The Nightmare Before Christmas Trading Card Game Rulebook Introduction There are 12 days left until Christmas, and Jack Skellington's dreams of running Christmas his way are finally coming to life. The Nightmare Before Christmas Trading Card Game is an interactive, fast-playing card game suitable for any number of players. Each player manages his or her own version of Halloween-town, complete with its own Characters straight out of Tim Burton's film and its own set of Locales for those Characters to haunt, as well as Creations built by the Characters and Surprises to keep the game full of action and suspense. Each game lasts for 12 Rounds (the "12 Days until Christmas"), during which time each player creates the scariest version of Christmas he or she can. The players do this by playing scary Characters into their own versions of Halloweentown, and by using those Characters to build terrifying Christmas Creations. Each Character, Creation, and Surprise has a Scare Number in the upper left corner. This Scare Number determines the Cost which is needed to bring the card into play, as well as how many Scare Points the card is worth at the end of the game. In addition, a Character's Scare Number helps him activate the Locales he visits in Halloweentown. During her turn, a player performs the Function of one Active Locale in her version of Halloween-town. The Functions of the various Locales allow players to draw cards, move Characters around Halloweentown, and add Pumpkin Points, which are used to pay for card costs. Each player attempts to play as many Characters and Creations into her Halloweentown as she can on each of her turns, while playing Surprises that inhibit the progress of her opponents. At the end of the 12th Day, the player with the most Scare Points in her Halloweentown wins the game! What is a Trading Card Game? In a Trading Card Game (TCG), each player learns how to play the game by using a Starter Deck like the one that contained this Rulebook. If you purchased a Dual Deck tin, you will find two Starter Decks that include all that you need to learn the game with a friend. Players can later modify their decks (and even create entirely new decks) using cards acquired from Booster Packs. Booster Packs contain a random assortment of new cards to add to a player's collection. Each Booster Pack contains a mix of Common and Uncommon Cards, as well as one Rare Card (and possibly even an Ultra-Rare Card). Rare Cards are the most difficult to obtain and are therefore the most valuable when trading with other players. Rare Cards are marked with a special Rare Card Symbol (see right). Card Types There are four different types of cards in the game (Characters, Locales, Surprises, and Creations). What follows is a quick summary of each of the different card types. Locales Each player has her own Locale Deck, which consists of one Starting Locale and five other Locales. Each Round, a random Locale is drawn from each player's Locale Deck to add onto her version of Halloweentown, which includes all of that player's Locales. Characters are then played below the individual Locales to help activate the Locales' Functions. Each Locale has a Scare Threshold in the upper left corner which indicates how scary the Characters present there need to be in order to perform that Locale's Function. Characters Each player's Main Deck consists of a combination of Characters, Surprises, and Creations. Characters are the most important card type because they are needed to activate Locales and also allow players to gain important advantages when playing certain Surprises and Creations. Each Character has a Scare Number in the upper left corner which indicates how much the Character costs (in Pumpkin Points), how scary the Character is when activating Locales, and how many Scare Points the Character is worth at the end of the game. Each Character also possesses an Alias (or nickname) beneath his or her Card Title. Some important Characters, such as Jack and Oogie, are represented in The Nightmare Before Christmas by more than one version, and each different version of these Characters is distinguished by a different Alias, as well as by a different card image. However, each of these different versions is considered to be the same Character. Creations Unlike Characters, Creations are played off to the side, away from a player's Locales. Creations can be expensive to build (as indicated by their relatively high Scare Numbers), but their Cost is often reduced by having particular Characters present in a player's Halloweentown. Unlike Characters, the card text on Creations is used only when the Creations are played, and thereafter has no effect on gameplay. However, these Christmas Creations are easier to protect than Characters, and they are worth a lot of Scare Points at the end of the game. Surprises