Get Adler! Deduction Card Game
Get Adler! Rulebook
Table of Contents
Table of Contents
Overview
The game consists of two parts. In the first part the players ask each other questions and study the cards they play, trying to find out who Adler is. Once Adler's identity has been revealed (by someone who tried to arrest him), the game turns into a chase after Adler.
The heroes' goal is to arrest or eliminate the traitor.
Agent Adler's goal is to survive until seven o'clock with at least one top-secret document in his possession. To achieve this he must keep his identity hidden for as long as possible. Once he is discovered, he must try to prevent his arrest by using weapons or by escaping.
Setup
- Shuffle the character cards and deal one card, face down, to each player. Keep your character card secret!
- 4 players: Adler, Gold, Sharpe, Townsend
- 5 players: add Kate Collins
- 6 players: add agent Tarasov
- Shuffle the action cards and deal each player a "hand" of seven face-down cards. Place the remaining cards face down in the middle of the table as the action card deck.
- 4 players: use all 64 unmarked cards
- 5 players: add the 13 cards marked 5+
- 6 players: additionally add the 13 cards marked 6+
- Determine the starting player at random and give the starting player marker (the clock showing one o'clock) to that player.
Each player has a summary card to consult during the game (with the characteristics of the characters on one side and an overview of the cards on the other side).
Playing the Game
In each of the seven rounds, every player takes one turn, beginning with the starting player and continuing clockwise.
On your turn, draw one card from the action card deck and place one card from your hand face up on the discard pile. The card on the discard pile either has an action or does not (in which case you simply discard a card). See also: Playing cards, below.
Once every player has had a turn, the round is over. Place a new time marker by the starting player to keep track of time (at the end of round 1, place the 2 o'clock time marker).
Note: if there are no action cards left, shuffle the discard pile to form a new action card deck and continue playing.
Communication During the Game
During the game, players may not speak (in words or gestures) about which character someone has, which cards they hold, or what they will do next. You will need to listen carefully to the questions and answers and watch which cards are played in order to extract information from them. You are of course free to make things as difficult for each other as you like!
Playing Cards
Top-secret documents
At the end of the seventh hour, Adler must have at least one top-secret document in his possession to win the game. The heroes may discard these documents to signal to their colleagues that they are heroes. But beware! Adler can also discard these cards, as a bluff.
[Hint: picked up by Adler.]
Investigation cards
Perform an action on your turn.
Question mark Ask a player of your choice a question that can be answered with yes or no and that is based on the colour of one of the four characteristics (hat, hair, eyes, coat). Example: "Do you have a black hat?" or "Do you have blue eyes?" Heroes must tell the truth. Adler may lie. (Note: once the identities have been revealed, a question mark card can only be discarded.)
[Hint: very important for the heroes.]
Magnifying glass Look at all the action cards of a player of your choice.
[Hint: important for the heroes and for Adler.]
Binoculars Take a random card from the hand of an opponent of your choice. Then give that player a card of your choice from your own hand in return.
[Hint: important for heroes and for Adler.]
Arrest Use this to try to arrest Adler. (Note: cannot be played in rounds 1-3.)
Before the identities have been revealed: On your turn, place the arrest card in front of the player you think is Adler. If you are right, all character cards are turned face up and a confrontation takes place between you and Adler. Adler may play a reaction card. If you are wrong, it is an unjust arrest. Both you and the accused player each lose one turn and sit out of the game. Do not reveal the characters yet.
After the identities have been revealed: On your turn, place the arrest card in front of Adler. A confrontation follows between you and Adler. He must play a reaction card to prevent the arrest (an escape, disguise, bomb or pistol – see page 6). Place all cards used during the confrontation on top of the arrest card (see replenishing, page 8). If Adler cannot play a reaction card, he is arrested and the game is over.
[Hint: important for the heroes. Discard for Adler.]
Reaction cards
Played by Adler in response to an arrest card.
Escape If Adler plays an escape card, one of the heroes must also play one, otherwise Adler escapes. The player who played the arrest card continues the confrontation with Adler. This does not have to be the same person who played the arrest card.
If another player also plays an escape card, Adler must then play another reaction card (escape, disguise, bomb or pistol). Note: Adler may play more than one escape card in the same confrontation.
If the players can no longer play (any) escape cards, Adler escapes and the confrontation is over.
[Hint: important for heroes and for Adler.]
See also Replenishing and discarding, page 8.
Bomb When Adler plays this card, bombs explode. The confrontation is over. Each hero is knocked unconscious and skips his next turn. The game continues to the left of the player who played the arrest card. The bomb may be played against the hero who carried out the arrest, or against a hero who was involved in the confrontation by playing an escape card.
