RULES PRESENTATION
To really experience this game, spend some time creating the perfect atmosphere. Turn the lights down, and the volume up, and welcome to the Other Side.
Gatekeeper: Shut up, and listen up.
The game begins with everybody taking it in turns to roll both dice, to determine who will become the Chosen One. Whoever rolls the highest wins. The Chosen One is a creature of destiny, for it alone gets to choose the shape of things to come, by assembling the provinces. The six sections of the game board lock together around the central hub; each one fits over a raised tab which forms one square of the track. The provinces can be assembled in any order.
Gatekeeper: Makes for a pretty pattern, doesn't it, maggots!
Once the board has been assembled, the Chosen One must take the six sets of Duel cards, and place them on the matching headstones in each Province.
Gatekeeper: I don't mean to interrupt, but eh.... point the six headstones out to this idiot for me!
The headstones are located in the centre of each Province.
Gatekeeper: I bet you were good at show-and-tell, eh?
The six playing pieces representing the Harbingers are placed on top of the Duel cards. The Chosen One must then take the six sets of coloured Keystones, and place them on the matching squares in each Province. The Character and Soul Ranger cards are arranged in a fan off to one side of the board, and the Fate cards shuffled and placed nearby. The Chosen One then takes the six Numb Skulls, shakes them, and then without looking at the pieces, gives one to each player.
Gatekeeper: I like them skulls - grinding the number in was almost as much fun as cleaning their insides out...!
Each skull is marked with a number from 1 to 6. You should place your own skull in the groove in the central hub marked with the same number. Remember your number. This groove is called Home, and you must start and finish the game from your own numbered space, rolling an exact number to return to it.
Once you have placed your skull in the ring, take the slab marked with your number. This slab is used to hold your character card, and any Keystones you collect.
Each player must then write their greatest fear on a slip of paper, roll it up, and give it to the Chosen One to place in the Well of Fears, the cup which fits inside the central hub. When all the fears have been collected, the lid is snapped shut, and the Well inserted in the hub.
Gatekeeper: That is where all the garbage goes, eh? And whatever you're afraid of... is probably rubbish!
The Chosen One then inserts the game tape, and presses Play.
Atmosfear is a race against time, and... the Gatekeeper. He rules this game. To beat him, you'll have to collect all six different coloured Keystones, and then return home to face your worst fear. But it gets worse – he is only going to give you sixty minutes to play - and he likes to play rough - he's the Gatekeeper! Whenever he appear you must -
Gatekeeper: STOP!
- whatever you were doing and listen everything he has to say. If you are midway through a move, you must freeze, and leave your playing piece where it is: your turn is null and void.
Everybody starts out as a Soul Ranger, a Numb Skull with a common aim: to become a Harbinger, one of the six creatures who presides over the Provinces on the other side.
Gatekeeper: Gevaudan, the Werewolf; Hellin, the Poltergeist; Khufu, the Mummy; Baron Samedi, the Zombie; Anne de Chantraine, the Witch; Elizabeth Bathory, the Vampire.
To become one of these characters, you must land exactly one of their six headstones.
When the tape begins, players take it in turns to roll one die, leaving home and striking out for the headstone of their choice. The Chosen One rolls first. You can race out to any headstone using the Ring Road to gain access to any area of the board. The Ring Road is the track which runs around the central hub. You can only move in one direction - you cannot move backwards and then forwards during your move. You do not have to move on your turn. On your journey to a headstone, you cannot collect any Keystones or activate any symbols on squares you might land on; ignore them all.
You only have ten minutes to reach the headstone of your choice, and become a Harbinger. If two or more players are racing to the same headstone, whoever arrives first wins, forcing the others to look for any unclaimed headstones.
The instant you land on a headstone, you become that Harbinger. Remove your Numb Skull from the board and place it in the groove behind your slab. From now on, you will be using your character's own playing piece. Take your character's card and place it in the slab with the Keystone index facing you. This index outlines all the powers of the Keystones you need to collect in order to win the game, and beat the Gatekeeper.
Gatekeeper: Fat chance!
Rejoin the game when your turn comes around by rolling one die, and moving off your headstone on your quest for Keystones.
But you only have ten minutes to become a Harbinger. If you fail, you will be drafted into the ranks of the Soul Rangers.
Gatekeeper: And that is nothing to be proud of, hey!
If more than half the players fail to become Harbingers by the ten minute mark, the game is forfeited. The game tape must be stopped, and the Gatekeeper declared the winner.
Gatekeeper: I'm waving you goodby-y-y-y-ye.
You can journey from one Province to another using any track except the Ring Road.
To win a Keystone you must land exactly on a square holding one. You can collect as many Keystones as you want. The more Keystones you collect, the harder it is for your opponents to win. But you will still need all six different coloured Keystones before you can return home. Each colour increases your power - but, if you lose a coloured Keystone, you also lose its power.