Surprises are played during a player's own turn to bring about special circumstances or to help a player search for certain cards in her deck. Most Surprises provide an option of two different abilities separated by the word "OR". After paying the Cost for a Surprise (indicated by its Scare Number), the player chooses which ability she will activate when playing the card. Most Surprises are discarded as soon as they are played, and therefore do not contribute toward a player's Scare Points at the end of the game. However, some are placed directly on the table or Stacked beneath particular cards and therefore provide their Scare Points at the end of the game. At the end of each Day, players who have played certain Surprise Cards draw bonus cards to replace the Surprises they have played during that Round (see Reimburse Surprises on page 31). As a general rule, each player is only permitted to play his cards (including his Surprises) during his own turn. However, some Surprises specify that they are played during an opponent's turn, usually in response to a specific situation. Setting Up For your first few games of The Nightmare Before Christmas TCG, each player will use a Starter Deck. After playing a few times with Starter Decks, players will be able to make new decks using cards acquired from Booster Packs (see Deck Construction on page 34). For now, each player simply prepares his or her Starter Deck using the following guidelines. Each player selects one Starter Deck, which includes the following: ¥ One Locale Deck consisting of 6 Locales ¥ One Main Deck consisting of 40 cards (Characters, Surprises, Creations) ¥ One Pumpkin Points Card In addition, each player will need one Pumpkin Points Counter (such as a colored bead or coin) to keep track of her current points on her Pumpkin Points Card. Aside from each player's Starter Deck, the following items are also needed for play (one set for each game, not each player): ¥ One Pumpkin King Card ¥ One Pumpkin King Counter for the Pumpkin King Card ¥ 12 Day Counters (beads, coins, etc.) representing the 12 Days of Christmas Once each player has his deck ready, set-up proceeds in the following manner. 1. Determine Pumpkin King: Randomly choose one player to be the game's first Pumpkin King. This player receives the Pumpkin King Card and places the Pumpkin King Counter beside the card. 2. Place Day Counters: The 12 Day Counters are placed in the center of the table. These counters indicate how many days are left until Christmas. 3. Prepare Pumpkin Points: Each player places his Pumpkin Points Card face up to the right of his individual playing area (see Player Set-up Diagram below). His Pumpkin Points Counter should be placed beside the card. 4. Place Starting Locales: Each player's Locale Deck includes one Starting Locale, indicated by the number zero and an asterisk ("0*") in its Scare Threshold. Each player places his Starting Locale face down on the table in front of him. 5. Shuffle Locale Decks: Each player shuffles her remaining 5 Locales and places them in a face down stack above her Pumpkin Points card. 6. Shuffle Main Decks: Each player shuffles his 40-card Main Deck and allows the player to his right to cut the deck. The Main Deck is then placed face down below the player's Pumpkin Points card. Leave space for a separate Discard Pile to the right of the Main Deck. Whenever a player discards a card for any reason, the card is placed face up in the Discard Pile to the right of the player's Main Deck. Players do not draw their Starting Hands until after their Starting Locales are revealed (see page 14). Round Order Each Round of the game is a separate Day marked by a Start Phase, a Player Phase, and an End Phase. The Start and End Phases are performed by all the players simultaneously. During the Player Phase, the players takes their individual Player Turns. In other words, each Round includes a Start Phase (performed by all the players at the same time), a Player Phase (where each player takes a separate Player Turn), and an End Phase (performed by all the players at the same time). The Round Order Chart below details the activities undertaken each phase. 