Version 1.0
April 2005

5 six sided dice, 12 glass beads and 4 player tokens are required to play.

Gameplay elements copyright Joe Fourhman, 2005. Game Design & Graphic Design: Joe Fourhman. Playtesting & Design Support: Rhonda Fourhman. Refinements & Playtesting: Mike Fell. Additional Playtesting: Franny Askey, Tony Sadowski, Josh Tauzin, Steve Witmer. Fatal Frame created by Keisuke Kikuchi. Original artwork and source material: Tecmo Games. Special thanks to the producers, artists, writers and cast of the Fatal Frame video game series.


.
introduction card types setup your turn combat strategies

So the legend is true. You've found the abandoned village.

You didn't intend to find it; one minute you were lost in the forest, and when the mist cleared you saw tattered buildings ahead of you.

And no matter how far you run away from the village, you can't find your way out.

Now the moaning starts... soft voices carried on the wind. At first they are muffled, a mere suggestion of language... but soon you can distinguish words from the rumbling hum. And the words ache with pain.

"Didn't we promise we'd always be together?"

A bright red butterfly floats near you, seemingly riding the wake of the haunting words. As surprising as it is to see a butterfly in the deep blue night, you can't imagine anything else to do but to follow it.

Soon there are more butterflies, all glowing crimson in the darkness. All leading you deeper into the village.

A current of fog clears away from your feet, revealing a old-fashioned camera. You reach to touch it, and in a sudden flash you realize that this camera may be your only hope to escape the village.

A crimson butterfly twinkles in the distance. You know you must move forward.

And the voices are getting louder.

Fatal Frame: the Card Game takes players inside the dark and mysterious world of the Fatal Frame video games. This Crimson Butterfly Edition focuses on the events contained in the second PlayStation2 game in the series. Armed with a supernatural camera, two to four players compete to be the first to escape the lost village... leaving the rest behind at the mercy of the tormented spirits. Should players attempt to connect the dots and uncover the truth behind the village's ghosts, they will find a disturbing and often poignant tale of tradition, sacrifice, pain... and a gate to Hell that now stands unguarded.

On your turn, you draw a card, then fight any ghosts that are in your current location. Fighting ghosts is done by rolling dice. Then you move to a new location and play one card. The object is to collect points by capturing ghosts or collecting items. Once you have achieved a certain number of points, you may enter the game's final location to fight a boss ghost. Whoever beats a boss ghost first wins the game.


introduction card types setup your turn combat strategies

The cards of Fatal Frame may contradict the basic rules as written. In the case where a card tells you to do something that is "against the rules," always follow the card's instructions!

Camera and Camera Upgrades
Each player begins with an identical Camera Obscura, but Upgrade cards will allow players to customize them for better ghost-fighting. There are three types of Upgrades: Film, Spirit Orbs and Functions. Each camera may only have one Film Upgrade, two Function Upgrades, and may hold up to three Spirit Orb Upgrades.

A Film Upgrade allows the player to roll additional dice in a ghost attack. The Film Upgrade card remains in play until it is replaced, stolen or forcibly removed from play.

Spirit Orbs are used to increase a die roll. After a die is rolled, a player may remove a Spirit Orb from play to add 1 to the result. Any number of Spirit Orbs may be used on the same die roll or distributed among different simultaneous rolls.

A Function Upgrade gives the player an additional effect on his or her turn, once the player pays the effect's cost. Functions may be used at any time on a player's turn, but only once per turn.

Items
These cards represent books, memos and other items found as you explore the village. Items have a point value that counts toward your Album Points score, but they are not considered to be "in" your Photo Album. All Items have a list of Interior Locations on them; a player must be sitting at one of those Locations, and that Location must be free of ghosts, in order to play the Item.

