Each Character,Creation, and Surprisehas a Scare Number inthe upper left corner.This Scare Numberdetermines the Costwhich is needed tobring the card intoplay, as well as howmany Scare Points thecard is worth at theend of the game. Inaddition, a Character’sScare Number helps him activate the Locales hevisits in Halloweentown.

During her turn, a player performs the Functionof one Active Locale in her version of Halloween-town. The Functions of the various Locales allowplayers to draw cards, move Characters aroundHalloweentown, and add Pumpkin Points,which are used to pay for card costs. Each playerattempts to play as many Characters andCreations into her Halloweentown as she can oneach of her turns, while playing Surprises that

IntroductionThere are 12 days left until Christmas,

and Jack Skellington’s dreams of runningChristmas his way are finally coming to life.

The Nightmare Before Christmas Trading CardGame is an interactive, fast-playing card gamesuitable for any number of players. Each playermanages his or her own version of Halloween-town, complete with its own Characters straightout of Tim Burton’s film and its own set ofLocales (i.e., places in Halloweentown) for thoseCharacters to haunt, as well as Creations built bythe Characters and Surprises to keep the gamefull of action and suspense.

Each game lasts for 12 Rounds (the “12 Daysuntil Christmas”), during which time each playercreates the scariest version of Christmas he or shecan. The players do this by playing scaryCharacters into their own versions ofHalloweentown, and by using those Charactersto build terrifying Christmas Creations.

2 3

2

While the Mayor is in Town Square,you may spend 1 Movement to

move any number of youradjacent Characters there.

The MayorElected Official

Scare Number Card Title

Alias

Card Text

5

Card TypesThere are four different types of cards in thegame (Characters, Locales, Surprises, andCreations). What follows is a quick summary ofeach of the different card types.

LOCALES

Each player has herown Locale Deck,which consists of oneStarting Locale andfive other Locales.Each Round, a randomLocale is drawn fromeach player’s Locale Deck to add onto her versionof Halloweentown, which includes all of that player’s Locales. Characters are then playedbelow the individual Locales to help activate theLocales’ Functions. Each Locale has a ScareThreshold in the upper left corner which indi-cates how scary the Characters present there needto be in order to perform that Locale’s Function.

inhibit the progress of her opponents. At the endof the 12th Day, the player with the most ScarePoints in her Halloweentown wins the game!

What is a Trading Card Game?In a Trading Card Game (TCG), each playerlearns how to play the game by using a StarterDeck like the one that contained this Rulebook.Each player needs to have his or her ownStarter Deck in order to play. Players can latermodify their decks (and even create entirely newdecks) using cards acquired from Booster Packs.

Booster Packs contain a random assortment ofnew cards to add to a player’s collection. EachBooster Pack contains a mix of Common andUncommon Cards, as well as one Rare Card (andpossibly even a special “foil” Ultra-Rare Card).Rare Cards are the most difficult to obtain andare therefore the most valuable when tradingwith other players. Rare Cards aremarked with a special Rare CardSymbol (see right).

4

3

FUNCTION: Draw 1 Card and Add .33

Town Hall

Scare Threshold

Rare Card

76

by more than one version, and each differentversion of these Characters is distinguished by adifferent Alias, as well as by a different cardimage. However, each of these different versionsis considered to be the same Character.

CREATIONS

Unlike Characters, Creationsare played off to the side,away from a player’s Locales.Creations can be expensive tobuild (as indicated by theirrelatively high ScareNumbers), but their Cost isoften reduced by having par-ticular Characters present in aplayer’s Halloweentown.

Unlike Characters, the card text on Creations isused only when the Creations are played, andthereafter has no effect on gameplay. However,these Christmas Creations are easier to protectthan Characters, and they are worth a lot of ScarePoints at the end of the game.

CHARACTERS

Each player’s Main Deckconsists of a combination ofCharacters, Surprises, andCreations. Characters are themost important card typebecause they are needed toactivate Locales and alsoallow players to gainimportant advantages whenplaying certain Surprises andCreations.

Each Character has a Scare Number in the upperleft corner which indicates how much theCharacter costs (in Pumpkin Points), how scarythe Character is when activating Locales, andhow many Scare Points the Character is worth atthe end of the game.

