Overview

Ghost Stories is a cooperative game where 1-4 players are Taoist priests (Fat-Si) defending a village from waves of ghosts and ultimately the incarnation of Wu-Feng, Lord of the Nine Hells. Players take turns moving through a 3x3 village grid, using dice and Tao tokens to exorcise ghosts that accumulate on their personal boards. The game features 4 difficulty levels (Initiation, Normal, Nightmare, Hell) and is notoriously challenging.

Components

• 4 game boards (double-sided, one per Taoist color)
• 9 Village tiles (double-sided: active/haunted)
• 3 Tao dice + 1 special Tao die (grey) + 1 Curse die
• 55 Ghost cards (blue backs) + 10 Wu-Feng incarnation cards (red backs)
• 20 Tao tokens (5 colors: yellow/sticky rice, green/silver bells, red/incense, blue/mirrors, black/coins)
• 20 Qi tokens (life points)
• 4 Taoist figurines
• 4 Yin-Yang tokens
• 8 Haunting figurines + 2 Buddha figurines
• 1 Inactive Tao marker, 4 Inactive Power tokens, 3 Neutral Power tokens
• 1 Enfeeblement Mantra token
• 2 play aids, 1 score sheet

Setup

1. Randomly arrange 9 Village tiles in a 3x3 grid (all active/face-up).
2. Place 4 game boards along the edges, each facing a player. Randomly assign colors and board sides.
3. Each player takes: 4 Qi tokens, their Yin-Yang token, 1 Tao token of their color, 1 black Tao token. Place Taoist figurine on the central village tile.
4. Place 2 Buddha figurines on the Buddhist Temple tile.
5. Prepare Ghost deck: take 1 random Wu-Feng incarnation, shuffle 55 ghost cards, place 10 ghost cards on bottom, then the Wu-Feng card, then the remaining 45 ghost cards on top. (Wu-Feng appears near the end.)

Turn Structure

Each turn has 2 phases:

Yin Phase (Ghosts)

Step 1 — Ghosts’ Actions: Apply all central-stone abilities of ghosts on your board:

• Haunters: Advance their Haunting figurine one position (card -> board icon -> haunts a village tile). A tile is haunted every 2 turns per Haunter.
• Tormentors: Roll the Curse die and apply the result.

Step 2 — Board Overrun Check: If all 3 ghost spaces on your board are occupied, lose 1 Qi. Skip Step 3.

Step 3 — Ghost Arrival: Draw the top ghost card and place it:

• Colored ghosts (R/G/B/Y) go on the matching color board. If full, active player chooses any board.
• Black ghosts go on the active player’s board. If full, choose any board.
• Apply left-stone abilities immediately upon placement.
• If all 12 spaces across all boards are full, lose 1 Qi instead of placing.

Yang Phase (Taoist)

1) Move (optional): Move to any adjacent tile (including diagonal). Not mandatory.

2) Request help from a villager OR Attempt an exorcism (choose one):

2a) Villager Help: Use the ability of the Village tile you occupy (see play aid).

2b) Exorcism: Target a ghost on an adjacent space (from edge tiles only — no exorcism from center tile, two possible targets from corner tiles). Roll 3 Tao dice. To succeed, get a number of the ghost’s color (or white) >= the ghost’s resistance. May spend Tao tokens of matching color to supplement dice. If successful, ghost is discarded. Apply right-stone abilities (curses before rewards).

3) Place a Buddha (optional): If you have a Buddha from the Buddhist Temple, place it on an empty ghost space adjacent to your tile. Any ghost later placed there is immediately discarded (no abilities trigger).

Yin-Yang power may be used before or after any Yang phase step (not mid-action): either request help from any villager (regardless of position) or un-haunt a village tile.

