Overview

Ghosts is a card game set in a Haunted House where players try to avoid accumulating Fear points. Players play Ghost cards to a central discard pile, building up a cumulative Fear level. If a player cannot or chooses not to play, they take the discard pile as a penalty and gain a Fear point. After 3 rounds, the player with the fewest Fear points wins.

Components

• 60 cards total:
  • 6 Ghost families (colors), each consisting of 9 cards with 3 different Fright levels (1, 2, and 3 — 3 cards of each level per family)
  • 6 Mist Cards
• 16 Fear markers (value 1 on one side, value 3 on the other)

Setup

1. Each player starts with 1 Fear point — place a Fear marker in front of them with value 1 visible.
2. The start player is the last person to have seen a ghost. In subsequent rounds, the start player moves to the left.
3. The start player shuffles all cards and deals 5 to each player. Remaining cards form a face-down draw pile in the center.
4. If a player’s hand consists entirely of Mist cards, shuffle them back into the draw pile and draw a new hand of 5 cards.

Turn Structure

Play proceeds clockwise from the starting player. On your turn:

1. Play one card from your hand face-up onto the discard pile.
2. Announce the current Fear level based on the card played (see Actions below).
3. Draw a card from the draw pile to return your hand to 5 cards.

When the draw pile is exhausted, the round continues without drawing until a player has no cards at the start of their turn.

Actions

When playing a card, one of three things happens:

1. New Family

If you play a Ghost card of a different family (color) than the last Ghost card played, announce the new Fear level by adding the number of ghosts on your card to the previous Fear level.

2. Mirror

If you play a Ghost card of the same family (color) as the last Ghost card played, announce “Mirror” and the same Fear level as the previous player. The direction of play reverses (clockwise becomes counter-clockwise or vice versa).

3. Mist

If you play a Mist card, announce “Mist” and the same Fear level as the previous player. You pass your turn. Place the Mist card beside (not on top of) the discard pile so the last Ghost card’s color remains visible.

Cannot or Will Not Play

If you cannot or do not want to play a card (the Fear level would exceed 7), you must:

1. Take the entire discard pile and place it face-down in front of you.
2. Take 1 Fear point from the supply as a penalty.
3. Play a new card from your hand, announcing the Fear level equal to the number of ghosts on that card (starting a new pile).
4. Play continues in the same direction as before.

Critical rule: The Fear level can never exceed 7.

Scoring / Victory Conditions

End of a Round

A round ends when a player has no cards in hand at the start of their turn. Other players discard remaining cards to the center without effect.

Bonus for clean play: If a player took no Fear points during a round (no discard piles collected), they may return up to 3 Fear points to the supply. All other players keep their Fear points.

End of Game

The game ends after 3 rounds. The player with the fewest Fear points wins. Ties result in shared victory.

Special Rules & Edge Cases

• The Fear level can never exceed 7. If adding ghosts would push it above 7, you must take the pile or play a Mirror/Mist card.
• Mist cards are placed beside the discard pile (not on top) so the last Ghost card’s color is always visible for Mirror checks.
• Mirror reverses direction every time it is triggered — it can bounce play back and forth between two players.
• When taking the discard pile as a penalty, you always gain exactly 1 Fear point regardless of the pile’s size.
• Fear markers have two sides (1 and 3) — use combinations to track total Fear points.
• If a player’s initial hand is all Mist cards, they reshuffle and redraw before the round begins.
• The round-end bonus of returning up to 3 Fear points requires taking zero penalties the entire round.

Player Reference

Card Types: | Card | Effect | Fear Level | |——|——–|————| | Ghost (new color) | Add to pile | Previous level + ghosts on card | | Ghost (same color) | Mirror — reverse direction | Same as previous | | Mist | Pass (place beside pile) | Same as previous | | Cannot play | Take pile + 1 Fear point | Start new pile with played card’s ghosts |

Key Numbers:

• Maximum Fear level: 7
• Cards per hand: 5
• Rounds per game: 3
• Starting Fear points: 1
• Penalty for taking pile: 1 Fear point
• Bonus for clean round: return up to 3 Fear points
• Ghost families: 6 colors, 9 cards each (3 at level 1, 3 at level 2, 3 at level 3)