- Give each player 2 Peasant cards and a player aid. Place your player aid on the table as it also serves as a barn.
- Build the Traveler deck based on the player count and game length:
Players Short Game Long Game 2 players remove 35 cards remove 25 cards 3 players remove 28 cards remove 16 cards 4 players remove 22 cards remove 6 cards - Shuffle the remaining cards and place the cards at the left of the board with the living side face-up.
- Each player receives 8 key/room service tokens and disc in their player color. Place the disc on the 5F space of the wealth track.
- Each player takes 1 10F check.
- Determine which rooms are open:
- Each player places a key token of their color on an unclaimed room of their choice.
- In a 2 or 3 player game, place a key token of the neutral color on each of 3 doors of the inn. In a 4 player game, place 1 on each of the 4.
- The greediest player takes the first player card.
The game is divided into 2 seasons. A season is traversal through the deck. When the Entrance stack becomes empty for the 1st time, shuffle the Exit stack to form a new Entrance stack. After the 2nd time through the deck, do a normal final round, even if the inn is not full. Don't play the final round if there are fewer travelers in the inn than the number of players.
Each round is divided into 3 phases.
- Phase 1: Welcome Travelers (Evening)
The 1st player performs the following steps:
- Draw the top card of the Entrance stack
- Place the traveler in an open (has a key token), unoccupied (has no traveler) room of their choice
- Reiterate this process until there is a traveler in each open room
- Phase 2: Player Actions (Night)
Starting with the 1st player, in clockwise order each player performs an action. Then go around once more so each player can perform a 2nd action.
There are 5 different actions you may take on your turn:
- Bribe a Guest
- Build an Annex
- Kill a Guest
- Bury a Corpse
- Pass (and Launder Money)
Actions 1-4 operate on the same principle:
- You choose a Guest card in play (in your hand or in the inn, as appropriate)
- You must play a number of cards defined by the rank of the chosen card
- Reclaim any cards you played that have an aptitude for the chosen action. The other cards are lost.
- Perform the action
- 1. Bribe a Guest
This allows you to take a Guest card from the inn into your hand.
- Select the traveler you want to bribe from among those renting rooms at the inn (the room owner does not matter).
- Play as many Guest cards from your hand as the rank of the traveler you chose.
- From the cards just played, return any cards with the
icon to
your hand . Put the other cards in the exit stack,
except Peasants, which go in the bistro instead. - Add the bribed guest to your hand
It is also possible to bribe the peasants in the bistro. If you bribe the peasants, take 1 or 2 and them to your hand.
- 2. Build an Annex
This allows you to place one of your Guest cards in your hand in front of you to use its power. Annexes are also needed to bury corpses.
- Choose a traveler from your hand that depicts an annex.
- Play as many Guest cards from your hand as the rank of the traveler you chose.
- From the cards just played, return cards with the
icon to your hand. Put the other cards in the exit
stack, except Peasants, which go in the bistro
instead. - Place the traveler card in front of you, Living side face-up. This is now an annex. There is no limit to the number of annexes you can have. You can also have more than 1 copy of the same annex.
Note: Police and Peasant cards cannot become annexes.
- 3. Kill a Guest
When you kill a guest, you put them in front of you Dead-side-up.
- Select the traveler you want to kill from the inn. It's also possible to kill Peasants.
- Play as many Guest cards from your hand as the rank of the traveler you chose.
- From the cards played, return cards with the
icon to your
hand . Put the other cards in the exit stack,
except Peasants, which go in the bistro instead. - Place the Guest card in front of you with the Dead side face up (this is now a corpse). There is no limit to the number of corpses you can have in front of you.
- 4. Bury a Corpse
You may bury the corpse of a guest you killed in a previous action.
- Select the corpse you want to bury from those in front of you.
- Play as many Guest cards from your hand as the rank of the traveler you chose.
- From the cards played, return cards with the
icon to
your hand . Put the other cards in the exit stack,
except Peasants, which go in the bistro instead. - Place the corpse card under an annex of your choice, regardless of who owns it, leaving the bottom of the card (with the money amount) showing. The number of bodies you can bury under an annex is equal to the rank of the annex. You and the owner of the annex split the money (you get all of it if buried under your own annex). Note that you can bury a corpse under the "barn".
Important: It is impossible to have more than 40 francs on the wealth track. If you would exceed 40, the excess is lost.
- 5. Pass (and Launder Money)
You can choose not to do any of the previous actions and pass instead. If you do, you may "Launder Money". You can either:
- Exchange a portion of your cash for 10F checks.
