Coraline: Beware the Other Mother is a cooperative card game for 1 - 4 players. The players assume the roles of the Ghost Children who were captured by the Beldam (the Other Mother). Now they are trying to free Coraline and her parents from the Beldam's evil clutches.


Components

  • 8 Stand-Up Character Tokens
  • 8 Plastic Character Token Stands
  • 30 Coraline Story Cards
  • 30 Beldam Story Cards
  • 1 Coraline's Satchel Card
  • 6 Large Room Cards
  • 1 Room Map
  • 8 Object Tokens
  • 4 Button Tokens
  • 6 Moon Cards
  • Instructions

Object of the Game

The players must work together to guide Coraline through the Other World as she attempts to find the Skeleton Key, the Eyes of the Ghost Children, and the Snow Globe that holds her imprisoned parents. The players all win or lose the game together as a team!


Game Elements

Character Tokens / Plastic Stands

There are 8 Character Tokens featuring 8 key characters from the Coraline movie. Players move tokens from room to room based on the instructions of the Coraline and Beldam Story Cards.


Room Cards

There are 6 Room Cards featuring different locations in the Pink Palace Apartments as they appear in the Other World.

Some Room Cards include portraits of characters that might be helpful to Coraline (see right).

The Room Cards are referred to collectively as "the board" and are placed side-by-side on the fold-out paper map (or any flat empty surface) at the start of the game.


Moon Cards

There are 6 Moon Cards, each displaying a phase of a large button shadow eclipsing the Other World Moon.

When the sixth and final Moon Card is revealed (full eclipse), the players lose the game.


Story Cards

The Coraline Story Cards help Coraline accomplish her goals as she seeks to collect the 5 objects she needs to escape the Other World.

The Beldam Story Cards present the Beldam's efforts to thwart Coraline and trap her in the Other World forever.


Button Tokens

The Button Tokens are used to keep track of each player's turn during each individual round.


Coraline's Satchel Card

During the game, Coraline collects special Object Tokens which she places on her Satchel Card for safekeeping.

Since the players all work together to help Coraline, her Satchel Card remains on the table within easy reach of all players.


Object Tokens

Coraline begins the game with 3 revealed objects in her satchel. She must replace these 3 objects with the other 5 hidden objects in order to have any hope of escape.

Each of these objects is represented by a double-sided Object Token that Coraline must reveal and then place in her Satchel.



Setup



A Set up the Room Cards in the configuration shown in the diagram.

B Insert each of the 8 stand-up Character Tokens into the plastic stands. Place Coraline's stand-up token on the Kitchen Card, and place the Beldam's stand-up token on the Living Room Card. Place the other six Character Tokens off the board.

C Place Coraline's Satchel Card face-up on the table within easy reach of all players. Place the Looking Stone, the Military Cap, and the Garden Shears on top of the Satchel Card with their revealed sides face-up (see right).

Place the other Object Tokens in their designated rooms on the game board with their revealed sides face-down.

D Place all the Moon Cards in a face-up stack in ascending order from top (Moon Card #1) to bottom (Moon Card #6). Leave room for a face-down discard pile beside the Moon Deck.

E Each player takes 1 Button Token and places it on the table in front of him or herself with the color side face-up.

F Shuffle the Coraline Story Deck and deal the appropriate number of cards to each player to form his or her "starting hand". The number of cards dealt to each player depends on the number of players in the game.

Place the remaining Coraline Story Cards in a single stack face-down on the table with room for a face-up discard pile beside it.



G Shuffle the Beldam Story Cards and place them face-down in a single stack on the table with room for a face-up discard pile beside it.


Game Play

After each player examines his or her own cards, the players decide as a team who will go first. The players may discuss their plans freely, but may not physically show each other their cards.

The game is played over the course of several "rounds", during which each player takes a single turn. The order of play is decided by the group and may go in any order until all players have taken one turn and completed one round.

Each player's turn consists of the following four phases:

  1. Story Phase

    The player must choose one of the following activities to perform:

    • Play 1 Story Card
    • Discard 1 card to move Coraline
    • Discard 1 card to collect 1 object in Coraline's current room
    • Pass / Exchange cards with the Story Deck
  2. Draw Phase

    The player draws cards from the top of the Coraline Story Deck until he or she is holding the same number of cards as his or her starting hand.