Ghosts
Ghosts attack the players as they explore, usually attempting to slow the players down or force them to lose cards. All Ghosts carry a set of keywords and statistics:
KEYWORD: Interior/Exterior: This determines where the Ghost may be played and where it may roam.
KEYWORD: Bound/Chase: A Bound Ghost will not leave the Location in which it is played. A Chase Ghost will follow the player it is currently attacking, should the player lose a fight and choose to move to a different Location. Chase Ghosts are obligated to stick to their restrictions on locations. If a player is at an Interior Location and moves to the Exterior Map, an Exterior/Interior Chase Ghost will follow the player outside, while an Interior Chase Ghost will go to the discard pile.
KEYWORD: Boss: Boss Ghosts are fought in a slightly different manner than normal ghosts. The first player to defeat a Boss Ghost wins the game!
Filament Color (red, blue, white): Red Ghosts are malevolent spirits who will not leave the map until they are beaten. Blue Ghosts are Vanishing Ghosts. If they are ever alone at a Location, they disappear and are placed in the discard pile. A white filament indicates a Boss Ghost.
Ghost Power: This is the number a player must beat with a die roll to defeat the Ghost. When a Ghost is defeated, it is placed in that player's Photo Album.
Ghost Effect: This text describes a game effect that must be applied. Some effects are only counted during the actual Ghost attack (shown in white text); other effects come into play once the Ghost is captured to a Photo Album (shown in red text).
Album Value: This number shows how much a Ghost is worth if it is in a Photo Album.

Actions
Action cards provide some kind of game effect and they are then discarded. Some Actions require special circumstances to be played, such as "play on a ghost that is attacking you." Some Action cards stay on the table until they are completely resolved, then placed in the discard pile.

Locations
Locations represent the various environments players must explore. There are Exterior Locations and Interior Locations. Some Locations have a game effect to be followed when you move to them, such as "draw a card when you move to this Location." The 9 Exterior Locations form the Exterior Map in a 3 x 3 grid. The 20 Interior Locations are kept in a separate deck. Several Exterior Locations are considered "houses"; the houses have card-shaped rectangles at the bottom of them. The rectangles indicate the size of the house: the number of Interior Locations you must use if you enter it. Entering a house requires creating a "path" of these Interior Location cards.


introduction card types setup your turn combat strategies

Fatal Frame: the Card Game is played with several different categories of cards. Prior to playing, you must separate the cards according to these types: Interior Locations, Exterior Locations, Boss Ghosts and Camera Obscura player cards. The rest of the cards comprise the game's main playdeck. Each player starts with a Camera Obscura card.You will require a movement token for each player, 12 glass beads or similar counters, and several six-sided dice (4 attack dice and 1 boss die).

Shuffle the Exterior Location cards (9 cards total), then arrange them facedown into a 3x3 grid. This is the Exterior Map, unexplored. Shuffle the Interior Locations cards (20 total) and set them near the Exterior Map. Shuffle the Boss Ghosts (4 total) and set them aside for now. Shuffle the remaining cards - the main playdeck, 85 cards - and deal 5 cards to all players. The main playdeck and the Interior Locations deck each must maintain a separate discard pile. Each player's movement token begins on the Camera Obscura card, representing that everyone is "outside" of the Village.

Turn out the lights and turn on the mood music, or ask someone to play Fatal Frame II: Crimson Butterfly in the background. Maybe sit the game on the pause screen, or park Mio in a relatively safe place!


introduction card types setup your turn combat strategies

You may only act - do things, play cards, etc. - on your turn. There are no cards or actions in the game that allow you to act on another player's turn. Your turn consists of 5 distinct actions:
1. Draw 1 card.
2. Fight all Ghosts at your current Location.
3. Move 1 Location.
4. Play 1 card. If you play a Ghost, you may play a second card.
5. Discard down to 5 cards in hand if necessary.

Note: Fatal Frame: the Card Game uses two different words to mean "place in the discard pile": "Discard" and "Lose." Discard always refers to a card in your hand, while Lose refers to a card on the table. If a card tells you to "discard 1 card," you must choose a card form your hand and place it in the discard pile. If you have no cards in hand (or not enough), you must discard as many as you are able. If a card tells you to "lose 1 Upgrade," you must choose an Upgrade from your Upgrade cards on the table and place it in the discard pile. If you have no Upgrades on the table, the effect is ignored.

