Ghosts of Christmas

About the game

What is Ghosts of Christmas?

As winter blows in and ghosts start to appear, play "tricks" to the past, present, and future. As turns progress, your foes will play - out of order - to any of these time periods, and you will start to figure out who might "lead" each trick. Even though you can play to the tricks in any order, the tricks will resolve based on who was leading. Can you figure out who will be leading or manipulate the leader to set yourself up to win tricks? Points are awarded to whomever has correctly bid on the number of tricks they thought they'd win. If you’ve played as many hands as there are players, the game is now over, otherwise keep playing! Whoever has the highest score and collected the most wreaths wins the game! —description from publisher Time Palatrix is a trick-taking game played in four rounds of three tricks each. First the cards are dealt out, and players bid on how many tricks they think they will win. Each player has a mat with three numbered spaces for cards, and on their turn plays a card in one of those spaces. If that card is the first to be played in that number space, it sets the suit for that space. Other players must follow suit on that space, or play on a different space. Once all three tricks are complete, the winners are determined, the cards are cleared, and the next round begins. Points are awarded if you correctly bid on the number of tricks you won. —user summary

How it plays

Mechanics

On the shelf

Categories

Questions players ask

Questions to bring to BoardGameBrain

• How do setup and the first turn work in Ghosts of Christmas?
• When does scoring happen and what ends the game?
• How should the table resolve an unusual timing or rules interaction?