For 3-5 players
Transylvania: a land where vampires rule the night and ply their trade without interference, right? That was true, but the vampire hunters aim to change that! The players, as vampire hunters, invade the vampires' lairs seeking to destroy them. Vampires gather in their favorite places unaware of the hunters' intents. The players visit these places to "collect" the vampires gathered there.
To collect the most vampires!
The 6 Place Cards are put next to one another in the center of the table, in the following order:
Once this is complete, the corresponding vampire card (same color) with a single head is placed on top of the proper place cards. The remaining cards are shuffled and each player is dealt four cards to begin their hand.
Players are given a random player number. The turn order is clockwise around the table, starting with player #1. Each player performs the following phases in order before the next player goes.
1) Take Cards (either a or b)
a. Take from draw pile - or -
b. Take from gathering place
2) Play Cards (either a or b)
a. Play to gathering place - or -
b. Vampire hunt
3) Check for End Game and Scoring
You must take cards from one of two places to start your turn.
If you elect to take from the draw pile , you get the top two cards from the pile added to your hand. To accomplish this, either click the take from draw pile button or just double click on the draw pile (two are taken when either of these actions is performed). If there is only one card left, you only get that one card.
If you elect to take from a gathering place , you must take all the vampire cards at one gathering place . To accomplish this, either click the take from gathering place button and then single click on the gathering place (or any vampire card at the gathering place ) or just double click on the gathering place (all are taken when either of these actions is performed).
If you try to take cards that will not leave you with at least three cards of one color of vampire in your hand ( carriage cards are included so you could have two of one color plus one carriage card ), then the cards are not taken as this is not a legal move and the phase continues. [You need to be able to go on a vampire hunt after this action, which requires three cards of one color.]
You must play cards to one of two places to end your turn. If you took cards from a gathering place in the first phase, then you have no choice and you automatically go on a vampire hunt .
If you elect to play to a gathering place , then you must play one card from your hand to the gathering place that matches in color to the card. If you are playing a carriage card , it can go to any gathering place . To accomplish this, either click the play to gathering place button and then single click on the card in your hand or just drag one card from your hand to the gathering place .
A vampire hunt requires you to move at least three cards of the same color into a pile in front of you on the table. Carriage cards can count for some of the three or more cards, but there must be at least one vampire card to ‘set' the color.
To start a hunt, either click the start a vampire hunt button or just drag one vampire card in front of you. If you drag a carriage card to your structure, it is returned to your hand so you can try again. If you drag a vampire card which is not part of a set of at least three cards of the same color in your hand (including carriage cards ), then the card is returned to your hand so you can try again.
Once you have started a hunt, you must continue to drag vampire cards of the same color as the first card as well as carriage cards to the pile until there are at least three cards played. Once three cards have been played, you can stop the hunt at any time by clicking the finish the hunt button. If there are no cards of that color and no carriage cards left in your hand, then the hunt ends automatically.
Note: If you hunt a color that you already have, the newly hunted stack replaces the old stack.
The game ends under two circumstances:
If neither of the above is true, then the next player clockwise becomes the active player and starts a new turn.
Before scoring, players discard the cards left in their hands as they are not used in scoring.
Next, the players (or computer in this case) compare their vampire sets by color. The players (computer) count the number of vampire heads (not the number of cards) they have in each color, including any carriage cards they have with the color. The player with the fewest heads in each color discards that entire set and they are not used in scoring.
If one or more players ties for the fewest vampire heads in a color, the tied players all discard their cards of that color.
If a player has not played a set in a color, it counts as the fewest heads in that color and no other player needs to discard a set of that color.
Once all colors have been examined the players score their sets. The players (computer) score one point for each vampire head they have remaining on the table. Cards with one head in each corner count 1 point; cards with two heads in each corner count 2 points.
The winner is the player with the most points. Instead of single games, you may want to play in sets of two-four games, adding the scores together to determine a winner for the set.
Game design by Reiner Knizia
Artwork by Franz Vohwinkel
Copyright ©2004 Reiner Knizia – All Rights Reserved