Hit the Silk! Rulebook

Table of Contents

Table of Contents

• Game Modes
• Objectives
• Game Preparation
• On Your Turn
• Changing a Card
• Card Actions
  • 1. Steal
  • 2. Spy
  • 3. Handcuffs
  • 4. Key
  • 5. Poison
  • 6. Antidote
  • 7. Kung Fu Move
  • 8. Shoot a Player
  • 9. Other Cards
• Trading
• Altitude Drop
• The Vote
• Win or Lose?
• Land the Plane!
• Tactics
  • Further Handcuff Rule Clarifications
• Appendix
  • Travel Mode
    • Round Based Play
  • Advanced Game Play
    • Additional Actions
    • Advanced Trading: Challenges
    • Advanced Trading: Counter Challenge
• Box Contents

Game Modes

Hit the Silk! has three game modes. This Game Play Guide will centre on the core game and then detail any changes needed for other modes in the Appendix (Page 13).

• Core Game: The optimum mode in which to learn or teach the game
• Double Cross: This mode introduces some additional rules around trading and threats
• Travel: This mode converts the game to be played solely with the deck of cards for travel use

Objectives

By whatever means they can (theft, threats, trades) players must:

1. Ensure their survival by sourcing a Parachute card and forming an alliance with other players who are ready to Hit the Silk!
2. Secure enough cash between the jumpers to satisfy the Casino debt (see page 2 for cash targets).

The catch: you need to admit you are in possession of a Parachute card and a good amount of cash to form an alliance, but as soon as you do, you become a target for thieves and mercenaries.

At the end of the game (either when a Vote is agreed or when the Altimeter marker is at 1,000ft), players must jump from the Plane.

Any surviving players add up all the cash in their possession. If they reach the target, they all WIN. If not, they LOSE when the Casino come looking for their dues.

To survive, you must have a Parachute card and not be Handcuffed to a player without a Parachute card. Players Handcuffed together will die if they do not hold enough Parachute cards between them.

Players left on the Plane without a Parachute card are given a slim chance of survival by attempting to Land the Plane.

Game Preparation

1. Lay out the Altimeter and set the needle to the correct altitude according to your team size:

Team Size	3	4	5	6
Altitude	16,000ft	19,000ft	22,000ft	25,000ft

2. Lay out the Card Organiser so that you can see the three card areas marked: DRAW, DISCARD, LAUNDRY

3. Locate all Flannel cards and put them on the Laundry pile, face up

4. Establish the number of players and remove any cards marked with a higher number in the top left hand corner. For example, for a 4 player game, return any cards marked 5 or 6 back to the Game Box.

   5-6 Player Games: Please note that one of the Parachute cards that is marked 4 is excluded from a 5 or 6 player game as it is replaced by the Tandem Parachute card

5. Set aside the following cards from your deck: KEY, SPY, STEAL, KUNG FU

6. Shuffle the remaining deck and deal 6 cards face down onto the Lockbox next to the Altimeter

7. Re-integrate the cards you set aside in step 5 and shuffle the deck once more

8. Deal 6 cards to each player

9. Any cards remaining from this deck are placed face down on the Draw pile

10. Players then select 2 cards to dispose of, by placing them face up on the Discard pile

NB: Players must always be holding 4 cards, which remain secret from other players. If, at the end of a turn, a player has fewer cards than their hand size, they draw Flannel cards as needed to replenish up to the hand limit.

On Your Turn

You can do all of the following:

1. Change a card (once per turn)
2. Take as many actions as your hand of cards allow.
3. Trade with another player

You can do these actions in any order. Your turn expires when you have completed as many actions as you wish.

IMPORTANT: If you take no actions on your turn, reduce the altitude by 500ft and then the next player may start their turn.

Changing a Card

Once per turn, you can discard 1 of your cards and place it at the top of the Discard pile face up or on the Laundry pile if it's a Flannel card.

