The Marked Floor
Overview
Playable fragment
A short scenario about the line cut into timber — crossing it is the only rule that matters. Two to four players. One die. Fifty to seventy minutes. Darkness & Psyche · Psychological Horror.
The circle
Ten cells
DOOR → FOYER → KITCHEN → HALL → LANDING → MARK → BEDROOM → STUDY → ATTIC → CELLAR → DOOR
Eight rooms can be bought. Door and MARK cannot. BEYOND is off the board. Sets never cross MARK: Foyer–Kitchen, Kitchen–Hall, Hall–Landing · Bedroom–Study, Study–Attic, Attic–Cellar.
Rules — Prototype 1
Locked until the first table
Start on Door with Memory 5 and Hold 3. Memory pays Tempo, rooms, rent and Cross. Hold pays rent when Memory fails and feeds the Cross roll. Hold 0 removes the figure. Hold does not refill.
Turn: roll 1d6. Once per turn you may spend 1 Memory to change the roll by ±1. Move clockwise. You may Push a figure that shares your cell one step forward or back. The pushed figure does not pay, buy or Cross. Push never enters BEYOND. From MARK, Push goes only to Landing or Bedroom. Then resolve your cell.
Pass Door: +2 Memory. A second figure on MARK pays 1 Memory to the house.
Unowned room: buy it or leave it. No auction. Owned room: pay rent. If Memory cannot pay, spend Hold. Foyer, Kitchen, Hall — price 3, rent 1 Memory. Landing, Cellar — price 4, rent 2 Memory. Bedroom, Study, Attic — price 6, rent 3 Memory or 1 Hold. Both rooms of a set — rent doubles.
Cross: on MARK, instead of moving, pay 3 Memory and roll 1d6 + Hold. 8+ reaches BEYOND and wins. 5–7 loses 1 Hold and stays. 1–4 loses 1 Hold and returns to Door without the +2. At Hold 1 Cross cannot succeed.
Lock: if you are the only figure on the circle and you own at least three rooms, declare Lock at the start of your turn and win.
Playtest
After the game only
Record collision, Cross tension, and Lock. Do not change numbers at the table.
Threshold Token
Marks MARK
The disc is not required for Prototype 1. It grants nothing until Layer 2.