The characters are mostly normal people, who have some perks and normal things you can find around the house. If your character is starting to drift towards “police swat team member” or “super spy” you are likely missing the flavor of the source material.
The six perks are written in separate sections on the character sheet, then the 5D10 each player has available are divided among the perks however the player pleases.
For example:
Players take turns going clockwise around the table. The first player rolls 2d10 and references the grid drawn on the map. That location is where the players must investigate first.
Draw up to 5 cards from the deck: Place them face down in front of you and begin describing the scene at the location. When the description comes to a point that the narrator or the other players think something should happen anyone at the table can call for a card flip and the player must flip one of the cards in front of him and narrate / play what the card dictates.
The card suits are interpreted as follows:
The higher the number of the card, the greater the danger / benefit. The player gets to describe who or what he finds, if it's a useful person or thing describe in what way they are useful. If it is a dangerous person or thing the player must describe that danger.
Once the player has flipped at least one card over he may pass the rest to any other player at the table who then must play at least one card and so on. Once the first set of cards is used up a round is over representing 1 hour of the night. Each “hour” a new location is rolled up to 5 more cards are drawn and the next player takes over.
Getting help overcoming danger: Any card that is pulled the player must choose a perk and roll the number of dice (d10s) he has set on that perk.
If the sum of the dice rolled is lower than the value of the card the player has failed to defeat or exploit the card. If the card is a positive card the positive aspect of the card is simply not exploited for some reason. The player can role play why. If the card is a negative card the player loses one die. If ever a player loses all of his dice he is out of the game.
If the sum of the dice rolled is greater than the value of the card then the card “defeated” When a positive card is defeated the player receives one die back. Or he may pass the card to another player who needs it. When a negative card is defeated the obstacle it represents is overcome. Defeated heart cards may be held onto by a player to get a dieback latter.
Once a card is played regardless for the result it is removed from the deck.