1. Start Phase (simultaneous) ¥ Remove Day Counter ¥ Place new Locales ¥ Pumpkin King Activity 2. Player Turn Phase (1 Turn per Player) ¥ Perform 1 Function (Active Locale) ¥ Play cards 3. End Phase (simultaneous) ¥ Empty Pumpkin Points ¥ Reimburse Surprise Cards ¥ Remove Hex Counters ¥ Discard down to 7 cards ¥ Recycle empty Main Decks ¥ Rotate Pumpkin King Start Phase The activities undertaken during the Start Phase are only undertaken once per Round, not once during each player's turn. The activities of the Start Phase are performed in the following order. Remove Day Counter: At the beginning of the Start Phase, the current Pumpkin King (the player with the Pumpkin King Card) removes one Day Counter from the center of the table. Place new Locale: During the first Round of the game, the players do not draw new Locales from their Locale decks. Instead, each player simultaneously flips his Starting Locale face up and draws his Starting Hand from the top of his Main Deck. The number of cards in each player's Starting Hand is indicated on his Starting Locale. Players do not draw Starting Hands again during later Rounds. During each subsequent Round, each player simultaneously draws the top Locale from his Locale deck and places it face up on the right end or left end of his row of Locales (his choice). He may not insert the Locale between any of his previously placed Locales (see example below). After the sixth Round of the game, all Locale decks will be empty and so this step is skipped. Pumpkin King Activity: The current Pumpkin King must choose one of the three activities listed on the Pumpkin King Card (and mark his choice with the Pumpkin King Counter) and then decide whether or not he wishes to perform the chosen activity. Regardless of whether or not the Pumpkin King performs the chosen activity, the player to his left may now choose to perform the same activity selected by the Pumpkin King, and so on clockwise around the table. Each player only has one opportunity to perform the Pumpkin King's chosen activity, and may only perform the activity once during a given Round. The possible activities that the Pumpkin King can choose include: 1) Draw 1 Card: Each player may discard 1 card from his hand to Draw 1 Card from his deck. ¥ This activity is free for the player with the least number of cards in his hand. 2) Add 1 Pumpkin Point: Each player may discard 1 card from his hand to Add 1 Pumpkin Point. ¥ This activity is free for the player with the most Creations on the table. 3) Move 1 Card: Each player may discard 1 card from his hand to Move 1 Character. ¥ This activity is free for the player with the most Characters on the table. To add a Pumpkin Point, the player places her Pumpkin Points Counter onto her Pumpkin Points Card, covering the Pumpkin marked with the number "1". To move a Character, the player chooses one of her Characters already placed below one of her Locales and moves that Character to an adjacent Locale. Note that Characters who require 2 Movement to leave a particular Locale (such as Oogie Boogie leaving his Lair) are not able to be moved in this manner. As indicated on the Pumpkin King Card, one player can usually perform the chosen activity for free (in other words, without discarding a card). If there is a tie, then no one can perform the activity for free. For example, if two players have no cards left in their hand, then no one can Draw 1 Card for free. Strategy Tip: The Pumpkin King should try to choose the activity that will benefit himself the most and his opponents the least. Player Turn Phase During the Player Turn Phase, each player in Turn Order (starting with the current Pumpkin King and continuing clockwise around the table) gets to perform one Player Turn. During his turn, a player chooses one Active Locale and performs one Function listed on that Locale. The player may also play as many cards as he likes during his turn, as long as he pays the Cost for each card by removing the appropriate amount of Pumpkin Points from his Pumpkin Points Card. Perform 1 Function (Active Locale): During his turn, a player performs one Function (and only one Function) listed on one of his Active Locales. A Locale is considered Active if the combined Scare Numbers of the Characters at that Locale are equal to or greater than the Locale's Scare Threshold (the number in the Locale's upper left corner). In the example at right, the Town Hall has a Scare Threshold of 3. Since the combined Scare Numbers of the Mayor and Mr. Hyde equal 3, the player may choose to perform the Town Hall's Function. Each Starting Locale has a Scare Threshold of "0*" (see left) and 3 different Functions. Because the Scare Threshold of a Starting Locale is "0", a player may always use one of the Locale's three Functions, even if he has no Characters there. Starting Locales give players the opportunity to perform one Function during each Round of the game, even if they have no Characters in play. Each of the three separate Functions on a Starting Locale is marked by the word "FUNCTION". Conversely, regular Locales only provide one Function, although some of these Functions permit the player to perform multiple activities. For example, the Function of Sally's Room allows a player to Add 2 Pumpkin Points AND Move 3 Cards. Although some Locales possess unusual Functions, most of the activities allowed by Functions fall into one of three categories: 1) Draw Cards: The player draws the specified number of cards from the top of her Main Deck into her hand. There