THIS OLD SPOOKY HOUSE WILL BE A MUCH NEEDED FRESH START FOR OUR FAMILY I CAN’T BELIEVE IT WAS LISTED FOR SO CHEAP SURELY IT WILL BRING US CLOSER TOGETHER AND WE WILL REGRET ABSOLUTELY NOTHING ABOUT THIS LIFE-ALTERING DECISION

ABOUT

This is a game. You are already playing. It is a haunted house game where each turn a new family moves into the old house, is haunted by the previous occupants, and ultimately joins their ranks to haunt the next owners.

It is a solo journaling adventure horror game designed specifically for solo succession play.

SAFETY

This is a horror game. It is designed to evoke strong feeling including creeping horror, acute terror, isolation, and dissociation.

So be careful. After each hand, or after each phase at the very least, check in with yourself and see how you’re doing. Check for elevated heart rate, agitation, breathing quickly. And then take a break.

GETTING STARTED

You will need:

• This book so you can refer to its rules and tables.

• A standard deck of 52 playing cards. Or a browser that can navigate to https://deck.of.cards/

• A journal, paper or digital, or some other a way to keep notes such as dictating to a scribe or notetaker.

• And a pen or other favorite writing utensil. If you don’t have a favorite writing utensil then use your least favorite.

• Time and space to read and think and write and feel.

OVERVIEW

This game is like your favorite 7-layer dip: it’s got layers!

The game consists of turns. One turn is a complete playthrough during which a family will move into the house, have experiences, and ultimately succumb to the haunting. Subsequent turns tell the story of other families encountering the house.

A turn is made up four distinct phases: the move in, the haunting, entrapment, and the finale.

Each phase plays out via a number of hands. Each hand starts with a series of experiences, which are assigned to memories. The hand ends with all of the characters involved having reactions. And finally, the tension will either escalate or deescalate based on their reactions and convictions.

When all of the hands in a phase has been played, then it’s time to move on to the next phase.

When all of the phases in a turn have been played, then that turn is over. You can start a new turn, Or if you are playing the succession rules, you can pass the game on to the next player.

HOW TO PLAY

Sound fun? Here’s how to play!

1. FAMILY: At the start of each turn, create a new family

2. PHASES: Separate your deck of cards into four suits. Shuffle each suit separately, and keep them separated. There is one suit for each distinct phase of play: first clubs, then diamonds and hearts, and finally spades.

3. OVERTONE: At the start of each phase, draw a card to establish the Overtone.

   Hint: when drawing for tone or making other auxiliary or supplemental draws, draw from a suit / phase pile that is currently not being used so that you don’t deplete your current hand of experiences.

4. UNDERTONE: Draw a card to establish the undertone. This marks the start of a new hand.

5. EXPERIENCES: Deal c6 cards facedown into a single hand. Turn the cards in hand face up one at a time, looking each one up on the Experiences Table. Resolve them one at a time, or consider them together all at once.

6. JOURNAL: Pause to consider your experiences and make a note in your journal. Add your experiences to your memories if you can.

7. REACTIONS: Decide or randomly choose which family member(s) and haunt(s) are involved in, or most effected by, the experiences from this hand. Have each of them react and then add up all of their conviction together. If the total is greater than zero, a terrible haunting manifests: things get complicated and the tension gets worse. If it is zero or less, then things let up. Some of the tension resolves.

8. CONTINUE: Repeat until you have finished the clubs phase. Continue with the diamonds, hearts, and spades phases. Whenever you turn over the King of spades, your family immediately succumbs to the house. Add them family to the Ledger so they can haunt the next family.

9. FADING: Erode the memories of the existing haunts in the Ledger.

10. REPEAT

TONE

Look, this is a haunted house story. It’s always going to be kind of dark and spooky. But the tone is more nuanced than that, and it changes over time. A shift in tone marks shift between scenes, and gives each one its own specific flavor of spookiness.

There are two times you will establish tone during play:

1. At the start of each phase, draw one card to establish the Overtone. Allow this overtone to color your experiences and inform the overall mood throughout all phases of play.

2. At the start of each hand, draw an Undertone. If the overtone is the big picture feeling, the untertone is a lens that focuses on this particular moment, these few experiences.

