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Everyone is already dead in the Underworld. It's time to join the factions of Bone, Flesh and Spirit as they work to achieve the goal of the Underworld: to gather enough forces to take on the celestials of Heaven and Hell to end their ceaseless war. If the players work diplomatically in Court of the Dead: Mourners Call to maintain a balance, they can ensure the Underworld survives long enough for them to also complete their collective and hidden individual objectives. The player who best contributes to these goals will earn Death's favor and a place among the elite of the Underworld.
You are a Mourner — an allegiant of Death — dedicated to realizing his noble ambition to end the celestial war and restore balance to the universe. However, Death's purpose includes your own ulterior motives. You and your fellow Mourners must unite and rise, or fall together. But only one Mourner will achieve their particular vision of the Underworld united. Your task will not be easy. While the Underworld is united in its purpose, it is divided in its strategy to achieve that aim. There are three factions in the Land of the Dead: Bone, Flesh, Spirit. Each is a unique path to rise up against Heaven and Hell.
You will need to strategically manipulate your influence within these factions, their strongholds and guilds, and within the Court of the Dead if you wish to achieve your ends. But beware: The power within mortal souls — known as Etherea — is a perilous substance. Use it carelessly, and you risk invoking the Dreadsgrip - a destructive force within every Mourner that consumes all it touches, including its former master. Failing to satiate the celestials’ war need, or triggering the Dreadsgrip, has dire consequences for all Mourners. Are you strong enough to achieve your own ambitions and be the champion for the uniting force for which all Mourners Call?
—description from the publisher
Court Of The Dead - How To Play
- Provides a detailed step-by-step setup and playthrough
- Explains many mechanics and phases of the game
- Mentions differences between Kickstarter and retail editions
- Does not exhaustively cover every card type or every rule; indicates 'we won't go through all of these'
- Complex rules may require consulting the rulebook or BGG for clarification
- Endless war between good and evil, corruption and ambition among mourners seeking power, and the pursuit of unity among factions.
- A mythic underworld setting where Death forms a secret court to unite the living and the dead and end an endless celestial battle.
- Lore-heavy fantasy backdrop explained by the host during a structured setup and playthrough.
Mechanics (from transcript analysis)
- Court card actions (colon/pay-cost) — Playing a court card triggers one of two actions, often requiring paying a cost to gain the item on the card; some actions alter faction influence.
- Court drafting phase — Court cards are drafted in multiple rounds; players pass cards around the table according to a chart, with draft one, draft two, etc.
- Dread script and dread's grip — A dread script track increases and can cause penalties or board-wide effects; reaching extremes can penalize players.
- Endgame scoring and tiebreakers — Final scoring aggregates unity tokens and influence, with tie-breakers involving atheria and mourner cards.
- Ethereal distribution (atherea) — At the start of a round, players roll dice to generate atheria and divide it into piles; players may take a pile or pass to gain influence.
- Guild tracks and influence — Gaining figures updates guild tracks; influencing costs are paid to move markers; exceeding limits triggers effects.
- Influence Points — Gaining figures updates guild tracks; influencing costs are paid to move markers; exceeding limits triggers effects.
- Recruiting guild figures and mourners — Players may recruit guild figures or recruit mourner cards by paying atheria; recruited items attach to bases and affect tracks.
- Resolving locations and guilds phase — Locations on the board grant bonuses based on control, resolved left-to-right; guild tracks are resolved in order.
- Unity tokens and celestial tithe — Players contribute unity tokens to the celestial tithe; highest contributor gains unity tokens; if quota is not met, consequences occur.
- Wollows and rakers — Wallow cards are dealt and resolved as quests; some wallows require fighting a raker with a guild figure to complete the quest.
Video topics + discussion points
Quotes (from this video)
- Court of the Dead mourners call designed by Pat Marino and published by Project Ray Gun
- the game is played over a series of rounds and each round is broken into eight phases
- you must keep this a secret from the other players as it will reveal additional ways that you can score points at the end of the game
- the oldest player collects the all taker figure making them the first player
- the player with the most points wins