts his nightly outings, but he always ends his movement back in the castle, unless he moves to the crypt.

During his movement, the vampire may be attacked by vampire hunters, depending on how he travels. He therefore always announces his movement clearly, stating how he travels to where (for example: "I move as a wolf to the village").

The various movement options are discussed in detail below:

A. Movement between crypt and castle. Possible with Mist, Wolf, Bat and Carriage. The vampire plays his movement card and moves his vampire card from the crypt to the castle, or vice versa.

B. Movement from castle to village. Possible with Mist, Wolf, Bat and Carriage. When a vampire wants to go to the village, he plays a movement card. As soon as he has arrived in the village, he turns over the top village card. After the visit to the village the vampire automatically returns to his castle and can start a new movement from there. The vampire card can therefore stay in the castle for the whole turn.

C. Movement between castles. Possible with Bat and Carriage. The castles of the other vampires are far away and therefore cannot all be reached with every movement card. When a vampire wants to go to another castle, he plays a corresponding movement card. A movement to another castle is always made in order to commit a theft. After a successful or repelled theft, the vampire automatically returns to his castle and can start a new movement from there. The vampire card can therefore stay in his castle for the whole turn.

III. Special Rules for Movement

A. Movement as a Bat. Movement as a bat costs the vampire a great deal of energy. He must therefore give up one blood drop when playing this card. If he has no blood drop, he may not play this card!

B. Movement by Carriage. If the vampire uses the carriage, he is driven by his Hunchback Assistant. The carriage can therefore only be played together with the Hunchback Assistant (exception: Count Flattersturz can also drive the carriage without the Hunchback Assistant). The Hunchback Assistant and the carriage go onto the discard pile after the movement.

C. Sending out the Hunchback Assistant. Instead of moving himself, the vampire may send his Hunchback Assistant to the village. The Assistant is placed in front of the village in essentially the same way as a movement card, and then one village card is turned over.

IV. Turning Over Village Cards

When a vampire or a Hunchback Assistant comes to the village, the top card is turned over.

A. Turning over a victim. A victim is immediately abducted to the castle and placed in front of the castle.

B. Turning over a defensive card. (Garlic, boarded-up shutters, church) As soon as a defensive card is turned over, it is checked which form is being warded off. Garlic, for example, wards off Mist. If the vampire arrived as Mist, he comes away empty-handed this time and retreats to the castle. The defensive card is placed on the village discard pile after its effect. Garlic does not ward off a vampire arriving as a Bat (these enter through the roof hatch into the bathroom under the roof, where for cosmetic reasons no garlic hangs). An ineffective defensive card is ignored and is placed to the side on the village discard pile immediately. The next village card is turned over for it.

[The rulebook does not state in the text which form the boarded-up shutters and the church ward off, beyond the examples given here and in the card notes below. The card faces carry this information and are not reproduced in the text.]

C. Turning over event cards. Event cards are: Angel, Unrest, Masked Ball and Sunrise. Events are always carried out immediately and always cause the vampire to break off his turn. When a player has to break off his turn, he may no longer play any further cards from his hand. Depending on the event, he then begins his closing actions, "drinking blood and ending a turn", or lies down in the crypt.

V. Theft in Foreign Castles

A vampire who travels to a foreign castle by carriage or as a bat may attempt a theft there. To do so he names a victim there that he wants to steal and that is not protected by a crucifix or holy water. The opposing vampire must hand over the victim, unless he can now prevent the theft with a defensive card (crucifix or holy water). The stolen victim is placed by the "thief" in front of his own castle.

VI. Playing Protection Cards

Protection cards can protect people from the attacks of vampires. Protection cards that are bound to a priest may only be played in castles (to protect victims or to prevent a theft) in which a priest is also lying. Protection cards can be played in two different ways. 1.) They are played during one's own turn onto the captives of any castle, or 2.) They are played outside one's own turn to prevent a theft or an opportunity (see vampire cards).