RANDOM NUMBERS

Playing cards can be used with little to no effort to simulate rolling four-sided, six-sided, and ten-sided dice.

That said, it is even less effort to use dice if you have them around. So, optional rule: you can use dice if you want to.

But the default rules are to use cards. So here’s how to do that!

A NOTATION FOR RANDOM NUMBERS USING CARDS

But first:

The phrase “Draw on the ‘Random Number Between 1 And 6’ table” or even “draw a number between 1 and 6” can grow to be tedious and verbose. Let’s develop a convenient shorthand.

To roll a six-sided die is to “roll d6.” So let’s say that to draw a random number between 1 and 6 is to “draw c6.” Where d = dice, c = card.

Let’s use this notation from now on. When you see “draw c6” now you’ll now what that means. And if you see “draw 2c6” you’ll know that means to draw twice on the ‘Random Number Between 1 And 6’ table, and so on.

NUMBERS BETWEEN 1 AND 4

You can use cards to simulate a four-sided die to get a random number between 1 and 4.

NUMBERS BETWEEN 1 AND 6

This one is the most complicated because it requires a little math (dividing and rounding). But it’s not that bad and you’ll get the hang of it once you do it a few times. You got this.

To use cards instead of a six-sided die, divide a card’s value by 2 rounding down. Ignore aces.

NUMBERS BETWEEN 1 AND 10

Getting a random number between 1 and 10 is simple. Draw a card and look at its value. A = 1, 2 = 2 … 9 = 9, 10 = 10. Ignore jacks, queens, and kings and draw again.

CREATE A FAMILY

1. Draw an era for this haunting. The house is present in the past, present, and future simultaneously. Just like you are. Make up a location for the house that is interesting to you. You can be familiar with it or not. What does the house look like in this time? What do the neighbors think of it? What do the neighborhood children call it?

2. Family size should be a couple humans. Around 1 - 3. Give them some names, ages, pronouns, etc. Why did they move here? What new start are they looking forward to? What are they leaving behind?

3. Make a Reaction Wheel for each family member.

REACTIONS

Both occupants and haunts are nuanced and unpredictable people capable of a variety of reactions.

1. Draw on the Reactions table

2. Draw c6 to determine the reaction Conviction:

   1. -3
   2. -2
   3. -1
   4. +1
   5. +2
   6. +3

3. Draw c6 to determine the Reaction Likelihood: 1 - 6.

4. Fill in a number of segments on the character’s reaction track equal to the Reaction Likelihood. Label it with the Reaction and Conviction.

Example: here is a blank reaction wheel:

Let’s fill it out.

I start by drawing 3 cards, 1 for Reaction, 1 for Conviction, and one for Likelihood.

I drew 10 CLUBS, 9 HEARTS, and Q CLUBS. That’s “Manipulative +1” and 6. So I’ll fill in 6 segments and label it, and will keep drawing until all 10 segments are filled.

Next hand is 6 CLUBS, A CLUBS, and 6 DIAMONDS. That’s “Jealous -3, 3” So I’ll fill in the next 3 segments with “Jealous -3”.

Only 1 segment left. It doesn’t really matter what my Conviction is; this next hand will complete the track.

Q DIAMONDS, 9 CLUBS, A DIAMONDS = “Friendly +1” … and we normally would need to redraw the Ace. But again, there’s only one segment left, so it doesn’t matter.

Now we have a complete Reaction Track! From now on, When you are uncertain how a haunt or occupant would react to a situation, draw c10 on this chart, and then you’ll know!

EXPERIENCES

Optionally, you may draw c4 for Proximity for an experience.

MEMORIES

A memory is a container for experiences, a way to periodically summarize a character’s experiences in the house. The character will carry their memories with them into the afterlife when they become a haunt, at which point their memories will slowly erode until they eventually lose touch and forget what brought them here.

A character has four memory slots.

Each memory can hold up to four experiences.

You can add experiences to memory slots in any order, grouping them thematically, crossing out experiences and adding new ones, etc. Memories change over time after all.

When a memory is complete, when it holds four experiences and seems stable, write a short line summarizing it.

For haunts, memories erode at the end of each turn. For each haunt draw c6. On a six, cross out one extant experience, or one empty memory.