 

Draw 1 card.
Draw a new card from the main playdeck at the beginning of your turn. The secrets of the lost Village slowly unfold!

If either deck (main playdeck or Interior Location deck) ever runs out of cards when a player needs to draw a card, shuffle the discard pile and make a new draw deck. Since some cards allow players to forage through the discard pile, do not shuffle the discard pile and create a new draw pile until the moment a player wants to draw a card.

 

Fight all Ghosts at your current Location.
If there is a Ghost at your Location, it attacks! See "Ghost Combat" below. If there is more than one Ghost (in a "stack"), the player must combat them one at a time, in ascending Ghost Power order. For example, Rhonda has a Veiled Priest (Ghost Power 4), a Sunken Woman (Ghost Power 3), and a Seeker (Ghost Power 2) at her Location as her turn begins. She must fight the Seeker first, then the Sunken Woman, and so on. If a player fails to defeat a Ghost, all combat ends and the player does not get to fight Ghosts deeper in the stack. So if Rhonda fails her roll against the Seeker, she does not get to fight either the Sunken Woman or the Veiled Priest. Ghost combat is covered in further detail later on.

Once a Ghost is defeated, it is placed in your Photo Album. Ghosts in your Photo Album are referred to as "Album Ghosts." You may only have six Ghosts in your Photo Album, so if you capture a seventh Ghost you must choose to place it in either your Album or the discard pile. If you choose to put it in your Album, you must lose one of your existing Album Ghosts.

Each Ghost has a Ghost Effect printed at the bottom of the card. If the text is white, the Effect is restricted to combat only. If the text is red, the Effect is "turned on" once the Ghost is in your Photo Album. Don't overlook your Ghosts' red text!

IMPORTANT: If you fail to defeat any Ghost during the 2. Fight phase, your turn is changed: you must choose to either 3. Move or 4. Play, not both.

 

Move 1 Location.
You move one space at a time. You must move each turn, unless you failed a Ghost fight earlier in this turn and chose to Play a card instead.

If at an Exterior Location, you may move to any adjacent Exterior Location card. You may not move diagonally. If the Location is facedown, flip it over to show that you have explored that Location.

On your first turn of the game, move from your Camera Obscura to any peripheral Exterior Location card.

If you are standing on an Exterior Location house card, you may opt to use your movement to enter the house. To do this, declare that you are entering the house and then deal yourself the top X cards from the Interior Location deck, where X equals the number of rectangles shown at the bottom of the house card. This forms the path you will take through the house; place your movement token on the first Interior Location card in your path, going from left to right.

While inside, you may move in either direction. At either end of the path - the first Interior Location or the last Interior Location, you may use your movement to return to the proper house card on the Exterior Map.

The houses are differentiated by the number of Exterior Location cards they require, so it is easy to remember which house you originally entered. Kureha Shrine is one card, Osaka House is two cards and Kurosawa House is four cards. (The only exceptions are the "twin" houses of Tachibana House and Kiryu House. They are both three card houses... but they are secretly connected, so you may enter via Kiryu House but choose to exit to the Tachibana House Exterior Location card.) Once you leave your path, the Interior Location cards and any remaining Ghosts inside the house are placed in the proper discard piles.

Note that each player deals off a fresh assortment of Interior Locations every time he or she enters a house, so all players will experience a different path every time.

Kureha Shrine is the only house that restricts entry. You must have achieved a threshold number of Album Points to go inside the Shrine, because that is where the Boss Ghost waits! In a two-player game, you need 9 Album Points. You need 7 points in a three-player game and 6 for a four-player game.

The following Location cards are adjacent to each other:
- Two Exterior Location cards that are positioned right beside each other in any direction except diagonally.
- Two Interior Location cards that are positioned right beside each other.
- The Exterior Location house card and the first card in the corresponding Interior Location path.
- The Exterior Location house card and the last card in the corresponding Interior Location path.
(Note that Exterior/Interior adjacency is only in respect to your Interior Location path. You may never move into another player's path.)