Each Character also possesses an Alias (ornickname) beneath his or her Card Title. Someimportant Characters, such as Jack and Oogie, arerepresented in The Nightmare Before Christmas

2

During your turn, if Sally is at thesame Locale as Jack, you may discard

her from play to draw 3 cards.

SallyShy Creature

6

-3 Cost if Jack and Sallyare at the same Locale in

your Halloweentown.

Sandy Claws OutfitCreation

98

As a general rule, each player is only permitted toplay his cards (including his Surprises) during hisown turn. However, some Surprises specify thatthey are played during an opponent’s turn,usually in response to a specific situation.

Setting UpFor your first few games of The Nightmare BeforeChristmas TCG, each player will use a StarterDeck. After playing a few times with StarterDecks, players will be able to make new decksusing cards acquired from Booster Packs (seeDeck Construction on page 34). For now, eachplayer simply prepares his or her Starter Deckusing the following guidelines.

Each player selects one Starter Deck, whichincludes the following:

• One Locale Deck consisting of 6 Locales• One Main Deck consisting of 40 cards

(Characters, Surprises, Creations)• One Pumpkin Points Card

SURPRISES

Surprises are played during aplayer’s own turn to bringabout special circumstances orto help a player search forcertain cards in her deck.Most Surprises provide anoption of two differentabilities separated by theword “OR”. After paying theCost for a Surprise (indicatedby its Scare Number), the player chooses whichability she will activate when playing the card.

Most Surprises are discarded as soon as they areplayed, and therefore do not contribute toward aplayer’s Scare Points at the end of the game.However, some are placed directly on the table orStacked beneath particular cards and thereforeprovide their Scare Points at the end of the game.

At the end of each Day, players who have playedcertain Surprise Cards draw bonus cards toreplace the Surprises they have played duringthat Round (see Reimburse Surprises on page 31).

0

Search 6 JackOR

If Jack is in your Halloweentown,Search 6 1 Creation

My FantasiesSurprise

11

3. Prepare Pumpkin Points: Each player placeshis Pumpkin Points Card face up to the right ofhis individual playing area (see Player Set-upDiagram below). His Pumpkin Points Countershould be placed beside the card.

4. Place Starting Locales: Each player’s LocaleDeck includes one Starting Locale, indicated by

10

In addition, each player will need one PumpkinPoints Counter (such as a colored bead or coin)to keep track of her current points on herPumpkin Points Card.

Aside from each player’s Starter Deck, the follow-ing items are also needed for play (one set foreach 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-upproceeds in the following manner.

1. Determine Pumpkin King: Randomly chooseone player to be the game’s first Pumpkin King.This player receives the Pumpkin King Card andplaces the Pumpkin King Counter beside the card.

2. Place Day Counters: The 12 Day Counters areplaced in the center of the table. These countersindicate how many days are left until Christmas.

PlayerSet-Up Diagram

StartingLocale

MainDeck

MainDeck

MainDeck

MainDeck

DiscardPile

LocaleDeck

DRAW 1 CARD

MOVE 1 CARD

ADD

• Free for player with the least cards

• Free for player with the most Creations

• Free for player with the most Characters

DISCARD 1 CARD TO:

11

by all the players simultaneously. During thePlayer Phase, the players takes their individualPlayer Turns. In other words, each Roundincludes a Start Phase (performed by all theplayers at the same time), a Player Phase (whereeach player takes a separate Player Turn), and anEnd Phase (performed by all the players at thesame time). The Round Order Chart below detailsthe activities undertaken during each phase.

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the number zero and an asterisk (“0*”) in itsScare Threshold. Each player places his StartingLocale face down on the table in front of him.

5. Shuffle Locale Decks: Each player shuffles herremaining 5 Locales and places them in a facedown stack above her Pumpkin Points card.

6. Shuffle Main Decks: Each player shuffles his40-card Main Deck and allows the player to hisright to cut the deck. The Main Deck is thenplaced face down below the player’s PumpkinPoints card. Leave space for a separate DiscardPile to the right of the Main Deck. Whenever aplayer discards a card for any reason, the card isplaced face up in the Discard Pile to the right ofthe player’s Main Deck. Players do not drawtheir Starting Hands until after their StartingLocales are revealed (see page 14).

Round OrderEach Round of the game is a separate Day markedby a Start Phase, a Player Phase, and an EndPhase. The Start and End Phases are performed

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

15

During each subsequent Round, each playersimultaneously draws the top Locale from hisLocale deck and places it face up on the right endor left end of his row of Locales (his choice). Hemay not insert the Locale between any of his pre-viously placed Locales (see example below). Afterthe sixth Round of the game, all Locale decks willbe empty and so this step is skipped.

