La_Bas_Game-Manual

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Là-Bas

A boardgameBy Kolja Aertgeerts

© Kolja Aertgeerts

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Arthur and Odilon are the two most notorious decadents of the artist’s district of 19th century Paris. Both men are poets and connoiseurs of the weird. When they aren’t perusing ancient bookshops they spend their days and nights drinking the hallucinogenic liquid known as Ab-sinthe in seedy Absinthe dens where they write, if the shaking of their hands allows it, their poetry and essays. And in the back rooms behind thick red curtains all the pleasures of the flesh can and will be explored. But all this empty pleasure is not enough.Bored with life and the limits of art and love, they have both turned to studying the Occult as well. The occasional half-hearted black mass and some bad dreams following the reading of forbidden books have convinced them that there might be something to the concept of evil after all. Both afraid and intrigued, the two sensitive souls have started to collect as many of these forbidden books as possible, but they only occasionaly dare to read in them. Because if one starts to believe in the Devil, belief in God may follow. Still, their reputation as damned poets has only grown as their flirtation with the Occult became known in the artistic circles of the town. But so has the boredom of a poet’s life in fin-de-siècle Paris. Something new must be found to excite their dulled senses. Sitting across each other at the narrow little table of the Absinthe den where they sometimes meet an idea dawns. They can’t remember who made the suggestion first, but they agree: a contest is what is needed! What can be more decadent than the holding of a contest to see who is the most decadent!

The news travels throughout the artist’s district of Paris: Arthur and Odilon, the infamous damned poets, will hold a contest and the winner will be known forever as the most decadent artist of Paris! Bets are made between pimps and prostitutes, between starving painters and their models, opium-dealers and rheumatic sculptors. Arthur and Odilon will visit as many Absinthe dens as possible, become intoxicated to the limits of human endurance and collect as many forbidden books as possible! A game will be played with darkness and damnation and only one winner will emerge!

But no one knows that a true Evil has been awakened by the willful flirtation with damnation of our heroes. And on this very night, this evil has finally made its way to our world, attracted by the intensity of the uproar in the Parisian nightlife. It has sensed the desire of our heroes, and it seeks to fulfill it. But it is not of this world, and it cannot see clearly yet where the damned walk. But the darker their path and the deeper their involvement with the Occult, the clearer their little, stumbling forms appear to the watching Eye of Nyarlathotep, messenger of the Outer Darkness. Arthur and Odilon should do well to avoid the dark places, and to leave the forbidden books in their places on the dusty shelves. But the chances that they will be found and damned are great. After all, it’s what they want.

There they stand, already drunk, reeling on their feet beneath the baleful glare of the moon. Back to back they stand, the damned poets, and all the ways of depravity lie in wait before them. The game begins.

Introduction

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Là-Bas is a boardgame for two players. The goal of the game is to achieve the highest score by collecting cards.

Players can choose to move their token in one of two distinctive ways during one turn. The players are both in danger of possession by an outside force, but can also try to manipulate this force to their own advantage.The outcome of a game depends on strategy as well as chance.

The game is played with one dice, three different tokens, two types of cards, two types of icons, one Eye-piece and of course the board. The board, all cards and icons are printable. The board should be printed on A3 format (or on 2 A4 sheets) and then glued to a piece of thick cardboard cut to the appropriate size. The cards should preferebly be printed on paper that is thick enough to prevent the verso side from being readable. The icons, including the Eye-piece should also be glued to a sheet of cardboard before cutting.

Overview

• Playersmustgather the icons on the board. When an icon is removed, a card is taken. • Whenaplayerremovesaniconfromtheboard,hetakesacardfromthecorrespondingdeck.Absinthe-Iconsgrant

anAbsinthe-Card,Book-IconsgrantaBook-Card.• Playershavethechoicebetweenoneoftwo forms of movement during any one turn: the Drunken Shuffle or the

Drunken Dash. The Drunken Shuffle gives players three movement points to use as they wish, the movement points of the Drunken Dash equal the amount thrown by the dice. The last step of a Drunken Dash must be taken perpendicular to the direction of the preceding movement.Possessedplayersmoveinonestraightlineperturn.

• PlayerscanuseTaxis for instantaneous travel between Taxi Points.• Thereare two types of cards to be collected: Absinthe-Cards and Book-Cards. Some Absinthe-Cards may have no

value or may contain a special property. Book-Cards have the highest value and can also be used strategically.• Players’ actions can trigger the Eye.PlayersbecomepossessedbyanentitycalledNyarlathotepwhenfoundby

theEye.Possessedplayersmoveinonestraightlineperturn.• Apossessedplayerloses all Book-Cards but keeps his Absinthe-Cards.• Landingonablackfield,removingaBook-IconfromabookshoporsacrificingaBook-Cardimmediately puts the

Eye in motion.IfnoplayerisfoundadicerollismadeforthenextpositiontheEyewilltake.• Ifthepossessedplayerisabletotag (not diagonally) the other player before the other player reaches a church, the

unpossessed players also loses all Book-Cards, but keeps his Absinthe-Cards. The possession ends and both players return to their starting position in the middle of the board.

• IfduringapossessiontheunpossessedplayerisalsofoundbytheEye,the game ends without a winner.• The game ends when all icons have been taken from the board, or when one player (non diagonally) tags the

other and demands to compare scores.

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Absinthe Book

The board and pieces at the start of a game.TheEye-pieceisplacedonthetopofZone3/4,asshown.Thecardsshouldbewellshuffledandplacedfacedownintwostacks,onestackofAbsinthe-CardsandoneofBook-Cards.TheAbsinthe-andBook-Iconsareplacedontheappropri-ateplaces:Absinthe-Icons( )areplacedontheAbsinthe-DensandBook-Icons( ) are placed on the Bookshops. The players’ tokens are shown on their starting positions. The third token waits outside the board until one of the players is discoverd by the Eye and becomes possessed.

