GHOULASH is really more than just one game. There is one set of Basic Rules, but the game overall is a series of Scenarios, each with its own quirks, gimmicks and twists.

For instance, a scenario might limit a player's movement or have a player control two or more characters at once. One scenario might feature extra-powerful Ghouls, while another might offer Ghouls of limited strength.

Strategy tips

• When placing items, obstacles, etc., place the items first, then place obstacles and Ghouls around them. Look for ways to trap your opponent so there is no way that they can obtain an item then leave the area without encountering an obstacle or a Ghoul.

• With that in mind, if you're deep into a building, having passed several obstacles, when you encounter a valuable item, should you continue forward and risk more obstacles, or backtrack over familiar ground, even though you'll have to receive wounds or lose turns?

• Don't be too quick to use First-Aid Kits when you find them. Remember that you don't have to use a kit if you don't need it. You can leave it where it is and come back for it later (you just can't "take it with you"). Therefore, try to always keep at least one First-Aid Kit "unused," so you can come back and use it in an emergency.

Rules clarifications

• ANY encounter, whether it's with an item, obstacle or Ghoul, ends your turn. Even if it's a First-Aid Kit you've encountered previously, you still have to end your turn within the square with the kit.

• Whereas items, obstacles and Ghouls can be placed in the same squares, and whereas different types of obstacles can be placed in the same square, only ONE OF EACH can be placed in any one square. For instance, a square can contain a First-Aid Kit, a Hole and a Ghoul, or it can contain a hole and a debris zone, but it cannot contain two holes, two Ghouls, etc.

• Unless otherwise indicated in a scenario Briefing, items, obstacles and Ghouls can be placed in starting or exit squares. In the case of a starting square, the various encounters are resolved before the player begins (for instance, if the starting square contains a hole, the player loses his or her first turn!). In the case of an exit square, the encounters are resolved before the player can exit. If, while resolving encounters in an exit square, the player reaches 15 wounds on a Wound Meter, then the game is over and the player has lost.

If, however, the victory condition of a scenario involves finding an item and then taking it to an exit square, and the item is placed IN the exit square, then the game is over as soon as the player encounters the victory item, regardless of the presence of obstacles or Ghouls in the square (this follows the section on Timing in the official rules).

If a scenario involves transportation -- in other words, if a player encounters a square that causes him to end his turn and begin in another square on his next turn -- and there are items, obstacles or Ghouls in the destination square, the encounters are resolved at the beginning of the player's next turn, not the end of the previous turn.

Other notes

• The Scenario Charts are designed to be placed in clipboards for ease of play (the logo area is that deep for just that reason). To help keep the Obstacle Grid from your opponent's view, slide a separate sheet of paper (the rule sheet, perhaps) over the Scenario Chart in the clipboard.

Feedback

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Live the GHOULASH adventure

Explore more of the world in which GHOULASH is set by reading the GHOULASH Adventures.