If there is a Ghost at your Location and you move away from that Location, a Ghost with the Chase characteristic will follow you to your new Location. A Bound Ghost will remain at the original Location. Ghosts are always considered to be attacking whoever's turn it is... so a Chase Ghost will follow you when you move on your turn even if an opponent is at that original Location as well.

If, through a card like "Quick Escape," a player is moved when it is not his or her turn, remember again that the Ghosts always concentrate on the player whose turn it is... so a Chase Ghost would not bother chasing someone who moves on somebody else's turn.

Chase Ghosts must obey their Exterior and Interior keywords. An Exterior Chase Ghost can not follow you inside a house to an Interior Location, and an Interior Chase Ghost can not follow you outside the house to an Exterior Location. Exterior/Interior Ghosts, however, may follow you anywhere.

When moving away from Locations that still hold Bound Ghosts, note the Filament Color of the Ghost. A Red Filament Ghost will remain at that Location. Blue Filament Ghosts vanish and must be placed in the discard pile, but only if there are no other players remaining at the Location.

 

Play 1 card.
You may only play 1 card from your hand each turn. "Playing" a card refers to the act of selecting a card in your private hand and introducing it to the public playing field.

However, there is a bonus for filling the map with Fatal Frame's collection of wayward spirits. If you play a Ghost card, you may then play a second card!

Some cards have abilities on them that you may use once they have been played to the table. These abilities do not count as your "play" for the turn; they are simply features you may use during your turn. For example, the Spirit Orb's ability to add 1 to a die roll.

You do not have to play a card if you choose not to. In that case, simply verbally "pass" your play option and continue to the end of your turn. Remember that if you failed a Ghost fight earlier in the turn, you must choose to move or play; you may not do both. Nevertheless, even if you choose to play rather than move, you may still opt to pass your play.

- Playing Ghosts
Ghosts may be played on yourself or on an opponent. Each Ghost has a legal play zone noted in the top left corner: Exterior, Interior or Exterior/Interior. Exterior Ghosts may only be played on players at Exterior Locations, etc. To play a Ghost, announce who the Ghost is coming after and place the Ghost card on that player's Location card. Ghosts may not be played to Locations that do not have a player at them.

Note that Ghosts are not fought as soon as they are played! You only fight Ghosts on the beginning of your turn, during your Fight phase. If you play a Ghost on yourself, you do not fight it until your next turn. If you play a Ghost on an opponent, he or she will not fight the Ghost until his or her next turn. The spirits of Fatal Frame tend to lurk in the shadows before they strike!

Always pay attention to a Ghost's Power, Effect and Album Value. Sometimes you may want to risk playing a difficult Ghost on yourself just to get the points, or you may want to avoid giving easy points to an opponent.

Once a Ghost is in play, it will attack whomever it sees... meaning, it does not remember who it was initially played against and it will attack any player at that Location. If you have a Ghost at your Location at the beginning of your turn, you must fight it, regardless of who first played the Ghost or who it was first played against. Likewise, a Chase Ghost at your Location will follow you when you move on your turn, even if another player is there. Ghosts always focus on the player whose turn it is... which may afford other players a chance to escape.

A Ghost may be played to Locations where there already are previously played Ghosts... as long as the new Ghost has a Ghost Power less than the Ghost Power of the lowest Ghost already there. This forms a Ghost stack. For example, Mike is at an Interior Location with the Folklorist (Ghost Power 4). On Joe's turn, Joe has a Twin's Doll (Ghost Power 4) and a Woman in Box (Ghost Power 3) in his hand. Joe may play the Woman in Box on Mike's Location, stacking the card on top of the Folklorist. He could not play the Twin's Doll because it has the same Power as the Folklorist. On Mike's next turn, he will have to fight the Woman in Box first because of its lower Power value, and then he may fight the Folklorist. If he fails the roll against the Woman in Box, he must stop his Fight phase and therefore miss a chance to capture the Folklorist.