Reduce the Altimeter by 500ft, then pick up the following number of cards from the top of the Draw pile (according to the Altimeter):

Height is > 19,000ft: 1 card Height is > 13,000ft: 2 cards Height is > 7,000ft: 3 cards Height is > 1,000ft: 4 cards

• If you picked up more than one card, you choose which to keep and place the remainder face up on the top of the Discard pile. You must always discard before you pick up.
• Remember: you can only ever hold a maximum of 4 cards in your hand.
• If the Draw pile is exhausted, flip over the Discard pile, shuffle them and replenish the Draw pile.

Card Actions

On your turn, you can play multiple actions – as many as the cards in your hand allow. If you play an action with a symbol that tells you to adjust the altitude of the plane, you must adjust the altitude before you play the action. For example, a Key card may say "-500ft" – you must move the Altimeter needle 500ft lower. Some actions do not impact the Altimeter.

1. Steal

When you steal, lay your Steal card face up, on the Discard pile and adjust the Altimeter. Select 2 cards at random from another player of your choice. You look at both cards and choose 1 to steal and 1 to return. The victim takes a Flannel card to replace the stolen card.

Clarifications:

• If you attempt to steal and your victim reveals a Knife card, you are unable to proceed. You cannot steal from another player (unless you hold a second Steal card). Instead, draw a Flannel card.

2. Spy

You can check any other players' hand. You are free to tell other players what these cards are, but you might be bluffing.

Place your Spy card face up on the Discard pile, adjust the Altimeter and draw another card from the Draw pile, which can be used immediately if desired.

3. Handcuffs

You can handcuff any two players together (including yourself). This is a tactic sometimes used by players without parachutes to prevent others from voting to Hit the Silk! Adjust the Altimeter and place the Handcuffs card in front of one of the players you are handcuffing, then place the corresponding (numbered) Handcuff Token beside the other. After using the Handcuff card, add a Flannel card to your hand.

Clarifications:

• If two handcuffed players Hit the Silk! then they will both need parachutes.
• It is possible to create a chain of 3 handcuffed players.
• If both your hands are cuffed, you cannot play a Kung Fu move.

4. Key

You can use a Key card once on any given turn.

Adjust the Altimeter and then choose to use the Key in one of two ways:

• You can unlock any set of handcuffs in the game and the players are no longer bound to each other. Your Key card goes face up on the Discard pile and you take a Flannel card. The Handcuffs card also returns face-up to the Discard pile and its corresponding Handcuffs Token returned to the playing area.
• You can open the Lockbox and inspect any cards that exist in there. You may choose one and return the remainder to the Lockbox. Your Key card goes to the Discard pile.

Clarifications:

• Players may announce the remaining contents of the Lockbox if they wish, but they may also bluff about the contents.

5. Poison

You can poison any player. Adjust the Altimeter and then remove the Poison card from play by returning it to the Box and pick up a Flannel card. Each Poison card can only be used once

When poisoned, the selected player receives a Poison Token. After 6,000ft, any poison not yet used loses its deadliness and is rendered useless.

A player can recover from poisoning by taking an antidote. This can be played by any player but must be played before the plane drops below 4,000ft as marked on the Altimeter.

A player who has been poisoned and is still on the plane at 4,000ft dies unless they have been given or used the Antidote card. The player withdraws from play, placing their cards face up in front of them. Any other player may then steal from their hand (once, as a free action, on their turn) by discarding one card to the Discard pile and picking up one from the dead player.

Clarifications:

• If the Poison card is rendered useless at 6,000ft, any player who draws it from the Draw pile, must remove it from play and return it to the Box. They may then draw another card instead.
• If the Poison card is already held by a player at 6,000ft, they must remove it from play and return it to the Box. They draw a Flannel card to replace it.

6. Antidote

You can use the Antidote card on any player including yourself. Adjust the Altimeter and then remove the Antidote card from play (each Antidote card can only be used once). Pick up a Flannel card. Once you or they have taken it, the effect of the Poison is undone and the Poison Token is removed from play.

Clarifications:

• You must take the Antidote before the plane hits 4,000ft, at which point the effects of the Poison will become fatal.