The Board at the start of a game

The Board

Theboarddepictsadistrictof19thcenturyParis,consistingofnarrowcorridors,bookshopsandseedydrinkingdens.From the top of the board the stars look down on the city and in that outer dark an Eye watches the city, the Eye of an evil trans-dimensional entity attracted by the gloomy antics of our heroes. Thecorridorsaredemarcatedbywhitelines.Playerscannotmoveovertheselines.

Absinthe Livres

Places on the board:

Absinthe-Den

Bookshop

Absinthe-Iconsarefoundhere.Drunken Dashes can be ended here without taking all steps of the diceroll.LandingonanAbsinthe-Dengrantsonedicerollforacompulsory Drunken Dash. This feature remains after theAbsinthe-Iconhasbeenremovedandduringapos-session on the board. The player is not allowed to use this compulsory Dash to return to the Absinthe-Den he exitsduringthisturn.ReachinganotherAbsinthe-Dengrants another diceroll for antoher Dash. The player can go on spectacular binges in this fashion.

Book-Iconsarefoundhere.Drunken Dashes can be ended here without taking all steps of the diceroll.

Figure 1

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Black fieldWhite field

Exit/Entrance

Aharmlesswhitefield.

Players can move from one side of theboard to the other at these points.

LandingonablackfieldimmediatelyputstheEyeinmotion:adicerollismadefortherowthattheEyewillsearch.Ifnooneis found, another roll is made for the Zone were the Eye will abideinnext.

TAXI!

Church Taxi Stop

When one of the players has been possessed andis pursuing the other player the unpossessed player must reach a church to quickly confess his sins and temporarily convert to Catholicism, thereby ending the other player’s pursuit and possession.Playerscannotbe foundby theEyewhenstaying ina church.Drunken Dashes can be ended here without taking all steps of the diceroll.

CanbeusedforinstantneoustraveltoanyotherTaxiStop.Any unused movement points must still be used after travel.

Overview of the pieces, zones and rows at the start of a game

Places on the board:

Zone 1/2 Zone 3/4 Zone 5/6

Row 1

Row 2

Row 3

Row 4

Row 5

Row 6

ArthurandOdilonstartthegameatthepositionsshown.Nyarlathotep’stokenwaitsoutsidetheboard.TheEyewatchesoverthezonethetwoplayersstartin:Zone3/4.Playersdecidewhobeginsbythrowingthedice,theplayerwiththehighest count begins.

Arthur

Nyarlathotep

Odilon

Figure 2

The Eye-Piece

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The game as the Story

Our two heroes start in the middle of the board where they have arranged to meet. To gain points they will have to visit as many Absinthe-Dens and Bookshops as possible. In the Absinthe-Dens they will drink Absinthe and do their best to write a bit of decadent poetry, or to put some fatalistic observation into words.Whentheymeetupagainattheendofthecontest, our heroes will compare the fruits of their pens and the worth of the books they have managed to collect. These and more events are represented by the Absinthe- and Book-Cards that must be gathered.In the Bookshops, where the proprietors look wearily on the haggard faces of these late visitors, they ask for the most forbidden books and with hands shaking from the consequences of years of estheticised debauchery turn pages filled with unutterable rituals, sketches of half-glimpsed faces of demons and succubi, pentagrams of invocation and banishment that both excite and repulse their atrophied senses. Soon, they hope, these mysterious tomes will bring forth little squeals and giggles of delight and fear from both lady and gentlemen visitors to their attic studios. But first the contest must be won. Just one more glass of nar-cotic liquid here, a wink to that peacock-painted transvestite there, a glance at the blood red letters of the pages of Von Juntz’ Unaussprechlichen Kulten before venturing on into the dark, dark streets af Paris... But they do not now the forces that have been set in motion, the Eye that gloats in that which God has turned his back upon. The Demon Messenger Nyarlathotep smells their scent with blood-red nostrils that bloom from a formless and black visage in the godless vacuum of the outer dark. He treads the stars with feet of slime and he is on their trail...

The players will make their way around the board according to the movement rules.(Movementrulesareexplainedlater) Their activities on the board will often put the Eye at the top of the board in motion. This event is triggered when a player lands (willingly or not) on a black field (the poet thinks dark thoughts in the shadows of the alleyways), when a player takes a Book-Icon from the board (the poet dabbles in the awful mire of the occult), or when a player sacrifices a Book-Card in his possession (the poet reads a forbidden book, looking for inspiration perhaps but harvesting from those hoary pages only a tingling of the spine and the sense that somewhere something evil has been roused from slumber). The movements of the Eye are guided by the dice.WhentheEyeistriggered,adicerollismadefortherow the Eye will search. The Eye will search the row corresponding to the value of the roll. The Eye-piece is used as a visual aid to search the rows and zones with.IfnoplayerisfoundanewrollismadefortheZone the Eye will move to where it will wait until it is triggered again. A roll of 1 or 2 will move the Eye to zone 1/2, a roll of 3 or 4 will move the Eye to zone 3/4, a roll of 5 or 6 will move the Eye tozone5/6.AtthestartofthegametheEye-pieceisinzone3/4.(seefigure2forlocationofzonesandrows.)Ifaplayerisfoundatthecoördinatesobtainedfromthedicerolls(=ifheisstandingintheZonewheretheEyeiswaitingat the moment the Eye is triggered and he is in the row corresponding to the value of the diceroll made) he becomes possessed.(Forexample,tofindaplayersatthecoordinatesoftheirstartingpositions,theEyeshouldbeinzone3/4and the dice should roll a 3). A possessed player moves differently from a normal player. (Movementrulesareexplainedlater.)Ifbothplayersarefoundthegameendswithoutawinneranddarknessandinsanityprevail.