What does it mean when you can no longer remember any experiences that make up a memory? What happens to a haunt who longer has any memories?

APPENDIX: LIST OF TABLES

• PHASES OF PLAY
• TONE
• RANDOM NUMBER BETWEEN 1 AND 4
• RANDOM NUMBER BETWEEN 1 AND 6
• ERA
• FAMILY SIZE
• NAMES
• REACTIONS
• EXPERIENCES
• PROXIMITY
• SUIT MEANINGS
• CARD MEANINGS

APPENDIX: GLOSSARY

Conviction:

A number between -3 and +3 that describes how strong a reaction is. When added together with all other convictions at the end of a hand, determines whether the scene ends with escalation or deescalation.

Experience:

A single thing that happens during a single scene. Corresponds to a single draw during a game phase. Usually happens in groups of experiences called hands.

Hand:

One scene. A single deal of 1 - 6 experiences. Hands are dealt repeatedly until the current phase is over.

Haunt:

A ghostly resident of the house. A shade of a former occupant made up of fading memories and strong reactions.

Likelihood

A number between 1 and 6 associated with a reaction that is both how many segments of a reaction wheel a reaction occupies, and also the percent chance that a character reacts that way during a hand.

Memory:

Comprised of up to four experiences. Memories are built up during an occupant’s time in the house, and then slowly decay over time after they become haunts.

Phase:

One of four periods of play comprised of a number of hands

Reaction:

A reaction or temperament, but also its conviction and likelihood.

Reaction wheel

A ten-section clock, wheel, or track that tracks the likelihood and strength (conviction) of a character’s possible reaction to a scene.

Succession

A style of play where the game is played using the solo rules, but also passed each turn from player to player in succession. Hence the name.

Tone:

Bright vs Dark. Each phase has an overtone, and each hand has an undertone. Together, overtone and undertone describe the overall vibe or mood of a scene.

Turn:

One complete playthrough of all four phases. A complete narrative experience of a family moving in, being haunted, and succumbing to the house. During succession play, the end of a turn is when the game is passed to the next player.

APPENDIX: PLAYSHEET

TURN

• Era:

• Overtone:

• House description:

FAMILY

• What are you leaving behind?

• What fresh start are you looking forward to?

CHARACTER

1. Name/Age:

2. Description:

Memories:

1. Summary:

   1. Experience:
   2. Experience:
   3. Experience:
   4. Experience:

2. Summary:

   1. Experience:
   2. Experience:
   3. Experience:
   4. Experience:

3. Summary:

   1. Experience:
   2. Experience:
   3. Experience:
   4. Experience:

4. Summary:

   1. Experience:
   2. Experience:
   3. Experience:
   4. Experience:

HAND:

• Undertone:

• Hand:

• Description:

• Reactions:

• Outcome:

APPENDIX: MAP OF THE HOUSE

APPENDIX: CARD MEANINGS

Additional meaning of cards inspired by tarot and numerology. If you are ever looking for a little extra inspiration, then draw a card and consider its meaning based on your own intuition, or based on the tables here.

This is a hierarchical order from the tarot based on social clout and social status: clubs represent artisans and laborers, and are the lowest rank; diamonds are the merchant class; hearts the clergy; and spades, the military and nobility, rule the suits. This is also, come to find out, the same order used for contract bridge.

An alternate order based on the tarot symbolizes the manifestation of the spiritual (clubs/wands) to the physical (diamonds/pentacles), through emotion (hearts/cups), and intellect (spades/swords). The classical elements associated with these realms are fire (clubs), water (hearts), air (spades), and earth (diamonds). Using this sequence, low to high (diamonds, spades, hearts, clubs), to evoke the sublimation of the physical to the spiritual is certainly appropriate for this game as you guide your families from their earthen forms to their new ghostly ones.

APPENDIX: EXPLORING THE HIDDEN DEPTHS OF THE BASEMENT

This is the exploration and mapping minigame.

You will need:

• A deck of cards

DO NOT GO INTO THE BASEMENT!

But sometimes you might have to go into the basement. Either of your own volition and choosing, or because a card instructed you to.

