27th Passenger: A Hunt on Rails
27th Passenger: A Hunt on Rails Rulebook
Table of Contents
Table of Contents
Components
- 1 double-sided Game Board
- 1 wooden Round Token
- 50 Deduction Sheets
- 27 Passenger Cards
- 36 Action Cards (6 for each player)
- 16 Skill Cards
- 18 Disguise Cards
- 15 Event Cards
- 9 Feature Cards
- 6 Initiative Cards
- 6 Player Aid Cards
Goal of the Game
Find out and assassinate ALL your opponents - be the last one standing - before the train reaches its destination...
Setup
Place the board at the center of the table. Choose one of the two sides of the board according to the number of players.
Place the Round Token on the first station space.
Place the 9 Feature Cards as a deck next to the board.
Shuffle the 18 Disguise Cards and place them as a deck next to the board.
Shuffle the Passenger Cards and place them as a deck next to the board.
Take the Event Cards. Set aside the "Event Finale Card". Categorize the rest in 3 decks according to their back color (green, yellow, red) and shuffle them separately.
Depending on the number of players choose the following number of cards from each category:
| Event | 3-4 | 5-6 |
|---|---|---|
| green | 3 | 4 |
| yellow | 3 | 4 |
| red | 3 | 3 |
Then form a common deck by placing the Event Finale Card at the bottom, the Red Event Cards on top of it, followed by the Yellow Event Cards and, finally, the Green Event Cards on top. Place this formed deck next to the board.
Reveal the first Event Card. This is going to apply during the first Round of the game.
Each player draws a Passenger Card, looks at it and keeps it face down in front of him. This is his secret identity.
Take from the Passenger Deck as many new Passenger Cards as indicated by the number shown above the first station of the board (depending on the number of players) and place them face down on the 1st space of the board.
Give each player the deck of the 6 Action Cards of his preferred color.
Shuffle the Skill Cards and give each player two cards at random.
Take the Initiative Cards according to the number of players (e.g. for 4 players take the Initiative Cards 1, 2, 3 and 4), shuffle them and randomly give one to each player.
Give each player a Deduction Sheet.
Place any remaining cards back in the box.
Player's Identity & Features
Every player in the game has a unique identity card, which corresponds to a particular passenger. Each identity card displays the unique combination of that passenger's three features (Looks, Scent and Voice). On each player's Deduction Sheet you can see the 27 Passengers that are on the train, as well as the unique combination of each passenger's three traits.
During the game you can mark the names of the passengers you have found to be innocent (see "Station Phase" and "Scheming Action" below), narrowing down the number of suspects. You can also try searching for specific opponents by finding out their particular features (see "Investigation Action" below).
Description of a Round
Each round consists of two phases: the Station Phase and the Travel Phase.
Station Phase
Please skip the Station Phase for the first Round and proceed directly to the Travel Phase.
At the beginning of each Station Phase, perform the following:
- Flip the cards of the passengers that are on the 3rd space of the board so that everyone can see their identities and then move them to the discard pile.
- Move the rest passengers one space to the right: passengers move from the 2nd space to the 3rd and from the 1st space to the 2nd.
- Advance the Round Token to the next station.
- New passengers get off the train. Place face down on the 1st space of the board new Passenger Cards from the top of the Passenger Deck. The number of the new Passenger Cards is indicated by the number shown above the current station on the board.
- Open the next Event Card and place it on top of the previously active Event Card. If the Event can be performed immediately, do so. The Event Card is considered active until a new one covers it.
Now you can proceed with the Travel Phase.
Travel Phase
During the Travel Phase all players simultaneously choose the Action Card they want to play, in secret. Each player places his chosen Action Card face down in front of him. When everybody has done so, the Actions of the Travel Phase can begin in ascending order.
- Investigation, Tail-After, Pursuit
- Assassination
- Scheming
- Deception
Everybody keeps his Action Card face down, until the Action turn of his card arrives. It is advised that the most experienced player declares the Action turn.
Description of the Action Cards
1. Investigation
Choose this Action when you want to find some information about the secret identity of another player.
During this Action you choose an opponent and investigate him about a feature of your choice (Looks, Scent or Voice). In order to do so, take the deck with the 9 Feature Cards and choose the 3 Cards that have the feature you are interested in (e.g. Voice Deep, Voice Soft, Voice Shrill). Then give them to the opponent that you want, who will return to you the card that matches with his secret identity. Write down on your sheet this newly obtained information.
Each player also has two single-use Investigation Action Cards. A player can choose to play one of them instead of the basic Investigation Card. These cards are also revealed in the first Action turn, at the same time that the basic Investigation Cards are revealed.
PURSUIT: Target an opponent and investigate him about a feature of your choice. The target player cannot use the Low-Profile Action to cancel the Investigation (see below: 4. Deception).
TAIL AFTER: Target an opponent and investigate him about a feature of your choice. The target player cannot use a Disguise Card to cancel the Investigation (see below: Disguise Cards).
After performing the Investigation Action, any player that used one of the above two single-use Investigation Cards, discards the Action Card he just used to his personal discard pile.