Remember, if you play a Ghost card, you may choose to play a second card. You do not get to keep playing extra cards if you keep playing Ghosts, and you can't play a non-Ghost card first and then follow it up with a Ghost. The rule is: play 1 card, but if it is a Ghost card, you can play a second card.

- Playing Items
Item cards all have a unique list of Interior Locations on them. In order to play an Item, you must currently be at one of the listed Interior Locations. Additionally, the Location must be free of Ghosts. If there is a Ghost at your Location, you may not play an Item.

Item cards are played to the table so all players may see your current Album Point total. There is no limit to the number of Items you may have in play. Although Items have an Album Value, they are not considered to be "in" your Photo Album. Only captured Ghosts are in your Album.

- Playing Upgrades
Camera Upgrades are played to the table, near your Camera Obscura card. Upgrades include Spirit Orbs, Film and Functions. The Camera Obscura is limited to one Film card and two Function cards at a time, so if you want to play a different Film or Function, you must place the older Film or Function card in the discard pile. You may not replace an Upgrade card with an exactly identical Upgrade card. For example, you may not replace a 61-Film with a 61-Film... but you can replace a Save Function with a Blast Function. The Camera Obscura holds a maximum of three Spirit Orbs; you may not play additional Spirit Orbs to the table if you already have three of them in play.

Once an Upgrade is in play, you may use its ability whenever appropriate. Film will increase the number of dice you roll in Ghost combat, for as long as you have the Film. Spirit Orbs are used to add 1 to a die roll. Functions give you unique abilities that may be used at any time on your turn. To use a Function, pay the cost as stated on the card and resolve the effect. For example, the Track Function says discard 1 card to move to an adjacent Location. Functions may only be used once per turn, for as long as you have the Function in play. Functions may be used at any time on your turn, so plan your usage carefully for the fullest benefit!

- Playing Actions
Action cards each specifically state what they do and the conditions under which they must be played. Most simply say "play on your turn" but some have qualifying statements such as "on a ghost in play." Once you have determined that you may play the Action card, do what it says and then place the card in the discard pile.

Some Actions - like "Fatal Frame" - are played to the table. These cards are considered to be "attached" to the card they affect and are lost if the anchoring card is ever lost. Some Actions - like "Futile Odds" - are only temporarily played to the table. If a card has a temporary effect, leave it on the table until the effect is fully resolved.

 

Discard down to 5 cards in hand.
To end your turn, you must have no more than 5 cards in your hand. If you have more than 5 cards in your hand, discard cards until you are at 5.

Play then continues clockwise with the next player's turn. The game ends when one player defeats a Boss Ghost.


introduction card types setup your turn combat strategies

Normal Ghost Combat
Ghosts are fought by rolling dice and applying any special effects or bonuses. To defeat a Ghost, you must roll higher than its Ghost Power number on any single die. If there are multiple Ghosts at your Location, you always fight the one with the lowest Ghost Power first and continue in ascending numerical order.

The number of dice you roll every time you fight a Ghost is determined by your Camera Obscura and its Upgrades. The basic Camera Obscura card only allows one attack die. The Upgrade 14-Film adds one additional die, and the Upgrade 61-Film adds two additional dice. Rolling three dice against a Ghost is very powerful! That gives you three chances to roll higher than the Ghost's Power.

Since there are card abilities that will alter the final value of your roll, alway use the following priority order: first apply all automatic addition effects, then apply all automatic subtraction effects, lastly apply all player-assigned addition effects. Automatic effects come from cards that are already in play... such as the Ghost Remaining Twin or the Action Zero Shot. Player-assigned effects come from cards that require a player to activate them at the time of the roll... such as Spirit Orbs or the Blast Function.

