Well, now that you have an understanding of the cards look like, we'll begin to set up the playing area.

The simulated game is between you and three other people. Our simulated "people" are named Steve, Beth, and John.

First, we're going to determine the seating order for the game. You may do this in any manner you choose, but for our purposes, it's been prearranged. You'll be at the green section of the table, which should be empty now, as we haven't set it up. To your left, sitting at the yellow section of the table will be John. The player sitting to your left is always your prey, meaning it is your objective to oust John from the game. To your right, sitting at the blue section of the table will be Steve. The player sitting to your right is your predator, and as such Steve will try to oust you from the game. Across the table, in the purple section is Beth. Beth doesn't directly influence your play to start with, but remember that Steve and John are her prey and predator, respectively, so what you do may indirectly affect her. (and vice versa.) If this were a two player game, your opponent would be both your predator and your prey.

Second, we're going to setup your [pool]. Your pool is made up of thirty counters that you can easily reach. We've set the pool in the middle of the table. In a real game you would also want to have extra counters to serve as the blood bank. Since the blood bank cannot run out of counters, it's not important to represent it here. When you burn blood counters, they're returned to the blood bank, but here they'll simply move offscreen.

Third, we'll put the [decks] of cards out that we'll be using. The library must hold at least forty cards, and has a maximum size that depends on the number of Methuselahs in the game. Since we have four players, the maximum library size would be 80 cards. Your crypt must contain at least 12 vampire cards and does not have a maximum. Having lots of vampires in your crypt doesn't necessarily improve your chances of winning the game, it really just means you have more cards to shuffle. When you use cards, they'll be stored face up next to your library in a discard pile known as your ash heap. When vampires are burned, they are also placed in your ash heap, although you may want to keep a second stack to prevent your crypt and library from becoming mixed.

Fourth, you'll want to shuffle your decks and allow the player to your right to cut the decks. For our purposes, the cards are shuffled, and Steve has already cut them. Next, you'll [draw] four vampires and place them face down to form your "uncontrolled" region.

Finally, you need to [draw] seven cards off the top of your library to form your hand.

Now you're ready to begin. Click below to start your turn.

[Start Your Turn]