"I found the note under the seat, exactly where he told me it would be. It said that at the fourth stop, one of the other Players had been instructed to leave a lit cigarette on his seat and change train cars. Well that would be inconsiderate, wouldn't it? "We want to remind you that innocent passengers are not to be seriously harmed in any way, or else the dogs will bite", it said at the bottom. Dogs. Cute. An arsonist somewhere on the train, biting dogs, and now a goddamn priest coming to sit opposite me. A day in the life."
2. Assassination
Choose this Action when you want to eliminate another player.
During this Action, name the passenger (e.g. Dancer) you want to assassinate.
Successful Assassination: If any player has the identity of the passenger named, he has to reveal his passenger card - the game is over for him. This is considered a successful assassination and you draw one Disguise Card as a reward. All players now have to erase from their sheets the passenger that was assassinated.
Assassination of an Innocent: If no one has the identity of that passenger, that means that the passenger you killed was innocent. You must then reveal your own secret identity and leave the game. Afterwards, the rest of the players erase from their sheets both the identity of the innocent passenger and the identity of the player who just assassinated him/her.
"She entered the train car and walked down the aisle, feeling their eyes on her. She was graceful. Even when she tripped over her heels and fell on him, sliding the oh-so-thin dagger into his heart with one hand while covering his mouth with the other, without anyone noticing a thing. How they wished they were that lucky guy, to get a smile and a wink as she got up, straightened her clothes and went out of the train car and into the next, as fast as she had come in."
3. Scheming
Choose this Action when you want to rule out some suspects from your sheet. Scheming consists of two Actions and you perform both of them, unless it is advised differently (e.g. because of an Event Card). These two Actions are the following:
OBSERVATION: Look at the passengers that are on the 1st space of the board. These are the passengers that just got off the train. You can erase them from your sheet, as they are considered innocent. If you don't observe them while they are getting off the train, you will need some time - 3 Rounds - until you realize who they were (step 1 of Station Phase).
INTIMIDATION: Look at the top card of the Passenger Deck and erase it from your sheet. This is also an innocent passenger, who is going to get off the train in the next station. Decide whether you are going to let the passenger get off in the next station, by returning the card face down on top of the Passenger Deck or if you want to scare him and convince him to stay a little longer on the train, by placing the card face down at the bottom of the Deck.
"I'm telling you, that was the strangest train ride of my life. I'm finishing my coffee and slowly putting my paper aside, and there comes this sharp gentleman that had been checking me out for a while. He asks me if I'm getting off any time soon and as soon as I tell him that my stop is next, he's another man - he grabs me by the lapel, thrusts a gun into my ribs and tells me I choose to stay on the train and shut up or die. I swear to God, Maggie, what the hell would I be doing in Staten Island in the middle of the night?"
4. Deception
Choose this Action when you think that someone is about to investigate you and you want to defend yourself. In Deception there are two Actions available and you can only perform one of them.
LOW-PROFILE: After someone has targeted you for Investigation, you MUST reveal your card and cancel his Investigation. This happens immediately after the other player has declared that he wants to investigate you, i.e. during the Investigation Action. Besides the cancellation of the Investigation, you may also discard one Disguise Card in order to investigate the player that first targeted you about a feature of your choice.
Note! The Low-Profile Action is used to cancel only one Investigation towards you. If later in the same Round someone else wants to investigate you, you cannot use the Low-Profile Action again.
DISGUISE: If no one investigated you this Round, draw 2 Disguise Cards from the Disguise Cards deck, choose one and return the other one at the bottom of the deck.
I noticed him checking me out a couple of times. He probably thought he was being discreet, I thought otherwise. Was he a Player or did he just find me pretty? Then the poor boy comes near me and starts sniffing; now I didn't know whether he was a really dumb Player or a really creepy guy. Of course, I had already moved next to the man in the suit, who reeked of alcohol, sweat and smoke, so my sniffing friend would have to keep sniffing for a while before realizing I'm not into perfumes. It wasn't hard for me, though, to catch the scent of patchouli and cinnamon as he got closer. Oh, my sweet, poor boy. This is going to be the beginning of a beautiful friendship.
Description of the Other Cards
Initiative Cards
The Initiative Cards are used to determine the player order in the case that two or more players have chosen the same Action Card.
If two or more Action Cards are revealed in the same Action turn, all active players must show their Initiative Cards. The first player to perform his Action is the one with the highest Initiative value. All other players follow in descending order, until everyone who chose the specific Action has finished his turn.
Afterwards each of these players, starting with the one with the highest Initiative, decides if he wants to keep his own Initiative Card or take the Initiative Card of one of the others that played the same Action as him. Once a player chooses an Initiative Card, he places it face down in front of him and no one can take it.
IMPORTANT: The Initiative Cards are NOT used in the Assassination Action. If two or more players choose the Assassination Action, they all perform the Action at the same time. To avoid any misunderstandings, each player should write on his sheet the Passenger that he wants to assassinate before naming it out loud.