[Hint: important for Adler. Discard for the heroes.]
Disguise When Adler plays a disguise card, he escapes and the confrontation is over. The heroes cannot play the disguise card, they can only discard it.
[Hint: important for Adler. Discard for the heroes.]
Pistol When Adler plays a pistol card, a gunfight breaks out between him and the hero who is in a confrontation with him at that moment (with that hero only!). Shots are exchanged back and forth until the gunfight is over.
If both players fired the same number of shots, Adler is still free. The confrontation is over.
If Adler fired more shots, the hero involved in the gunfight has died and is removed from the game. The confrontation is over.
If the hero fired more shots than Adler, Adler has died and the game ends.
[Hint: important for heroes and for Adler.]
Replenishing and discarding
At the end of a confrontation, every player involved in it refills his hand to seven cards by drawing cards from the action card deck. All cards used during the confrontation are placed at the bottom of the discard pile. The game continues in the usual turn order, starting from the player who played the arrest card.
If a player is eliminated during a gunfight, the opponent may choose to draw cards from the eliminated player first and then from the action card deck. Once all hands have been refilled, all cards used during the confrontation and the remaining cards of the eliminated player are placed at the bottom of the discard pile.
End of the Game
Heroes win
- if Adler is eliminated before the end of the seventh round; or
- if Adler is still alive at the end of the seventh round but has no top-secret documents in his possession; or
- if Adler has no reaction to an arrest card or an escape card.
Agent Adler wins
- if he is alive at the end of the seventh round and has at least one top-secret document in his possession; or
- if he has eliminated all the other players.
[Translator's note: the source prints "ontspanningskaart" ("relaxation card") in this last clause. This is evidently a typo for "ontsnappingskaart" (escape card), and "escape card" is what is transcribed here.]
Contents
For 4, 5 or 6 players 4 players: 4 character cards: Gold, Sharpe, Townsend, Adler. 64 action cards: 10 top-secret documents, 8 question marks, 8 magnifying glasses, 4 binoculars, 10 arrest cards, 10 escape cards, 12 pistols, 1 bomb, 1 disguise.
5+ players: add 14 cards 1 character card – Kate Collins; 2 top-secret documents, 2 question marks, 1 magnifying glass, 1 pair of binoculars, 2 arrest cards, 2 pistols, 2 escape cards (bus, bicycle), 1 bomb.
6+ players: add 14 cards 1 character card – Boris Tarasov; 2 top-secret documents, 2 question marks, 1 magnifying glass, 1 pair of binoculars, 2 arrest cards, 2 pistols, 2 escape cards (car, underground).
Rules for a 5-Player Game
Kate Collins – Accomplice
If you play with five or more players, Agent Adler gets an accomplice: Kate Collins. The following rules apply:
- All rules apply to both Adler and Collins.
- The first time an arrest attempt is made, the arresting player does not have to state whether he thinks the player being arrested is Adler or Collins (the villains). The arrest may be used against either of them.
- Once the identities have been revealed, Collins may, on her turn, take a card and then pass one of her face-down cards to Adler. Adler then passes a face-down card back to Collins. Collins then plays a card as usual.
- If Adler is eliminated, Collins may try to win the game herself.
Extra escape cards: in a 5- or 6-player game there is an odd number (3) of escape cards. If two heroes want to play an escape card at the same time, the one who places the card on the villain's escape card first may play it.
Rules for a 6-Player Game
Boris Tarasov – Honest MI6 Agent
If you play with 6 players, the heroes are reinforced by the arrival of MI6 agent Boris Tarasov. All rules that apply to the heroes also apply to Boris Tarasov.
Extended Rules
(Best used with 5 or more players.)
Special abilities of the heroes
- Sharpe – fastest gunman in Great Britain. Add +1 to his pistols. For example, if he has 2 pistol cards, they count as 3.
- Gold – ideal for surveillance. By playing a binoculars card, he may take 2 cards from a player. He also gives back 2 cards.
- Townsend – never forgets a face. Disguises do not work on him. The villain must therefore play a different card.
- Tarasov – explosives expert. Bombs have no effect on him when they are played against a colleague. If they are played directly against him, the bomb is immediately defused. Villains must play a different card.
Extra expert rules (best with 5 or more players)
Ultimate mission
Shuffle the top-secret documents together. One of the players randomly draws one of these cards. At the end of the game the villains must have a top-secret document from that branch (for example, the Royal Air Force). All top-secret documents are shuffled back into the deck before the game begins.