Pumpkin King Activity: The current PumpkinKing must choose one of the three activities listedon the Pumpkin King Card (and mark his choicewith the Pumpkin King Counter) and then decidewhether or not he wishes to perform the chosenactivity. Regardless of whether or not the

14

Start PhaseThe activities undertaken during the Start Phaseare only undertaken once per Round, not onceduring each player’s turn. When all the activitiesof the Start Phase are complete, then the PlayerPhase begins.

The activities of the Start Phase are performed inthe following order.

Remove Day Counter: At the beginning of theStart Phase, the current Pumpkin King (theplayer with the Pumpkin King Card) removesone Day Counter from the center of the table.

Place new Locale: During the first Round of thegame, the players do not draw new Locales fromtheir Locale decks. Instead, each player simulta-neously flips his Starting Locale face up anddraws his Starting Hand from the top of his MainDeck. The number of cards in each player’sStarting Hand is indicated on his Starting Locale.Players do not draw Starting Hands again duringlater Rounds.

3

FUNCTION: Draw 1 Card and Add .33

Town Hall

STARTING HAND: 7 Cards

0*

FUNCTION:Draw 2 Cards

FUNCTION:Add .

FUNCTION:Move 4 Cards22

Jack’s HouseNew Localemay be

placed here

New Localemay be

placed here

New Localecannot beplaced here

1716

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 herPumpkin Points Counter onto her PumpkinPoints Card, covering the Pumpkin marked withthe number “1”.

To move a Character, the player chooses one ofher Characters already placed below one of herLocales and moves that Character to an adjacentLocale. Note that Characters who require 2Movement to leave a particular Locale (such asOogie Boogie leaving his Lair) are not able to bemoved in this manner.

As indicated on the Pumpkin King Card, oneplayer can usually perform the chosen activity forfree (in other words, without discarding a card). Ifthere is a tie, then no one can perform the activityfor free. For example, if two players have no cards leftin their hands, then no one can Draw 1 Card for free.

Pumpkin King performs the chosen activity, theplayer to his left may now choose to perform thesame activity selected by the Pumpkin King, andso on clockwise around the table. Each playeronly has one opportunity to perform thePumpkin King’s chosen activity, and may onlyperform the activity once during a given Round.

The possible activities that the Pumpkin King canchoose 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 maydiscard 1 card from his hand to Add 1 Pumpkin Point.

• This activity is free for the player with the most Creations on the table.

1918

In the example at right, the Town Hall has aScare Threshold of 3.

Since the combinedScare Numbers ofthe Mayor and Mr.Hyde equal 3, theplayer may chooseto perform theTown Hall’sFunction.

Each Starting Locale has a ScareThreshold of “0*” (see left) and 3different Functions. Because theScare Threshold of a Starting Localeis “0”, a player may always use oneof the Locale’s three Functions, even

if he has no Characters there. Starting Localesgive players the opportunity to perform oneFunction during each Round of the game, even ifthey have no Characters in play.

Strategy Tip: The Pumpkin King should try tochoose the activity that will benefit himself themost and his opponents the least.

Player Turn PhaseDuring the Player Turn Phase, each player inTurn Order (starting with the current PumpkinKing and continuing clockwise around the table)gets to perform one Player Turn. During his turn,a player chooses one Active Locale and performsone Function listed on that Locale. The playermay also play as many cards as he likes duringhis turn, as long as he pays the Cost for each cardby removing the appropriate amount of PumpkinPoints from his Pumpkin Points Card.

Perform 1 Function (Active Locale): During histurn, a player performs one Function (and onlyone Function) listed on one of his Active Locales. A Locale is considered Active if the combinedScare Numbers of the Characters at that Localeare equal to or greater than the Locale’s ScareThreshold (the number in the Locale’s upper leftcorner).

3

FUNCTION: Draw 1 Card and Add .33

Town Hall

2

While the Mayor is in Town Square,you may spend 1 Movement to

move any number of youradjacent Characters there.

The MayorElected Official 1

During your turn, you may sendMr. Hyde into your hand and

then peek at an opponent’s hand.

Mr. HydeCovert Fellow

STARTING HAND: 7 Cards

0*

FUNCTION:Draw 2 Cards

FUNCTION:Add .

