Welcome

Congratulations on obtaining the beta edition of The Invitation. This game

is achieved through the help of (and arguments with) family and friends.
At this stage, the game is only available in Calgary, Canada. I invite your
comments and criticisms so that together we can work together to
improve the game. You can reach me at zains.gaming@gmail.com. The
next stage is to develop the game further (for example, character
biographies) and launch a Kickstarter campaign for the first edition. I
sincerely hope you enjoy your time with The Invitation.

About the Game

The Invitation is a three to five player cooperative tabletop game where
the players explore a derelict mansion and fight to avoid madness while
completing the chosen scenario. Each scenario presents a plot, objective,
and special rules for the gameplay. Certain scenarios introduce special
mechanics that change the dynamic of the game. For example, Scenario XX
introduces a traitor mechanic in which one player secretly works against
the rest of the players to accomplish his/her own goals.

The exploration of the house is based on a randomly ordered deck of

Room Tiles, so each play through is different in how the house is laid out.
Items, enemies, and events are also encountered in a random order,
which also serves to differentiate each play through and adds to the
replayability.

Components
8 Character Information Cards.
72 Exploration Cards.
36 Room Tiles.
1 Regular 6-Sided Die (d6).
2 Combat Dice (Fudge Dice) (CD)
3 Token Sheets
Setup
1. Pick a scenario to play.
2. Set up the game pieces (details specified with the scenarios):
a. Make the 6 Exploration decks and Deck VII based on the scenario,
and shuffle each deck separately.
b. Set aside the starting room, and shuffle the remaining Room tiles to
form the Room Tiles deck.
c. Sort the tokens and dice so that they are easily accessible.
3. Each player chooses a character. The group can either choose their
characters specifically or randomly. Specific choices allow for
predetermined play styles, while random choice can help you discover
surprising combinations. After choosing the characters, place the
character tokens in the starting room.
4. Choose the starting player and let the game begin!

Round Overview
The game is played over a series of rounds. On the Player Turn Phase each
player takes a turn (in clockwise order). The Player Turn Phase is then
followed by the End Round Phase.

Player Turn Phase

A player's turn consists of two moves and an action, which can be
performed in any order. For example, a player can move to another room,
perform an action, and move again, or perform an action and then move,
or move first and then perform an action. Players don’t need to spend all
moves and actions on their turn, however moves and actions cannot be
carried over to the next round.

Movement & Discovery:

You can move to an adjacent room, through open doorways, as a single
movement. If you enter a doorway and there isn’t a room on the other
side, then a new room is discovered. Take the next tile from the Room
Tiles deck and connect it to the doorway you just entered. Next, roll a d6
and place a Room Number token based on the roll value. There can be at
most six of each Room Numbers (for example, at most six rooms
numbered “1”). If a Room Number is already exhausted, then reroll the d6
for the Room Number. Repeat until you get a valid roll. Add the new room
as logically as possible, by connecting all possible doors. If the new room
would close off the map and the Room Tiles Deck still contains more tiles,
then draw a new tile and then shuffle the previous tile back into the Room
Tiles deck. A player can only discover one room on their turn, except for
Diana West, who can discover up to two rooms in one turn.

Once the room tile is attached, move into the room. When you enter a
newly discovered room, you can choose to explore it immediately without
using an action. If you choose not to explore the room immediately, place
an Unexplored Token in the room. However, you must explore the room if
either: A) The Room Number is 1, 2, or 3, or B) The Room Number is 4, 5,
or 6 and the key from the corresponding Exploration deck has already
been found.

In some cases, the new room might be locked (the scenarios specify which
rooms are locked). If the new room is locked, then place a Locked Room
Token in the new room, and do not roll for a Room Number. You remain
in the current room, and this does not count as a movement and
discovery. You can enter the locked room as a regular move as long as you
posses the appropriate key. Discard the key after unlocking the door.

Example:
Arlene starts her turn in the
TV room. As her first
movement she can either
move north or south. She
can move north, to the
Bathroom, because the north
door in the TV room matches
the south door in the
bathroom. She can move
south to discover a new
room, since there is no room
south of the TV Room. Even
though there is door to the

East towards the Master Bedroom, Arlene cannot move east because
there is no matching door in the Master Bedroom. For this reason, the TV
room and the Master Bedroom are not adjacent to each other.
Actions

Move: You may spend an action to move to an adjacent room. This special
movement follows all standard rules for Movement & Discovery.

Explore Room: Draw the next exploration card from the corresponding
Exploration deck and resolve the card. You must be present in the room in
order to explore it, and each room can be explored at most once.

If you draw an object card, then immediately add it to your hand. If you
draw an enemy or an event card, then resolve it appropriately (see
Exploration Cards section for details).