  3. Beldam Phase

    The player reveals the top card of the Beldam Story Deck and follows the instructions.

  4. Button Phase

    The player flips his or her Button Token over so that the black side is face up, indicating the four phases of his or her turn have ended for this round.

Players continue to play one round after another until they have either collectively won or lost the game.


1. Story Phase

During the Story Phase, you must perform one of the following activities:

Activity 1: Play 1 Story Card

Choose one card from your hand, reveal it to the other players, and follow the instructions. Afterward, discard the card face-up into the Coraline Story Deck discard pile. Although each of the Coraline Story Cards is unique, many of them instruct you to do similar things. For example:

  • Place 1 Character in a Room: You may choose to place a new character in the specified room, or you may move a character already on the board to the specified room.

  • Reveal 1 Object: You may reveal an Object Token by flipping it from its hidden side to its revealed side.

  • Collect 1 Object: You may collect a revealed Object Token that is in Coraline's current room and place it onto Coraline's Satchel Card.

  • Play another card: If a Story Card allows you to play another card from your hand, you may do so after you have finished with the instructions on the first card. You are not required to play another card.


Activity 2: Discard 1 card to move Coraline

Instead of following the Coraline Story Card instructions, you may discard a

Story Card from your hand and move Coraline to any adjacent room on the board. Coraline cannot move diagonally.


Activity 3: Discard 1 card to collect 1 object in Coraline's current room

If there are no other characters in Coraline's current room, you may discard 1 card from your hand and collect 1 revealed object in that room.


Activity 4: Pass / Exchange Cards with the story deck

If you have cards in your hand that you do not wish to play or discard, you may choose to pass. When you pass, it is also optional that you place 1 or more of your cards beneath the Coraline Story Deck before beginning the Draw Phase.

If the Coraline Story Deck is empty, you cannot exchange cards in this manner. After passing on the Story Phase, you must still complete the remaining phases of your turn.



2. Draw Phase

During the Draw Phase, keep drawing cards from the Coraline Story Deck until you reach the number in your original starting hand.

If the Coraline Story Deck is empty, you must skip this phase. You cannot reshuffle the discard pile and form a new Coraline Story Deck.


3. Beldam Phase

At the start of the Beldam Phase, draw and reveal the top card of the Beldam Story Deck and follow the instructions. If there are no Beldam Cards left when you reach this phase, the players immediately lose the game.

Though each of the Beldam Story Cards is unique, many of them instruct you to do similar things. For example:

  • Drop 1 Object: When a card instructs Coraline to "drop 1 object", the Object Token must be removed from her Satchel and placed revealed-side-up in her current Room.

  • Discard 1 Card: The instruction to "discard 1 card" only applies to the player who is currently taking a turn.

  • Advance the Moon: When a card instructs you to "advance the Moon", remove the top card of the Moon Deck and place it face-down in the discard pile. This will reveal the next Moon Card. When the final Moon Card (#6) is revealed, the players immediately lose the game.


4. Button Phase

After each player takes a turn, they must flip their Button Token to the black side. This continues until all players have taken a turn and all buttons have been flipped.

At the start of the next round, buttons are once again flipped to the color side and the players determine a new order of play.


End of the Game

To win the game, Coraline must be in the Living Room and possess the 5 following Objects in her Satchel: three Ghost Eyes, one Skeleton Key, one Snow Globe.

A player must then play the final victory card (see right) and allow Coraline to escape the Other World. But be careful!

As the victory card states, if the Beldam is in the Living Room with Coraline, Coraline cannot escape until the Beldam is forced from the room.

If the final Moon Card (#6) is revealed OR if no players have any Coraline Story Cards left in their hands OR if the Beldam Story Deck is empty at the start of any player's Beldam Phase, the players lose the game.



Solo Play

You can also play Coraline: Beware the Other Mother as a solo game and try to help Coraline beat the Beldam all by yourself!

As the only player, you will not need the Button Tokens, and you may skip the Button Phase.


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