FUNCTION:Move 4 Cards22

Jack’s House

2120

2) Add Pumpkin Points: The player addsthe number of Pumpkin Points listedin the Pumpkin Symbol (see right).Players use Pumpkin Points through-out the game to pay for Card Costs. Torecord the addition (or removal) of PumpkinPoints during the game, the player slides thePumpkin Points counter up or down on thePumpkin Points card to reflect the number addedor removed. No player may ever possess morethan 6 Pumpkin Points at any given time.

3) Move Cards: The player may use eachMovement to shift one of his own Charactersfrom one Locale to an adjacent Locale in hisHalloweentown. The Characters do not have tobe moving to or from the Locale which is provid-ing the Movement. Players are not permitted tomove their opponents’ Characters unless specificcard text allows them to do so. Each shift of aCharacter from one Locale to the next costs asingle Movement. Players may choose to spendtheir Movement to move multiple Charactersduring their turn, or to move the same Charactermore than once (or any combination thereof).

Each of the three separate Functions on a StartingLocale is marked by the word “FUNCTION”.Conversely, regular Locales only provide oneFunction, although some of these Functions per-mit the player to perform multiple activities.

For example, the Function of Sally’s Room allows aplayer to Add 2 Pumpkin Points AND Move 3 Cards.

Although some Locales possess unusualFunctions, most of the activities allowed byFunctions fall into one of three categories:

1) Draw Cards: The player draws the specifiednumber of cards from the top of her Main Deckinto her hand. There is no limit to the number ofcards allowed in a player’s hand during her turn,although all players must discard down to 7cards during the End Phase. If a player’s MainDeck runs out of cards during her turn, then theplayer simply draws as many cards as she canuntil her deck is empty. During the End Phase,the player will be permitted to reshuffle herDiscard Pile to form a new Main Deck.

PumpkinSymbol

2322

can be performed during the same Player Turn.In other words, a player can normally performonly one Function during each of his turns.

Playing cards

Players are permitted to play any number of cardsfrom their hands during their own Player Turns,but not during their opponents’ turns (unless thecards’ text specifies otherwise). A player may playcards before and/or after performing theFunction on his chosen Locale, but not while he isin the midst of performing the Function on hischosen Locale. Playing a card before choosing aFunction may allow a player to activate a Localeshe 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 leftcorner) by removing a number of Pumpkin Pointsfrom her Pumpkin Points Card equal to the card’sScare Number. A player may not play a card ifthere are not enough Pumpkin Points remainingon her Pumpkin Points Card to pay for the card’sCost.

For example, Sally’s Room allows a player to “Move 3Cards.” The player performing this Function canchoose to move three different Characters once each, orthe same Character three times, or one Character twiceand another Character one time.

After choosing the Function of a Locale, a playeris never required to perform all of the activitiesprovided by that Function. For example, a playeractivating Sally’s Room could choose to move 1Character twice and no one else.

In order to perform a Function, the Locale mustbe Active when the Function is chosen. However,the player may finish performing the Functioneven if the Locale becomes no longer Active.

For example, if a player activates Sally’s Room anddecides to move Sally away from her Room (therebymaking Sally’s Room inactive), the player may stillspend the rest of the Movement to move a Characteragain that turn.

It is important to note that once a Locale’sFunction has been performed, no other Functions

2524

Playing Creations: Unlike Characters, Creationsare played off to the side and not below a play-er’s Locales. Although Creations are played off tothe side, they are still considered to be part of aplayer’s Halloweentown (and are therefore “in”that player’s Halloweentown for purposes ofcard text). Each player may only have one copyof each Creation in his Halloweentown, althougheach player is allowed to play the same Creationsthat are in her opponents’ Halloweentowns.

Playing Surprises: Unless indicated otherwise intheir card text, Surprises are immediately discard-ed after their abilities take effect. A single playercan therefore play multiple copies of the sameexact Surprise throughout the game, but cannotplay the same exact Surprise (i.e. with the sameCard Title) more than once during the sameRound. To help a player keep track of whichSurprises he has played during a given Round,the player temporarily discards his Surprises tothe right of his Discard Pile, piling them face upin such a way that the title of each Surpriseremains visible (see example on the next page).

