More Games You Can Play with Your Ocho Vampiros Cards Dozens of play variations which restrict “movement” from room to room or street to street add complexity. A common variation is NO VAMPIRES ALLOWED--also called SAFE PARKS. In this game, Vampiro Cards may NOT be played atop a City Park Card.  Similarly, in SAFE CLOSETS, a Vampiro Card may NOT be played atop a CLOSET card.

Team Play and Multiple-deck Play are the most popular method of play! In Team Play (with a minimum of four players), you and the player opposite you are teammates. You and your partner can control the game (or at least attempt to) by paying attention each other’s cards and working in coordinated conjunction to lead the other teams into the clutch of your Vampiros. Multi-deck play is used by players who are serious about their card games--by combining two or more decks, the rounds last twice as long and the formulas for winning (depending on game variation) can be twice as complex. Multi-deck play is primarily employed by players who believe Single-deck rounds end too quickly. Other Multi-deck play versions of Ocho Vampiros include “All Streets,” “Haunted House” and “House without Doors” --in these games, all play takes place either indoors or outdoors; cards are kept in a “hand,” out of the view of other players, as in traditional card games; and cards are not flipped. Complex alternative play (not recommended for beginning players) involves details within the design of the cards, such as the numbers on Doors and the Question Mark Vampiro. The most popular and playable variations and alternative games for Ocho Vampiros are found in the booklet Ocho Vampiros Alt Play & Secrets published by Cold Harbor AZ.

A Favorite Alt. Game: Vampire Thief (Simple Version): Difficulty Rating: Medium-Low Cool Factor: High - Adam Likes Very Much. (So do all the other guys at Cold Harbor.  Try it.) How to Play:  OK, don't get this version confused with Vampire Thief: Horror Wonderland.  Vampire Thief Simple is exactly what is says--SIMPLE.  You deal and play exactly like regular Ocho Vampiros.  the TWIST is that you can "grab" or "steal" an opponent's Vampiro Card--but only IF YOU HAVE A DOOR CARD.  Here's how it works:  1) When your turn comes around, you play a "connecting" card to the Card-In-Play Pile exactly as you would in original / traditional Ocho Vampiros.  2) Normally, it would now be your time to Draw.  However, in Vampire Thief: Simple, IF YOU HAVE A DOOR CARD showing in front of you, instead of drawing from the Draw Pile, you may "steal" an opponent's Vampiro Card.  (This assumes that your opponent's Vampiro Card is showing face-up.  You cannot steal the Vampiro if the Vampiro is not face up.) 3) OK, but what do you do with the stolen Vampire?  Answer: You place this stolen Vampiro on top of your Door Card--you do NOT create a new pile.  Think about what this means: By stealing a Vampiro, you will (at least temporarily) lose use of your Door Card.  Of course, once that Vampiro is, itself, "played" atop the Card-In-Play pile, your Door Card is again accessible. 4) OK, but what happens with this Vampiro Card if I (or someone else) plays a Door Card to the Card-In-Play Pile and I have to flip my cards?  Good question.  Here's the answer: When a Door Card is played (requiring all cards to turn over) this stolen Vampiro will have a card underneath it; therefore, you flip the "stack," not just the individual card.  Think about what this means: You will not have access to the back side of that Vampiro; you will, instead, have access to the back side of the Door Card on which you set the Vampiro (at least, this is the case until you "play" that Vampiro, or until someone else steals it from you.) 5) I LOVE this alt. game.  I'm a strategy nut, and allowing the "theft" of Vampires in an otherwise simple, straight-forward game totally wiggles up the numbers and truly stumps some tried-and-true strategies.  I highly recommend giving it a few tries.  -- Adam The Intern. Best Element of This Alt Game: You get to steal Vampiro Cards from other players--very nice if you find yourself without any Vampiros and your opponent has Five of them. Much simpler than Vampire Thief: Horror Wonderland, and totally unbuckles the average player.

"On The Run" -- Suggested by Ryan M.  (Thanks, Ryan!) One of the sweet things about this job is that I get to play card games for hours at a time, and tell the boss I'm testing out alternative games.   Lovin' it. -- Adam The Intern Here's a game suggested by an Ocho fan in Seattle.  Difficulty Rating: Easy! but spicy! Cool Factor: Excellent Addition to original game. How to play: One simple Additonal Rule to the original game:  Cards don't connect to themselves--neither Street nor Indoor Cards.  For example, you can't play a Kitchen Card atop a Kitchen card, or a 7th Street atop a 7th Street.  I ran some numbers on this--you'd be surprised how much more challenging (mathematically) this can make the game.  As Ryan said in his email: "This works inside or out, and adds an interesting decision."  I recommend this version to anyone who wants to spice up the original version.  Thanks, Ryan! -- Adam The Intern

POINT SUBSTRACTION GAMES -- Original Ocho Vampiros Rules may be used with the additional rule of subtracting points for cards that remain at the end of a hand.  This may be done with alt. games as well.  Check out the "Ask Adam" Page for his comments on this addition to the game.  (Note: The boys at Cold Harbor always subtract points, though it's not required by original game rules.) Please Note: Alternative Games are posted to this page on an ongoing basis.  Additional alt. games rotate on and off this page.  Feel free to print any instructions found here -- or anywhere on our Web site -- because they may not be here next time you visit.       OCHO VAMPIROS GAME HOME