Disguise Cards
Disguise Cards are used as a way to cancel an Investigation Action that targets you. When an opponent attempts to Investigate you, instead of revealing to him your feature of his choice, you may give him the corresponding Disguise Card (if you have it in your hand). His Investigation is then canceled.
After playing a Disguise Card, you must discard it face down. You can use as many Disguise Cards as you like during a Round.
Furthermore, Disguise Cards can be used after the Low-Profile Action. By discarding a Disguise Card, you can investigate the player that targeted you.
Note! A player can never have more than 2 Disguise Cards in his hand. He can still draw new Disguise Cards whenever it is permitted throughout the game, but afterwards he must discard any excess cards so that he always remains with a maximum of two cards in hand.
TIP! Disguise Cards can be gained in many ways:
- After you perform a successful Assassination
- After using the Disguise Action on the Deception Action Card
- When using some Skill Cards (e.g. Cunning)
- According to an Event Card (e.g. No Fire No Smoke)
Skill Cards
Every player starts with 2 single-use Skill Cards. Some Skill Cards allow the player to break certain rules of the game, while others give the player the opportunity to perform two Actions at once.
Every Skill Card on its top half shows the Action that triggers it (e.g. the Bold Skill Card is triggered after a player performs an Assassination Action). Once you perform an Action that matches the trigger of one of your Skill Cards, you may reveal it and put it in effect by following the instructions written on the bottom half of the card. This is an additional Action and it is performed right after your Basic Action. After this, discard the Skill Card onto your personal discard pile.
Detailed Example of a Round
Maria, Alex, Eva, Nick and Olga are playing a 5-player game. They just finished the 6th Round, during which Olga was successfully assassinated by Maria. So, only four of them will continue to the 7th Round.
The players reveal the 2 Passenger Cards that are on the 3rd space of the board and erase their names from their Deduction Sheets. Then they move the Passenger Card from the 2nd space to the 3rd and the 3 Passenger Cards from the 1st space to the 2nd. They move afterwards the Round Token to the 7th Station and according to the number above this Station, they draw the top 2 Passenger Cards from the deck and place them face-down on the 1st space of the board. Finally they reveal a new Yellow Event Card, which happens to be the "No Fire No Smoke" Event Card.
The Station Phase is now over and the players will continue to the Travel Phase. All players simultaneously choose one of their Action Cards and place it face down in front of them. When everyone has done so, Maria, the most experienced player, announces that Investigation Actions will go first. Nick and Alex reveal their cards: Nick has chosen the Investigation Action and Alex has chosen the Pursuit Action (which is played as an Investigation). Having chosen the same Action, they reveal their Initiative Cards. Alex has the Initiative Card with number 2, while Nick has the Initiative Card with number 4, so Nick plays first.
Nick decides to investigate Eva. He wants to find out Eva's Looks Feature, so he takes the 9 Feature Cards and secretly gives her the 3 Looks Feature Cards. Eva is lucky as she holds a "Disguise Looks" Card. She secretly shows it to Nick and discards it face down, cancelling his Investigation. However, Nick draws a Disguise Card, because of this Round's Event Card "No Fire No Smoke".
Then it is Alex's turn. He declares that he wants to investigate Maria. Maria has chosen the Deception Action Card and she is obligated to reveal it, as she was targeted by an Investigation. However she can't cancel Alex's Investigation, because he targeted her with his Pursuit Card. Alex takes the 9 Feature Cards and secretly gives to Maria the 3 Voice Feature Cards. Maria, whose secret identity is the "Investigator", chooses and returns to Alex the "Deep Voice" Feature Card. Alex writes this information on his Deduction Sheet, he shuffles the Feature Card Deck and discards his single-use Pursuit Card onto his personal discard pile.
Nick can now choose if he wants to exchange Initiative Cards with Alex. He decides to take the Initiative Card with number 2, so Alex takes the remaining Card with number 4.
The Investigation Action is over. Maria declares that the Assassination Action is now in play, but no one has chosen this Action. Players now proceed to the Scheming Action. Eva has chosen the Scheming Action and reveals her Scheming Action Card. She looks at the two Passenger Cards that are on the 1st space of the board and erases these two innocent Passengers from her Deduction Sheet. She then looks at the top Passenger Card from the Passenger Deck and also erases this name from her Deduction Sheet. She then decides to place this Passenger at the bottom of the Passenger Deck. In addition to this, she reveals her "Sharp" Skill Card, which permits her to also look at the three Passengers on the 2nd space of the board. Then she discards the Skill Card she just used.
Now it is time for the 4th Action turn, i.e. Deception. Maria is the only player that chose the Deception Action. If no one had investigated Maria, she would now reveal her Action Card and draw 2 Disguise Cards, keeping one of them. However, since Maria has already used her Deception Card, there is nothing to do and the 7th Round is over.
End of the Game
If at any point in the game there is only one player alive, the game ends and that player is declared the winner of the game.
...HE IS... THE 27TH PASSENGER!
NOTE! The game can end before the train reaches its final destination. If the train reaches the last station, the "Big Call" Finale Event Card shows up.
In the end of the Round each player must perform an Assassination Action. If after this, 2 or more players remain alive, the game is over and nobody wins.