On 1.) Each protection card protects a certain number of people. The people concerned must be in the castle at the time the card is played and may not be slipped under the card afterwards. The owner of the protection card places the corresponding number of people under the protection card of his choice (so he may also place fewer under the protection card). A crucifix protects all captives, holy water protects two captives, and the book protects one captive. The lord of the castle of the protected captives may not drink from these captives at the end of his turn. After it has protected the victims once, the protection card goes onto the discard pile. Victims protected by a protection card cannot become the victim of an opportunity. Victims protected by holy water and crucifix cannot be stolen. Victims protected by a book can be stolen, but are stolen together with the book if applicable.

On 2.) Defensive cards may be played to ward off an opportunity. The card is played by the lord of the castle when an opposing vampire plays an opportunity. Both cards then go onto the discard pile. Crucifix and holy water (but not the book) may also be played to prevent a theft. The card is played by the lord of the castle when an opposing vampire attempts a theft in his castle. The defensive card then goes onto the discard pile, and the opposing vampire comes away empty-handed (but remains on his turn, if he wishes).

VII. Vampire Hunters

Vampire hunters and their assistant may never be played in the first round of the game. After that they may only be played once at least one victim has been abducted from the village (only then are they called into action). From then on: whenever a vampire plays a movement (not his Hunchback Assistant), another player may interrupt the vampire's turn in order to stake him with the help of a vampire hunter. He must do this before the moving vampire has turned over a village card or has selected a victim in an opposing castle. Vampire hunters may also be played at any time (that is, also outside one's own turn) to stake a vampire who is lying in a crypt. To stake a vampire, a player must play a vampire hunter and a corresponding number of stakes from his hand. The number of stakes needed depends on the manner of movement (movement as a bat = 3 stakes, movement as a wolf = 2 stakes, resting in the crypt = 1 stake).

VIII. What to Do When Staked?

A vampire who is staked must immediately end his turn and is placed in his crypt together with a stake card. When a staked vampire is next on turn, he may, with the help of a Hunchback Assistant, pull the stake out of his chest (it then goes onto the discard pile together with the stake). If the staked vampire has no Hunchback Assistant in hand, he can only hope for the "Breath of Immortality" or the Vampire Connection. A vampire who is on turn can only be staked once, i.e. a vampire who was staked cannot be staked again in the round of his revival, regardless of how he moves. A staked vampire may continue to play any number of cards other than movement cards.

IX. Drinking Blood and the End of a Turn

A. Drinking blood. As soon as the player has finished all his actions, because he no longer wishes to play cards or has no cards left, the victims that were placed in front of the castle during the turn are distributed. Here it depends on where the vampire is at the end of his turn.

1. The vampire is in the castle. If the vampire is in the castle, he may place one of his victim cards lying in front of the castle into his crypt by putting that card to the right of his crypt card. The remaining cards are placed into his castle by putting the victim(s) to the left of his castle card. He does not have to place any victim in the crypt; he may also place all victims in the castle. A vampire may only decide this at the end of his turn, and only about a newly collected victim while he is in his castle. The decision once made cannot be reversed during the course of the game.

The vampire receives blood units from this victim once, corresponding to the right-hand value on the card. Deceased victims remain in the crypt until the end of the game (or until an angel comes). Victims in the castle are treated more gently by the vampire, so that he can tap them permanently. A vampire who is in his castle receives blood units at the end of his turn from all unprotected victims located in his castle, corresponding to the left-hand values on the respective cards. A player may use blood units to strengthen himself by drawing cards from the vampire deck, or to get fat. In the latter case he has the blood drops paid out to him by the Blood Bank. During one turn a vampire may strengthen himself by drinking blood with at most three vampire cards (+1 card "Breath of Immortality").