Playing Characters: Characters are always playedbelow a Locale in a player’s own Halloweentown(see below). The Locale where the Character isplayed does not have to be the Locale whichprovided that turn’s Pumpkin Points.

There is no limit to the number of Characters thatcan be placed below the same Locale. You cannot,however, play a Character to a Locale if the sameCharacter (i.e., with the same Card Title) isalready in that Halloweentown, even at a differ-ent Locale in that Halloweentown. This restric-tion also prohibits playing different versions ofthe same Character in the same Halloweentown.However, each player is allowed to play the sameCharacters in his Halloweentown that are in hisopponents’ Halloweentowns.

2

FUNCTION: Add and Move 3 Cards22

Sally’s Room

STARTING HAND: 7 Cards

0*

FUNCTION:Draw 2 Cards

FUNCTION:Add .

FUNCTION:Move 4 Cards22

Jack’s House3

FUNCTION: Draw 1 Card and Add .33

Town Hall

2

While the Mayor is in Town Square,you may spend 1 Movement to

move any number of youradjacent Characters there.

The MayorElected Official 2

During your turn, if Sally is at thesame Locale as Jack, you may discard

her from play to draw 3 cards.

SallyShy Creature1

During your turn, you may sendMr. Hyde into your hand and

then peek at an opponent’s hand.

Mr. HydeCovert Fellow

2726

Surprises which indicate that they are placed onthe table as part of a player’s Halloweentownpossess card text which continues to affect thegame. Just as with other cards that remain inplay, a player may only have one copy of eachSurprise placed on the table as part of hisHalloweentown. These placed Surprises providetheir Scare Points in the same manner thatCharacters and Creations do when determiningthe winner at the end of the game.

Some Surprises say that theyare Stacked on a specificCharacter. These Surprises areplaced beneath the Characterin such a way that the CardTitle and Scare Number of theSurprise is still visible (seeright). The Scare Numberadds to the Character’s ownScare Number andcontributes toward thatCharacter’s ability to activateLocales. The extra Scare Points also contributetoward the player’s total at the end of the game.

This stack ofcards is calledthe SurpriseDiscard Pile.During theEnd Phase, theplayer willplace theseSurprise cardsonto his regu-lar DiscardPile and drawbonus cards toreplace them(see Reimburse Surprises on page 31).

Some Surprise cards indicate that they are placedon the table or Stacked on another card. Thesecards are not discarded immediately but insteadremain in play until another effect removes them.Should one of these Surprises be discarded, it isnot discarded onto the Surprise Discard Pile, butis instead placed onto the regular Discard Pile.Players are only reimbursed for Surprises whichwere discarded immediately after being played.

Example ofDiscarded Surprises

MainDeck

DiscardPile

1

Search 5 Finklestein, IgorOR

If Finklestein and Igor areat the same Locale inyour Halloweentown,

Draw 2 Cards

Master! The Plans!Surprise

2

Search 5 The “Corpse” FamilyOR

If Corpse Dad and Corpse Momare at the same Locale

in your Halloweentown, Search Discard Pile 1 Card

That’s our JobSurprise

1

Force an opponent to discard1 random card from his hand.

ORIf Finklestein is at the Laboratory in

your Halloweentown, peek at anopponent’s hand and

discard 1 card of your choice.

Mad GeniusSurprise

1

Search 6 OogieOR

Stack this card on your Oogie, andthen, if your Oogie is in his Lair,discard an opponent’s Characterwith a Scare Number of 1 or less.

The Best I CanSurprise

4

-1 Cost at Oogie’s Lair.Must spend 2 Movement

to Move Oogie out of his Lair.

Oogie BoogieMeanest Guy Around

2928

and discard the rest. The cards which are beingsearched are placed face up on the table for allplayers to see. If no copies of the specified cardare found, then all the cards which were drawnare simply discarded face up onto the player’sDiscard Pile.

Once a Search is begun, the specified number ofcards must be drawn from the Main Deck, even ifthe card being sought is the first or second cardflipped over. However, if a player’s Main Deckruns out of cards during a Search, then the playermay only Search the cards which were left in theMain Deck and ignore the rest of the Search(because the Main Deck is not replenished untilthe End Phase).

Most Search cards allow a player to add multiplecopies of the same Card Title(s) into her hand.For example, “Search 3 Jack, Sally” wouldallow a player to add up to 3 Characters (3 Jacks,3 Sallys, or any combination thereof) into herhand from a single Search. Similarly,“Search 6 Surprises” would allow a player toadd up to 6 Surprises into her hand.