is no limit to the number of cards allowed in a player's hand during her turn, although all players must discard down to 7 cards during the End Phase. If a player's Main Deck runs out of cards during her turn, then the player simply draws as many cards as she can until her deck is empty. During the End Phase, the player will be permitted to reshuffle her Discard Pile to form a new Main Deck. 2) Add Pumpkin Points: The player adds the number of Pumpkin Points listed in the Pumpkin Symbol (see right). Players use Pumpkin Points throughout the game to pay for Card Costs. To record the addition (or removal) of Pumpkin Points during the game, the player slides the Pumpkin Points counter up or down on the Pumpkin Points card to reflect the number added or removed. No player may ever possess more than 6 Pumpkin Points at any given time. 3) Move Cards: The player may use each Movement to shift one of his own Characters from one Locale to an adjacent Locale in his Halloweentown. The Characters do not have to be moving to or from the Locale which is providing the Movement. Players are not permitted to move their opponents' Characters unless specific card text allows them to do so. Each shift of a Character from one Locale to the next costs a single Movement. Players may choose to spend their Movement to move multiple Characters during their turn, or to move the same Character more than once (or any combination thereof). For example, Sally's Room allows a player to "Move 3 Cards." The player performing this Function can choose to move three different Characters once each, or the same Character three times, or one Character twice and another Character one time. After choosing the Function of a Locale, a player is never required to perform all of the activities provided by that Function. For example, a player activating Sally's Room could choose to move 1 Character twice and no one else. In order to perform a Function, the Locale must be Active when the Function is chosen. However, the player may finish performing the Function even if the Locale becomes no longer Active. For example, if a player activates Sally's Room and decides to move Sally away from her Room (thereby making Sally's Room inactive), the player may still spend the rest of the Movement to move a Character again that turn. It is important to note that once a Locale's Function has been performed, no other Functions can be performed during the same Player Turn. In other words, a player can normally perform only one Function during each of his turns. Playing cards Players are permitted to play any number of cards from their hands during their own turns, but not during their opponents' turns (unless the cards' text specifies otherwise). A player may play cards before and/or after performing the Function on his chosen Locale, but not while he is in the midst of performing the Function on his chosen Locale. Playing a card before choosing a Function may allow a player to activate a Locale she would not otherwise have been able to. To play a card, the player must pay its Card Cost (indicated by its Scare Number in the upper left corner) by removing a number of Pumpkin Points from her Pumpkin Points Card equal to the card's Scare Number. A player may not play a card if there are not enough Pumpkin Points remaining on her Pumpkin Points Card to pay for the card's Cost. Playing Characters: Characters are always played below a Locale in a player's own Halloweentown (see below). The Locale where the Character is played does not have to be the Locale which provided that turn's Pumpkin Points. There is no limit to the number of Characters that can be placed below the same Locale. You cannot, however, play a Character to a Locale if the same Character (i.e., with the same Card Title) is already in that Halloweentown, even at a different Locale in that Halloweentown. This restriction also prohibits playing different versions of the same Character in the same Halloweentown. However, each player is allowed to play the same Characters in his Halloweentown that are in his opponents' Halloweentowns. Playing Creations: Unlike Characters, Creations are played off to the side and not below a player's Locales. Although Creations are played off to the side, they are still considered to be part of a player's Halloweentown (and are therefore "in" that player's Halloweentown for purposes of card text). Each player may only have one copy of each Creation in his Halloweentown, although each player is allowed to play the same Creations that are in her opponents' Halloweentowns. Playing Surprises: Unless indicated otherwise in their card text, Surprises are immediately discarded after their abilities take effect. A single player can therefore play multiple copies of the same exact Surprise throughout the game, but cannot play the same exact Surprise (i.e. with the same Card Title) more than once during the same Round. To help a player keep track of which Surprises he has played during a given Round, the player temporarily discards his Surprises to the right of his Discard Pile, piling them face up in such a way that the title of each Surprise remains visible (see example on the next page). This stack of cards is called the Surprise Discard Pile. During the End Phase, the player will place these Surprise cards onto his regular Discard Pile and draw bonus cards to replace them (see Reimburse Surprises on page 31). Some Surprise cards indicate that they are placed on the table or Stacked on another card. These cards are not discarded immediately but instead remain in play until another effect removes them. Should one of these Surprises be discarded, it is not discarded onto the Surprise Discard Pile, but is instead placed onto the regular Discard Pile. Players are only reimbursed for Surprises which were discarded immediately after being played. Surprises which indicate that they are placed on the table as part of a player's Halloweentown possess card text which continues to affect the game. Just as with other cards that remain in play, a player may only have one copy of each Surprise placed on the table as part of his Halloweentown. These placed Surprises provide their Scare Points in the same manner that Characters and Creations do when determining the winner at the end of the game. Some Surprises say that they are Stacked on a specific Character. These Surprises are placed beneath the Character in such a way that the Card Title and Scare Number of the Surprise is still visible (see right). The Scare Number adds to the Character's own Scare Number and contributes toward that Character's ability to activate Locales. The extra Scare Points also contribute toward the player's total at the end of the game. Unlike Surprises placed on the table, a Stacked Surprise usually provides a bonus ability which is only triggered when the Surprise is played, but which no longer has any effect afterwards. Once a Surprise is Stacked beneath a Character, its card text is covered by that Character and no longer affects the game. Each Character may have multiple Surprises Stacked on him or her, although only one copy of each specific Surprise card can be played to the same Halloweentown. If a Character is discarded, returned to its owner's hand, or otherwise removed from play at any time during the game, any Surprises which were Stacked on that Character are immediately discarded. Searches: Many cards allow players to search for a specific card or set of cards. These cards are marked by the term "Search" followed by the number of cards to be searched, an arrow symbol "=>", and finally the title of the card (or cards) being sought. Thus, the text "Search 6 => Sally" means to draw the top 6 cards from your Main Deck, place any copies of Sally into your hand, and discard the rest. The cards which are being searched are placed face up on the table for all players to see. If no copies of the specified card are found, then all the cards which were drawn are simply discarded face up onto the player's Discard Pile. Once a Search is begun, the specified number of cards must be drawn from the Main Deck, even if the card being sought is the first or second card flipped over. However, if a player's Main Deck runs out of cards during a Search, then the player may only Search the cards which were left in the Main Deck and ignore the rest of the Search (because the Main Deck is not replenished until the End Phase). Most Search cards allow a player to add multiple copies of the same Card Title(s) into her hand. For example, "Search 3 => Jack, Sally" would allow a player to add up to 3 Characters (3 Jacks, 3 Sallys, or any combination thereof) into her hand from a single Search. Similarly, "Search 6 => Surprises" would allow a player to add up to 6 Surprises into her hand. Some cards, however, specify the number of cards which can be found. For example, "Search 6 => 1 Creation" would allow the player to draw 6 cards, choose 1 Creation found there and add it into his hand, and discard the rest. "Search 6 => 1 Card" means that the player draws the top 6 cards from his Main Deck, chooses any 1 card, and discards the rest. All relevant cards found during a Search must be added to the respective player's hand. Therefore, a player conducting a "Search 6 Jack, Sally" would be required to add all copies of Jack Skellington and Sally which he found to his hand; he could not choose to add just 1 or 2 copies if more Jacks and Sallys were found. If a card allows a player to choose one of two different types of Searches separated by the word "OR", the player must choose which type of Search before drawing cards from the top of his deck. Players may choose to Search for