Phantom Ink

Learn to play at PhantomInkGame.com/how-to-play

Renowned Mediums are competing to guess a Secret Object, with help from mysterious Spirits giving Clues from the World Beyond!

These instructions are for 4 players, but you can add more players.*

There are 2 teams, each with 1 Medium and 1 Spirit. There is a Secret Object that both Spirits know. Each Spirit wants their Medium to guess the Object first. Mediums take turns giving their Spirit secret Question Cards to answer about the Object. The Spirit writes an answer (Clue) slowly, letter by letter until interrupted by their Medium. The first Medium to guess the Object wins for their team!

1. Split the players into 2 groups: the Sun team and the Moon team.
2. Decide who on your team is the Spirit and who is the Medium.
3. Each Medium draws 7 Question Cards and privately looks at their cards.
4. Together, the Sun Spirit and Moon Spirit draw 1 Object card to share. They look at it without showing the Mediums. Together, they choose which word will be the Object for this game. (They can use the numbers to discuss)

Teams take turns. The Sun team goes first. On your team’s turn, rotate the Pad to face your team. The team’s Medium decides either to ASK A QUESTION or GUESS THE OBJECT, then follows the steps:

Ask a Question

(to receive a Clue)

1. You, the Medium, choose and give 2 Question Cards from your hand to your Spirit.
2. Your Spirit chooses 1 to answer, gives it back to you, and discards the other face up.
3. In your team’s next space on the Pad, your Spirit starts to slowly write a Clue. The Clue must answer the chosen Question about the Object.
   • Spirits should say the letters aloud as they write.
4. When you think you know the Clue your Spirit is writing, call “Silencio.” Your Spirit stops writing. (If they are writing a letter, they finish it, then stop)
5. Place the answered Question face down in front of you. You can peek at it if you forget.
6. You draw 2 Question Cards.

— OR —

Guess the Object

(to try to win)

1. You, the Medium, write the first letter of your Guess in your team’s next space on the Pad, and say the letter aloud.
   • If the letter is correct, your Spirit knocks on the table. Add the next letter, and say the letter aloud. Repeat until you get a letter wrong, or complete your guess.
   • If the letter is wrong, your Spirit puts their finger to their lips. Cross out the wrong letter. Your turn is over.
2. When you finish writing your Guess, add a period. If you’ve correctly written the Object, your team wins!

There’s no penalty for making an incorrect Guess, except that you waste a turn when you could have been getting a Clue.

Eye Spaces

When your team starts a turn at a space with an Eye icon, your team’s Medium asks to see the next letter of any Clue on the Pad (from either team). The Spirit who wrote that Clue adds the next letter. Then your team continues your turn, as normal.

Example Turn

Avery, a Medium, hands 2 Question Cards to Jordan, her team’s Spirit. Jordan chooses the card “What is it made of,” shows it to Avery, and discards the other card. The Object is “Calendar,” so Jordan decides to respond “Paper.” Jordan writes ‘P A P’ in the empty space, pausing after each letter. Avery thinks the Clue is “Paper,” and says “Silencio” to hide the rest of the answer from the other team.

Clue Rules

• Clues must answer the chosen Question Card about the Object
• Clues can only contain letters and spaces
• Clues should be in a language all players know
• Clues cannot contain any form of the Object (e.g. if the Object is “Airplane,” you can’t answer “Air” or “Plane” or “Deplaning”)

Otherwise, Spirits can use whatever Clue they like—dictionary words, proper nouns, and made up words are all okay! You can even use multiple-word phrases, but careful: they often give away too much.

What kinds of Clues can I give? →

Strategy Tips

• Mediums: Say “Silencio” as soon as you can. It’s better to say “Silencio” early so the other team doesn’t get too much info.
• Spirits: Choose a Clue that will be clear to your Medium after only a few letters. Write slowly; give them time to say “Silencio.”

More Than 4 Players

*More than 4 players:
Add more Mediums to each team. Mediums on a team share their hand of cards, work together, and can pass secret notes. Any of them can call “Silencio.”

Frequently Asked Questions

• What if the Medium doesn’t say “Silencio”? — If the Spirit writes the last letter of a Clue without the Medium calling “Silencio,” they add a period to the end of the Clue to show the word is complete.
• What if I don’t like my Question Cards? — Once per game, each team’s Medium may discard their Question Cards face up and draw 7 new ones.
• What if all the spaces on the Pad are full? — If neither team correctly GUESSES THE OBJECT in 8 rounds, both teams lose.
• Can I look things up? — Spirits can! Mediums cannot.
• Table talk — Spirits can’t give any additional guidance. Be careful to avoid saying things like “this Clue is going to be hard.”

Read more FAQs at playghostwriter.com/faq

Phantom Ink — Instructions

Game Design: Mary Flanagan and Max Seidman
Writing: The whole Resonym team
Art and Graphic Design: Spring Yu
Community Management: Rachel Billings
Production & Logistics: Max Seidman, Danielle Taylor, and Sukie Punjasthitkul
Digital Prototyping: Oliver Akins
In-House Playtesting: Joshua Po and Momoka Schmidt
Videography: Spring Yu, Rachel Billings, and Sukie Punjasthitkul

Special Thanks: Melissa Billings, Game Makers Guild, Remote Playtesting Discord, Sebastian R, Brandon F, Stefanie S, Jason S, Kit H, Kapra O, Erin B, Vicky S, Mike L, Sunshiney, Dirtberry, Resonym Discord members