WhenaplayerisfoundbytheEyehe becomes possessed by Nyarlathotep.Nyarlathotepistheavataroftheevilforcesthatwatchandwaitoutsidenormaltimeandspaceforfoolishmortalstoopenthemselvesuptotheirinfluence.The search-ing motion of the Eye during the game symbolises this reaching of evil, etherical tendrils from the outer darkness into our reality. Our heroes are oblivious to the fact that their dedadent antics have made them prime material for possession by these forces in the form of Nyarlathotep, who needs a host to incarnate into when he descends upon the earth to punish desire with madness and the desire for madness with oblivion. And when Nyarlathotep takes possession of one of our heroes, the poor dabbler finally sees the grotesque un-face of evil, hears the unholy utterances of that which cannot be named, he becomes insane, throws away all the occult books that have helped to bring this awful fate upon him and begins the hunt for the remaining player so that he too may see the face of dark, implaccable and unnamable evil (and make him lose his books as well). Ifthepursuedplayercanreach a churchbeforehetooiscaughtinthecoldgraspofNyarlathotepandquicklyrepent,confess and convert to Catholicism, the possession ends. Amnesia embraces the released player, who wakes up in his starting position, a little more pale, a little more desperate and a little closer to the black pit of everlasting madness. He lost his books, but in his pocket he discovers the poems he has written and he remembers the contest. The recently converted playersensesthatthedangerhaspassedwhenheexitsthechurchandimmediatelyrevertstohisoldways.Our heroes continue their descent into darkest Paris.

The sceptical reader may find all this improbable, or even illogical. But who has ever looked into the face of stark, starving insantiy and found logic there? Hm?

The Game

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The backside of a basic Absinthe-Card.

The player found inspiration in the intoxication of the Absinthe and in the atmosphere of this wonderfully Absinthe-Den and managed to write some impressive lines.

This particular card has a value of 2.

The Syphilis-Card.ThiscardhasthespecialpropertyofgivingtheplayerSyphilis.Whenaplayerdrawsthiscard he must communicate the onset of this sickness to the other player.

While drinking and being drunk in this Absinthe-Den the player has (quite naturally) refused to resist tempation and has enga-ged in carnal pleasure with some perfumed harlot and has contracted from said harlot the scourge of the poet: the debilitating disease Syphilis! FromnowontheplayercanonlymoveusingtheDrunkenDash.HeisnotallowedtodotheDrunkenShuffleanymore.Allhisactions will therefore be unpredictable. Syphilis is incurable. His sickness will endure for the rest of the game.

The Blackout-Card.Thiscardhasthespecialpropertyofgivingtheplayerablackout.Whenaplayerdrawsthiscardhe must communicate his blackout to the other player (as if it’s not obvious.)

The player became so inebriated that he has blacked-out. BecausetheplayerhasblackedouthemaynotprofitfromtheextraDrunkenDasheveryAbsinthe-Dengrants.Histurnendsin this den.

The Bicycle-Card.This card has the special property of giving the player access to a bicycle. He can use this card once during one turn to move inonestraightlineofasmanyfieldsashewants,untilheencountersawall(thewhitelinesontheboard)oranotherplayer’stoken.Hethenhastotakeonefinalstep,perpendiculartothedirectionhewastraveling.Oneexception:whentheuseofthebicycleresultsincrashingintotheotherplayer,thiscountsastagginghim,andthefinalsidestepmustnotbetaken.Seethesectiononmovementrulesforanexample.EveryBicycle-Cardcanbeusedonlyonce.Whenthecardhasbeenusedit is removed from the current game.

When the player comes stumbling out of the Absinthe-Den he is delighted to discover a bicycle leaning against the wall. When he decides to put this two-wheeled contraption to good use it soon becomes apparent that only a frontal collision will be able to curb his over-enthousiasm for paddling.

BicyclescancomeinhandywhenbeingchasedbyNyarlathotep,whentryingtotagtheotherplayerforthefinalshowdown,orwhenyouwanttoreachavaluablecardbeforetheotherplayercan.Rememberthatthelaststepmustbesideways!

Buildingupascoreisdonebycollectingcards.TocollectcardsplayersmustreachAbsinthe-DensandBookshops.WhenlandingononeofthesefieldstheplayermusttaketheiconfromtheDenorBookshop.Whenaniconistaken,theplayertakes a card from the corresponding deck. Book-Cards always have a high value. Absinthe-Cards may have a value, aspecialpropertyornovalue.Absinthe-Cardswithavaluewillhaveashorttextonthebacktakenfromtheworksofinfamous decadent writers. The value (or lack thereof) of the collected cards may be kept hidden from the other player, butplayersmayalsoblufforshowofftheirfinds.Onlythe taking of the Blackout-Card or the Syphilis-Card must be communicated to the other player.

LandingonanAbsinthe-DenthatcontainsanAbsinthe-IconwillgrantaplayeranAbsinthe-Card(theAbsinthe-Iconisremoved from the board).TheAbsinthe-Cardsshouldbewellshuffledbeforebeingplacedfacedowninapileneartheboard(seefigure1).TherearemoreAbsinthe-CardsthanAbsinthe-Icons,allowingformorevariationinthegame.Absinthe-Cardswithavaluecanhave a value between 1 and 3.

“Chastity is the most unnatural of the sexual

perversions.”

— Remy de Gourmont

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Absinthe-Cards

A basic Absinthe-Card

Special Absinthe-Cards

Collecting cards

Playing the game

Syphilis!Due to certain activities in the Absinthe-den the player will suffer from incurable syphilis for the rest of the game. From now on, he can only move using

the Drunken Dash.

