Deathwick

1. The Setup

The Supplies

Ratio: 1 Standard Deck (54 cards) for every 2 players.

• IMPORTANT: Use strictly 2 Jokers per Deck.
• 2 Players: 1 Deck
• 3-4 Players: 2 Decks
• 5-6 Players: 3 Decks
• 7-8 Players: 4 Decks
• 9-? Players: Scale accordingly (1 deck per 2 players)

The Shuffle: Shuffle all decks together to create one massive pool.

The Calling (Class Selection)

Before the game begins, every player must accept a curse. Each player is offered 3 random classes and chooses one.

The Circle & The Start

1. Sit in a circle.
2. Deal exactly 27 cards (half a deck) to each player. This is your Candle.
3. Place any remaining undealt cards Face Up into THE DARK (Discard Pile) to start the game.
4. Each player draws 3 cards from their Candle into their hand; this is their starting hand.
5. The Chilling Touch: All players must touch the hand of the person to their left. The player at the table with the Coldest Hands goes first.
6. CONCURRENT FLAMES (6+ players):
   With 6 or more players, multiple players take a turn at the same time. With 6–8 players, 2 players act simultaneously; with 9+ players, 3 players act simultaneously. Play proceeds clockwise from each starter so everyone gets one turn per round. See the Concurrent Flames table at the end of the manual for which player numbers act together.

The Empty Candle Rule

Agree before play how an empty Candle (no cards left to burn) is handled. These two variants apply to both physical and digital play:

• Standard ritual: Empty Candle is checked at the end of your turn. You may finish your turn; if your Candle is still empty when you end it, you are Consumed (eliminated).
• Dark ritual: If your Candle becomes empty at any moment (e.g. after burning for Ghosts), you are Consumed immediately (no chance to act).

In the digital version, you choose Standard ritual or Dark ritual when starting a match (after class selection).

2. The Ritual Circle

Who plays when: In a 2–5 player game, one person takes a turn at a time (clockwise). In a 6–8 player game, two people play at once; in a 9+ player game, three or more play at once. Each concurrent group does Burn, Draw, One Action, and Discard in parallel; then the round advances clockwise. For which player numbers act together (6–20 players), see the Concurrent Flames table at the end of the manual. The diagrams below show where each player sits and which seats start the round (❄️ starter, 🔥 concurrent starters).

Shadow layout (3+ players): In games with three or more players, each player’s Shadow is shown split: ghosts on the left are from your left neighbour (who Haunted you from that side), and ghosts on the right are from your right neighbour. This lets you see at a glance who Haunted which ghost; especially useful for classes like The Sealbinder (whose Haunted ghosts cannot be moved or Recalled) or The Clown (whose Haunted ghosts can only be Banished by Face or Cleanse). In a 2‑player game there is only one opponent, so the Shadow is a single zone.

3. The Passage of Time

Neighbours

The two players immediately to your left and right in the circle. You can only Haunt, Drain, etc. a neighbour unless a card says otherwise.

Shadow

The pile of ghost cards in front of you. For each ghost there, you Burn one card from your Candle at the start of your turn.

Burn

Take the top card of your Candle and put it face up on top of The Dark.

Suit tier

For tie-breaking: ♠ > ♥ > ♣ > ♦ (Spades, Hearts, Clubs, Diamonds).

The Haunting

Look at your Shadow. For each ghost in your Shadow, burn 1 card from the top of your Candle (place it face up on top of The Dark).

The Draw

Draw 1 card from the top of your Candle into your hand.

The Ritual

Perform exactly one of the following actions:

The Burden

Discard down to your hand limit (usually 5 cards).

Am I Alive?

Candle check: If your Candle is empty, you are Consumed by the Darkness and are eliminated.

Possession check: If you have 3 or more ghosts of the same suit in your Shadow, you are Possessed and lose immediately.

Note: At the start of your turn (The Haunting), you burn one card per ghost before you draw. If your Candle is empty when you must burn, you are Consumed then. If your Candle becomes empty during your turn, see FAQ for the optional ruling.

4. The Grimoire

Card art shown is ♠ Spades only. Effects are the same for all suits.