Unarmed Attack: If you are in the same room as an enemy then you can
perform an unarmed attack. Perform an unarmed attack by first selecting
a target (if there are multiple enemies in range) and then rolling 1CD. The
target takes damage based on roll value. If the target’s HP reaches 0 (or
below), it is dead and is to be removed from the board.

Use Ability, Items, & Weapons: You can use an item or weapon you are
holding. Refer to the card for instructions on its effect. Some characters
have special actions they can perform. Refer to the Character Information
card for details regarding character specific actions.

Trade: You can trade objects with another player or pick-up and drop
objects in a room.

To trade with another player, both players must be in the same room. You
can then trade multiple objects with each other.

Instead of trading with another player, you can pick-up and drop objects
in the room. When dropping an item in the room, set the item card aside
and place the corresponding item token in the room. When you pick up an
item from a room, set the item token aside and add the corresponding
item card to your hand.
END ROUND PHASE

The End Round Phase starts after all of the players have resolved their
turns. During this phase, the enemies move and attack, and the dreaded
Deck VII cards are drawn and resolved. The End Round Phase occurs in
the following order:
1. Enemies move. First the zombies move, then the cultists, and lastly the
creatures. For each type of enemy, follow the token numbers for ordering.
For example, if Zombie #1, Zombie #3, and Zombie #4 are on the map,
then Zombie #1 moves first, followed by Zombie #3, and then Zombie #4.
2. Enemies attack. Follow the same ordering as the enemy movement.
3. Each player and enemy in a room with a fire token takes 1 HP damage.
4. Each player drops objects in their room so that they do not exceed their
carry limit.
5. Draw and resolve Deck VII card(s) (See Deck VII section for more
details).

Exploration Cards
There are five types of exploration cards: Items, Weapons, Keys, Enemies,
and Events.

If you draw an object (Item, Weapon, or Key) card, immediately add it to

your hand. If the object card is draw from Deck VII, roll a d6 and place the
corresponding object token in one of the rooms with the same Room
Number. If there is no room with the same Room Number, then reroll the
d6. Repeat until you get a valid roll.

ENEMIES

When you draw an enemy card, roll a d6 and place the corresponding
enemy in one of the rooms with the same Room Number. If there is no
room with the same Room Number, then reroll the d6. Repeat until you
get a valid roll. Place the corresponding Enemy Token in a room with the
same Room Number and with the least number of enemies.

Each enemy has a movement and attack pattern. Enemies don’t move
back to the same room where they just came from unless they are chasing
a player or run into a dead end. Use the arrow on the Enemy Tokens to
track their movement. The Enemy Tokens are also numbered so that you
can track their health on the card instead of the token.
 Zombie:
HP: 3
Movement: If there is a player in an adjacent room, then
the zombie moves towards the player. Otherwise, the
zombie moves to an adjacent room with the lowest Room
Number.
Attack: A zombie attacks with 1CD.

Pairs of Cultists:
Pair of Cultists show up as 2 cultists on the same tile.
HP: 2 each.
Movement: If there are one or more players in line of
sight, then the cultists move 2 tiles towards the closest
player. Otherwise, the cultists move to an adjacent room
with the highest Room Number.
Attack: If there is a pair of cultist in the same room with
the target, they attack the same target together for
2CD+1. If a cultist is attacking by himself, then he attacks
for 1CD.

Creature:
HP: 7
Movement: 2 tiles towards the closest player.
Attack: If the creature is in the same room as the target, it
attacks for 2CD+1. Otherwise, if the creature is 1 room
away from the target, it attacks for 1CD+1.

EVENTS

Fire: Place a Fire Token in the room where the Fire card is explored.

Explosion: Roll a d6 and place a Fire Token in every room with the same
Room Number. If there are no rooms with the same Room Number or all
of those rooms already have fire, then consider yourself lucky.

Combustion: Roll a d6, fire spreads to all adjacent rooms from each room
with the same Room Number. Fire can only spread from rooms that
already contain fire.
Trapped Door: The player is tossed back two room (in a straight line). If
the path ‘two rooms backwards’ is blocked, either through a closed or
blocked door, then the player is tossed back into the room where he/she
entered from and takes 1 HP damage.

Example:
If Viktor discovers and enters the Chapel on his
turn, and explores a Trapped Door card in the
room, then he is tossed back into the Ritual Room.
If there was no room through the north door of
the main entrance, then Viktor would have been
tossed back into the Main Entrance and he would
have taken 1 HP damage.

