GLOOM

Hey there! Welcome to Gloom, a game that’s all about misery. Grab 2 to 5 players, and let’s dive into the gloomy world of this unique card game. The objective? Create the most miserable family possible by the end of the game. How? Well, by playing cards that affect your characters’ scores and telling stories of woe until your unfortunate family members rest in eternal agony.

SETUP

First things first, it’s time to choose your family. Each player will have their own family deck. If you’re playing with 4 people, one family member will be discarded to make the game shorter. In a 5-player game, those misfits will be your final family.

All cards, except for the family and rule cards, will be shuffled together into a central pile. Each player will start with a hand of 5 cards.

So, here’s how it works: as we play Gloom, we’ll end up with a discard pile next to the draw pile. And if, by some chance, the draw pile is completely empty, we can reshuffle the discard pile to create a fresh new draw pile. Pretty neat, right?

What Are the Different Types of Cards and Their Elements?

In Gloom, we’ve got 4 card types and 4 types of card elements. Let me break it down for you:

Card Elements

Self-worth points are the values that will determine your score at the end of the game. You can find these values on the left side of the cards, in one to three places. When the game ends, we add up the visible self-worth values to calculate your score. Remember, though, only dead characters count towards your family value at the end of the game.

Story icons are small symbols that you’ll find in the top right corner of a card. They don’t have any direct impact, but they can activate certain abilities on character cards if the symbol is visible. To trigger the ability on a card, you need to have a matching symbol on the card text. Usually, it’s required for the symbol to be visible.

Did you know that flavor text may not affect the game directly, but it adds a touch of storytelling to your gameplay? It’s like an extra ingredient that spices things up!

Now let’s talk about the meat and potatoes of the game – the effects. There are four types of effects: immediate, response, continuous, and persistent.

Immediate effects are like one-time wonders. They happen right after a card is played and can only be triggered once. They’re kind of like shooting stars – beautiful and fleeting. Look for the right-facing arrow to spot them.

Response effects, on the other hand, are a bit more flexible. They allow you to play a card during another player’s turn. Pretty neat, right? These effects kick in when you play a card in response to a specific event or effect. Just follow the left-facing U-turn arrow and you’ll find them.

Now, let’s dig into the juicy goodness of continuous effects. These effects start as soon as you play a card and they stick around until they’re covered up by another card. They’re like roots that keep growing, even if you move them to a new character card. Just look for the circle with a left-facing arrow through the center.

Persistent effects are a little different from continuous effects. They keep working even if something covers up the text. You can tell if a card has a persistent effect because it will have a small symbol in the story icon section, and there will be a reminder right in the middle of the card. The effect only stops when you cover up the reminder. You can recognize a persistent effect by the two arrows making a circle.

KINDS OF CARDS

Character cards are like the family members you’ll be tormenting. They have a picture of the person in the middle of the card, and at the bottom, there’s a nameplate with their family symbol. These cards are your starting point and they don’t have any self-worth. Most of the cards you play will affect these characters in some way.

When it comes to playing the game, there are different types of cards that you need to understand. These cards have different effects on the characters and the gameplay. Let’s take a closer look:

Modifier cards are special cards that can change the points of character cards. They can also have events and various symbols on them. These cards can have positive or negative self-worth values and can be played on any living character, unless stated otherwise. That means you can even play them on other players’ characters!

Event cards are easy to recognize because they have a grey text box with red writing. These cards are used to have a temporary effect on the gameplay. Once you use them, they are discarded and can’t be used again.

Death cards are quite different from the other types. They have skulls in the center and a gray text box with black text. These cards are used to eliminate your family members from the game. It’s important to note that only dead characters count towards the final score. Death cards can usually only be played as your first card per turn. Additionally, you can only play death cards on characters who have negative self-worth.

GAMEPLAY

So, here’s how the game works. It all starts with the player who had the absolute worst day (or the player who happens to own the game). When it’s your turn, you have two actions that you can take, and after that, you need to draw back up to your hand size.

During your turn, you have a few options: you can play a card, discard from your hand, or simply pass. If you decide to play a card, it can be either a modifier or an event card, as long as it meets the requirements for the action you want to take. Once you play the card, you’ll need to resolve any effects it might have. Just keep in mind that death cards usually can only be played as your first action.

Now, let’s say you choose to discard. In that case, you have to get rid of your entire hand. It doesn’t matter whether you do this as your first or second action. But remember, you won’t draw any new cards until the end of your turn.

Finally, after you’ve completed your turn, you’ll draw back up to your hand size, which is usually 5 cards, unless a card in play changes that.

Did you know that in this game, there are certain cards that allow you to play for free? It’s pretty cool because you can play any card, even death cards, without using one of your actions.

One of the most exciting things about this game is the storytelling aspect. Whenever you play a card on a character, it’s important to add something to the story. You can use the effects and name of the card to influence how the story unfolds.

END OF GAME

The game will come to an end when a player manages to kill off all their family members. Once that happens, each player will calculate the visible self-worth of their dead family members. The player with the lowest score wins!

Let me introduce myself – I’m Amber (They/Them), an Austin writer and gaming connoisseur. I’m a self-proclaimed gaming master who also happens to adore dogs, plants, and D&D.

Let me introduce myself – I’m Amber (They/Them), an Austin writer and gaming connoisseur. I’m a self-proclaimed gaming master who also happens to adore dogs, plants, and D&D.