
- BGG rank
- BGG #157
- BGG rating
- 8.0
Forbidden Stars
- 2–4 players
- 120–180 min
- Complexity 3.8/5
- 2015

Rules assistance for Mansions of Madness: The Laboratory
Plain-language explanations of turns, card effects and disputed situations, with official source references and saved question history.

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Answers come from the official rulebook, with the page to check.
Mansions of Madness: The Laboratory is an expansion for Mansions of Madness released in 2013 for 2–5 players, 120–180 minutes per game, and ages 14 and up. It was designed by Richard Launius and Samuel Bailey and its main mechanics are Variable Player Powers, Area Movement, and Dice Rolling.
From Fantasy Flight Games: It has been two months now since your good friend Dr. Crawford Tillinghast berated you angrily, called you a fool, and ejected you from his home and laboratory in a fit of fanatical rage. His outburst came as a surprise to you, since he was not a man prone to anger, especially when the cause was your awed and frightened line of query about a strange machine he envisioned during the course of his metaphysical research. The doctor took your questions as criticism, and lashed out in response. You have not spoken to the doctor since that day… Inspired by the characters and themes of From Beyond, one of H.P. Lovecraft’s most terrifying short stories, The Laboratory challenges players to shut down Crawford Tillinghast’s strange machine before the mad genius manages to merge our world with another dimension and all its horrors. Of course, otherworldly terrors feature prominently in The Laboratory, as you’ll have to close portals to other realms during your exploration of Tillinghast’s mansion home. Can you survive the terrors you’ll encounter? Can you find the clues you need to deactivate Tillinghast’s arcane device? Designed by Samuel Bailey and Richard Launius, the creator of Arkham Horror, The Laboratory is a fantastically free-form adventure, chock-full of the themes and mechanics that make Mansions of Madness a uniquely satisfying entry into the world of H.P. Lovecraft’s eerie mythos.
Mansions of Madness: The Laboratory 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 Mansions of Madness: The Laboratory is 120–180 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 Mansions of Madness: The Laboratory for ages 14 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.
Mansions of Madness: The Laboratory has a complexity rating of 3.4 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.
Mansions of Madness: The Laboratory belongs to these categories: Horror, Exploration, and Expansion for Base-game. 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 Mansions of Madness: The Laboratory are: Richard Launius and Samuel Bailey. 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 Mansions of Madness: The Laboratory as an expansion for Mansions of Madness. Expansions add new content, rules or scenarios to the base game and usually cannot be played on their own, so you need Mansions of Madness to use it. Check that your edition of Mansions of Madness is compatible, as some expansions were revised between editions.