Mystery of the Abbey

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• en

• Setup
  • • Place the abbey board.
    • Each player chooses a color and places their monk in the chapel (Ecclesia).
    • Each player takes a deduction notebook and a suspect sheet.
    • Shuffle the library book cards and place them face down on their board location.
    • Shuffle the scriptorium cards and place them face down on their board location.
    • Shuffle the event cards and place them face down on their board location.
    • Place the crypt cards face down in their location on the board.
    • Shuffle the suspect cards and place 1 face down under the abbey board (the culprit).
    • Place a number of suspect cards face down on the suspect position of the board:
      • 3 or 6 players: 5 cards
      • 4-5 players: 3 cards
    • Deal all the remaining suspect cards to the players.
    • Determine a 1st player.
    • Give the mass bell and the 8 mass cards, stacked in chronological order, to the 1st player.
      • On the 1st turn, the 1st player will place the bell on the topmost Matins card.
    • Roll 2 of the monk dice and place 1 die in each of the 2 confessionals.
      • The 2 die faces must be different and must represent a player in the game. If not, reroll each of them until the conditions are met.
• Gameplay

  • The game is played over a series of rounds where players try and determine the culprit, gaining points in the process. The winner will be the player with the most points, usually the player who finds the culprit. The culprit is determined by finding the monk with the correct 5 traits.

    Monk Traits

    Characteristic	Variations	Card Counts
    Order	Templar, Franciscan, Benedictine	8 cards of each
    Title	Father, Brother, Novice	6, 9, 9 cards respectively
    Hood	hooded, unhooded	12 cards of each
    Facial Hair	bearded, clean-shaven	12 cards of each
    Girth	fat, thin	12 cards of each

    Turns

    Turns are played in clockwise order consisting of the following steps.

    1. (1st player only) Move the mass bell 1 spot to the next number. If the bell is already on "4", move it off the card and call mass and apply the mass card's effect.
       • If this is the 1st turn of the game, place the bell in the "1" position.
       • If this is after the completion of mass, move the mass card that was just executed to the bottom of the deck, then place the bell in the "1" position.
       • If playing with 6 players, the mass bell starts on the "2" space instead of the "1". This means there will only be 3 turns between each mass.
    2. Move your pawn 1 or 2 (or 3 with 6 players) steps in any direction to another room on the board.
       • Rooms are delineated by the color the room's floor.
       • The movement is mandatory.
       • You cannot use a 2 step move to return to your starting room.
    3. If your pawn ends in a room with another player's pawn, you must ask that player a question.
    4. Perform any actions relevant to the room your pawn is now in.
  • Questioning
    • • If your pawn ends its movement in a room with another player, you must ask that player a question.
      • The person being questioned has 2 choices:
        1. Make a vow of silence by putting a finger to their mouth and declining to answer.
        2. Answer the question, which entitles them to ask the questioner a question of their own.
           • After getting their answer, the original questioner must answer the question they receive.
      • All questions must be answered truthfully.
      • You may ask any kind of question, as long as it doesn't have to be answered with a suspect's name.
        • Specific names can be part of the question though.
      • Example questions:
        • "How many bearded monks do you have in your hand?"
        • "Do you have the ‘Father Sergio’ card?"
        • "How many Benedictines have you crossed out from your suspects’ list?"
        • "Have you eliminated ‘Father Bruno’ from your list of suspects?"
        • “Are you going to Chapter Hall?” (Obviously, your opponent is then bound by his answer)
  • Mass

    • Mass takes place at the end of 4 turns (movement of the bell). During mass:

