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- 7.6
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Rules assistance for Ghost Stories: Black Secret
Plain-language explanations of turns, card effects and disputed situations, with official source references and saved question history.
- 2–5 players
- 90 min
- 12+
- Complexity 3.2/5
Rules assistant for Ghost Stories: Black Secret
What would you like to know?
Answers come from the official rulebook, with the page to check.
Ghost Stories: Black Secret is an expansion for Ghost Stories released in 2011 for 2–5 players, 90 minutes per game, and ages 12 and up. It was designed by Antoine Bauza and its main mechanics are Variable Player Powers, Area Movement, and Dice Rolling.
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About the game
The cooperative game Ghost Stories often has players on the edge of their seats with uncertainty over whether their monks will be able to protect a village against the many aspects of Wu-Feng that threaten it. With Ghost Stories: Black Secret, the players will face an even more powerful dilemma: Wu-Feng himself. Yes, the player count for Black Secret is 2-5 (instead of 1-4) as one player will take on the role of Wu-Feng and harass the monks in a more direct manner than they've experienced previously. Wu-Feng now chooses where the incoming ghosts will be placed on the individual monk boards. Instead of placing the ghost on the board, Wu-Feng can use that ghost to power colored spells matching the color of the ghost (while casting the spells bring Wu-Feng access to stronger spells) or to bring new demon miniatures in play that scour the catacombs underneath the village; these figures are searching for the remains of Wu-Feng by digging in the dirt located there, and should they find the three icons required, the shadow of Wu-Feng descends on the village to fight directly with the monks. To aid the monks in their fight against this more devious incarnation of Wu-Feng, they have access to blood mantras, special abilities that come in different levels to adjust for the difficulty of play. When a monk loses a life, the Qi token is placed on the mantra. When two tokens are on one of the level-2-mantras, one monk of the players' choice gains a Qi. When 4 Qi are collected on one of the level-4-mantras, all village tiles are dehaunted.
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- Repos Production
Questions and answers
Ghost Stories: Black Secret supports 2–5 players according to the catalogue. This range comes from the publisher’s listed player count, so the game can be set up for any group size within it. Some setups, rules and scoring details may still vary by player count, so check your edition’s rulebook for the exact configuration.
The listed playing time for Ghost Stories: Black Secret is 90 minutes. This is the publisher’s estimate for a full game. The actual duration depends on the group, the player count and familiarity with the rules: first sessions usually run longer, while experienced groups often finish faster. Setup and teaching time are not included in this estimate.
The catalogue lists Ghost Stories: Black Secret for ages 12 and up. This is the publisher’s recommendation and reflects reading demands, rule complexity and small components rather than theme alone. Younger players can often join with help from an adult, so check the age guidance on your edition and consider your group’s experience with board games.
Ghost Stories: Black Secret has a complexity rating of 3.2 out of 5 from BoardGameGeek players, which makes it a medium-weight game. The rating reflects how much rules knowledge, planning and decision-making a typical game demands. Expect a longer first teach for heavier games, and use a preparation guide before game night.
Ghost Stories: Black Secret belongs to these categories: Fantasy, Fighting, and Horror. Its main mechanics are Variable Player Powers, Area Movement, and Dice Rolling. Categories describe the theme and setting of a game, while mechanics describe what players actually do on their turns. Each mechanic links to a catalogue hub with similar games, which helps when you want something comparable.
The credited designers of Ghost Stories: Black Secret are: Antoine Bauza. These credits come from the published game data and name the people responsible for the game’s design, not its illustrators or publishers. Designer pages on MeepleRules collect other titles by the same designers, which helps when you enjoy a game and want to find similar ones.
The catalogue lists Ghost Stories: Black Secret as an expansion for Ghost Stories. Expansions add new content, rules or scenarios to the base game and usually cannot be played on their own, so you need Ghost Stories to use it. Check that your edition of Ghost Stories is compatible, as some expansions were revised between editions.