FAQ
63 answered questions61 official
Rules questions from the BoardGameGeek forum. Answers marked Official were confirmed by Red Mojo or the designers.
Common mistakes
- Taking a Sin Track’s bonus when a card, a bonus or the River Styx moves your Skull — only an accusation gives it. Ruling · Rule
- Stopping a Soul from the Graveyard in Limbo — if its Limbo shield is occupied it keeps jumping down. Ruling · Rule
- Moving a jumping Soul only in a straight line — it may change direction at every jump; only Cerberus forces a straight line. Ruling · Rule
- Walking Guardians along the chains — they move to any empty shield. Ruling · Rule
- Waiting until the whole family is in Florence before accusing — you may accuse with one family member out. Ruling · Rule
- Stopping Dante on stair sections without a temple base — they are shortcuts. Ruling · Rule
- Doing only one of the two COURTYARD actions because the player aid says “OR” — it is a misprint for AND. Ruling · Rule
- Taking a loan to stockpile Drachmas — you may borrow only when you need Drachmas and have none. Ruling · Rule
Showing 63 of 63
When you bring a Soul from the Graveyard, must it stop on an empty shield in Limbo? Official
No. The normal jumping rule applies in Limbo too: if the Limbo shield is occupied — by any Soul, a Guardian or a Guardian piece — the Soul carries on to a shield below, and so on. Think of the Graveyard as a circle 0 with one shield linked to every Limbo shield. A Soul can go from the Graveyard to the deepest free shield in one move if the path is occupied all the way.
Source: BGG thread · BGG thread
Can a Soul change direction as it jumps over occupied shields? Official
Yes. A Soul’s move is a series of jumps, and at each jump you choose which chain to follow, so it may zigzag. Only Cerberus makes a Soul move in a straight line.
Source: BGG thread
What counts as an occupied shield? Official
Anything on it. A standing or lying Soul (cream pagans included), a Guardian standee or a Guardian piece — Petrified Soul, Pit, Labyrinth. Souls jump over all of them. Plutus’ Desks are the exception: they sit below a shield and do not occupy it.
Source: BGG thread · BGG thread
Who may move a Soul? Official
Anyone. Souls have no owner, on either side of the Walls of Dis. The only exception is a Soul in Antaeus’ Chains, which only the Chains’ owner may move.
Source: BGG thread · BGG thread
What happens if both paths into a Soul’s own circle are full? Official
It stays where it is. A Soul can never go below its circle, so it is stuck — and it still fills that higher shield for the Phlegethon at the end. Phlegyas’ sideways move and the Fraud effect that rearranges Souls within a circle can free it.
Source: BGG thread · BGG thread
How does the last (ice-blue) circle with two levels work? Official
The first ice-blue Soul lies down on the first shield it reaches in the circle; a later one jumps over it to the lower shield and lies down there.
Source: BGG thread
Does a cream pagan Soul score only 1 point, and does it pick a quartiere? Official
Once in the Graveyard it is a Soul like any other. Whoever moves it into Limbo scores that circle’s point and plays their Florence phase in the quartiere of the shield where it lies.
Source: BGG thread
Is a safe passage used up when a Soul crosses the wall? Official
No. Once placed it stays for the rest of the game.
Source: BGG thread
Can I use another player’s safe passage? Official
No. You need your own disc on that gate. Several players can each have a disc on the same gate, stacked.
Source: BGG thread
Once a Soul is inside the walls, can a player without a safe passage move it? Official
Yes. The passage only matters for the crossing. After that nobody can tell which gate a Soul came through, so anyone may move it. The designer wanted this: opening a passage for the Souls of the circle you are building also lets rivals help you fill it.
Source: BGG thread · BGG thread
Can I accuse before all my family members are in Florence? Official
Yes. You can accuse at any moment, even with only one family member in the city. Accusing only when everyone is out is a common reason for games that run much too long.
Source: BGG thread · BGG thread
Can Urchins go everywhere Nobles go? Official
Yes. There is nothing a Noble can do that an Urchin cannot. Urchins can also enter the MARKET (Nobles cannot) and enter the BONFIRE and WALL without paying a Florin. They can accuse, and an Urchin can go to the HAYSTACK to adopt another.
Source: BGG thread · BGG thread
What exactly do the entry requirements of the special locations ask for? Official
The MARKET needs an Urchin. The PALACE costs 1 Florin, with a Noble or an Urchin. The BONFIRE and the WALL take an Urchin, or a Noble who pays 1 Florin. No location asks for a Noble and an Urchin together.
Source: BGG thread · BGG thread
Can I go to a location and take none of its actions? Official
Yes. All actions are optional; you may go just to be there for a later accusation — for example to the MARKET with all four Barrels. You still have to meet the entry requirement.
Source: BGG thread · BGG thread
Must I take a location’s actions in the order printed? Official
No. Any order. It only matters at the WALL, where playing a Fraud card before delivering a Barrel can be worth an extra point.
Source: BGG thread · BGG thread
Is the COURTYARD action AND or OR? Official
AND. The English and Italian player aids show “OR” by mistake; you may both bring up to 2 family members home and rearrange your Tower.
Source: BGG thread
How many Florins does the PALACE pay? Official
Only for the Guest you are placing now, by the number printed on its floor tile. The floor printed on your board is floor 0, so it pays nothing. Visiting without taking a Guest pays nothing.
Source: BGG thread · BGG thread
Where can I put Guests, Barrels and accusers in my Tower? Official
All spaces are alike. Guests and Barrels go in any empty space (higher floors pay more Florins for Guests). An accuser from a free-access location goes in any empty space; from a special location, on the floor of the matching Guest.
Source: BGG thread · BGG thread
How do I get my 4th Noble? Official
You don’t. The 4th Noble is only used solo. Family cards that seem to give 2 Nobles also put a third in your Tower; the COURTYARD brings it home.
Source: BGG thread · BGG thread
Is money hidden? Official
No. Coins are public information.
Source: BGG thread
Do you only get the bonus of a Sin Track after accusing a sinner? Official
Yes. The bonus (the star symbol) appears only in the accusation steps. Advancing through the River Styx, a Fraud card or a bonus moves your Skull but gives no bonus.
Source: BGG thread · BGG thread · BGG thread
Are bonuses compulsory? Official
No. You may take none of a bonus, or only part of it.
Source: BGG thread · BGG thread
Does the 2-Drachma bribe let me accuse where I have no family member? Official
No. It only lifts the rule that your Florence phase must match your Soul’s shield. You still send a family member or accuse with one already at the location — there are no remote accusations.
Source: BGG thread
Does a Guest return to the PALACE after I accuse at its location? Official
No. The Guest stays; you can accuse as many sinners of its colour as you like.
Source: BGG thread
Can a move from 0 to 1 on a Sin Track count as an advance? Official
Yes. Placing a Skull on the first space is an advance like any other, so cards and the River Styx can start a track. Moving back from 1 removes the Skull.
Source: BGG thread · BGG thread
Can I get a second ½ Diploma from the same track? Official
Yes. If a Fraud card moves your Skull back from the 4th space and it later reaches the 4th space again, you take another ½ Diploma (checked with the designer).
Source: BGG thread
When does an empty Graveyard refill? Official
At once. As soon as it empties, not at the end of the turn.
Source: BGG thread
Does Dante stop on the stair spaces without a reward? Official
No. He stops only on spaces with a small Greek-temple base. Stair sections without one — and Shortcut tiles — are passed. Before the River Acheron every space is a stop.
Source: BGG thread · BGG thread · BGG thread
Do I get a Diploma if I have no Skull on that track? Official
No. You must be on the track to lead it. If nobody is, nobody gets that Diploma — solo too.
Source: BGG thread · BGG thread
Who gets the ice-blue Diploma at the final stop? Official
Like any Diploma, whoever leads the ice-blue Sin Track (ties included). The player who moved Dante there only adds the 2 Infamy.
Source: BGG thread
At a pagan stop, who plays the Guardian? Official
The player who moved Dante: they may play a Guardian and must put the pagan Soul in the Graveyard, where anyone may later take it to Limbo.
Source: BGG thread
Can the first player always take the purple Diploma in a 2-player game? Official
Yes, if they rush for it. The other player can tie by advancing on purple first (a River Styx at the BONFIRE, or a card). Rushing usually leaves the purple circle poorly scored, so the publisher saw no need for an extra step.
Source: BGG thread
Where must the Barrel shown on a Fraud card be? Official
Anywhere on your player board. In your Tower or delivered to the supply panel; you only need to own it, it is not spent.
Source: BGG thread
Can I play a Fraud card without either Barrel? Official
Yes. You lose the instant effect, but you get the endgame effect if you own that Barrel by the end — playing cards for their endgame half is very common.
Source: BGG thread · BGG thread
How much does a Fraud card cost? Official
The action’s cost (2 Drachmas at the WALL, nothing from a bonus or a Dante stop) plus the card’s cost (nothing from your hand, 1 Drachma from the market or the deck). Cheapest: from your hand through a bonus; dearest: from the market at the WALL, 3 Drachmas.
Source: BGG thread · BGG thread
How do I get new Fraud cards? Official
Each time you play one from your hand, draw a replacement from the market or the deck — so you can play two (or three) in one turn and always start each with 2 in hand.
Source: BGG thread
What does the “reposition Souls within a circle” effect allow? Official
Move Souls around inside one circle, standing or lying, but not Petrified Souls or Souls in Chains. Use it to break rivals’ paths and build your own.
Source: BGG thread
Must the River Styx Souls match the track I advance on? Official
No. Their colour is irrelevant, as long as all the Souls you return share one colour. One Soul gives a step on the first four tracks, two on the last four, three one of each.
Source: BGG thread · BGG thread
Can I take a loan whenever I want? Official
No. Only when you need Drachmas and have none. You may choose an action that costs Drachmas without having any and borrow for it, and borrow several times in a turn if several costs come up — but you cannot stockpile.
Source: BGG thread · BGG thread
Where does the Boat start, and what does each loan cost? Official
It starts beside the boat icon, before the first stones. Loan 1: −2 at the end. Loan 2: −4. Loan 3: −5 at once, then −2 at the end. Loan 4: −4. After that each loan costs 5 at once and the Boat stays. Every loan gives 2 Drachmas.
Source: BGG thread
Can my score go below zero? Official
Yes. Count back from 60. Only solo does a negative score end the game.
Source: BGG thread
When can I call a family council? Official
Only when you have no other option. If a loan would let you act, you take the loan. Play your Hell phase, lose 2 Infamy, and choose the one fix that unblocks you next turn.
Source: BGG thread · BGG thread
Do Guardians move along the lines like Souls? Official
No. A Guardian moves to any empty shield in Hell. Cerberus is the special case: he moves only during a Hell phase, onto the shield of the Soul he scares.
Source: BGG thread · BGG thread
Can a Soul wear two players’ Chains? Official
No. Only one player can chain a Soul. A chained Soul stays bound until its owner moves the Chains to another Soul.
Source: BGG thread · BGG thread
Does Medusa petrify lying Souls? Official
It makes sense only on standing Souls. Petrifying a lying Soul has no effect. Pieces are not limited: use spare tiles if the Petrified Souls run out.
Source: BGG thread · BGG thread
How does Cerberus work? Official
Playing him gives you a Bone (even if you have some). In a later Hell phase, spend a Bone to place him on a standing Soul already in Hell — not one in the Graveyard. The straight-line flight is the Soul’s whole move: it cannot turn after an obstacle. You may scare a Soul in your own Chains, but not someone else’s.
Source: BGG thread · BGG thread · BGG thread
Must I use my own Labyrinth as a portal? Official
Yes. For you its shield connects only to the Minotaur, and the Soul must be able to continue from there. It can even send a Soul back up when the Minotaur is higher (checked with the designer), but never below its own circle.
Source: BGG thread · BGG thread · BGG thread
Does Minos’ Tail score my own Souls?
No — it scores when another player lays a Soul down in its circle; the rulebook says so explicitly. The Tail stays until you move it with Minos again. Solo, Minos gives you 2 extra points instead.
Source: BGG thread
Do Souls of another colour count as filling a circle at the end? Official
Yes. “Empty” means nothing at all on the shield. A standing Soul of another colour, a Guardian or any Guardian piece fills it; only Geryon’s Pits are removed first.
Source: BGG thread · BGG thread
Can I have two Diplomas on one circle? Official
No. A circle either has your Diploma or it doesn’t.
Source: BGG thread
In which order do I resolve my endgame Fraud effects? Official
Any order you like, or not at all. A ½ Diploma from a card can still be paired, because extra Diplomas come later. The Phlegethon minimum is 1.
Source: BGG thread · BGG thread
How does the Weapons Barrel count “every 2 spaces”? Official
Add the spaces of all your Skulls on all tracks and halve, rounding down: Skulls on 3, 1 and 1 give 5 ÷ 2 = 2 points.
Source: BGG thread · BGG thread
Who counts for “most family members at home”? Official
Only those in your home when the game ends — not in your Tower, not in Florence.
Source: BGG thread
How many Guardians are used solo? Official
One black one. Red Guardians are not used solo. No Skulls start on the Sin Tracks, and starting Guests and Barrels come from the PALACE and MARKET.
Source: BGG thread
How does the HAYSTACK work solo? Official
The family member you send is replaced there at once by an Urchin; you can accuse with it later. Solo you start with 4 family members.
Source: BGG thread · BGG thread
In the solo Challenges, is paying the Drachmas at a Dante stop optional? Official
Yes. You may lose the points instead, even if you could pay. Without enough Drachmas you lose the points (not the game) — unless the loss takes you below zero.
Source: BGG thread · BGG thread
Do the Challenges use the two-token scoring of A Journey into Infamy? Official
No. The two tokens are only for A Journey into Infamy. The Challenges use normal scoring without Reputation in Florence.
Source: BGG thread
[Bulls] Does the extra-accusation Bull need the right quartiere and the Guest? Official
Any quartiere: you can accuse wherever you have a family member. But at a special location you still need the matching Guest.
Source: BGG thread
[Bulls] With the Bull that waives a Fraud card’s Barrels, do I get both effects of each side? Official
No. It acts as owning the card’s two Barrels; you still choose one effect per side.
Source: BGG thread
[Bulls] With the Guest-waiving Bull, do I need any Guest at all? Official
No. Neither that colour nor any other.
Source: BGG thread
[P&P] Who can use a Bell, and where does it go? Official
Bells are not placed on the board. You keep the Bell you took and spend it yourself in a later Hell phase to move Phlegyas and a Soul; the spent Bell leaves the game.
Source: BGG thread
[P&P] Can I move Phlegyas just to get him out of the way?
No. Playing Phlegyas only gives you a Bell; he moves only when a Bell is spent, together with a Soul’s sideways move.
Source: BGG thread
[P&P] Where are the Deluxe Guardians’ rules? Official
On a loose sheet in the Deluxe box (Plutus and Phlegyas on one side, the Papal Bulls on the other), on a QR code in the separate box, and online at redmojo.es.
Source: BGG thread · BGG thread