Teach the Game

A script to teach Unconscious Mind at the table — how you win, the boards, a turn, the end, every way to score and what each piece is for.

How you win

“Vienna, 1900s. We are members of Freud’s Wednesday Psychological Society. We talk ideas over coffee at the Meeting Table, fill our notebooks, walk the city, publish Treatises and — above all — treat Clients by working through their dreams. Two hours or so. The most Victory Points wins, and the game ends a round after Freud’s own Reputation reaches the top of his track.”

What you need, and how you get it:

• Victory Points come from Curing Clients, publishing Treatises, the Reputation track, and a big Final Scoring of your notebook, tags and City Map presence.
• Insights are the currency: three qualities (Growth, Freedom, Passion) in three levels on your Insight dial. You spend them to treat Clients and pay for effects.
• Ideas are your workers. You place them on the Meeting Table, and where you place them decides how far your Inkpot moves on your own board — which triggers your Notebook tiles.

The loop: place Ideas → take actions → move the Inkpot → fire your notebook, which feeds you Insights; then spend Insights on Dreams to treat Clients, and Recall your Ideas to grab City Map bonuses.

The boards

The Meeting Table — nine action spaces, three in each column, with Idea spaces (speech-bubble outlines) between them. Meeting Table.

The City Map — six Locations in three colored Districts, the Reputation track on top and the Victory Point track around the edge. City Map.

Your player board (Inkpot track and 3×3 Notebook grid), Insight dial and Office board (two Office Rooms for Clients). Your player board.

A turn

Turns go clockwise. On your turn do one of three things, then the end of turn. Details.

1. State Ideas — put 1 or 2 Ideas on one empty Idea space, pointing at an adjacent action; do that action once per Idea; then advance your Inkpot by the number of icons on that row and fire what it lands on. State Ideas
2. Recall Ideas — take all your Ideas back, gain 1 Coffee per Idea space you had, then claim one Location or District bonus on the City Map. Recall
3. Treat Clients — use the Insights shown on the top Dream of one or both Clients; each Dream gives Therapy points. Treat Clients
4. End of turn — you may spend Heart-Shaped Boxes as Therapy points; then fill any empty Office Room with a new Client and two Dreams. End of turn

How the game ends

Every time anyone gains Reputation, Freud gains it too. When Freud’s marker reaches the watch space, finish the round, play one more round, then Final Scoring. Most points wins; a tie goes to the higher Reputation. End of the game

Ways to score

Source	How and when
Cured Clients	The points printed on the Client when its Therapy marker reaches the last space.
Therapy track	Points printed on the track spaces you reach or pass (and where you start).
Treatises	The points in the middle of the tile when you publish; 2 VP and a Bright Idea each time someone cites one of your Volumes.
Reputation track	VP (and Coffee) above your marker each time you trigger it; 3 VP for each gain past space 9; 3 VP for moving Freud onto the watch.
Final: Reputation	Points equal to your Reputation level; the leader scores 2 per Treatise and Cured Client, second place 1 per.
Final: Districts	4 / 10 / 18 for player-color Insights in 1 / 2 / 3 Districts.
Final: Notebook rows	1 / 5 / 16 for 1 / 2 / 3 completed rows.
Final: different tags	0 / 1 / 3 / 6 / 10 / 15 for 1 to 6 different Location tags.
Final: Case-Study Clients	Each Case-Study Client past Catharsis scores its own condition.
Leftovers	2 VP per Heart-Shaped Box; Coffee → Bright Ideas at 3 : 1, 1 VP per Bright Idea.

What each resource is for

Piece	Why you need it	How you get it	How you use it
Insights	They pay for Dreams and most effects	Generate them from the reserve (Notebook tiles, Meeting Table, City Map)	Spend, Elevate, Transfer; a Minor + Median + Major buys a Heart-Shaped Box
Ideas	Your workers	3 to start; the Inkpot unlocks 3 more	Place on the Meeting Table; Recall to get them back
Coffee (max 6)	Buys Notebook tiles; smooths Insights	Recall, Reputation track, Locations	1 instead of a Suppress; 2 to Elevate or Transfer; 3 for a Bright Idea
Bright Ideas	Flexible extra workers	Coffee, citations, effects	Extra Idea for one turn; ±1 Inkpot step; +2 Location effects
Notebook tiles	Your engine	Meeting Table (1–3 Coffee) and effects	Fire a row or column when the Inkpot lands; completed lines unlock Insights
Research cards	Tags and the Volumes for Treatises	Meeting Table, Locations	Play them for tags and effects; turn them into a Treatise
Heart-Shaped Boxes (max 3)	Finish off Clients	Matching Dream icons, excess Therapy, Insight sets	1 Therapy point each at end of turn, or 2 VP
Player-color Insights	Mark Treatises and District bonuses	Complete Notebook rows and columns	Placed for good on a Treatise or above a District bonus

Teaching tips

• Put a starting Client in front of everyone and show the Therapy track first: Catharsis (Grief Layer off, powers on) versus Cure (points). It is the heart of the game.
• Teach the Insight dial with real pieces: Generate from the reserve, Elevate outward, Suppress inward, Transfer sideways. Elevate never pulls from the reserve.
• Show how the row you place your Idea in sets the Inkpot move — two Ideas on one space still move it once.
• Separate gaining Reputation (markers move) from triggering the track (bonuses, no movement) — the most common mix-up (ruling).

Rehearse catharsis

Place a Client’s Therapy marker one step before catharsis and imagine a Dream advances it across the heart. Score the Grief Layer’s points, resolve its effects and remove that layer. The Client’s ongoing effects and tags become available. Do not also score the Client card’s cure reward: catharsis and curing are separate milestones.

Ask: ‘Would merely discarding a resolved Dream remove the Grief Layer?’ No. The Therapy marker must reach or pass the catharsis icon.