specific cards to add to their hands even if those cards are already in their hands or in play in their Halloweentowns. End Phase Once each player has completed a Player Turn, the End Phase begins. The activities of the End Phase are performed in the following order, and are performed simultaneously by all the players. Empty Pumpkin Points: Each player removes the Pumpkin Points Counter from his Pumpkin Points Card. Pumpkin Points do not accumulate from one Round to the next. Reimburse Surprises: Each player gathers up his Surprise Discard Pile (i.e., the Surprises that he played during that Round) and places them face up in a neat stack on top of his regular Discard Pile. Each player may then draw a number of cards from the top of his Main Deck equal to the number of Surprises that were in his Surprise Discard Pile. Remove Hex Counters: All Hex Counters that have been placed on Characters are now removed (see page 37 for more on Hex Counters). Discard down to 7 cards: If any players have more than 7 cards in their hands during the End Phase, they must discard cards from their hand until they only have 7 (their choice of cards). Recycle empty Main Decks: If any players have no cards remaining in their Main Decks, those players shuffle their Discard Piles and place them face down to form new Main Decks. The End Phase is the only time when Main Decks are replenished. Players with any cards remaining in their Main Decks cannot recycle their Discard Piles in this manner. Rotate Pumpkin King: The current Pumpkin King passes the Pumpkin King Card and Pumpkin King Counter to the player on his left. That player is the new Pumpkin King and will choose the following Day's Pumpkin King Activity. Once the Pumpkin King Card rotates, if there are any Day Counters remaining in the center of the table, the next Round begins with a new Start Phase. If no Day Counters remain when the Pumpkin King rotates, then the game ends and each player tallies his or her Scare Points to determine the winner (see below). Winning the Game At the end of the game, each player tallies up the Scare Points in his or her Halloweentown by adding up the Scare Numbers on the following cards: 1) Characters 2) Creations 3) Surprises placed on the table 4) Surprises stacked on cards Note that the Scare Thresholds on the players' Locales are not added to each player's Scare Points total. After adding up the Scare Numbers on all of the cards in their respective Halloweentowns, the player with the most Scare Points wins the game! If there are any players tied for the most Scare Points, then the tied player with the most Active Locales in her Halloweentown wins the game. If there is still a tie, then the player (among those still tied) with the highest total Scare Thresholds on her Active Locales wins the game. If a tie still remains, then those players share the victory. Players are permitted to ask each of their opponents' current Scare Point totals once during each of their Player Turns. Deck Construction After playing a few games with their Starter Decks, players should feel free to alter their decks (and even construct new decks) with cards from Booster Packs. When creating their own decks, players must follow the guidelines below: Locale Deck: Each Locale Deck must include one (and only one) Starting Locale (marked with a Scare Threshold of "0" and an asterisk symbol "*"), as well as 5 standard (non-starting) Locales. All 5 standard Locales must be distinct from one another (no duplicates). Main Deck: Each Main Deck must include at least 40 cards. The cards in a player's Main Deck can be any mix of Characters, Creations, and Surprises (but not Locales). No more than 4 copies of any specific Card Title are permitted in the same Main Deck. Therefore, no more than 4 of the same Character can appear in the same Main Deck, even if the player uses multiple versions of that Character, since a Character's Alias is not part of his or her Card Title. Pumpkin Points: Each player's set of playing cards must include one Pumpkin Points Card and one Pumpkin Points Counter to keep track of her Pumpkin Points during the game. Pumpkin King: Each player's cards should include one Pumpkin King Card and one Pumpkin King Counter. Players determine whose Pumpkin King Card to use before play begins. Other Rules The basic rules of The Nightmare Before Christmas TCG introduced so far are the only rules that players need to begin play using their Starter Decks. Once players are ready to start constructing their own decks, they should consult the rules on the following pages as well. ¥ Card Text vs. Rules: Whenever a card's text seems to contradict the Rulebook, the card is always correct. ¥ Character Card Text: Whenever a Character's card text mentions the Character's own name, then that card text is only referring to that specific Character card, not