Keystones and their Powers
The Duel: Your own coloured Keystone gives you the power needed to duel with other Harbingers and Soul Rangers. When you collect this Keystone, you can collect your Duel cards from your headstone. Take your Duel cards and place them behind your slab. To duel with a Harbinger, you must land exactly on a lightning strike. The instant you land on this square, deal one of your cards face-down in front of the Harbinger you want to attack. Your opponent must counter-attack by dealing one of their cards down. Both cards are then turned over. The card with the highest number wins, unless you have played a 7, and your opponent has counter-attacked an Ace: an Ace beats a 7, but nothing else. Without looking, the winner picks one Keystone from the loser. Both cards, their powers spent, are then removed from the game.
Your own Keystone also gives you the power to dice-duel with any Soul Rangers. To duel a Ranger you must land exactly on a square with a skull, then roll one die. The Ranger you want to duel must counter-attack by rolling one die, and whoever rolls the highest picks a Keystone from the loser.
You can only duel an opponent once on the same square. To duel again, you must leave the square and return to it, or go in search of another.
Double Dice: If you collect this Keystone, you have the power to choose to roll one or two dice, doubling your speed.
Flight: If you have the Keystone providing the power of Flight, you can move from one Province to another without having to roll the dice. To fly from one Province to another, you must land exactly on a square with a compass symbol. The instant you land on this symbol, you have the choice to move to any other square with a compass symbol.
The Gates: Gates are introduced, naturally enough, by the Gatekeeper. You cannot pass through any gate unless you have a Keystone allowing you to do so. This Keystone also allows you to reposition that gate elsewhere on the board, in a place where it could block the passage of an opponent. If you do not possess the Keystone giving you the power to pass through a gate, you must wait, and try and roll your own number before proceeding past the obstacle.
The Black Hole: One square to be avoided at all costs, unless you have the Keystone that gives you the power to release yourself, is... the Black Hole. If you are unfortunate enough to stumble into a Black Hole, or worse, be banished to one by the Gatekeeper, you cannot play again until you are released by the Gatekeeper, or have the Keystone allowing you to free yourself. Even if you have this Keystone you must still move to the closest Black Hole, releasing yourself on your next turn.
Occupation: The sixth and final Keystone will give you the power to occupy or steal a square another opponent is on, severely handicapping them in the process. They might have to roll a 6 to play again, or be forced to return to their headstone. Each Harbinger can impose a different punishment, and these are listed in the Keystone index on the back of each Character card.
Fate: At regular intervals throughout the game, you may be asked to...
Gatekeeper: Take a Fate card, and read it out loud.
The instructions on these cards must be instantly obeyed. They can turn the game in an instant for better - but mostly for worse.
Last and least: the Soul Rangers - the simple numbskulls to failed to become Harbingers... who failed to make it to headstones in time. Found in the sewers or the dark side of the Provinces, they play by their own set of rules, preying on anybody foolhardy enough to venture into their underground waste.
If you are unfortunate enough to remain a Ranger, your first job will be to turn any unclaimed Provinces over to the Other Side, reposition any Keystones, and then take a Soul Ranger card. Any Harbinger caught in a Province that is turned over must return to their headstone. Soul Rangers play the game using their skulls, and can resume play from any square bearing this symbol [the skull] in any sewer.
Rangers cannot win keystones by landing on them. Instead, they must prey on Harbingers, lying in wait in the sewers, then chasing them down and trying to lay on the same square. If a Ranger lands on the same square occupied by any other opponent, it can steal a Keystone from that character. Soul Rangers have no morals, and even chase each other down!
Soul Rangers cannot be banished and instantly release themselves, even if sent to a Hole by the Gatekeeper. Fortunately, Soul Rangers are confined to the sewers, and cannot set foot in a Province unless the Gatekeeper releases them, or they have enough Keystones to release themselves. Soul Rangers must return to the sewers if a curfew is imposed, unless they have the keystone which frees them. In which case, they can ignore any curfew, and continue playing in the Provinces.
Soul Rangers can use the Ring Road at any time to gain access from one Province to another. Rangers cannot pass through gates, and must roll their number before proceeding through. Like Harbingers, Soul Rangers still need six different coloured Keystones to win, and must return home, roll a 6, and face their worst nightmare to beat the Gatekeeper.
Winning: Once you have collected all six different coloured Keystones, you can start to make your way home, leaving the Provinces and entering the Ring Road that leads to your own numbered groove. To make it home, you have to land exactly on your numbered groove. Once home, you must wait, and try and roll a 6. Rhe instant you roll a 6, request a opponent to remove the Well, shake out a fear and read it out loud. If it is not your fear, say "not" and press stop on the VCR, stopping the clock and beating the Gatekeeper. But, if it is your worst nightmare, the fear must be return to the Well, and you must return to your headstone and try again.
Gatekeeper: This is... pathetic to have to watch, truly pathetic! And I have seen enough!