Phantom

About this board game

Phantom is a two-player game played in about 30 minutes, set in a haunted house in Jamestown, Virginia, at the end of 1907. Lost souls have occupied the house for ages, and the peaceful Standish family is caught between opposing ghostly forces.

The house is arranged as four areas in a line: Garden, Basement, Ground Floor, and First Floor. Each player controls the Ghosts in half of the house, playing Ghost and Place cards to make apparitions appear and increase their Scare level in the different areas.

Place cards must be played in their corresponding areas. The Attic belongs on the First Floor, while the Stairs can be placed on either the First Floor or Ground Floor. Ghost cards can be played in front of any area and each provides a distinct effect:

• The Squatter takes a Place from an opponent’s apparition.
• The Charmer brings an Occupant into an area.
• The Howler drives Occupants away from an area.
• The Knocker discards an opponent’s Ghost.
• The Queen takes a Ghost from an opponent’s family.
• The Invoker retrieves a Ghost from the discard pile.

At the end of each turn, Scare levels are compared with the Fear thresholds of Occupants in the areas. If an Occupant is alone and a player’s Scare level meets or exceeds that threshold, the player claims the Occupant and scores its victory points.

Adults can kill vulnerable Ghosts, while some Places offer protection. Adults are worth 3 points, children 2, the baby 4, and the Priest adds 1 point to the last Occupant taken. In Phantom, the first player to collect 11 victory points wins.