any other players' Character cards with the same name. For example, Sally's text reads: "During your turn, if Sally is at the same Locale as Jack, you may discard her from play to Draw 3 Cards." Having this card in play does not allow you to discard an opponent's Sally who may be at the same Locale as the opponent's Jack. ¥ Discard Piles: When discarding multiple cards, a player must discard them one at a time so that his opponent can see each one of them. A player may examine the cards in his own Discard Pile at any time, but he may not examine his opponents' Discard Piles. An ability which allows a player to "Search Discard Pile 1 Card" allows that player to choose one card from his Discard Pile, reveal it to his opponents, and then place it into his hand. A player may rearrange the order of the cards in his own Discard Pile at any time. ¥ Halloweentown: There are several references throughout the game to the cards "in a player's Halloweentown." A player's Halloweentown consists of all of the player's cards that are on the table and in play, including her Characters, Locales, Creations, and Surprises that have been placed on the table or Stacked beneath her Characters. These cards are all considered to be "in" that player's Halloweentown. Conversely, the cards in a player's hand, Main Deck, and Discard Piles are not considered to be part of a player's Halloweentown. Also, cards that have been placed face down beneath a Locale (such as the Scary Bed or Pumpkin Patch) are not in play and are not considered to be part of a player's Halloweentown. ¥ Hex: Some Characters have card text which begins with the word "HEX:". These Characters possess text which is only usable once during the respective player's turn. Whenever such a Character uses his card text, place a Hex Counter (such as a glass bead or coin) on the Character as a reminder that the Character cannot use his card text again that turn. All Hex Counters are removed during the End Phase. Should a Character with a Hex Counter be discarded from play, his Hex Counter is simply removed. If another copy of that Character is played during the same turn, the Character can use his card text again because he no longer possesses a Hex Counter. ¥ Surprise Limit: Once a player's Surprise Discard Pile has three Surprises in it, that player may no longer play Surprises (of any type) for the remainder of his Player Turn. The player may, however, play defensive Surprises such as Pull Yourself Together on other players' turns for the remainder of the Round. ¥ "in play" and "from play": The cards in a player's Halloweentown are considered to be "in play." Therefore, if a Character's card text requires that he be discarded "from play," then that Character must be discarded from your Halloweentown, not from your hand. Cards discarded "from play" are placed face up in your Discard Pile as normal. ¥ "and then" and "to": Some cards require that you accomplish a particular task in order to achieve their effects. If the first part of a card effect is followed by the words "and then" or "to", then the second activity cannot be performed unless the first activity is successful. For example, Twilight Sun reads: "Return any player's Vampire to its owner's hand, and then Draw 3 Cards." In this case, you cannot draw any cards unless you successfully return a Vampire to its owner's hand. ¥ Replacing Characters: A player may choose to play a different version of an existing Character in his Halloweentown (i.e., same Card Title but different Alias) by discarding the current version and playing the new version at a discounted Cost. To determine the Cost of the new version, subtract the old version's printed, unmodified Scare Number from the new version's Scare Number. The result is the Cost to play the new version of the Character. For example, a player with Jack Skellington, The Pumpkin King (Scare Number 3) could discard him and pay 2 Pumpkin Points to replace him with Jack Skellington, Master of Fright (Scare Number 5). If the new version of the Character has the same Scare Number as the old version, then the new version is simply played for free. A Character cannot be replaced by a version that has a lower Scare Number. The new version of the Character must be played to the same Locale as the previous version. Any Surprises which were Stacked on the previous version automatically transfer to the new version. A player cannot discard one of his Characters in order to play the same version of the existing Character; the new Character must have a different Alias than the existing Character in order to make use of this rule. It is important to note that discarding a Character in order to replace that Character with a new version does not trigger any "discard effects" (such as the card text of the Devil or Mayor) since the Character himself is still