Honor System

Midnight Party

You are invited to a spooky celebration

It’s Hugo the Ghost’s birthday, when the Lords of the Castle traditionally honor him with a weekend costume party. Hugo loves a good game of hide and seek, so all the guests must agree to play with him each night at midnight. Those who are caught receive penalty points, which are tallied after three rounds of play.

Ravensburger® Games 01 189 6
Author: Wolfgang Kramer
Graphics: Nicole Baron and Bernard Giroud
Strategy game for 2 — 8 players,
ages 8 to adult.

Contents: 30 Playing figures (6 red, 6 blue, 5 tourquoise, 4 yellow, 3 black, 2 green, 2 white, 2 lila), 1 Ghost figure, 1 Die, 1 Game board, Game rules.

Object of the game

Each player tries to hide from the ghost so as not to be caught and accumulate points. At the end of three rounds, the player with the fewest penalty points wins.

Game preparation

Hugo the Ghost begins on the lowest step, just in front of the door to the wine cellar.

Players choose playing figures as follow.

If there are two players each takes 6 figures, in red or blue.

Three players take 5 figures each, in red, blue or turquoise.

Four players take 4 figures each, in red, blue, turqoise or yellow.

Five players take 3 figures each, in red, blue, turquoise, yellow or black.

Six, seven or eight players take 2 figures each.

Find paper and pencil, and you are ready to begin play.

Game rules

Each game consists of three rounds. During each round players promenade around the gallery until Hugo reaches the top of the stairs. To escape capture, players dash for open, unoccupied rooms. The round continues until all players have either hidden or been captured.

The guests arrive

Players decide which of them shall begin. Play then proceeds in a clockwise direction as one by one the guests (playing figures) arrive and take their places in the gallery.

If you are first, begin by placing one of your own playing figures anywhere in the gallery.

The next player places one of his or her figures on any unoccupied space in the gallery, and so on until all the guests have arrived.

In this stage of the game, there may be only one playing figure on each space.

The promenade begins

As before, play proceeds in a clockwise direction. The playing figures also move clockwise around the board, never counterclockwise.

The player who was first to arrive in the gallery (“The Guests Arrive”) begins.

Roll the die and advance any one of your playing figures the same number of spaces. During the Promenade you must keep moving around the gallery; you cannot enter any of the rooms until the ghost appears. The turn now passes to the next player. During this stage of the game, more than one playing figure may occupy a single space.

The ghost appears

If you roll the ghost symbol on the die, you must advance Hugo by three spaces. Do not move your own figure. (Hugo moves up the stairs, then clockwise around the gallery.)

Midnight Party Fig 2

Run for cover

The guests may not hide until Hugo reaches the top of the stairs, at which point he can catch anyone within 3 spaces. Then all must try to duck into one of the rooms off the gallery to avoid capture.

The rooms of the castle

Players may enter only those rooms with open doors. No more than one guest may enter each room.

You do not need an exact throw to enter a room except for the Trophy Room and the Playroom, which are worth +3 points each. (These points will be deducted from your penalty score at the end of the round.)

The step from the gallery into a room costs one point.

Example: You are on the space just beyond the top of the stairs when Hugo appears. You roll 2 and are stuck, because you need a roll of 4 to enter the open door (to the Music Room).

Each roll of the die may be used to advance only one playing figure. Once it has entered a room, your playing figure cannot leave until the round is over.

The Library and the Laundry Room

Two little ghosts have come to the party, too. One is hiding in the Library, the other in the Laundry Room. Don’t worry, they won’t harm you. You can hide in either place for only —1 penalty point.

The Trophy Room and the Playroom

If you manage to duck into one of these two rooms, you earn +3 points for each, but you may enter on an exact throw only.

Players must move

As long as you have more than one playing figure in the gallery, you must move on your turn. If you have only one playing figure left, you may choose to miss a turn, if by staying put you might be able to enter the Trophy Room or the Playroom on your next turn. Be sure that you want to take the risk!

Even if all your playing figures are out of play (captured or safely hidden) you must roll the die on your turn. If you roll Hugo, you must then move him forward.

You can sneak by Hugo on your turn, but you will be captured if you land on his space.

Gotcha!

Each time a player rolls the ghost symbol on the die, Hugo moves forward 3 spaces. On his move he captures every guest he overtakes.

The first unlucky guest to be caught is placed on the lowest step, for —10 points. The next one caught is placed on the next higher step, for —9 points, and so on.

If two players are on the same space when Hugo captures them, they are placed on the same step and receive the same point value.

When all the steps are occupied by captured guests, all other captives are taken to the wine cellar. But since the wine cellar is more comfortable than the drafty staircase, these captives receive only -2 points each for this round.

The end of the round

The round is over when all the guests have hidden or been captured, and only Hugo is left in the gallery or if there are guests in the gallery for whom there is no place left to hide. (These are captured and moved to the wine cellar.)

The piper must be paid

Penalty points are assigned according to the position of each playing figure at the end of each round. The figures on the steps receive —10, — 9, etc. Those in the wine cellar, —2 each; the playing figures in the Laundry Room and Library, —1 point each. Happy are the players who managed to duck into the Trophy Room and the Playroom! They earn 3 bonus points each to be deducted from any penalty points for that round.

Total the penalty points for each player and deduct any bonus points earned in the Trophy Room and the Playroom. Record the points for each player, and the next round can begin.

The next round begins

All playing figures must come out of the rooms in which they were hiding in the last round and stand just in front of the door. Now the captives come back to try their luck once more. The first to emerge is the poor chap on the —10 step. If this is your playing figure, you may place it on any free space. Next comes the figure on step —9, and so on. If two or more figures are in the same position, the player with the most penalty points moves first. (If these two players have the same number of points, roll the die to see who moves first.)
Hugo returns to his place at the bottom of the staircase.
The player with the most penalty points begins the next round.

End of the game

After three rounds of play, the player with the fewest negative points is the winner.

Note: Players can also decide to play as many rounds as there are players.

The party’s over!
Do come back and join us again. Hugo enjoyed your company!