Destination X Rulebook

Table of Contents

Table of Contents

• Setup
• Gameplay
  • On a detective's turn
• End of Game
• Informant Cards
• Asking Questions
• Additional Variants
• Informant Card Reference

Setup

1. Choose one player among you who will play the spy during the game. This player receives the handbook. The remaining players form the team of detectives.
2. From the deck of informant cards, remove the cards marked with a red star. These are used only in the True Detective variant. Shuffle the remaining 16 informant cards. Deal 3 cards to each detective. The remaining informant cards form the informant card deck, which should be placed face down in the middle of the table. This starting setup is for the 3–6 player variant (the variant for 2 players, and play for 7–10 people, are described in the Open Cards chapter).
3. Shuffle the deck of destination cards. Place 6 cards from the top of the deck in the middle of the table. The side showing the flag and the country's name should be face up.

Gameplay

The game consists of 3, 4, or 5 rounds. The side (the spy or the detectives) that wins 3 rounds first wins the game. At the start of each round, the spy chooses one of the six countries visible in the middle of the table. This country will be the spy's hideout for that round. It cannot be changed during the round. The spy then finds the chosen country in the handbook. Note: the countries in the handbook are arranged alphabetically. The spy should find the country discreetly enough that the detectives cannot estimate, from the number of pages flipped through, which country the spy is hiding in.

The detective sitting to the left of the spy takes the first turn of the round. Play then passes to the next detective, clockwise.

On a detective's turn

1. The detective plays one of their three informant cards to the middle of the table. Each card shows one question, which the spy must answer. The spy is required to always answer truthfully. To do this, the spy looks in the handbook and reads out the answer to the question shown on the card.
2. The detective then draws the top card from the informant card deck. If the deck is exhausted, the detective does not draw a new card.
3. After consulting with the other detectives, the detective eliminates one country. They choose the country that the team is certain the spy is NOT hiding in, and turn that country's card face down. The spy must now say whether the detectives were right or wrong.

If the detectives are wrong and the country they named is the spy's hideout, the spy wins that round. If the detectives made the correct choice and the country is not the hideout, the next detective takes their turn. As a result, the number of countries the fugitive could be hiding in decreases.

Attempting a guess: The detectives (after consulting with each other) may attempt a guess at any point during the round. To do this, they name the country where — in their view — the spy is hiding. If they are right, they win the round. If they name the wrong country, the spy wins the round.

End of round: A round ends the moment a guess is attempted, or when the detectives incorrectly discard one of the countries. The winning side keeps the card of the country in which the spy was hiding, as proof that it scored a point.

Next round: If, at the end of a round, neither side has yet scored 3 points, another round is played. All remaining destination cards are then discarded; 6 new destination cards should be drawn and placed so that the side with the flag and country name is visible. The spy chooses a new hideout, discreetly finding it in the handbook again. The round begins with the detective sitting to the left of the detective who asked the last question in the previous round. Note that informant cards remain in the detectives' hands. This means the detectives have a limited number of cards available — informant cards are not reshuffled.

End of Game

The game ends the moment one side scores 3 points (holds 3 country cards).

Informant Cards

During the game, the detectives have only 16 informant cards at their disposal. Once the informant card deck is exhausted, they may use only the informant cards already in their hands. If those are exhausted as well, the detectives may make one last attempt to catch the spy. Because of this, informant cards must be managed wisely. Once a detective plays the last informant card available in the game and the spy answers it, the detectives get one final chance to attempt a guess. If they do not win their 3rd round with that attempt, the spy wins the game.

Asking Questions

Some informant cards allow the detectives to obtain a very specific answer, e.g. about the height of the highest peak, the population, or the dominant religion. Example: The detectives ask the spy for the population of the country the spy is hiding in. Since the spy is hiding in Austria, the answer is "Eight million seven hundred and ten thousand" (8.71 million).

Other questions only provide a partial answer — for example, the names of capital cities and currencies are given only by their first letter (shown in bold). Example: The detectives ask the spy for the name of the currency of the country the spy is hiding in. Since the spy is hiding in New Zealand, where the official currency is the (New Zealand) dollar, the answer is "D".

The game also has questions with a choice of options. From the three suggestions given, one must be chosen and asked. Example: A player plays a card asking about the official language. The card shows three possibilities: English, French, and Spanish. The player decides to ask, "Is English an official language of this country?"

During the game, the detectives may freely consult with each other and share information. They may also inform other players which informant cards they currently hold. However, they must do so in a way that everyone taking part in the game — including the spy — can hear.

Additional Variants

Open Cards: This variant is intended for games with 2 players, or with 7–10 players. At the start of the game, informant cards are not dealt to the detectives. Instead, 4 informant cards should be laid face up on the table. On a detective's turn, they choose one of these cards and ask the question shown on it. Then, if possible, the cards should be replenished so that 4 cards are again available on the table.

The World Is Too Small: This is a variant for more advanced detectives. At the start of the game, lay out 8 or 10 destination cards in the middle of the table (instead of 6).

True Detective: This variant also raises the difficulty level of the game. Before starting play, remove all informant cards marked with a blue star and replace them with the cards marked with a red star.

Gaining Knowledge: If younger detectives are taking part in the game, the spy, when answering a question, should give the players complete information for the currently chosen category — for example: state the full name of the capital or currency (instead of just the first letter); name all official languages of the country; state which countries border the spy's hideout; or give the full name of the ocean the hideout lies on.

To obtain detailed information about all the questions, be sure to check pages 52–54 in the handbook.

Informant Card Reference

• Total land area
• Choose one option: is English/Spanish/French an official language?
• Main agricultural product
• Does the country lie on the Atlantic?
• Red cards (used in the True Detective variant)
• Choose one option: is the country's system of government a monarchy/republic?
• Population
• Number of countries the country shares a land border with
• System of government
• Does the country lie on the Pacific?
• Choose one option: is the country's currency the dollar/franc/euro?
• Is the country's capital also its largest city?
• GDP per capita
• Largest industry
• First letter of the capital's name
• Does the country lie on the Indian Ocean?
• Choose one option: is the dominant religion Christianity/Islam/Buddhism?
• Main export good
• Height of the highest peak
• Country's history
• First letter of the currency's name
• Dominant religion
• Does the country have a coastline (i.e. does it border a sea)?
• Is traffic in the country right-hand or left-hand?

Note: all numerical data given is approximate and reflects statistics from 2017. Some informant cards give values as percentages, e.g. 22% and 75% — these tell the players the relative size of a category, e.g. that of the countries appearing in the game, 75% are republics and 22% are monarchies.