Blackout!The player has over-indulged.

His head is on the table. An empty bottle of Absinthe smiles wickedly at its victim. The mouth of a dragon-faced opium pipe whispers cruel lulabies. The player ends his turn here, without doing the compulsory dice roll or any

further movement.

Bicycle!The Player can use this card once to move in one straight line of any length until he hits a wall. At that point he falls from his bicycle, onto an adjoin-ing field perpendicular to the

direction he was going.

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The backside of a basic Book-Card.

Our heroes just love dabbling in occultism. Nothing is more satisfying to them than to hold an old, forbidden tome in their hands, to smell the old pages and to dream of powers and sights beyond human ken, except perhaps the awed look on the faces of those who notice the collection of grimoires and banned literature as it stand leering from the bookshelves in their attic studios.

This particular card has a value of 7.

The Divine Intervention-Card.ThiscardhasthespecialpropertyofgivingtheplayerthechancetowardofpossessionbyNyarlathotep.HemayusethiscardwhenfoundbytheEye.EveryDivineInterventioncardcanbeusedonlyonce.Whenthecardhasbeenuseditisremo-ved from the current game.

Even more disturbing than the total absence of meaning, except perhaps for the esthetic pleasure one may take in the myth of a universe presided over by demons as base as ourselves, is the idea of the reality of a God who cannot be understood. Sometimes, a player is saved from possession by an outside force. Thiscardcanbeusedstrategically.WhenaplayerpossessestheDivineInterventioncardhecanchoosetoactivatetheEyewithout the danger of being found.

The backside of a worthless Absinthe-Card.These cards have no value. The only thing they do is inform the player of the mood he is currently in.

The player stares into the dark. There is nothing there. The cold wind carries only hollow laughter from painted lips and the scents of a thousand perfumes that must conceal a thousand filthy sins. Sometimes not even the Devil is fun.

Eventhoughthesecardshavenovalue,theyarestillofsomeuse.Playerscanneverbesurehowmanyoftheotherplayer’sAbsinthe-Cards are actually worth anything if they are truly in the lead or not.

LandingonanBookshopthatcontainsanBook-IconwillgrantaplayeraBook-Card(theBook-Iconisremovedfromtheboard).TheBook-Cardsshouldbewellshuffledbeforebeingplacedfacedowninapileneartheboard(seefigure1).TherearemoreBook-CardsthanBook-Icons,allowingforamorevariationinthegame.Absinthe-Cardswithvaluecanhaveavalue between 1 and 3.

Besides their high value, the Book-Cards have one more propery which can come in very handy during the game. At any timeaplayermaysacrificeaBook-Card(theplayerdecidestoreadoneofhisforbiddenbooks,insteadofjustadmiringor showing them off. The evil powers of the outer are immediately roused by this deepening of the dabbling) to activate theEye.Thecardthususedisremovedfromthegame.IncontrasttothenormalactivationoftheEyethroughlandingonablackfieldortakingaBook-Icon,theEyewillonlysearchtherowsintheZonebelowanditwillreturntothatZoneand remain there (only one diceroll is made).InthisfashionaplayercanuseaBook-Cardto“fire”theEyeintoatheZonewheretheotherplayeris,increasingthechance that the other player becomes possessed, without any risk to himself.WhenaBook-Cardisusedinthisway,nootheractionmaybetakenbytheplayerduringthisturn.

Using a Book-Card strategically

Cards are unpredictable

Because the Absinthe-Cards and Book-Cards have unpredictable values and the player with the most cards is not neces-sarily the player with the highest score, tagging and chalenging a player in order to compare scores and end the game canberisky!

Book-Cards

A Book-Card

Divine intervention!The player can use this card once to ward of possession if he

is found by the Eye.

Depressed

The Necronomicon

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Basic MovementAs the goal of the game is to collect as many cards as possible, moving fast is important. But moving around can be dangerous. Landing on a black field immediately sets the Eye in motion!

Ourheroes’alcoholismisreflectedinthetwoformsofmovementavailabletoplayers:theDrunken Shuffle and the Drunken Dash. TheDunkenShufflerepresentstheslow,deliberatemovementaverydrunkpoetorpersonmaymakein order to keep his balance and to ensure that the right destination is reached. The Drunken Dash represents the over-confidentrushaverydrunkpoetorpersonwhooverestimateshiscapacityforself-controlmaymakewhenhewishestoreach some place quickly: he may move fast but there is a lot of unpredictable stumbling.EveryturntheplayerhasthechoicebetweenmovingusingeithertheDrunkenShuffleortheDrunkenDash.TheDrunken Shuffle is a safe and controllable way of moving, but it’s slow. The Drunken Dash is unpredictable, but gives a good chance of covering larger distancesduringaturnthantheDrunkenShuffle.Playersshouldannouncewhichform of movement they are going to use.

Playersmaymovein any direction they wishexecptdiagonally.Thereisnodiagonalmovementinthisgame.Back-tracking (taking a step back to the field you just vacated) is not allowed,butreturningtothefieldyoustartedfromis(oneexeception:a player may not return to the same Absinthe bar he vacates during the same turn - probably because of some gross form of misbehaviour on the premises). Twotokenscannotoccupythesamefield..

Players must move every turnexceptwhenaBook-Cardissacrificed.Thisactivitytakestheplaceofmovement(reading is hard when one is walking).

Playerscannotmoveacrossthewhitelinesrepresentingdilineatingthealleyways.Onlytaxiscanprovideaquickrouteacross the board.