7. Kung Fu Move

Adjust the Altimeter and place the Kung Fu card face up on the Discard pile. This card enables you to punch a weapon out of a player's hand. You can do this either:

• On your turn to a player you know has a Knife or Revolver
• Speculatively to any player to see if they are holding a weapon
• Reactively during another players' attempt to punch you, negating their punch

If you successfully kicked a weapon or defended another Kung Fu move, you draw a new card, which can be used if it is your turn. If you did not displace a weapon, you draw a Flannel card from the Laundry pile

Clarifications:

• A Kung Fu move will not defend you against a Bullet or an attempt to steal. You cannot kick Poison from a player's hand.

8. Shoot a Player

You can shoot any player if you are in possession of a Revolver and a Bullet card. You must show both cards. Adjust the Altimeter and place the Bullet card face up on the Discard pile. The Revolver card remains in your hand and you may look at all of your victims' cards and draw one of your choice from them.

Once you have fired the shot, that player is injured, and their hand limit is permanently reduced to three cards. If it is the second Bullet they have received, they are killed and take no further part in the game. No cards are taken from them after a second Bullet and the three cards in their hand are thrown out of the Plane and completely removed from play.

9. Other Cards

Briefcase cards (cash), Knife cards, Parachute cards and Flannel cards have no associated actions. These cards can be traded but have no use other than fulfilling or defending your game objectives.

Trading

Players may offer trades with other players. In a trade, a verbal agreement is made. Then, the players secretly pass cards face down to trade with the other. They can choose to honour the deal or double-cross them by passing a card or cards different from the agreement.

Remember:

• When trading, an equal number of cards must be traded. For example, you can offer a Knife card and £20k card for an Antidote card and a Key card.

Altitude Drop

Throughout the game, the plane will lose altitude as players perform actions. When the Altimeter indicates an opportunity to Hit the Silk! the players must vote to either Wait or Hit the Silk!

At the following altitudes a vote takes place IMMEDIATELY as the needle passes the gauge, even if interrupting a player's turn.

21,000ft, 17,000ft, 13,000ft, 9,000ft, 5,000ft

Players take the opportunity to discuss their plans, each trying to gauge who can be trusted, who has a Parachute and if there is sufficient cash to Hit the Silk!

The Vote

• If there is a tie or a majority decision to wait, there is NO jump. The Plane suffers from turbulence and drops 1,000ft.
• The player to the left of the current player (who recently caused the altitude to change) then Votes first. Players Vote in clockwise order and if there is a majority decision to Hit the Silk! then players reveal their hands, and the result of the game is determined.

Win or Lose?

When players finally Hit the Silk! players with Parachute cards survive and count their cash.

WIN:

If they have collectively met their cash target, they WIN.

LOSE:

• If the Parachutists have less than the target cash (see page 2) they LOSE.
• If you were killed, you LOSE.
• If you are Handcuffed to another player and there were not enough Parachute cards to support you both, you LOSE. (Any cash held can still be counted towards the team goal)

SCORE:

• The team result is any surplus cash to the target. For example: if the target was £80k and the team escaped with £100k, their 'Score' is £20k.
• If you have no Parachute card available to you and you are not attached by Handcuffs, you can attempt to Land the Plane (see next page).

Clarifications:

• To survive a jump in Handcuffs, there must be as many Parachutes as Handcuffed players. These Parachutes can be held by 1 or more players and distributed after the Vote to Hit the Silk!
• When playing with a Tandem Parachute card, the decision as to who you are taking with you can be announced after the Vote has been counted.

Land the Plane!

After a group has Hit the Silk! anyone left without a Parachute card, who is still alive and not attached by Handcuffs to another parachutist has a chance to Land the Plane! If this is more than one player, they will play cooperatively to land the plane.

If they are in possession of the Pilot's Licence card, they will gain more control over the Plane and better their chance of landing it. If they are not, they have one last ditch attempt to find it: they can discard up to 4 cards and draw that many replacements to find the Pilot's Licence card. They can steal from any poisoned players and inspect the Lockbox if they have a Key card.