      1. The pawns of all players are placed in the chapel (Ecclesia).
      2. Each player simultaneously passes the number of suspect cards indicated on the mass card to the player on their left.
         • If a player does not have enough suspects, they give all they can. They still keep what they receive.
      3. Draw an event card, read it aloud, and immediately apply its effects.
         • Some events will have you roll a die to determine a specific player or room.
      4. The 1st player gives the deck of mass cards and the bell to the player on their right (last player).
  • Revelations
    • • This is a declaration that you have discovered 1 characteristic of the guilty monk, made in the Chapter Hall (Capitulum).
        • This is a public announcement.
        • It must be a single characteristic.
        • It cannot be a negative declaration. e.g. "the culprit is not a novice" is invalid.
      • This is written down on a piece of paper and checked at the end of the game.
        • Correct revelations are worth 2 points.
        • Incorrect revelations are worth -1 point.
      • The same revelation cannot be repeated, but a contradictory revelation can be made.
  • Accusation
    • • No accusation can be made while there are suspect cards to be had from going into the Parlor (Parlatorium).
      • This is a declaration of the monk you suspect to be the culprit made in the Chapter Hall (Capitulum).
        • This is a public announcement.
        • If the accused monk is in another player's hand, that player shows the card to everyone.
          • The accusing player's pawn is moved to the chapel for penance and they lose 2 points.
        • If no player has the accused monk, confirm the accusation with the card under the board.
          • The game ends and the accuser gains 4 points.
  • Penance
    • • This applies to people who are caught in a player's cell or make a false accusation.
      • The player in penance loses their next turn.
        • If the player goes to penance just before mass, they skip their 1st turn after mass.
• Game End and Scoring

  • The game ends when someone correctly accuses the culprit. Then, scoring is as follows:

    • Each correct revelation: 2 points
    • Each incorrect revelation: -1 point
    • Discovery of the culprit (correct accusation: 4 points
    • Each false accusation: -2 points

    If there is a tie, the player who discovered the culprit wins.

• Rooms in the Monastery
  • The Chapel (Ecclesia)
    • • This is where players start the game.
      • This is also where players return to for mass.
  • Confessional (Confessorium)
    • • Randomly draw a suspect card from the hand of the last player who visited the same confessional (indicated by the color of the die).
      • After taking a card from the other player, turn the die to match your player color.
      • There can only be 1 player in a confessional at a time.
      • Note that 1 of the confessionals can only be entered through the Courtyard (Aula), and not directly from the chapel.
  • Cells (Cellula)
    • • You may randomly draw a card from the cell's owner (matching color).
      • There can be only 1 pawn at a time in each cell.
        • Exception: The owner of the cell may enter their cell even if another player is already in there.
          • If this happens, the card taken must be given back to the cell owner. If they no longer have the original card, 1 is drawn at random.
          • After this, the "intruder" (the player that is not the owner of the cell) is placed in the chapel for penance.
  • Scriptorium
    • • Take a scriptorium card.
        • If the card has a star on it, save it for later and use it as indicated on the card.
        • If there is no star, read the card aloud and immediately apply its effects.
          • If there is a die on the card, roll the die to determine which player is affected (re-roll until it matches a player color in the game).
  • Library (Bibliotheca)
    • • A player may visit the library once during the game.
      • A player can only enter the library if they have the fewest cards in hand.
        1. No player has fewer cards then you.
        2. At least 1 player has more cards than you.
      • Draw a Bibliotheca card, read it aloud, and immediately apply its effects.
  • Parlor (Parlatorium)
    • • If there are still suspects in the suspects draw pile, draw 1 and add it to your hand.
      • If there are no suspect cards in the draw pile, You may ask the player of your choice to show you a suspect card.
        • You must specify 1 or 2 (no more) characteristics of the suspect card you want to see. e.g. "Show me a Templar" or "Show me a bearded novice".
          • If the player has more than 1 matching card, they only show 1 card (of their choice).
          • If the player has no matching cards, they simply say so.
  • Crypt (Crypta)
    • • Draw a Crypta card.
        • Each player may only have 1 Crypta card at any time.
        • This can be used during the game to play an extra turn after fulfilling your normal turn.
  • Chapter Hall (Capitulum)
    • • You may make a revelation or accusation here.
  • Courtyard (Aula)
    • • No effects.
  • Cloister (Claustrum)
    • • Here, and with other empty rooms, moving through them simply costs a step.
      • Note the the cloister is divided into 4 separate spaces.
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