Banishment
Banishment is a 2-5 player asymmetrical, semi-cooperative card game about exorcism. Embrace your dark side and play the part of a monstrous Demon or join the valiant Exorcists and attempt to banish the foul abomination.
The Cult War Expansion Set adds powerful new relics to the Exorcists arsenal, as well as foul magicks that favour the Demon.
If you have two copies of the Banishment base game as well as the expansion cards, you can unlock the Cult War variant, a 6 player game where two teams, called Cults, attempt to be the first to summon the dreaded Dark One.
You can buy the game and its expansion from our store.
Objectives
The Exorcists win the game when all Rituals are resolved.
The Demon wins the game when the Demon Dice reaches 10.
Video Tutorials
Learn how to play Banishment:
Learn how to play Cult War:
Frequently Asked Questions
Banishment works best as a fast and fun casual game rather than being highly technical or competitive. If your playgroup prefers a different interpretation of these situations, we encourage you to go with your house rule instead.
If you have a question that has not been answered here, email us at: contact@darkmirrorgames.com
General mechanics
Q: Do the Exorcists have individual discard piles?
A: No. They share the same Exorcist discard pile.
Q: How do I read Ritual cards with a slash (/)?
A: These cards let you choose which components to place. For example, a card requiring 2 (Pentacle / Drum) means you need either 2 Drums, 2 Pentacles, or a Drum and a Pentacle.
Q: Do placed components stay permanently under their Ritual cards once the Rituals are completed?
A: No. Exorcist cards should be put into the discard pile once a Ritual is resolved.
The Possess Demon card
Q: Can I just make an Exorcist skip their turn? Or throw away cards?
A: The Demon must play out the Exorcist’s entire turn which includes drawing a card and choosing a valid action. If they play a card it must be a valid play. They cannot place components onto Rituals that do not need that component. If they play a Pentacle, they can choose the Demon, as the Pentacle card states “Target player draws 2 cards” - it doesn’t say the player must be an Exorcist.
The Corrupt Demon card
Q: What happens if the Demon plays Corrupt on an Exorcist who has the card Bane attached to them?
A: The Exorcist will skip their turn and not play a Demon Card.
Q: What happens if an Exorcist under the effect of Corrupt plays the card Omen?
A: The Exorcist draws Exorcist cards and chooses which to discard.
The Chant Ritual card
Q: When does Chant resolve? Does it cost an action?
A: It doesn’t cost an action. It resolves by itself at the end of the turn of an Exorcist who has played no cards for two consecutive turns.
Q: Are there ways to interrupt an Exorcist who is trying to complete Chant?
A: Yes. If the Demon skips the Exorcist’s turn, it delays Chant by one turn. If the Demon forces them to play a card with Possess or Corrupt cards, it will interrupt the attempt to complete Chant.
Q: If the Exorcist plays a Crucifix or Voodoo Doll card during another player’s turn, does it interrupt Chant?
A: Yes.
The Crucifix card
Q: If an Exorcist has only a Crucifix in hand, can they still play it to cancel a Demon card even though they have no other card to discard?
A: Yes.
Q: If a Crucifix is cancelled by the Demon card Silence, does the Exorcist need to discard a card?
A: No. When the Demon uses Silence on a card, the Exorcist doesn’t perform any of the actions on that card.
Cult War
Q: In the base game, there is an opportunity to play multiple Demon cards on a Demon turn, but in "Cult War" there is not. Should Twicefold be removed from the Demon deck before playing?
A: You do not need to remove Twicefold in a game of Cult War, as it can be used to copy an Exorcist card that has been played by one of your Cult members. That being said, we encourage personalising the cards you use, so feel free to remove it in your own games.
Q: The instructions state: "The Cult which goes second draws an extra card on the first turn of the game." Does that mean each player draws a card, or just one for the whole Cult?
A: Each individual member of that Cult draws an extra card on the first turn of the game.
Thanks to our backers!
We couldn't have made Banishment a success without the help of our backers on Kickstarter.
Quenda Games
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