For example, Joe is fighting a Broken Neck (Ghost Power 3). The Broken Neck has Futile Odds played on it, which subtracts 2 from all die rolls against it for a single turn. Joe has two Spirit Orbs in play. On his Fight phase, Joe rolls a 5 against the Broken Neck. The Futile Odds is an automatic subtraction effect since it comes from a card that is already in play. The Futile Odds brings the 5 down to a 3. Joe will have to use one of his Spirit Orbs - a player-assigned addition effect - to bring the roll up to a 4 to beat the Broken Neck.

A roll can never go lower than 1 or higher than 6. If an effect would make the die go higher than 6 or lower than 1, stop the effect at the 6 or the 1. For example, Rhonda has played Zero Shot (add two to all attack die rolls for a single turn) on the Bloody Kimono that is attacking her. If Rhonda rolls a 6, the Zero Shot can't add a further 2 to the 6, so the die stays a 6. If she rolls a 5, the Zero Shot pushes it to a 6. If that Bloody Kimono also has Futile Odds played on it, then Rhonda's rolled 6 would get dropped down to a 4 because subtraction is counted after addition: original roll 6, + 2 from Zero Shot = 6, - 2 from Futile Odds = 4.

Once the rolls have been finalized, you must resolve any Ghost Effects. Ghost Effects are typically some negative effect triggered by your die roll, such as "Discard a card if you fail" or "Lose an Upgrade if you roll an even number." "Failing" occurs when none of your final attack rolls are higher than the Ghost's Power. Effects that trigger on rolling an even or odd number only occur once, even if you roll multiple even or odd numbers. If an effect asks you to lose something you don't have, the effect is ignored. Remember the difference between "lose" and "discard": lose refers to cards on the table, discard refers to cards in your hand.

Only Effects shown in white text are applied during combat. (Red text Effects only matter when the Ghost is already in an Album.) After any Ghost Effects are resolved, then compare your final rolls to the Ghost Power to see if you defeat the Ghost.

If you defeat the Ghost, it goes into your Photo Album as described above. If there are additional Ghosts in the stack, continue your fight phase by rolling against the next Ghost in line.

If you fail to defeat the Ghost, you may not fight any more Ghosts on this Fight phase and you must choose to either Move or Play for this turn.

To review the attack sequence:

  1. Roll attack dice
  2. Apply all automatic addition
  3. Apply all automatic subtraction
  4. Apply all player-assigned addition
  5. Compare final rolls to Ghost Effect
  6. Compare final rolls to Ghost Power

Fighting a Boss Ghost
Boss Ghosts are similar to regular Ghosts, and any card that affects a Ghost also affects a Boss. Fighting a Boss does carry an additional challenge... plus the excitement of winning the game!

To encounter a Boss Ghost, you must first have the proper number of Album Points to enter Kureha Shrine. 9 for a two player game, 7 for three players and 6 for four players. Once you have that number (or higher), enter Kureha Shrine as you would enter any house. The Shrine only requires one Interior Location card. After you have moved to that Interior Location, select one of the four Boss Ghost cards at random. All four Bosses have the same strength Ghost Power, a 5.

Boss Ghosts have a life bar; you must beat their Power three times to win! Put three glass beads on the Boss card to keep track of the life meter.

Boss Ghosts also fight back with a Boss die. Roll the Boss die at the same time you roll your attack dice. The Boss die result may be changed by any player-assigned addition effects that do not specify "attack dice", such as Spirit Orbs.

Each Boss has a built-in automatic addition effect... a bonus you receive if you already have certain Ghosts in your Photo Album. For example, you add 2 to your attack rolls when fighting the Failed Kusabi if you have the Folklorist in your Album.

Follow the same attack order as you would for a normal Ghost. When you compare your rolls to the Boss's Ghost Power, you remove a glass bead for every final roll that beats the Power. So if you roll three 6's, you will beat any Boss in one turn!