Deck VII
Deck VII usually contains cards that do not favour the players. Deck VII
cards are usually drawn in the last step of the End Round Phase, however
there are some occasions that force you to draw Deck VII cards. Draw and
resolve Deck VII cards for each of the following cases:
1) 1 card if there are 10 or more enemies on the map.
2) 1 card if there are 10 or more fire tokens on the map.
3) 1 card if two of the Exploration decks are exhausted. 2 cards if
four of the Exploration decks are exhausted. 3 cards if all six of the
Exploration decks are exhausted.
4) 1 card for each character death.
Note: If none of the above cases are matched, then don’t draw any Deck
VII cards.
Death
A player dies when they have 0 or less HP. All the objects carried by that
player are dropped in the room where they died. If all 5 room keys have
not been discovered, the player can come back as another character. A
character who died cannot come back into the same game.

The new character joins at the beginning of the next Player Turn Phase.
Roll a d6, and place the new character in one of the rooms with the same
Room Number. If there is no room with the same Room Number, then
reroll the d6. Repeat until you get a valid roll.

Clarifications
- Two rooms are adjacent only if there their doors are connected.
- A room can have at most 1 fire token.
- If there are multiple valid choices for non-player actions, then
choose based on a die roll. For example, if a zombie is in the same
room as Victor and Alice, it can attack either player during the End
Round phase. Roll a 6d: if the result is an even number, the zombie
attacks Victor, else it attacks Alice.
- Fire cannot spread into locked rooms.
Scenarios
THE BLAKE ESTATE

To whom it may concern:

My name is Abraham Blake and I hope this letter finds you in good
health. Throughout my life I have witnessed the name of my family
slandered by men of ignorance and superstitions. Though the advances in
science in recent history have somewhat remedied the world of ignorance
they have fallen short of ridding the world of superstitions.
As the last of my bloodline, I wish to restore the name of my father
and those before him. I cordially invite you to my estate, where I will
disclose the memoirs of my ancestors. I hope these records will reveal that
the Blakes never dabbled with demons and monsters, but rather they made
scientific advancements that were far beyond their time and common today.
Would you kindly join me at my estate in a fortnight? I shall be more
than happy to assist you with any arrangements, financial or otherwise.
Sincerely,
Abraham Blake
April 27, 1923

Your group has been invited to the Blake Estate to learn about the family’s
history and secret. Upon arrival it is immediately clear that something has
gone wrong. The Main Entrance is covered in blood and there is evidence
of struggle. Abraham Blake lays in the middle of the hallway, clutching a
small parchment in his fist, and repeating the phrase, “Five … artifacts…”.
Suddenly the main door slams shut and locks behind you, and Abraham
falls unconscious. The parchment in his hand reads:

Notched Key – Master Bedroom

All Seeing Key – Ritual Room
Cross Key – Chapel
Sun Key – Freezer
Bronze Key – Dressing Room
Deck Setup:
Deck I: Notched Key, First Aid Kit (1), Knife, Fire, Zombie X2.

Deck II: All Seeing Key, Axe, First Aid Kit (2), Fire, Pair of Cultists,
Zombie.

Deck III: Duct Tape, Fire Extinguisher (3), First Aid Kit (2), Revolver,
Revolver Bullets, Zombie.

Deck IV: Cross Key, Duct Tape, Hammer, Shotgun, Pair of Cultists,
Zombie.

Deck V: Sun Key, Crucifix, Shotgun Shells, Fire, Creature, Pair of

Cultists.

Deck VI: Bronze Key, First Aid Kit (5), Trapped Door X2, Creature X2.

Deck VII: Axe X2, Fire Extinguisher (4), Revolver Bullets, Shotgun,
Combustion X3, Explosion X3, Ritual, Creature X3, Pairs of
Cultists X2, Zombie X3.

Locked Rooms:
Chapel, Dressing Room, Freezer, Master Bedroom, Ritual Room.

Objective:
Unlock the five rooms to obtain the five artifacts. Bring all five artifacts to
the Main Door to unlock it and escape the mansion.

Lose Conditions:
The players lose if:
1) All players are dead, or
2) Can’t draw any more cards from Deck VII.

Escape: Trapped:
As you escape the mansion Abraham drags the guests to the
Abraham’s trembling voice echoes in ritual room, and refreshes the
your ears, “Don’t leave me. Take me symbol with their blood. “See father,
with you.” they never learn.”
Game Design By: Syed Zain Rizvi
Artwork By: Lim Chuan Shin (https://shin500.deviantart.com/)

Special thanks to the original play testers who helped fine tune the game
mechanics:
Megan Brosnihan Tyson Kendon
Rai Chaudri Sean Nichols
Nathan Cormier Scott Ratzlaff
Leah Hohman Chris Smith
Jonathan Hudson Leanne Wu

For more information:

Twitter: https://twitter.com/zainsgaming
Email: zains.gaming@gmail.com