LandinginanAbisnthe-DenalwaysforcestheplayertomakeanextraDrunkenDashduringthesameturn!MultipleDrunken Dashes during one turn are entirely possible in this fashion. This type of behaviour is called an Absinthe-Binge (our heroes, enticed by the spell of the green fairy, plunge onward into the night, moving from Absinthe-Den to Absinthe-Den until the fun suddenly ends somewhere in the street or facedown on a table with a blackout).

TheDrunkenShufflegivestheplayerfreeaccesstothree movement points i.e.: he may take one, two or three steps. UsingtheDrunkenShuffle,theplayercanavoidlandingonablackfieldandmakehiswayacrosstheboardinacontrolledway.Inpractice,takingonlytwooutofapossibletwostepswillgenerallybesafest.

The Drunken Shuffle

Examples of the Drunken Shuffle

2 steps of a possible three. The player moves from a white to a white field.

2 steps of a possible three. The player moves from a white to a white field.

3 steps of a possible three. The player moves from a black to a white field.

One step of a possible three. The player wil-lingly lands on ablackfield.

One step of a possible three. The player moves from a black to a white field.

Three steps out of a possi-ble three. The player willingly lands on a blackfield.

Twoexamplesof 3 steps out of a possible three.

Absinthe-Den

Absinthe-Den

Absinthe-Den

Absinthe-Den

Absinthe-Den

Absinthe-Den

Absinthe-Den

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The amount of movement points a player receives when he chooses to move with a Drunken Dash depends on a dice-throw. The amount thrown up by the dice is the amount of movement points available to the player during this turn.The main peculiarity of the Drunken Dash is that the last step must be taken perpendicularly to the previous one (the player stumbles to either the right or the left). All movement points rolled up by the dice must be used except when an Absinthe-Den a Bookshop or a c Church is reached before all points have been used. Also, if a Drunken Dash is used to reach and tag the other player (not diagonally), any movement points remaining after contact must not be used.IftheplayerreachesaBookshoporanAbsinthe-DenbeforeallhismovementpointshavebeenusedhemustendtheDrunkenDashtherewithoutusinghisremainingpoints,ifnay.Inthiswayhecanavoidendinguponablackfield.

RememberthatlandinginanAbsinthe-DenalwaysforcestheplayertomakeanextraDrunkenDashandthattakingaBook-IconwillalwaysrousetheEye!

Iftheplayerthrowsa1hemusttakeanormalstepinanydirectionhechooses.

The Drunken Dash

Examples of the Drunken Dash

The dice have rolled up 5 movement points.Noticethat the last step is taken perpen-dicularly to the previous one.

The dice have rolled up 5 movement points.Noticethat the last step is taken perpen-dicularly to the previous one.

TAXI

The dice have rolled up 6 move-ment points. Noticethatthelast perpen-dicular step is not taken because the player reaches the Absinthe-Den. (The player will have to make a new Drunken Dash from the Absinthe-Den)

Starting from the Absinth-Den, the player rolls a 3. He lands on a black field.TheEyewillbe set in motion.

Another option could have been this.

Inthiscase,witharoll of 3, the player unavoidably lands onablackfieldbuthe has the choice of which one.

Absinthe-Den

Twoexamplesof a Drunken Dash from a diceroll of 1.

TakingataxiusingaDrunkenDashwitha roll of 5.The final step is still takenperpendicularly to the direction of the previous step. Travel from one taxistop to another isinstantaneousanddoesnotcostanex-tra movement point.

Absinthe-Den

TAXI

Absinthe-Den

Absinthe-Den

Absinthe-Den

Absinthe-Den

Instanttravel

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Using the Eye-piece and becoming possessed by Nyarlathotep

Wheneveraplayerlandsonablacksquare,takesaBook-IconfromaBookshoporsacrificesaBook-Card,adicerollismadetodetermine which row the Eye will search.

A Zone consists of a space for the Eye-piece the 6 rows below, asshowninfigure3.TheEye-piececanbeusedasavisualaidfordeterminingifaplayerisfound.WhentheEyeistriggered,thedicerolldetermineswhichrowtheEye-Piecesearches:startingfrom its place at the top of the board it will move downward into theboard:arollof1takesittoRow1,arollof2toRow2,etc.Ifaplayer is in the Zone where the Eye-piece starts from and the Eye focussesontheRowheisstandinginheisfoundandpossessed.Ifbothplayersareinthatspacethegameendswithoutavictor.After the rows of a Zone have been searched, another diceroll is immediately made to determine the Zone the Eye will be in for the nextturn(exceptiftheEyewastriggeredbyaplayersacrificingaBookCard)ItisofcoursepossiblethattheEye-pieceremainsinthesamezoneduringseveralturns.Ifnooneisinthezonebeingwatched by the Eye, it’s not necessary to do the roll for the rows and a roll for the Zone can be made immediately. A roll of 1 or 2 takes the Eye-piece to Zone 1/2, a roll of 3 or 4 takes it to Zone 3/4 and a roll of 5 or 6 takes it to Zone 5/6.

Figure 3Schematic view of the zones and rows

Example of a player being discovered (1)Odilonhaslandedonablackfieldduringhisturn.TheEye-pieceisinzone3/4,sothatZonewillbesearched.Adicerollismadeandtheresultis2.Row2ofzone3/4issearchedbymovingtheEye-pieceabovetheboard.Arthurisunlucky,becauseheisinthecoördinatesbeingsearched:hebecomespossessed.HistokenisswappedforthetokenofNyarlathotep.FromnowuntiltheendofthepossessionhewillmoveandplayasNyarlathotep.AnotherdicerollismadeforthenextZonetheEye-picewillbein.Theresultis5.TheEye-pieceismovedtoit’splaceatthetopoftheboardinzone5/6,where it will remain until it is triggered again . Only now Odilon’s turn ends.