Unlike Surprises placed on the table, a StackedSurprise usually provides a bonus ability whichis only triggered when the Surprise is played, butwhich no longer has any effect afterwards. Once aSurprise is Stacked beneath a Character, its cardtext is covered by that Character and no longeraffects the game.

Each Character may have multiple SurprisesStacked on him or her, although only one copy ofeach specific Surprise card can be played to thesame Halloweentown. If a Character is discarded,returned to its owner’s hand, or otherwiseremoved from play at any time during the game,any Surprises which were Stacked on thatCharacter are immediately discarded.

Searches: Many cards allow players to search fora specific card or set of cards. These cards aremarked by the term “Search” followed by thenumber 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 MainDeck, place any copies of Sally into your hand,

3130

End PhaseOnce each player has completed a Player Turn,the End Phase begins. The activities of the EndPhase are performed in the following order, andare performed simultaneously by all the players.

Empty Pumpkin Points: Each player removes thePumpkin Points Counter from his PumpkinPoints Card. Pumpkin Points do not accumulatefrom one Round to the next.

Reimburse Surprises: Each player gathers up hisSurprise Discard Pile (i.e., the Surprises that heplayed during that Round) and places them faceup in a neat stack on top of his regular DiscardPile. Each player may then draw a number ofcards from the top of his Main Deck equal to thenumber of Surprises that were in his SurpriseDiscard Pile.

Remove Hex Counters: All Hex Counters thathave been placed on Characters are now removed(see page 37 for more on Hex Counters).

Some cards, however, specify the number ofcards which can be found. For example,“Search 6 1 Creation” would allow the playerto draw 6 cards, choose 1 Creation found thereand add it into his hand, and discard the rest.“Search 6 1 Card” means that the playerdraws the top 6 cards from his Main Deck,chooses any 1 card, and discards the rest.

All relevant cards found during a Search must beadded to the respective player’s hand. Therefore,a player conducting a “Search 6 Jack, Sally”would be required to add all copies of JackSkellington and Sally which he found to his hand;he could not choose to add just 1 or 2 copies ifmore Jacks and Sallys were found.

If a card allows a player to choose one of twodifferent types of Searches separated by the word“OR”, the player must choose which type ofSearch before drawing cards from the top of hisdeck. A player may choose to Search for specificcards to add to his hand even if those cards arealready in his hand or in play in his Halloween-town.

3332

Winning the GameAt the end of the game, each player tallies up theScare Points in his or her Halloweentown byadding up the Scare Numbers on the followingcards:

1) Characters2) Creations3) Surprises placed on the table4) Surprises stacked on cards

Note that the Scare Thresholds on the players’ Localesare not added to each player’s Scare Points total.

After adding up the Scare Numbers on all of thecards in their respective Halloweentowns, theplayer with the most Scare Points wins the game!If there are any players tied for the most ScarePoints, then the tied player with the most ActiveLocales in her Halloweentown wins the game. Ifthere is still a tie, then the player (among thosestill tied) with the highest total Scare Thresholdson her Active Locales wins the game. If a tie stillremains, then those players share the victory.

Discard down to 7 cards: If any players havemore than 7 cards in their hands during the EndPhase, they must discard cards from their handuntil they only have 7 (their choice of cards).

Recycle empty Main Decks: If any players haveno cards remaining in their Main Decks, thoseplayers shuffle their Discard Piles and place themface down to form new Main Decks. The EndPhase is the only time when Main Decks arereplenished. Players with any cards remaining intheir Main Decks cannot recycle their DiscardPiles in this manner.

Rotate Pumpkin King: The current PumpkinKing passes the Pumpkin King Card andPumpkin King Counter to the player on his left.That player is the new Pumpkin King and willchoose the following Day’s Pumpkin KingActivity. Once the Pumpkin King Card rotates, ifthere are any Day Counters remaining in thecenter of the table, the next Round begins with anew Start Phase. If no Day Counters remainwhen the Pumpkin King rotates, then the gameends and each player tallies his or her ScarePoints to determine the winner (see below).

3534

the same Main Deck. Therefore, no more than 4 ofthe same Character can appear in the same MainDeck, even if the player uses multiple versions ofthat Character, since a Character’s Alias is notpart of his or her Card Title.