If the Boss still has some life left after comparing the rolls to the Power, then you check the Boss die to see if you are hit back. If any of your final roll values match the final value on the Boss die, the Boss kicks you out of the Shrine! You must immediately return to the Exterior Location Kureha Shrine card, place the Interior Location in its discard pile, and return the Boss to the Boss Ghost pile. Of course, you may go inside Kureha Shrine again... but you must draw a new random Boss and start again with a full Boss life bar!

Remember, you may use player-assigned addition effects to change the final value of the Boss Die to avoid being kicked out!

If you do not defeat the Boss on any given turn - or if you are kicked out of the Shrine - note that, technically, you have failed to beat a Ghost. Therefore, you must choose to move or play on this turn, not both. If you choose to leave the Location, the Boss Ghost is removed and reset just as if you had been kicked out. You may want to leave if you are trying to locate a particular Boss Ghost because you meet its bonus requirements.

Other Ghosts may be stacked on the Boss Ghost, as per normal Ghost playing rules.

As soon as any player defeats a Boss Ghost by depleting its life meter, that player wins the game!

To review the Boss attack sequence:

  1. Roll attack dice and boss die
  2. Apply all automatic addition
  3. Apply all automatic subtraction
  4. Apply all player-assigned addition
  5. Compare final rolls to Ghost Effect
  6. Compare final rolls to Ghost Power
  7. Check for successful Boss attack


introduction card types setup your turn combat strategies

For a longer game, increase the number of points you need to enter the Shrine.

The Limbo Woman may cause you to skip your next turn. If you fall victim to this special effect, try to mark your player token so that you remember to skip your turn... this is particularly important in a 3 or 4 player game when you may completely forget that you are supposed to skip your turn.

Try to capture the rare Vanishing Ghosts (Ghosts with a Blue Filament). The Folklorist protects your Items, plus he helps you against the Failed Kusabi Boss Ghost. The Trapped Boy keeps you from discarding cards, which is a very helpful combo with other cards in the deck. The Remaining Twin adds 1 to all your attack die rolls, making her extremely valuable for combat. If you capture her, don't forget to add her attack bonus to your rolls! The Crimson Butterfly lets you draw a card every time you roll doubles on attack dice.

If you have Trapped Boy in your Album, you do not have to discard cards from your hand when told to by any other card or effect. This includes the Discard phase of your turn! It also includes any cards that ask you to discard a card in order to do something else... such as the Sense Function's "discard 1 card to draw 1 card." Itsuki is very helpful!

There are eight Items in the deck, four 4-pointers and four 3-pointers. Only one Ghost is potentially worth more points than either of those Items, and no Ghost is worth more than 2 points at face value. If the cards favor you, try to decide early in the game if you're going to meet your Album Point Value threshold primarily on Items or Ghosts.

There is only one of every Action card in the deck; no duplicates. So if you get a really good combat card, you may want to hold it for the Boss fight.

Pay attention to Ghost Effects. Some cheap Ghosts have great mean tricks on them, making them useful to stall opponents who are ahead of you. The Woman in Box's effect "lose 1 Upgrade if you roll an even number" will be an easy win for a player throwing three attack dice... but that is three times the chances to roll even and lose an Upgrade.

Just because you have the right amount of points to enter the Shrine doesn't mean you're prepared. Try to get some Film and Spirit Orbs in play - with backups in your hand - before you go after a Boss.

The above diagram shows a two player game in progress. Player 1 is on the Exterior Map (red cards) and has three Ghosts captured to his Photo Album (gray cards). Player 1 has a well-prepared Camera Obscura... one Camera cards and four Upgrade cards (brown cards). Player 2 is working through one of the houses, on a three-card Interior Location path (blue cards). Player 2's Camera only has one Upgrade card, and the Photo Album is full of Ghosts. Player 2 also has an Item in play (the gray card positioned near the Camera cards). At the top of the table is draw and discard piles for the main playdeck (gray cards) and draw and discard piles for the Interior Location deck (blue cards).

 

. .

Fatal Frame and all related elements copyright Tecmo Games.
Card game design and website copyright Joe Fourhman 2005. Bookmark www.fourhman.com/fatalframe
This page last updated: