Nightmares

The Nightmares expansion: Madness and Madness Checks, the Cracked Insight dial and Mad Insights, Dark Insights, Nightmare Dreams, Uncanny Clients, Wild Research, the Treatise of the Dead, and the Pets and Gramophone modules.

Short tag: [Nightmares]

The expansion adds Uncanny Clients, a Haunted Location Goal, the Treatise of the Dead, Nightmare Dreams and a cracked dial whose Mad Insights go beyond Major — at the cost of Madness. Where it contradicts the base rules, the expansion wins.

What it adds

Component
	6 Uncanny Routine Clients — at Catharsis they give a Dark Insight. FAQ
	4 Uncanny Case-Study Clients — score Mad Insights at the end. FAQ
	21 Nightmare Dreams — Nightmare Dreams. FAQ FAQ
	12 Metamorphosis Grief Layers.
	4 Cracked Insight dials — Mad Insights. FAQ FAQ
	Treatise of the Dead — Treatise of the Dead. FAQ
	Haunted Location Goal — Haunted Location Goal.
	Madness Check token — on space 6 of the Reputation track.
	Madness reference card — standard and “Mad, Mad” sides.
	12 Wild Research cards — Wild Research.
	6 Mad starting Notebook tiles.
	6 Dark Insights.
	28 Madness tokens (24 of value 1, 4 of value 5).

Setup changes

Choose Use the Nightmares expansion on the Setup page. In short:

• Madness Check token on space “6” of the Reputation track; Haunted Location Goal beside the goals.
• Uncanny Clients shuffled into the top half of each Client deck, Metamorphosis Grief Layers into the top half of the Grief Layers, Wild Research cards into the top half of the Research deck.
• Only 3 Manifest Dreams face up; a Nightmare deck with 1 face up beside them.
• Treatise of the Dead beside the Treatises; Dark Insights and Madness tokens in the supply; Madness reference card standard side up (the Mad, Mad variant side doubles the Madness Check penalty).
• Each player takes a Cracked Insight dial and gets a random Mad starting Notebook tile as a fourth choice. Choosing it: put your Professor on its banner tag, then a common Insight into any crack of the section shown (gaining Madness as usual).

Madness

Madness you are given is mandatory — think of it as a cost. Keep the tokens by your board; your Madness level is how many you hold.

Madness effects

At or above each threshold you may use its ongoing effect:

Madness Checks

Up to three per game, at the end of the turn in which:

• Freud reaches or passes the Madness Check token (then discard the token); or
• a player reaches 13 Madness for the first time and claims the Haunted Location Goal.

Both at once: two checks. Plus one final check before Final Scoring.

To resolve: the lowest Madness level is announced; everyone returns that many; then each player loses VP equal to the Madness they still hold (double with the variant). Scores can go below 0.

The Cracked Insight dial

Beyond Major there is a new level, Mad: any Insight sitting in a crack. Each section has a small, medium and large crack:

• Generate puts a reserve Insight in a crack of that section; in any crack.
• Elevate may move an Insight straight into a crack of its section: Minor → large, Median → medium, Major → small.
• Transfer of a Median or Major Insight moves it into an adjacent crack instead of the next section: clockwise keeps its quality, counter-clockwise changes it.
• A Mad Insight can’t be Elevated, Suppressed or Transferred; using it sends it to the reserve. It may overpay for any Minor, Median or Major of its quality.

You can never jump over a crack: if an Insight can’t slide there naturally, the move is illegal.

Dark Insights

Gained from Uncanny Routine Clients at Catharsis: put it straight into a crack of the section shown, without gaining Madness. It is yours for the game, like a common Insight, but can’t leave the dial (no Treatises or District bonuses).

Nightmare Dreams

When you draft a Client you may take the face-up Nightmare Dream (refill it) or the top of the Nightmare deck instead of a Manifest Dream. Each Nightmare needs a Mad Insight among its costs and gives a Catharsis Therapy point: if the marker is still right of the Catharsis space, jump it there (score and resolve Catharsis as usual); otherwise it counts as one Therapy point. A Nightmare whose corner icon matches a Metamorphosis Grief Layer gives a Heart-Shaped Box.

Wild Research cards

• Every Wild Research card has a gray Volume: any color when publishing.
• Six show two different tags: playing one costs 1 Madness.
• Three show a wild tag: playing one costs 2 Madness and gives a Minor Insight of the quality shown.
• Three show no tags: playing one lets you pay a Minor Insight of the color shown to Generate a Mad Insight of that quality.

Treatise of the Dead

Needs two gray Volumes — from your in-play cards or cited (it has no “your own card first” mark, so both may be cited). Publishing it scores 13 VP; each time someone cites it, you gain 1 Madness and a Bright Idea.

Mad starting Notebook tiles

Whenever you trigger a Mad starting tile you also gain 1 Madness.

Haunted Location Goal

The first player to reach 13 Madness must claim it, causing a Madness Check. It gives a wild tag but no Reputation point.

Final Scoring

One last Madness Check comes first. Uncanny Case-Study Clients past Catharsis score 6 VP per Mad Insight in the section shown, or 6 VP per section holding a Mad Insight (18 max).

Solo

The Id gains Madness and takes part in checks; on Recall it returns 6 Madness. It may move its Professor counter-clockwise when that triggers more effects (arrow: right = clockwise). It takes the face-up Nightmare only for a Client with a Metamorphosis Grief Layer. Lay the Cure-five-Clients and Haunted goals side by side in the middle of the goal row. At 13 Madness it claims the Haunted goal if still there.

Pets Module

Use it with the base game or with Nightmares. Put your Pet tile left of your board, figure at the bottom; use the side with the Nightmares icon only with the rest of the expansion.

When you work out your Inkpot move you may take 1 or 2 off it and advance your Pet that many levels instead (the Inkpot still moves at least 1; you can’t advance past the top). At any time on your turn trigger the effect of your Pet’s level or any lower one, then return the Pet to the bottom.

Level	Standard and Nightmares effects
4 (top)	Standard and Nightmares: Treat a Client with one Dream
3	Standard: Gain a Heart-Shaped Box; Nightmares: Generate a Mad Insight
2	Standard: Trigger any Notebook tile on your board; Nightmares: Return 2 Madness to the supply
1	Standard: Elevate an Insight; Nightmares: Transfer an Insight

The Id does not use a Pet.

Gramophone Module

At any time on your turn, pay a Heart-Shaped Box (Nightmares side: a Mad Insight) to take the Gramophone from the supply or another player; keep it until someone takes it. While you have it, add one to every limit shown with : place up to 3 Ideas, treat each Client twice (Manifest then Latent), take up to 3 off the Inkpot for your Pet, trigger a Location up to 6 times.

Solo: when the Id’s Inkpot passes the Idea icon it takes the Gramophone back to the supply (it never uses it).