Pumpkin Points: Each player’s set of playingcards must include one Pumpkin Points Card andone Pumpkin Points Counter to keep track of herPumpkin Points during the game.

Pumpkin King: Each player’s cards shouldinclude one Pumpkin King Card and onePumpkin King Counter. Players determine whosePumpkin King Card to use before play begins.

Other RulesThe basic rules of The Nightmare BeforeChristmas TCG introduced so far are the onlyrules that players need to begin play using theirStarter Decks. Once players are ready to start con-structing their own decks, they should consultthe rules on the following pages as well.

A player is permitted to ask each of his oppo-nents’ current Scare Point totals once during eachof his Player Turns.

Deck ConstructionAfter playing a few games with their StarterDecks, players should feel free to alter their decks(and even construct new decks) with cards fromBooster 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 aScare Threshold of “0” and an asterisk symbol“*”), as well as 5 standard (non-starting) Locales.All 5 standard Locales must be distinct from oneanother (no duplicates).

Main Deck: Each Main Deck must include atleast 40 cards. The cards in a player’s Main Deckcan be any mix of Characters, Creations, andSurprises (but not Locales). No more than 4copies of any specific Card Title are permitted in

37

play, including her Characters, Locales, Creations, andSurprises that have been placed on the table orStacked beneath her Characters. These cards are allconsidered 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 aplayer’s Halloweentown. Also, cards that have beenplaced face down beneath a Locale (such as the ScaryBed or Pumpkin Patch) are not in play and are not con-sidered to be part of a player’s Halloweentown.

• Hex: Some Characters have card text which beginswith the word “HEX:”. These Characters possess textwhich is only usable once during the respective play-er’s turn. Whenever such a Character uses his cardtext, place a Hex Counter (such as a glass bead orcoin) on the Character as a reminder that theCharacter cannot use his card text again that turn. AllHex Counters are removed during the End Phase.Should a Character with a Hex Counter be discardedfrom play, his Hex Counter is simply removed. Ifanother copy of that Character is played during thesame turn, the Character can use his card text againbecause he no longer possesses a Hex Counter.

• Surprise Limit: Once a player’s Surprise DiscardPile has three Surprises in it, that player may nolonger play Surprises (of any type) for the remainder

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• Card Text vs. Rules: Whenever a card’s text seems tocontradict the Rulebook, the card is always correct.

• Character Card Text: Whenever a Character’s cardtext mentions the Character’s own name, then thatcard text is only referring to that specific Charactercard, not any other players’ Character cards with thesame name. For example, Sally’s text reads: “During yourturn, if Sally is at the same Locale as Jack, you may discardher from play to Draw 3 Cards.” Having this card in playdoes not allow you to discard an opponent’s Sally who maybe at the same Locale as the opponent’s Jack.

• Discard Piles: When discarding multiple cards, aplayer must discard them one at a time so that hisopponent can see each one of them. A player mayexamine 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 DiscardPile 1 Card” allows that player to choose one cardfrom his Discard Pile, reveal it to his opponents, andthen place it into his hand. A player may rearrange theorder of the cards in his own Discard Pile at any time.

• Halloweentown: There are several referencesthroughout the game to the cards “in a player’sHalloweentown.” A player’s Halloweentown consistsof all of the player’s cards that are on the table and in

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printed, unmodified Scare Number from the new ver-sion’s Scare Number. The result is the Cost to play thenew version of the Character.

For example, a player with Jack Skellington, The PumpkinKing (Scare Number 3) could discard him and pay 2Pumpkin Points to replace him with Jack Skellington,Master of Fright (Scare Number 5).

If the new version of the Character has the same ScareNumber as the old version, then the new version issimply played for free. A Character cannot be replacedby a version that has a lower Scare Number.

The new version of the Character must be played tothe same Locale as the previous version. AnySurprises which were Stacked on the previous versionautomatically transfer to the new version.

A player cannot discard one of his Characters in orderto play the same version of the existing Character; thenew Character must have a different Alias than theexisting Character in order to make use of this rule. Itis important to note that discarding a Character inorder to replace that Character with a new versiondoes not trigger any “discard effects” (such as the cardtext of the Devil or Mayor) since the Character himselfis still conceptually in play.

of his Player Turn. The player may, however, playdefensive Surprises such as Pull Yourself Together onother players’ turns for the remainder of the Round.

