* Disclaimer * All artwork depicted is for development/play testing and may/may not represent final production.
The Headless Horseman is roaming the Haunted Woods in search of his missing head.
Can Ichabod make it to the safety of the Covered Bridge before he loses his head?
Headless Horseman is a thematic, 3-8 player game.
Take on the role of Ichabod Crane and maneuver your way from the old schoolhouse, through the Haunted Woods, and across the covered bridge to safety.
Ichabod Crane Development Play Pieces
Be careful which path you select as one Ichabod will become Cursed and transform into the mythical creature known as the Headless Horseman. The Headless Horseman will respawn at his mausoleum in the center of the board and begin chasing down Ichabod Crane to try and take his head.
Headless Horseman Development Play Pieces
Multiple game play options:
● Strategery
● Quick Play
● Haunted Woods Race
Strategery 3-8 Players:
Players place Church and Graveyard hexes in strategic places on the gameboard before play begins.
Quick Play 3-8 Players:
Church and Graveyard hexes are flipped over and mixed up, then quickly placed at random on the gameboard. After all the hexes have been placed, they are flipped over to reveal which are churches and graveyards.
Haunted Woods Race 2-8 Players:
Race Ichabod, Headless Horseman, or a mix of both, from the schoolhouse to the covered bridge, the first person to the covered bridge wins.
Standard Game Play
The Game starts with placement of the church and graveyard hexes, placement of these are strategic once game play begins, but beware, you may end up losing your head and joining the other Headless Horseman in their chase to stop Ichabod from reaching the covered bridge.
Church and Graveyard Hexes
All players start the game as Ichabod Crane and begin making their way from the schoolhouse through the haunted woods. Movement is done by using cards, allowing some strategic play in how far Ichabod will travel.
Ichabod Crane Movement Cards
At the beginning of the 4th round, players will be dealt a Curse card which cannot be viewed until it is the players turn. Before taking their turn, the player will turnover the Curse card to reveal whether they will be Cursed, becoming the Headless Horseman.
Cursed Cards
3-5 Players = 1 Headless Horseman, 6-8 Players = 2 Headless Horseman
The unlucky player(s) who are Cursed, will change their game piece out to the Headless Horseman and move it to the Mausoleum at the center of the board to start their turn.
The Headless Horseman heading out to attack!
Ichabod Crane running for his life!
As the Headless Horseman, it is your job to chase down and battle to convert the Ichabod’s to Headless Horseman to help with preventing any Ichabod from reaching the Covered Bridge and safety.
Headless Horseman Movement Cards
As players maneuver across the board they will encounter a number of “Blue Hexes”. The player must stop on the blue hex and use the spinner to determine which path they will be forced to take. Once the spinner indicates the movement required that player will move the remainder of the spaces left on the played movement card. (Remember…it is very dark and both horse and man are scared and going through the dark woods at full gallop when they suddenly encounter a fork in the road and have to make a split second decision on which path to take…will you be able to take the one you want?)
Spinner
The Headless Horseman has several advantages to help him cover the game board quickly. He can transverse a graveyard in a single turn, including recovering health points as he moves through it. There are also special action cards that can be used by the Headless Horseman to help him catch Ichabod. These Include:
● He can use a “Spectral Transport to any graveyard and begin their turn” card to immediately jump to another graveyard which allows him to cover the whole board in a single move to catch his prey.
● There is also an “Enter closest graveyard and Spectral Transport to another graveyard”, this allows the Headless Horseman to move into a graveyard and transport to another graveyard. Once the Headless Horseman jumps to the other graveyard their turn ends.
● Finally, the Headless Horseman has the option to throw a flaming pumpkin at an Ichabod player if he is within (3) spaces at the cost of (2) health points. If Ichabod is struck by the pumpkin, they will lose their turn, allowing the Headless Horseman to catch and attack Ichabod on their next turn.
● However, Ichabod may have a “Mirror of Manifestation“ which can divert a thrown pumpkin to another Ichabod Crane Player, the Headless Horseman or just misses Ichabod. If this card is played the Ichabod player will roll a die (D6 or D10, depending on the number of players) to see where the Pumpkin strikes.
Headless Horseman Special Action Cards
Battle Mechanics
Once the Headless Horseman catches an Ichabod player or vice versa, they must battle to the death, there is no retreating in this game. Battles are completed by alternating attack (D12) and defense (D6) rolls, the difference between the rolls is taken from the loser's health until one of the players is out of health points.
● When Attacked, Ichabod may be equipped with a “Banish Headless Horseman” card which can be played at anytime during the battle to end it, however, the Headless Horseman may have a “Defense against Banishment” which would negate Ichabods attempt at banishment.
● If the Headless Horseman wins the battle, then the Ichabod player is turned into another Headless Horseman to respawn at the Mausoleum and begin their next turn as the Headless Horseman.
● If Ichabod Crane wins the battle, then the Headless Horseman will be banished to one of the graveyards on the board. Upon victory, the Ichabod player will roll a D10 and relocate the Headless Horseman's play piece to the corresponding numbered graveyard or the Mausoleum.
Dice
Yes…that’s right, no player is ever out of the game until it is over.
If Ichabod wins the battle and manages to keep his head, then he can recover all of his heath points by visiting a church. Ichabod must enter and stop on the church, ending their turn to recover Health Points.
Ichabod Crane Special Action Cards
However, if Ichabod holds an “Enter a church and exit that church on the same turn” it allows Ichabod to move through the church without stopping and allowing Ichabod to recover all Health Points on the same turn.
Ichabod also can jump to the closest church and start their turn; this card also allows Ichabod to recover all Health Points on a single turn, if you use these cards wisely, you may reach the safety of the covered bridge and win the game.
Play continues until either an Ichabod Player reaches the Covered Bridge or all Ichabod players have been converted to Headless Horseman. Will you survive and make it across the bridge to safety or will you roam the Haunted Woods for an eternity searching for your missing head?