2. The vampire is unstaked in the crypt and did not end his turn with a sunrise. If a vampire is unstaked in the crypt at the end of his turn, he automatically lies down in his coffin and sleeps there. As a result, all victims he collected in front of the castle are placed into the castle. Since he is not in the castle, he cannot drink blood from his victims there (victims with a negative value on the left side are then of course not counted either). Sleep also strengthens an undead, so a vampire in the crypt may draw three cards for strengthening from the vampire deck.

3. The vampire is staked in his crypt or ends his turn with a sunrise. Victims that the vampire collected in front of his castle up to the moment at which he was staked are placed into the castle. A staked vampire may not drink blood. A vampire who draws a sunrise when turning over village cards must end his turn immediately and may save himself into the crypt at the last second; he has no time to recover in the crypt or to drink blood. Like the staked vampire, he is left only with the Breath of Immortality.

B. The Breath of Immortality. Regardless of where a vampire is at the end of his turn and in what state he is (staked or unstaked), he always receives one card for strengthening at the end of his turn that costs him nothing. This is simply the natural regenerative power of the immortal. A vampire in a castle can therefore draw up to four cards from the vampire deck, and a vampire in a crypt therefore receives 4 cards for strengthening (if he did not just save himself before the sunrise). A vampire who is staked at the end of his turn receives only this one card.

C. Drawing cards and hand size. If the vampire card deck is empty when drawing, the cards from the discard pile are shuffled and prepared as the new draw pile. If a vampire has more than a certain number of cards in hand after drawing, he must discard surplus cards of his choice. The hand limit depends on the number of players: with 3-4 players: 12 hand cards with 5 players: 10 hand cards with 6 players: 8 hand cards. A player may take cards instead of blood, but may not take blood instead of cards. The Breath of Immortality and resting in the crypt are therefore always taken as cards.

X. End of the Game

The game ends as soon as the last village card has been turned over. The last player finishes his turn as normal. The winner is the vampire with the largest blood bank.

3. Card Notes

This part only needs to be read when questions come up during play.

I. Base Cards (18 cards)

Each player receives one of each base card.

Vampires (6 cards) The abilities of the vampires are optional. A player who prefers a 100% balanced game should play without the abilities, since with several vampires it is a matter of chance whether the abilities come into play or not.

[The rulebook text does not list the individual vampires' abilities; they are printed on the vampire cards.]

Vampire Castle (6 cards) The vampire castle here means the residence of a vampire. It is the center of his power, and he is therefore invulnerable to vampire hunters here. The vampires start their outings from here. Victims are held captive here. A vampire who wants to exploit his victims in the castle must be in the castle.

The Crypt (6 cards) The vampires' resting place. Here the vampires can strengthen themselves by resting. Dead victims are placed here. Vampires who are in the crypt cannot exploit victims who are in the castle. As a sign of strengthening, vampires who are in the crypt at the end of their turn may draw three additional cards.

II. Vampire Cards (58 cards)

When the vampire card stack is empty, the discard pile is reshuffled and laid down as the new draw pile.

Movement cards (27 cards) Vampires usually transform in order to move unnoticed through the area. According to Bram Stoker, vampires can transform into Mist (10), Wolves (8) or Bats (6). Movement by Carriage (3) can only be used together with a Hunchback Assistant (exception: Count Flattersturz).

Hunchback Assistant (9 cards) It is well documented in countless films. A vampire who is worth anything has a Hunchback Assistant. The Hunchback Assistant can be sent out by the vampire to visit the village. He can therefore be played instead of a movement card (but not when it comes to moving from the crypt into the castle or vice versa, since the assistant goes instead of the vampire and does not carry him around the countryside). He is immune to garlic, church and vampire hunters. In addition, the Hunchback Assistant can drive the carriage. It is also documented in numerous films (for example in Dracula 2, Dracula 3, Dracula 4 and so on, especially at the beginning of the film) that Hunchback Assistants can bring vampires back to life after they have been staked. Usually they pull a wooden stake out of the ground, standing in the middle of the landscape, and fill the hole with blood, whereupon the spot starts to steam dramatically. A staked vampire can therefore play a Hunchback Assistant to remove a stake from his chest (or to chase away Grobi) and then places it on the corresponding discard pile together with the Hunchback Assistant.