Zone 1/2 Zone 3/4 Zone 5/6

Row 1

Row 2

Row 3

Row 4

Row 5

Row 6

Second diceroll of 5 brings the Eye to Zone 5/6

First diceroll of 2 brings the Eye-PieceaboveRow2of

Zone 3/4

Zone 1/2 Zone 3/4 Zone 5/6

Row1

Row2

Row3

Row4

Row5

Row6

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Possession: movement and missionWhenaplayerisfoundbytheEyeandbecomespossessed, this token is replaced by the token representing Nyarlathotep. The possessed player loses all Book-Cards, which are removed from the game, but he keeps his Absinthe-Cards. AslongasNyarlathotep’stokenisontheboardno icons (and no cards) can be taken! From now until the possession is ended by the unpossessed player entering a church, or the other player being found by the Eye as well (which ends the game without a winner) the possessed player will move according to special rules.Everyturn,hemaymoveasmanyfieldsashewants,inastraightline.Just like normal players he cannot move over the white lines bordering thealleys.Hecanalsotaketaxis,buthisturnendsaftertransportationtothenewTaxiStop.Hecanmoveveryswiftly,buthisinabilitytodivertfrom a straight line during a turn hinders his freedom of movement. Turning a corner will cost him more turns than a normal player.NyarlathotepdoesnotactivatetheEyewhenlandingonablackfield.Theblackfieldsremaindangeroustotheotherplayerhowever,astheEyeremainsactiveduringapossession!TherearenoconsequencesforNyarlathotepifheisdiscoveredbytheEye.Nyarlathotep’smissionisto find and tag the other player. This means movingNyarlathotep’stokentoafieldbordering(notdiagonally)thefieldwheretheotherplayer’stokenisstanding.Ifhesucceedsintaggingthe other player in this fashion, the other player loses his Book-Cards as well and both return to their starting positions shown in figure 1. ThepossesedplayerisnolongerpossessedandNyarlathotep’stokenis replaced with the normal token. The normal game resumes.

Example of no player being discovered (2)OdilonhastakenalotmorecardsthanArthur.BecauseOdilonisintheZonewheretheEyewatches,ArthurdecidestosacrificeoneofhisBook-Cards,hoping that Odilon will be discoverd and possessed, thereby losing his Book-Cards. He announces his intention, chooses his least valuable Book-Card andremovesitfromthegame.TheEyeistriggered:adicerollismade.Theresultis4.Odilon,whoisstandinginRow3,islucky,heonlyjustescapesdiscovery!BecausetheEyewastriggeredbythesacrificingofaBookCard,nonewdicerollismadeforthenextZonetheEyewillwatch.TheEye-piecereturns to its place in zone 5/6 where it will remain until it is triggered again.

Adicerollof3bringstheEye-PieceaboveRow2ofZone5/6

Zone 1/2 Zone 3/4 Zone 5/6

Row 1

Row 2

Row 3

Row 4

Row 5

Row 6

Absinthe-Den(1)

(2)

TAXI

Examples of Nyarlathotep’s movementThe unpossessed player is in position (2). From his starting point (1)Nyarlathotepgoestoafieldborderingfield(2)inoneswiftmove and tags the unpossessed player.

13

Absinthe-Den

Absinthe-Den

Turn 2 Turn 3

Absinthe-Den

Turn 1

(1)

TAXI TAXI TAXI

Examples of Nyarlathotep’s movement (2)

Example of moving with a Bicycle

Ending the game

Similar:

ThepossessedplayerwantstoreachtheTaxi-Stopasquicklyaspossible.Fromhisstartingposition(1)heusesoneturntomoveinastraightlinetotheopeningbelow.HeuseshisnextturntotakeonstepandfinallyusesthethirdturntoentertheTaxi-stop.

The player dedides to use his Bicycle to quickly reach the Absinthe-Den. He announces his intention and removes his Bicycle-Cardfromthegame.Nowhemaymoveinonestraightline,followedbyastepperpendiculartohisdirection.Inthiscaseheusesthisfeaturetocrashintothefarwallandfallsideways,straightintotheAbsinthe-Den!

The game ends when all icons have been taken from the board, or when a player tags (non-diagonally) the other player and demands to compare scores. Tagging the other player can be attempted at any time during the game.

TAXI

(1)

Boink!

Absinthe-Den

14

Some gameplayLà-Basisverysimple:thegoalistoachievethehighestscorebycollectingvaluablecards,therearetwobasicformsofmovementtochoosefromeveryturn, both players are in constant danger of possession which if it occurs, makes the possessed player lose cards and changes his movement mode and mission until the other player reaches a church. The game ends when a player succeeds in tagging the other, or when all icons have been removed from the board. Nevertheless,newplayersmightneedsomeintroduction,sohereisanexampleofhowagamemightstart,developandend.

First, the dice are thrown to see who will start. Highest throw starts, in this case Odilon, the white token. He wants to reach the Bookshop below and doesn’t feellikebeingcautious.ADrunkenShuffle(3freelyavailablemovementpoints)willnotbeabletotakehimtherethisturn,soherisksaDrunkenDash.Hethrowsthedice.Theresultis4.Heislucky,thecompulsorysidewayssteptakeshimstraightintotheBookshop.HettakestheBook-IconfromtheboardandacardfromthestackofBook-Cards.TakingaBook-IconalwaystriggerstheEye.AdicerollismadefortheEye-Piece.Theresultis1.TheEye-PieceismovedfromitsplaceinZone3/4tocheckRow1ofZone3/4(A).Nooneisthere,sonooneisfound.AnewdicerollismadefortheEyewhichwilldeterminewhereitwillwatchnext.Theresultis6.TheEyemovestoitsplaceatthetopofzone5/6(B). End of Odilon’s turn.Arthurdecidestobecautious:heoptsfortheDrunkenSuffle.Thismeanshecanuse3movementpointsduringthisturn.HewantstoreachtheAbsinthe-Denabove.Usingallthreeofhispointswillinevitablybringhimtoablackfield,butbecausetheEyeisinzone5/6,andnotanimmediatedanger,hedoesitanyway.HelandsonablackandactivatestheEye.Sincethereisnooneinzone5/6,notdicethrowneedstobemadetosearchtherows.Instead,adicethrowismadeforthenextZonetheEyewillbein.Theresultis3.TheEyemovestoitsplaceinzone3/4(C). End of Arthur’s turn.