Actions

Exorcism Details

• Roll 3 Tao dice (white = any color). Need hits >= ghost resistance in the ghost’s color.
• May spend Tao tokens (matching color) to supplement.
• If on a corner tile, may target 2 adjacent ghosts with a single roll.
• Other Taoists on the same tile may contribute their Tao tokens.
• If dice are sufficient to exorcise, you must do so (even if undesired).

Haunting a Village Tile

When a haunting figurine reaches the board edge, flip the first active village tile in front of that ghost face-down (haunted). If already haunted, haunt the next tile in line.

Sharing Tao Tokens

Only during exorcism, and only if Taoists share the same tile. No other giving/exchanging allowed.

Scoring / Victory Conditions

Victory

Exorcise the incarnation of Wu-Feng (in Nightmare/Hell: all incarnations).

Defeat (any one triggers loss)

1. All Taoists are dead (0 Qi each)
2. A 3rd village tile becomes haunted
3. The last ghost card is drawn with Wu-Feng still alive

Score Calculation

• +10 points for victory (Initiation/Normal/Nightmare), +20 for Hell
• +1 per remaining Qi
• +1 per ghost card still in deck (if won), -1 per card (if lost)
• -3 per dead Taoist
• -4 per haunted village tile
• +2/+4/+6 for exorcising 1st/2nd/3rd incarnation (Nightmare/Hell)

Special Rules & Edge Cases

Taoist Powers (one per player, determined by board side)

Color	Power 1	Power 2
Yellow	Enfeeblement Mantra: Reduce any ghost’s resistance by 1	Bottomless Pockets: Take 1 free Tao token before moving
Red	Dance of Twin Winds: Move another Taoist before your move	Dance of Peaks: Fly to any village tile (not just adjacent)
Blue	Second Wind: Use villager help twice OR attempt 2 exorcisms	Heavenly Gust: Use villager help AND attempt exorcism in same turn
Green	Strength of Mountain: Roll 4th Tao die, never roll Curse die	Gods’ Favourite: Re-roll any Tao/Curse dice (keep second result)

Death of a Taoist

• At 0 Qi, the Taoist dies. Lose all belongings. Figurine placed lying on Cemetery tile.
• Dead player still takes turns (Yin phase only) and may advise others.
• Can be revived via Cemetery tile action by other Taoists.
• Dead Taoist’s board becomes a neutral board.

Difficulty Levels

Level	Qi Start	Starting Tokens	Incarnations	Special
Initiation	4	Color + Black Tao	1	—
Normal	3	Color Tao only	1	—
Nightmare	3	Color Tao only	3-4	Multiple incarnations spread in deck
Hell	3	Color Tao only	3-4	No starting Yin-Yang

Player Count Adjustments

• 3 players: Remove 5 random ghost cards before adding incarnation(s).
• 2 players: Remove 10 random ghost cards. Players must sit facing each other.
• 1 player: Remove 15 ghost cards. Take 1 each of R/G/B/Y Tao tokens. Use 3 neutral power tokens. Red board must show Dance of Peaks power.

Incarnation Abilities (examples)

• Hope Killer: Resistance 8 (2 each of blue/red/green/yellow)
• Nameless: Resistance 5 (1 each of all colors), white dice sides don’t count
• Vampire Lord: Simply a Haunter with resistance 4
• Uncatchable: Must be on a space with a Buddha to exorcise

Player Reference

Turn Sequence:

1. Yin Phase: Ghost actions (Haunters advance, Tormentors roll) -> Board overrun check -> Draw ghost
2. Yang Phase: Move (optional) -> Villager help OR Exorcism -> Place Buddha (optional)
3. Yin-Yang may be used before/after any Yang step

Curse Die Results:

• No effect
• Haunt first active tile in front of ghost
• Bring a ghost into play
• Discard all your Tao tokens
• Lose 1 Qi

Key Thresholds:

• 3 haunted tiles = defeat
• 4 in a row of same color on ghost spaces = n/a (this is not that kind of game)
• 12 total ghost spaces across 4 boards (3 each)