Vampire Hunter (3 cards) Can stake vampires with the help of stakes. He can ambush vampires during their movement (that is, be played at any time during the turn). The vampire hunter Grobi can hold vampires in the crypt without a stake. He is then placed in the crypt himself (in place of a stake) together with the vampire, until he is chased away by a Hunchback Assistant (since Grobi believes that hunchbacks are a contagious disease, he is afraid of these fellows).

Vampire Hunter's Assistant (1 card) Vampire hunters' assistants are known to be particularly clumsy. It is impossible for him to surprise a vampire with a stake while the vampire is moving. At best he manages it only in the crypt, when the vampire is sleeping, and then only on the second attempt.

Stake (7 cards) The most important tool of a vampire hunter. Depending on the vampire's manner of movement, it is more or less difficult to get a stake to the right spot. For example, on average one needs three attempts to hit a bat in flight right in the heart with a stake.

Double Success (2 cards) Can only be played in connection with a movement to the village (or with the Hunchback Assistant). Movement and double success must be laid down at the same time. If the vampire is staked during this movement, the double success has no effect and goes onto the discard pile. If the vampire, however, arrives in the village unhindered, he turns over the two top village cards and decides the order in which he wants to carry them out. If there are two victims, he may place both in front of the castle. For events, he chooses the order in which they are carried out. If a victim and an event are revealed, the victim may be brought in front of the castle before the event is carried out.

Opportunity (1 card) Immediately take from the victim of your choice as many blood drops as the right-hand number on the card. Then continue playing normally, as if nothing had happened. An opportunity can be warded off by defensive cards.

Victim's Escape (2 cards) The escape of a victim cannot be prevented. If it is the only person lying under a protection card, the protection card moves to the vampire discard pile. After the victim has escaped into the village, the village deck is reshuffled, without including the cards lying on the village discard pile.

Crucifix (1 card) Protects all victims of a castle until the card is removed. May only be played if a priest is among the victims of the castle concerned. A crucifix can also be played outside one's turn to prevent a theft or an opportunity, but may only be played in this way if a priest is among one's own victims in the castle. The crucifix and the played card(s) of the attacker then go onto the discard pile. Victims who were protected by the crucifix before a theft attempt may not be stolen or become the victim of an opportunity. The crucifix card is then not removed by the attack, but remains where it is.

Holy Water (2 cards) Protects two victims of a castle, otherwise exactly like the crucifix.

Book (2 cards) Books can be used to clamp them between the teeth of a vampire at the right moment. Protects one victim in a castle until the card is removed. No priest is needed to play a book. A victim protected by a book cannot become the victim of an opportunity. The book can also be played by the lord of the castle outside his own turn to prevent an opportunity. With a book one unfortunately cannot prevent a theft. If a victim is currently protected by a book (that is, a book card lies on a victim), it is stolen together with the book if applicable (that is, when the victim changes castles, the book card remains on the victim).

Vampire Party (1 card) A party is being celebrated. The host treats one of the victims he holds captive to the vampire guests. The party is of course also nice for the other guests, who afterwards are all the more willing to let themselves be bled. Play this card at some point during your turn, before you begin the phase "drinking blood and ending a turn". Until then, lay this card in front of your castle as a reminder.

III. Village Cards

Sunrise (2 cards) All vampires must immediately go to their crypt. The turn of the player who turned over the card is immediately over. The vampire who turned over this card cannot rest at the end of his turn, since he has just barely reached the crypt. He therefore does not receive the three additional cards for resting in the crypt. Victims lying in front of the castle are placed into the castle. No victims may be drunk immediately!