- Cash checks in order to increase your cash on the wealth track.
- Phase 3: End of Round (Morning)
The end of the round is divided into 3 steps.
- 1. Police Investigation
If there is at least 1 Police card in an open room at the inn, the police investigate. Each player must pat 10F per unburied corpse they have, and then remove all unburied corpses from the game.
Note: You can pay with checks. If you can't pay the full amount, pay all the money you have.
- 2. Travelers Leave
Each player earns 1F for each room of their color (each door with a key token of their color) with a Guest card.
Then, empty the inn, placing all travelers on the exit stack living side up.
- 3. Pay Wages
Pay 1F per Guest card in your hand. You cannot pay them with checks! If you cannot pay for all the Guest cards in your hand, you must put unpaid cards on the exit stack, except for Peasants, which go in the bistro.
Rotate the First Player card to the left and a new round can begin.
- When the Entrance Stack is emptied for the 2nd time, finish the round and the game ends.
- Note: Do not play the last round if there are fewer travelers in the inn than there are players.
- Each player with an unburied corpse must pay 10F per unburied corpse, then remove them from the game.
- Evaluate the rank-3 annexes that earn you money. Note: You still cannot have more than 40F on the wealth track!
- Total up each players wealth: wealth track + checks
- The richest player wins
- In the event of a tie, the player with the most corpses under their annexes wins. If there is still a tie, the game ends in a tie.
- Unlimited Wealth
You can gain more than 40F. Whenever you have more than 40F, take 4 checks and start your disc at the beginning of the wealth track.
- First Come, First Served (for beginners, or a faster game)
When welcoming travelers, the 1st player does not decide which room to put each traveler, but instead places them in the order they arrived.
- Red Travelers
- 0 Cultivator (Vegetable Garden) - Immediately earn 1F per red annex you have, including this one.
- 1 Mechanic (Workshop) - From now on, play 1 accomplice (Guest) fewer to perform the Build an Annex action.
- 2 Distiller (Distillery) - At the end of the round, do not pay the wages for 1 of the accomplices (Guests) in your hand.
- 3 Gardener (Gardens) - At the end of each round, earn an additional 2F during the Travelers Leave phase.
- 3 Landscaper (Park) - Immediately earn 4F. At the end of the game, earn 4F per red card in the Exit Stack.
- 3 Butcher (Butcher's Shop) - From now on, you can kill as many travelers as you want in 1 Kill a Guest action.
- Blue Travelers
- 0 Newsboy (Kiosk) - Immediately earn 1F per blue annex you have built, including this 1.
- 1 Representative (Parlor) - From now on, play 1 accomplice (Guest) fewer to perform the Bribe a Guest action.
- 2 Concierge (Room Service) - Immediately place a Room Service token next to a key token. From now on, when a Guest rents this room, he immediately pays a sum equal to his rank.
- 3 Grocer (Grocery) - Immediately earn 4F. At the end of the game, earn 4F per blue card in the Exit Stack.
- 3 Shopkeeper (Store) - From now on, you can bribe as many travelers as you want in 1 Bribe a Guest action.
- 3 Brewer (Brewery) - From now on, you can bribe up to 4 Peasants simultaneously in 1 Bribe a Guest action.
- Purple Travelers
- 0 Novice (Altar) - Immediately earn 1F per purple annex you have built, including this 1.
- 1 Monk (Room) - Immediately replace 1 of the white key tokens with 1 of your key tokens.
- 2 Abbot (Cellar) - From now on, play 1 accomplice (Guest) fewer to perform the Bury a Corpse action.
- 3 Priest (Chapel) - From now on, you are not required to discard accomplices (Guests) of the other types when you use them for a Bury a Corpse action.
- 3 Archbishop (Crypt) - From now on, you can bury as many corpses as you want in 1 Bury a Corpse action.
- 3 Bishop (Bishopric) - Immediately earn 4F. At the end of the game, earn 4F per purple card in the Exit Stack.
- Green Travelers
- 0 Baron (Grand Chandelier) - Immediately earn 4F.
- 1 Viscount (King Size Bed) - Immediately earn 6F.
- 2 Count (Dining Room) - Immediately earn 9F.
- 3 Duke (Stables) - Immediately earn 4F. At the end of the game, earn 4F per green card in the Exit Stack.
- 3 Prince (Greenhouse) - At the end of the game, earn 3F per check you have.
- 3 Marquis (Pavilion) - Immediately earn 18F.