Card	Rank	Name	Effect
	A	SIGHT	Choose a neighbour; reveal their hand to you (The Watcher: both neighbours).
	2	GREED	Draw 2 cards to your hand.
	3	SCARE	Choose a neighbour. They shuffle their hand and blindly discard 1 card to The Dark (The Sadist: 2 cards to The Dark; you pick which).
	4	DRAIN	Choose a neighbour. Take the top card of their Candle and put it on top of your Candle.
	5	SALT	Reaction: Cancel an action targeting you; your Salt and their card go to The Dark (see Salt section below).
	6	CLAIM	Choose a neighbour. Take 1 random card from their hand and add it to your hand.
	7	CLEANSE	Destroy 1 ghost from your Shadow (to the top of The Dark, or to the bottom of your Candle if Siphon (rank or suit match); ♠ cannot be Siphoned).
	8	RECALL	Take a ghost from any Shadow and add it to your hand.
	9	POSSESS	Move a ghost from your Shadow to a neighbour's Shadow (The Occultist: any player's Shadow).
	10	REKINDLE	Take the top 3 cards from The Dark and put them on top of your Candle.
	J	MIRROR	Choose a neighbour and swap your Shadow with their Shadow.
	Q	MEDIUM	Choose: take 1 card from The Dark to your hand, OR take the top 2 cards from The Dark and put them on top of your Candle.
	K	PURGE	Banish all ghosts in your Shadow (to the top of The Dark; Siphon if rank matches and not Spades; Siphoned Ghost to bottom of your Candle).
	JOKER	BOO!	Each other player Burns from the top of their Candle until they reveal a number card (burned cards go to the top of The Dark; the number card becomes a ghost in their Shadow).

Quick reference (card effects)

Compact list for quick lookup.

5. The Cursed (Classes)

6. FAQ & Edge Cases

When in doubt: Use your best judgement in a way that favours the worst-case scenario (e.g. rule against the player who could gain, or in favour of the defender).

Siphon

Siphon is one of the rules: when you remove a Ghost from your Shadow in the right way, you can Heal: put that Ghost on the bottom of your Candle instead of sending it to The Dark. You get a card back; your Candle lasts longer.

• When do I Siphon? When you Banish a Ghost: play a card from your hand that meets or beats the Ghost (value, and suit tier on a tie). If your card’s rank matches the Ghost’s rank (e.g. your 7♥ on a 7♣ Ghost), you Siphon: the Ghost goes to the bottom of your Candle. If the ranks don’t match, you still destroy the Ghost but it goes to the top of The Dark (no heal).
• Siphon when suits match (Cleanse 7): When you Banish a Ghost with a 7 (Cleanse), you can also Siphon if your card’s suit matches the Ghost’s suit (e.g. 7♥ on a 3♥ Ghost), the Ghost goes to the bottom of your Candle. Spades ♠ still cannot be Siphoned; only Hearts ♥, Clubs ♣, and Diamonds ♦.
• Same rank and same suit (e.g. 7♥ on 7♥): In games with 3 or more players, you use multiple decks, so two identical cards can exist. You can Banish a 7♥ Ghost with your 7♥ (equal value). Since rank matches and suits match, you Siphon; the Ghost goes to the bottom of your Candle. Not if the Ghost is a Spade ♠.
• Face card ghost (e.g. from The Warlock’s Haunt): If someone Haunted you with a face card (J, Q, K; e.g. The Warlock using a face as strength 10), that ghost is in your Shadow. When you Banish it (with a 10, or by Casting the matching face card), if your card’s suit matches the ghost’s suit, you Siphon: the ghost goes to the bottom of your Candle. Spades ♠ cannot be Siphoned.
• Spades ♠ can never be Siphoned because they are cursed by the darkness. You can Banish a Spade ghost (destroy it), but it always goes to the top of The Dark. Only Hearts ♥, Clubs ♣, and Diamonds ♦ can be Siphoned (whether by rank match or, with Cleanse, suit match).
• Do I still use my card when I Siphon? Yes. You discard the card you played; only the Ghost is healed to the bottom of your Candle.
• Panic and Joker: If you Panic and flip a Joker, you Siphon the Ghost (unless it’s a Spade).

Banish (how you remove Ghosts)

• Banish = play one card from your hand onto one Ghost in your Shadow.
• Your card must have equal or higher value than the Ghost; on a tie, suit tier breaks it: Spades ♠ > Hearts ♥ > Clubs ♣ > Diamonds ♦.
• The Ghost is destroyed. If rank matched (or, for Cleanse 7, suit matched) and the Ghost wasn’t a Spade, you Siphon it (Ghost goes to the bottom of your Candle (see Siphon above).

