ARKHAM NOIR



OBJECTIVE OF ARKHAM NOIR: The objective of Arkham Noir is to score five clue cards before the game comes to an end. 

NUMBER OF PLAYERS: 1 Player 

MATERIALS: 3 Player Aid Cards, 1 Professional Contact Cards, 4 Reference Cards, 6 Victim Cards, 50 Clue Cards, and Instructions  

TYPE OF GAME: Hand Management Card Game 

AUDIENCE: Ages 14 and Up 


OVERVIEW OF ARKHAM NOIR 

Acting as Howard Lovecraft, private investigator, the players will attempt to solve one of the most gruesome murders known to Arkham. Players can choose which story they would like to follow out of the three options they are given. Time is of the essence because the trails will go cold on these crisp nights.  

SETUP 

To begin setup, put all four reference cards onto the playing area. Shuffle all of the victim cards, returning one to the box. The others can be placed to the right of the first reference card, face down. Two victim cards are drawn and placed face up underneath the second reference card, creating your two open cases.  

The clue cards are then shuffled and then placed in a stack, face down, beside the first reference card, creating the draw stack. Draw five clue cards, placing them in the five spaces that are found on the left side of the draw stack, forming the Leads row. The left card will then be referred to as the first lead card. Draw three cards to create your hand. Finally, place the professional contact card on the left side of your open cases.  

GAMEPLAY 

The game is played over the course of a number of turns until the game comes to an end. Each turn consists of an action phase and a maintenance phase. During the action phase, you will collect the first lead card, adding it to your hand. You are not allowed to have more than three cards in your hand at a time, so one of them must be discarded. Any discarded card is placed in the discard area, unless it has a timer on it, then it is placed in the time penalty area.  

You will then complete any actions that are required of them before moving to the maintenance phase. You are then required to check the condition of the victory, check the stability of the penalty area, check the time penalty area, and refill leads row. As a free action, you may use the action on their professional contact.  

The game will continue in this manner until the game comes to an end. You will begin a new turn after the maintenance phase is complete.  

END OF GAME 

The game comes to the end immediately when any of the end of game conditions are met. If there are no more victim cards, then the player loses the game. If the number of clue cards in their penalty area is equal to five, then the player loses the game. If the player scores five clue cards in their big picture, then they win the game! 

Ellie Phillips
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