Mansions of Madness: Second Edition

To set up Mansions of Madness: Second Edition, players first choose their investigators, each with unique stats and abilities. The game board is assembled by placing starting tiles as indicated by the chosen scenario. Players then place their investigator miniatures, monster tokens, and other scenario-specific components on the board. The companion app guides players through the setup process, revealing map tiles, placing tokens, and providing initial story text. Each investigator receives starting items and spell cards as specified by their character sheet.

The primary objective of Mansions of Madness: Second Edition is cooperative: all players must work together to successfully complete the specific goals of the chosen scenario. These objectives typically involve exploring the mansion, gathering clues, solving puzzles, and confronting monstrous entities. Players must achieve these goals before the scenario's timer runs out, or before all investigators are eliminated (defeated or driven insane), which results in a loss for the entire team.

A round in Mansions of Madness: Second Edition is divided into four phases. The Investigator Phase allows each player to perform two actions, such as moving, attacking, searching for clues, or interacting with objects. During the Monster Phase, all active monsters on the board activate, moving and attacking investigators according to their specific behaviors. The Mythos Phase introduces new challenges, drawing Mythos cards that can spawn new monsters, trigger events, or advance the scenario's narrative. Finally, the Cleanup Phase involves resolving any ongoing effects and preparing for the next round.

Scoring in Mansions of Madness: Second Edition is binary and cooperative. There are no individual scores; the entire team either wins or loses together. Victory is achieved by successfully completing all the objectives outlined in the chosen scenario, as determined by the companion app. A loss occurs if all investigators are eliminated (either through physical damage or mental trauma leading to insanity) or if the scenario's specific failure conditions are met, such as a ritual being completed by the enemy or a time limit expiring.

The game concludes in one of two ways. Players achieve victory if they successfully complete all the primary objectives of the scenario, often involving closing portals, banishing powerful entities, or uncovering crucial truths. The companion app will announce the team's success. Conversely, the game ends in defeat if all investigators are eliminated from play (either by losing all health or all sanity), or if the scenario's specific fail conditions are met, such as a critical event occurring that cannot be prevented. The app will then declare the investigators' failure.