Salt (reaction)

• Salt (5) is a reaction, not a turn action: keep it in hand until a neighbour (or other player) targets you (e.g. with a Haunt), then you may reveal Salt to interrupt (your Salt and their card go to The Dark).

• When the defender uses Salt: The defender's Salt and the attacker's card both go to the top of The Dark. The attacker's turn ends immediately. The defender does not lose their turn; the interrupt happens during the attacker's turn.
• Counter-Salt: The attacker may respond with their own Salt to "counter" the interrupt. If they do, their Salt and the defender's Salt both go to the top of The Dark, and the defender may interrupt again with another Salt (if they have one). This can repeat as long as both players have Salt in hand. The last player to play Salt decides the outcome: if the defender played last, the action is cancelled (attacker's card and defender's Salt to the top of The Dark, attacker's turn ends). If the attacker played last (or the defender allows), the original action (e.g. Haunt) goes through.

Consumed by the Darkness

• If your Candle is empty when you must Burn (e.g. at the start of your turn, one Burn per Ghost in your Shadow), you are Consumed by the Darkness and are eliminated immediately.
• You Burn one card at a time; the first time you have no card to Burn, you lose.
• Empty Candle during your turn? If your Candle becomes empty during your turn (e.g. after an action or effect), agree before the game which ruling to use: Eliminated immediately (you cannot finish your turn), or Check at end of turn (you finish your action, then The Burden, then Am I Alive?). Most groups prefer the latter so the player gets a last turn.
• Standard ritual = check at end of turn; Dark ritual = eliminated immediately when Candle becomes empty. The digital version lets you pick either when starting a match.

Possession

• At the end of your turn (after your one action and after discarding down to hand limit), check your Shadow.
• If you have 3 or more ghosts of the same suit, you are Possessed and lose immediately. You have your whole turn to Banish, Siphon, Recall, or otherwise reduce your Shadow before this check.

Other common questions

• What does “once per turn” mean? It depends on whose turn is relevant. For your own abilities (e.g. a class action like The Pyromaniac’s “Once per turn”), it means once per your turn; it resets at the start of your next turn. For reactions to another player (e.g. The Unseen cancelling a Haunt, or The Hex cancelling with a matching rank), it means once per that other player’s turn; so each different attacker has one chance per their turn to be cancelled; The Unseen can cancel once per attacker per round. See the Edge cases below for Haunt vs The Unseen / The Hex.
• When a Joker (BOO!) is played, how does the Burn work? Each other player Burns from the top of their Candle one card at a time. If they reveal a face card (J, Q, K or Joker), that card goes to the top of The Dark and they must Burn again. This repeats as many times as needed until they reveal a number card (A–10). That number card becomes a Ghost in their Shadow; the Burning then stops for that player. (If their Candle runs out before they hit a number, they are Consumed by the Darkness.)
• If two effects happen at once (e.g. death and “when a neighbour dies”), who resolves first? The active player’s triggers resolve first, then clockwise. If still unclear, favour the worst-case (e.g. defender).
• Concurrent Flames: do the two (or three) players take turns with each other? No. Each concurrent player takes one full turn (Burn, Draw, One Action, Discard) in parallel; they do not interrupt each other’s turn.

Edge cases

• Mirror (J) or Possess (9) vs The Gatekeeper. Blocked; card not spent.
• Haunt vs The Unseen. Once per that attacker's turn, when a neighbour would Haunt The Unseen, they may discard 1 card to The Dark to cancel the Haunt (both cards go to The Dark). One cancel per attacker's turn, not only once per round.
• Haunt vs The Hex. Once per that attacker's turn, when a neighbour plays a number card to Haunt The Hex, they may reveal a matching rank from hand to cancel it (both cards go to The Dark). One cancel per attacker's turn, not one per round.
• Hand limit (e.g. The Hoarder 8): Discard down at end of your turn. Effects that add cards can push you over until end of that turn.
• “Top of Candle” effects with no cards: Effect fizzles (e.g. Drain does nothing).

Concurrent Flames table (6–22 players)

When 6 or more players are in the game, the players listed below take their turns at the same time (each does Burn, Draw, One Action, Discard in parallel). After they finish, the round advances clockwise to the next group. In the digital version, the game adjusts when players leave the circle (elimination), so the active group may differ from this starting layout.