conceptually in play. ¥ Timing: If more than one card effect triggers at the same time, then the current player decides the order in which the effects take place. For example, Dr. Finklestein's text reads: "While Finklestein is at the Laboratory, draw 1 card each time you play a Creation." If you play a Creation which has an immediate effect when it is played, you may choose whether to perform that effect before or after drawing the card for Dr. Finklestein. However, players are always permitted to protect themselves from a given card effect if they have a card in hand or in play which specifically allows them to do so. For example, a player with Halloweentown Gates in play (which allows a player to protect himself from the effects of an opponent's Surprise) can always choose to use the Gates to protect himself during an opponent's turn. It is important to note that only cards which specifically say they can be used in response to a given situation can interrupt the action of another card in this manner. Cards that do not mention that they can be played in response to a given situation cannot be played or used until after all the effects that were triggered by the most recently played card have fully resolved. For example, a player has just played the Wolfman (whose card text allows you to discard one of your Characters at the Wolfman's Locale right after playing the Wolfman in order to draw 2 cards). The player chooses to discard Behemoth from the Wolfman's Locale in order to draw 2 cards. The player could not interrupt the effect of the Wolfman in order to discard Behemoth for Behemoth's own card effect (which allows you to discard Behemoth in order to force your opponents to discard a card from hand). Since Behemoth is being discarded as an effect of the Wolfman being played, Behe-moth leaves play before the player can use Behemoth's text. In other words, you cannot interrupt one card effect in order to use a second card effect unless the second card effect specifically says it can be used in response to the first card effect. Sample Turn Below is an example of the first Day of a game of The Nightmare Before Christmas TCG played between Manny and Chris. Manny was randomly determined to be the game's first Pumpkin King. Manny begins the first Day by removing a Day Counter from the center of the table, and then both Manny and Chris reveal their Starting Locales. Manny reveals Jack's House and Chris reveals Oogie's Lair. Both draw their Starting Hands as indicated on their Starting Locales (7 cards for Manny, 5 cards for Chris). Manny, as the Pumpkin King, must now choose a Pumpkin King activity, and he chooses to "Add 1 Pumpkin Point (PP)." Manny discards a card from his hand to get the PP; Chris declines. Manny moves his PP Counter on the PP Card to 1. The Start Phase ends and the Player Phase begins. Manny begins his Player Turn by performing the "Add 2 PP" Function on Jack's House. He moves his counter to 3 on his PP Card (since he already had 1 PP as a result of the Pumpkin King activity). Manny then spends 2 of his PPs to play Jack Skellington, The Pumpkin King to Jack's House for 2 PPs (Jack has a Scare Number of 3 but his card text indicates that you can play him to Jack's House at a -1 Cost). Manny then plays Fetch, a Surprise which costs 0 PPs, to Search the top 6 cards of his Main Deck for the Character Zero. Manny flips over the 6 cards and doesn't find any copies of Zero, so all the searched cards go to the Discard Pile. The Fetch card is then placed face up in the temporary Surprise Discard Pile to the right of Manny's regular Discard Pile. Manny then ends his Player Turn with 1 PP left and Chris begins his Player Turn. Chris chooses to perform the "Draw 2 Cards" Function on Oogie's Lair to bring himself to 7 cards, and then ends his Player Turn. The End Phase now begins. Manny loses his remaining 1 PP (since PPs don't carry over from one Round to the next), and then places his Surprise Discard Pile (which only contains the Surprise Fetch) onto his regular Discard Pile. He then draws one card to reimburse himself for having played that Surprise. The Pumpkin King Card rotates and Chris is the new Pumpkin King. Credits Game Design: Andrew Parks, Zev Shlasinger Additional Game Development: Christopher Guild, Christopher Parks, and Kyle Volker Graphic Design: Andrew Parks, Nicolle M. Puzzo Lead Playtesters: Michael Dalton, Alan Ernstein, Doug Faust, Anni Foasberg, Michael Gradin, Norman Hill, Manny O'Donnell, Bill Reeves, Ada Smith, Justin Smith, and Catherine Weresow. Playtesters: S. Coleman Charlton, Keith Crouch, Rick Greene, Marc Houde, Rob Mitchell, Nancy Orsino, Rob Orsino, Kathleen Parks, Sarah Parks, Karl Roelofs, Mary Ann Swords-Greene, and Bridget Volker. Published by NECA. For more info, please visit www.necaonline.com/nbctcg Copyright © Touchstone Pictures