Deal out 24 cards and add the King of Spades so that you now have 25 cards. The King of Spades represents your GOAL, your reason for entering the basement. Shuffle your cards and deal them facedown into a staggered 5x5 grid

  ABCDEFGHIJ
1  o o o o o
2 o o o o o
3  o o o o o
4 o o o o o
5  o o o o o
6 o o o o o

Choose a card, e.g. A4, and flip it face up. This is the basement entrance. If/when you turn over a card of the same color and value, this is an exit to a deeper level of the basement. For example, If the basement entrance is the Five of Hearts, then the Five of Diamonds is an exit.

When entering a new room, turn that card over and look it up on the exploration table. Then roll 3d6 to determine the exits for that room/area.

     1
   .---.
 6 |   | 2
   |   |
 5 |   | 3
   '---'
     4

Doubles = A hallway, (10 x pips) feet long

Triples = No exit!

The layout of the basement is bewildering and disorienting. You will often find doors leading back into rooms where there was no door before.

Some rooms are not reachable by any door or hallway. Remove them from the grid.

Key:

• J, Q, K: something good, a small comfort or respite
• Black A - 10: nothing
• Red A - 10: something bad

APPENDIX: NO CARDS NO PROBLEM

Featuring patent pending FINGER JAB technology! All you gotta do is close your eyes and jab your finger a few times at this table or bounce the eraser of your pencil on it a few times or wave your pen around over head a few times and then let it fall on the page. There! Now you have a random card.

APPENDIX: CREDIT AND INSPIRATION

Stuff I have been reading, watching, playing, thinking about while making this

Haunted Houses

American Horror Story Murder House

House of Leaves

Card and Dice Mechanics

Alone Among The Stars: https://noroadhome.itch.io/alone-among-the-stars

The Quiet Year: https://buriedwithoutceremony.itch.io/the-quiet-year

Swords Without Master: https://epidiah.itch.io/worlds-without-master-issue-3

No Cards No Problem: https://serialprizes.itch.io/no-cards-no-problem-0c0p

One Page Solo Engine: https://inflatablestudios.itch.io/one-page-solo-engine

Odd Folk: https://maxwellander.itch.io/oddfolk

Memories as Inventory

Thousand Year Old Vampire: https://timhutchings.itch.io/tyov

Reactions and Conviction

Cloud Empress Solo Rules: https://cloudempress.com/

Card based exploration

Cardtography: https://koboldpress.com/howling-tower-cardtography/

Carta SRD: https://peachgardengames.itch.io/carta-srd

APPENDIX: DEVLOG

2025-03-05

I started working on this game while out of town visiting family. I have none of my usual game design tools here. That is, no role-playing dice. What I do have at the old family house is almost a dozen decks of playing cards. Nobody here ever played/plays card games together. No gin rummy or hearts or spades. Not for the adults anyway. There were fits of slapjack and go fish and crazy 8s amongst the children. But none for the adults, not that I remember. But there are sometimes simultaneous marathon sessions of solitaire. This family likes to do things alone together.

Which is yet another way to achieve group play with solo rules. Been doing it here for generations, in the succession game of this old family house.

Anyway, given the absence of other things to play with, I have decided that this game will mostly use playing cards for randomness, oracles, resolution, etc.

2025-03-04

I saw a thread on discord somewhere about GROUP PLAY WITH SOLO RULES . I can’t find it any longer. But the idea took root. What intrigued me about it was not the idea actual collaborative group play that somehow uses solo rules, but a serial game of solo play using solo rules in which the world, the characters, the whole game is played with care and attention and then bundled up and handed off to the next player upon reaching some kind of landmark or checkpoint. A succession game.

This game came from that idea. The classic haunted house story is a succession game. It always starts with a naively hopeful family moving into the old house excited about a life chapter. And there is always a part where a confused ghosts thinks they still live there and cries out, Get out of my house! And the plucky young family finally escapes, or they don’t. And then a newer younger pluckier family moves in. Repeat ad nauseum.

And therein lies the beauty. The haunted house genre comes with the succession game already built in. There’s nothing else you have to do it whatsoever. When your family succumbs to the house (or successfully escapes it), then you wrap up any loose ends and pass the game. This is the succession game I want to play.