Absinthe Book The Board at the start of a game

Zone 1/2 Zone 3/4 Zone 5/6

Row 1

Row 2

Row 3

Row 4

Row 5

Row 6

Arthur

Nyarlathotep

The Eye-Piece

Odilon

Zone 1/2 Zone 3/4 Zone 5/6

Row 1

Row 2

Row 3

Row 4

Row 5

Row 6

A. The Eye-PieceisusedtosearchRow1 of zone 3/4.

C. The Eye-Pieceismoved to its new postion.

B. The Eye-Pieceismoved to its new position.

A

BC

15

Zone 1/2

Zone 1/2

Zone 3/4

Zone 3/4

Zone 5/6

Zone 5/6

Row 1

Row 1

Row 2

Row 2

Row 3

Row 3

Row 4

Row 4

Row 5

Row 5

Row 6

Row 6

A. The Eye-PieceisusedtosearchRow4 of zone 3/4.

C. The Eye-Pieceismoved to its new position.

C. The Eye-Pieceremainsin the same position.

B. The Eye-Pieceismoved to its new position.

OdilonhasendedupnearanAbsinthe-Den,sothat’swherehegoes.There’snoneedtoriskaDrunkenDash,aShufflewildo.HeusestwomovementpointstoentertheDen.HeremovestheAbsinthe-IconfromtheboardandtakesacardfromtheAbsinthe-Carddeck.It’sacardwithagoodscoreandanicequoteontheback,sohedecidestoreaditoutloudtoirritatetheotherplayer.BecauselandinginanAbsinthe-Denalwaysgrantsanextra,compulsoryDrunkenDash,hemustnowthrowthediceandDashon.Hethrowsa5.Nowhemusttake5steps,andthelastonemustbeperpendiculartothedirectionof the previous one. He may not return to the Den he vacates but he could return to the Bookshop nearby, which would be the safest thing to do. But Odilon wantstomakeprogress,soheuseshis5stepstoroundthecorner,inthedirectionofthenextAbsinthe-Den.Hissidestepbringshimtoablackfield.TheEye is triggered. The result of the roll for the Eye is 4 (A).Odilonnarrowlyescapesbeingfound!AsecondrollismadefortheEyeandtheresultis1.TheEye is moved to zone 1/2. End of Odilon’s turn. ArthurcaneasilyreachboththeAbsinthe-DenandtheBookshop.Hewantstobesuretogetagoodscore,soheusesaDrunkenShuffleofonesteptogointotheBookshop.HeremovestheiconthereandtakesaBook-Card.TheremovaloftheiconputstheEyeinmotion.Nooneisinzone1/2soarollismadeforthenextZonetheEyewillbein.Theresultis5.TheEyemovestozone5/6.EndofArthur’sturn.

Odilon can easily enter the Absinthe-Den in front of him, so that’s what he does. Sadly for him, the card he takes from the deck of Absinthe-Cards is the Blackout-Card.Hecan’tdetheextraDrunken-DashnormallygrantedbyanAbsinthe-Den.Histurnendshere.ArthurusesaDrunkenShuffleoftwostepstogointotheAbsinthe-Den.HedrawstheSyphilis-Card!Fromnowonandfortherestofthedurationofthegame he can only move using the Drunken Dash. Arthur announces his Syphilitic state to Odilon. Because he landed on an Absinthe-Den, he must do an extraDrunkenDash.Herollsa6.HeisjustabletostumbleintothenextAbsinthe-Den.Hedrawsacardwithagoodscoreandanicequote.HelandedonanAbsinthe-DensohemustDashagain.Herollsa6again.WhynottakeaTaxitothatlittlestreetbrimmingwithAbsinthe-Dens?HeevenmanagestoreachaBookshopusinghisfinal,sidewaysstep.TheEyeistriggeredbyAthurtakingaBook-Icon.ThereisnooneinZone5/6,sonorollfortheRowsisnecessary. A diceroll is made for the Zone. The result is 5. The Eye remains in Zone 5/6. End of Arthur’s turn.

A

B C

C

16

Zone 1/2

Zone 1/2

Zone 3/4

Zone 3/4

Zone 5/6

Zone 5/6

Row 1

Row 1

Row 2

Row 2

Row 3

Row 3

Row 4

Row 4

Row 5

Row 5

Row 6

Row 6

C. The Eye-Pieceisputback.

A. The Eye-Piecemovesto zone 3/4.

B. Odilon is discoverd by the Eye.

Odilonwanttotakeataxi,soherisksaDrunkenDash.Herollsa1.Hecantakeonlyonestepandwillenduponablackfieldanyway,sohetakesastepforward. The Eye is triggered. A roll is made for the Zone and the result is 4. The Eye moves to Zone 3/4. End of Odilon’s turn.Arthur has Syphilis, so he can only use a Drunken Dash to move. He rolls a 3. He can reach the Absinthe-Den nearby before using all three movement points,sothat’swhathedoes.HetakesanAbsintheCardwithoutascorethatsays“Depressed”.AndhemustdoanotherDrunkenDash.Herollsa5.Again, he can reach an Absinthe-Den nearby before using up all movement points. He gets a good card this time. He must Drunken Dash again. He rolls a 3.SeeingthatOdilonisintheZonewheretheEyeiswatching,Arthurhappilygoestoablackfield(whilehecouldhavegonebacktothefirstAbsinthe-Denhevacatedearlierinthisturn).TheEyeistriggerd,thedicesays5.TheEyepieceismovedabovetheboardtotheappropriatelocation.Odilonisfound!HistokenisreplacedwithNyarlathotep’stoken.TheEyepieceisputbackinthepositionitcamefrom(inthiscasethetopofZone3/4.)OdilonlosesallBook-Cards he has gathered. These are removed from the game. End of Arthur’s turn.

Thisshouldbeinteresting.ArthurhasSyphilisandOdilonispossessedandmustnowattempttotagArthur.AslongasNyarlathotepisontheboardnoiconsorcardscanbetaken!ArthurwillhavetoreachaChurchtoendthepossession.IfOdilon(asNyarlathotep)isabletotagArthurhisopponentwilalsoloseall his Book-Cards and both players will resume the game as normal (if a little hungover and confused) from their starting positions. Nyarlathotepwantstoreachthetaxi.Hecanmoveasmanyfieldsinonestraightlineashewants.Inthiscase,hetakesonlyonestepduringthisturn.SyphiliticArthurmakesaDashinthedirectionoftheclosestChurch(takingthetaxiwouldhavebeensmarter).Herollsa4.TheEyeistriggeredandmovestot zone 5/6 after a diceroll of 6. End of Arthur’s turn.Nyarlathotep’sturn.HerushestowardstheTaxistopandappearsbehindtheunfortunateArthur!ArthurloseshisBook-Cards.ThepossesionisendedandOdilon’stokenreplacesNyarlathotep’sagain.Bohtplayersreturntotheirstartingpositions.(A for Arthur and BforOdilon).EndofNyarlathotep’s/Odilon’sturn. Begin of Arthur’s turn.

A

A

B

C

B

17

Many turns later... A lot has happened: despite his Syphilis, Arthur has managed to collect the most cards. All the icons have almost been removed from the board.ArthurwouldliketotagOdilonbeforehecanreachthefinalfewcards.Ifhecantaghimthescoresmustbecompared.OdilonwouldlikeArthurtobecomepossessed,sohewouldlosehisvaluableBook-Cards.BothplayersareintheZonewheretheEyewatches.WestartwithOdilon’sturn.Odilon wants to move close to the Bookshop. Taking a Book will give a good score, as well as activating the Eye. He goes for a Drunken Dash, but only rolls a1.Hetakesonestepontoablackfield.TheEyeistriggered.Thedicesays3!TheEye-piecelandsaboveArthur!ButOdilon’shopesarecrushed.ArthurhasaDivineInterventionCardandwardsoftheEye,whichreturnstoit’spositioninzone5/6.EndofOdilon’sturnArthur starts from point (A).HeDrunkenDashesintotheAbsinthe-Dennearby.FromthereheisabletoDashfromDentodenusingtheextraDrunkenDashesprovidedbytheDens,untilhebumpsintoOdilon,tagginghim,allinoneturn.Thescoresarecompared.Arthurwins!OdilonhitsArthurovertheheadwiththeboard!

-Agamecanlastforhoursorevenforafewseconds,forexampleifbothplayersarediscoveredbytheEyeatthesametimejustafterstartingthegame.BecarefulwhenyouareinthesameZoneastheEye.-Makesurethecardsarewellshuffled.Astherearemorecardsthanicons,alotofvarietybetweengamesispossible.-RemembertousespecialcardsandspecialmovementmodessuchasTaxis,BicyclesandAbsinthe-Bingesstrategically.Exitingandre-enteringtheboardatthetwoexit/enterpointsoneithersideoftheboardcanalsocomeinveryhandy.-Theboardbecomesmoredangerousasplayersmovetotheoutsideoftheboard:therearemoreblackfields,Absinthe-DensandBookshops.ChancesofPossessionandAbsinthe-inducedchaosincreaseasthegamedevelops.-Possessionisanormalpartofthegame.Gettingpossesseddoesn’tmeanyouwillnecesarillylose.EvenSyphilitic

players have been known to win after several possessions.-Taxi’sandAbsinthe-Bingesarecrucialforyourabilitytotagtheotherplayer.- Try to use the Eye to your advantage by moving out of the Zone the Eye is in and triggering it when the other player is

in that Zone.-Rememberthatduringapossession,theEyeremainsactive.Blackfieldsremaindangerousfortheunpossessedplayer!-SacrificingaBook-Cardcanmeanvictory,evenifyoulosethatvaluablebook.BecausetheEyeremainsinthesameZoneafterbeingtriggerdbythesacrificingofaBook-Card,subsequentturnscanbeusedto‘fire’theEyeattheotherplayerifheremainsinthatZone,ifyouarewillingtosacrificemanyBook-Cards.

Tips

Zone 1/2 Zone 3/4 Zone 5/6

Row 1

Row 2

Row 3

Row 4

Row 5

Row 6

A

18

Là-Bas

A boardgameBy Kolja Aertgeerts

© Kolja Aertgeerts

This is the free, Print & Play version of Là-Bas as it was made available as a download from aasgier.wordpress.com.

A buyable version with more cards, new playmodes, different boards and more elaborate artwork and story is in the works. Check the site or contact me for

updates.

I have tried to make the manual as fool-proof as possible. If some ambiguities re-main, the solution you come up with is

probably the right one. Inquiries and suggestions can be sent to

[email protected]

ENJOY!