A wise king protects his castle and its people from the evil wizard with his magical ring. The king's men inform him that the evil wizard is approaching. He looks for his ring but discovers that it has disappeared!
The evil wizard put a spell on someone to steal it. The king knows that the evil wizard will reach the gate at 6 o'clock. It is already 12 noon, so he sets off to search for the thief and find his ring before the evil wizard appears.
The castle cat was at the gate all night and saw no one leave, so the thief must still be inside! Since only children can understand animals when they speak, the cat tells them to feed the other animals and ask them for clues.
Listen carefully to what the animals tell you so you can discover the thief and get the ring from their chest in time to save the kingdom!
Components
- 1 Game Board
- 4 Doors (to place on the board)
- Ghost's Path
- 1 Electronic Chest
- 4 Playing Pieces (red, yellow, green, blue)
- 1 Ghost
- 1 Cat (game board)
- 9 Food Tokens
- 4 Key Tokens
- 10 Suspect Cards
- 1 Die
- 1 Ring
- 1 Ring Base
- Instructions
Game Board
1 Dungeon Door 2 Tower Door 3 and 4 Great Hall Doors
Setup
Put the game board on the table where all players can access it in cooperative play.
Each player chooses a playing piece and places it in the nursery.
Note: in the easy game the doors to the tower and dungeon remain closed. They are used in the medium and hard game versions only.
Place the ghost in the courtyard and the 4 doors on their matching rooms.
The cat, 9 food tokens, 4 key tokens, die and 10 suspect cards are placed face up beside the game board.
Insert the ring base into the circular compartment of the chest with the ring on top. Close the lid and switch on the chest.
Game Play
The youngest player starts and play continues clockwise.
On your turn, do the following:
1. Roll the Die
If you roll a number, you can move through that many rooms. Each room counts for one space. You may also move less spaces than the number rolled or even choose to stand still.
You may move your playing piece in either direction, but only through open doorways.
You cannot enter or pass through a room where the ghost is located. Once you have moved your playing piece, continue by pressing a room button.
If you roll the ghost, advance it one room along its path indicated by ghostly arrows. If the ghost enters an occupied room, that playing piece goes immediately back to the nursery.
Roll again if you rolled the ghost, continuing to advance it one room until you roll a number. Then move your playing piece and press a corresponding room button.
Example: The green player rolled the ghost: the ghost is moved forward by one room from the courtyard into the blacksmith's workshop.
The yellow playing piece in that room is sent back to the nursery. Then the green player rolls again.
2. Press a Room Button
After moving your playing piece, press the button on the chest of the room you are in. Each room is represented by the animal located in it. You'll hear a short beep after which you continue with pressing an action button.
Example: The green player moved their playing piece to the chapel where the snake is located and pressed the room button with the snake on it.
3. Press an Action Button
You can choose from one of five possible actions by pressing its corresponding button. Then one of the animals or a character will speak to you. Think carefully about exactly which action you would like to do.
Decide together which action makes most sense for the situation: (Hint: to use your time wisely, be sure to first search the room (eye), speak with the animal (mouth), then feed the animal (hand).
For younger players, write down the clues that are given to avoid repeated actions. Each action button pressed shortens the time on the clock).
Search: Search the Room
If you find food there, then take that food token and place it onto an empty space on the cat game board (Example 1).
Only two food tokens can be placed on the cat at one time. After that, place any additional food tokens in the kitchen pantry (Example 2).
(For younger children, this rule can be eliminated to allow all food tokens to be placed on the cat)
If you find a key, place it on the key space located on the cat game board. Any number of keys can be placed there.
Speak: Talk with an Animal
The animals give you information or ask you for food. Remember what they want and which clues they gave you.
When they provide clues to the thief's identity, turn over the suspect cards that you can rule out. You're getting closer to discovering the thief!
Feed: Give the Animal Its Food
You only feed an animal when it asks to be fed and when its food is located on the cat.
Take the token from the cat and place it face down beside the game board. The animal has now been fed.
Hint: the Feed button (hand) can only be pressed on the same turn in which you pressed the Speak button (mouth). Don't press the room button again.
Important:
Any player can use the tokens on the cat at any time. A player must be in the kitchen to use a token in the pantry.
If you're in the kitchen and there is a free space on the cat, tokens can be taken from the pantry and placed there either before or after your turn.
You can also exchange tokens in the pantry for those on the cat.
Magic: Use the Magical Object
In some rooms there are magical objects you can use by pressing the "Magic" button.
Identify them by the stars surrounding them. This could turn out to be good or bad. Test your luck!
Chest: try to open a chest with a key
Each one of the 10 suspects has a chest with their valued possessions in it. If you think you know who the thief is, try to open their chest.
You must be in the correct room and the cat must have a key.
Note: always press a room button first on your turn and then an action button.
The cat, other animals, the evil wizard, the ghost and a fairy will speak to you from the chest. Always follow their instructions!
Choose the Difficulty Level
The game can be played at three difficulty levels:
- Easy
- Medium
- Hard
After turning on the game, you can select the level of difficulty. If you don't do anything, it will automatically be set to the easy level.
For the medium game version, press the "Nursery" button (rocking horse) once and then the "Magic" button (star).
For the advanced version, press the "Magic" button once again. If you repeat the sequence, you will get the easy version again.
In the easy version, the doors to the dungeon and tower remain closed, as you will not need these rooms. In the medium and hard game versions, the tower and dungeon can be accessed.
In the hard version, the ghost and wizard become more dangerous and the fairy cannot help you as much.
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