Ghost Picture

User summary
心霊写真 (Ghost Picture) (Shinrei shashin) is a physical game that uses a mobile phone app to play. The game box includes a light frame which the player constructs. This holds the player's phone, a clear plastic screen and a small board onto which players' cards are placed.

Before playing, the player must download the free app onto their phone, and then set it so the screen does not go to sleep while playing.

The cards show different parts of the dark forest, and the players try to make their way home without being caught by a ghost. A player takes turns to place a card from their hand onto the board, so the image faces the phone. Each card includes a QR code, which the phone's camera reads. Then a ghost might be projected by the phone screen and appears hovering in the forest.

In fact, the image is on the clear plastic screen in front of the forest card, an illusion similar to the theatrical trick Pepper's Ghost.

If the player sees a ghost, they must take all the cards that have been placed in the stand. If there is no ghost, they leave their card on the stand. In ths way, cards build up for the player who gets caught.

Some cards have extra effects which cause the app to increase the odds of a ghost appearing. Or a player can swap their cards with another player and so on.

The game was produced in 2015 and sold out its initial print run. The app was made for iPhones 5 and 6, and later for Android. After 2016, there appears to be a break in development. Although published in Japanese, gameplay is language free and English rules are online.