• “in play” and “from play”: The cards in aplayer’s Halloweentown are considered to be “inplay.” Therefore, if a Character’s card text requires thathe be discarded “from play,” then that Character mustbe discarded from your Halloweentown, not fromyour hand. Cards discarded “from play” are placedface up in your Discard Pile as normal.

• "and then" and "to": Some cards require that youaccomplish a particular task in order to achieve theireffects. If the first part of a card effect is followed bythe words "and then" or "to", then the second activitycannot be performed unless the first activity is success-ful. For example, Twilight Sun reads: "Return any player’sVampire to its owner’s hand, and then Draw 3 Cards." Inthis case, you cannot draw any cards unless you successful-ly return a Vampire to its owner’s hand.

• Replacing Characters: A player may choose to playa different version of an existing Character in hisHalloweentown (i.e., same Card Title but differentAlias) by discarding the current version and playingthe new version at a discounted Cost. To determinethe Cost of the new version, subtract the old version’s

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Wolfman’s Locale right after playing the Wolfman in orderto draw 2 cards). The player chooses to discard Behemothfrom the Wolfman’s Locale in order to draw 2 cards. Theplayer could not interrupt the effect of the Wolfman in orderto discard Behemoth for Behemoth’s own card effect (whichallows you to discard Behemoth in order to force your oppo-nents to discard a card from hand). Since Behemoth is beingdiscarded 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 inorder to use a second card effect unless the secondcard effect specifically says it can be used in responseto the first card effect.

Sample TurnBelow is an example of the first Day of a game of TheNightmare Before Christmas TCG played betweenManny and Chris. Manny was randomly determined to bethe game’s first Pumpkin King.

Manny begins the first Day by removing a DayCounter from the center of the table, and then bothManny and Chris reveal their Starting Locales. Mannyreveals Jack’s House and Chris reveals Oogie’s Lair. Bothdraw their Starting Hands as indicated on theirStarting Locales (7 cards for Manny, 5 cards for Chris).

• Timing: If more than one card effect triggers at thesame time, then the current player decides the order inwhich the effects take place. For example, Dr.Finklestein’s text reads: “While Finklestein is at theLaboratory, draw 1 card each time you play a Creation.” Ifyou play a Creation which has an immediate effect when itis played, you may choose whether to perform that effectbefore or after drawing the card for Dr. Finklestein.

However, players are always permitted to protectthemselves from a given card effect if they have a cardin hand or in play which specifically allows them todo so. For example, a player with Halloweentown Gates inplay (which allows a player to protect himself from theeffects of an opponent’s Surprise) can always choose to usethe Gates to protect himself during an opponent’s turn.

It is important to note that only cards whichspecifically say they can be used in response to a givensituation can interrupt the action of another card inthis manner. Cards that do not mention that they canbe played in response to a given situation cannot beplayed or used until after all the effects that weretriggered by the most recently played card have fullyresolved.

For example, a player has just played the Wolfman (whosecard text allows you to discard one of your Characters at the

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The End Phase now begins. Manny loses his remain-ing 1 PP (since PPs don’t carry over from one Roundto the next), and then places his Surprise Discard Pile(which only contains the Surprise Fetch) onto his regu-lar Discard Pile. He then draws one card to reimbursehimself for having played that Surprise. The PumpkinKing Card rotates and Chris is the new Pumpkin King.

CreditsGame 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, RickGreene, 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

Manny, as the Pumpkin King, must now choose aPumpkin King activity, and he chooses to “Add 1Pumpkin Point (PP).” Manny discards a card from hishand to get the PP; Chris declines. Manny moves hisPP 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 hiscounter to 3 on his PP Card (since he already had 1 PPas a result of the Pumpkin King activity). Manny thenspends 2 of his PPs to play Jack Skellington, ThePumpkin King to Jack’s House for 2 PPs (Jack has a ScareNumber of 3 but his card text indicates that you canplay 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 theCharacter Zero. Manny flips over the 6 cards anddoesn’t find any copies of Zero, so all the searchedcards go to the Discard Pile. The Fetch card is thenplaced face up in the temporary Surprise Discard Pileto the right of Manny’s regular Discard Pile. Mannythen ends his Player Turn with 1 PP left and Chrisbegins his Player Turn. Chris chooses to perform the“Draw 2 Cards” Function on Oogie’s Lair to bringhimself to 7 cards, and then ends his Player Turn.

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