Masked Ball (2 cards) A masked ball leads to great confusion. Each vampire gives one victim from his castle to his left-hand neighbor. If the person he gives away is the only person lying under a protection card, the protection card goes along with the person. Whoever has nothing to give away, but is given someone anyway, receives the person. The vampire who turned over this card retreats to his castle and immediately ends his turn. (see also: Drinking Blood and the End of a Turn)

Unrest (1 card) Victims lying in front of a castle are not affected by this card. The victims return to the village. The village deck is now reshuffled, without including the cards lying on the village discard pile. The vampire who turned over this card retreats to his castle and immediately ends his turn. (see also: Drinking Blood and the End of a Turn)

Angel (1 card) An angel appears in the village and does good. All dead victims are revived. The vampires place the revived victims from their crypts into the village. The village deck is now reshuffled, without including the cards lying on the village discard pile. The vampire who turned over this card retreats to his castle and immediately ends his turn. (see also: Drinking Blood and the End of a Turn)

Victim cards (28 cards) The left-hand value of a victim card gives the amount of blood that a vampire receives each round if he has the victim as a guest in his castle. The right-hand value on the card is the amount of blood a vampire receives if he drinks the victim dry immediately.

Not every victim has the same amount of blood or is a pleasant guest in the castle. Some cards have negative values. Negative values can be offset against positive values of other cards. A vampire who has no blood drops does not have to pay any. There are no blood debts.

The Little Rascal (Der Lausbub) The little rascal is cheeky and costs the vampire more nerves than he can suck blood out of him when he houses him as a guest in his castle. The lord of the castle gladly gives him a book to play with from time to time (the book protects the little rascal from the vampires, and the vampire from pranks, so that the negative value then does not count). He is also gladly offered to the guests at parties, or disappears at masked balls.

The Cheeky Brat (Die freche Göre) Like the little rascal, only female, which should be of interest to Count Superschluck.

The Drunkard (Der Trunkenbold) His blood is constantly mixed with the cheapest moonshine, which vampires cannot tolerate at all. Every vampire is glad when a drunkard protects himself from the attempts to drink from him. Some vampires also like to relax in the crypt now and then, so as not to have to taste their guest's bitter blood.

Granny Hannelore (Oma Hannelore) Her heart would not stand being tapped by a vampire, which is why she is more or less worthless in the castle.

The Alchemist (Der Alchemist) Alchemists constantly subject themselves to all kinds of self-experiments, which is why they must first be housed away from their laboratory before their blood becomes edible.

Granny with Pram (Oma mit Kinderwagen) There was once a vampire film in which Dracula's son could not stand the sight of blood (I think it was called "Dracula jagt Minimädchen"). In general he had difficulty with victims, when he was brought an extremely easy victim (a granny with a pram), it ended with him pushing the pram for the granny, who poured out her heart to him. A scene that has permanently shaped my image of vampires. Note: with the granny with pram, Count Superschluck gets nothing either when he drinks her dry.

The Scarecrow (Die Vogelscheuche) The constant nightly hunting in the darkness and a proverbially advanced age (and the associated deterioration of eyesight) inevitably lead to serious mistakes now and then.

4. Tips for the First Game

In the first game you may want to ignore the special abilities of the vampires and play without them. Each vampire then plays by the same rules. In addition, each player should make sure to keep a Hunchback Assistant in hand in case he is staked. A player without a Hunchback should, where possible, only move as Mist.

Overview of a Turn

A vampire is on turn as soon as another player has completely finished his turn, i.e. the previous player has received blood drops from the Blood Bank and has possibly discarded surplus cards. If the new player is immediately staked, for example because he lies in the crypt, he must end his turn at once.

Otherwise he carries out the following actions in this order:

1.) The Vampire Connection 2.) Playing any number of cards in any order. Movement cards may only be played by unstaked vampires. If he is staked during a movement, he immediately ends his turn. If, when visiting the village, he turns over an event card, he immediately ends his turn. 3.) Ending the turn a) Distributing the victims in front of the castle b) Drinking blood (only vampires who end their turn in the castle) c) Drawing cards d) Discarding surplus cards