Take the Land the Plane! board and place the red Plane Token in the top left start position.

Roll the two white Dice. With the result, you must choose to move the Plane horizontally with one value and vertically with the other value.

For example: If you roll a 3 and a 2, you can move 3 across and 2 down OR 2 across and 3 down

If however, one of the Dice indicates a mandatory direction of movement, the decision of which to move across/down is made for you.

For example: If you roll a 1 ACROSS and a 3, you must move the Plane across 1 and down 3

If both Dice indicate a mandatory direction of movement, you must move the Plane as directed – even if they are both across or both down movements.

For example: If you roll a 1 ACROSS and a 1 ACROSS, you must move the Plane across 2

The objective is to land the Plane on the Landing Strip (bottom right of the board).

• If the Plane descends below the surface line, it crashes, and you LOSE
• If the Plane passes beyond the right edge, it crashes into the mountain and you LOSE
• If the Plane touches down on the Landing Strip, you must hit the brakes. Roll one Die to determine the final move across the Landing Strip. If you roll a down indicator, you LOSE. If you pass beyond the final space into the mountain, you crash and LOSE. If you come to a standstill on the Landing Strip, you have survived.
• If you survive, you WIN. You are presumed dead by the Casino and can keep whatever cash you have in your possession.

Pilot's Licence: the Pilot's Licence card allows you to deduct a value of 1 from one of the Dice, on each turn, including 1 ACROSS/1 DOWN rolls and when rolling one Die to brake on the Landing Strip.

If the Plane is successfully landed and the Parachutists successfully hit their target, the overall game winner is the player landing the Plane if they have more cash than the team has that is surplus to their target.

For example: A player who lands the Plane with £30k beats a team of 3 Parachutists with £120k (£20k surplus to a £100k target).

Tactics

Discussion is important, but dangerous. Revealing you have valuable items demonstrates you are crucial to the team that escapes, but also leaves you vulnerable to theft. We recommend you start the first game being partially open about your cash and cautious about your other possessions.

Further Handcuff Rule Clarifications

• If you are handcuffed together, you will both need a parachute to survive – you cannot share a parachute except the Tandem Parachute card.
• If you are handcuffed to a dead player, you will need a Key card to remove the handcuffs and jump alone. You can also attempt to source an additional parachute and strap it to a dead player to jump together.
• If multiple players are handcuffed together, they can all survive a jump, as long there are sufficient parachutes between them. They could be held by one or more persons.

Appendix

Travel Mode

The purpose of this mode is to enable you to play Hit the Silk! on the move, without some of the components:

1. All dice
2. The Pilot's Licence
3. The Altimeter
4. The Card Organiser is optional

Additionally, disregard any altitude changes indicated on the cards.

Round Based Play

The game is played like this:

1. Play takes place across a maximum of 4 rounds.

2. Players take turns to trade cards and take actions in a clockwise direction, with a different player starting each round.

3. When changing cards, you can discard 1 of your cards and place it face up on the Discard pile (or on the Laundry pile if it is a Flannel card). You then pick up from the top of the Draw pile:

   Round One: x1 card Round Two: x2 cards Round Three: x3 cards Round Four: x4 cards

4. The round finishes when every player has had a turn.

5. At the end of each round, players decide if they want to Hit the Silk! or Wait – they Vote in a clockwise direction, beginning with the player who started the round.

6. If there is a majority decision to Hit the Silk! ALL players will jump out of the Plane – there's NO opportunity to land the Plane.

7. At the end of the 4th round, the Plane is in jeopardy and all players must Hit the Silk!

Advanced Game Play

The following rules are optional. You can use any of them to enhance the standard game when you are familiar with the rules.

Additional Actions

1. Handcuffs: You can Handcuff yourself to any Briefcase in your hand. No one can steal that Briefcase from you. Place the Handcuff card in front of you and the Handcuff Token too. Anyone can unlock this. The Briefcase is counted towards your hand limit, but the Handcuffs are not. You replace them with a Flannel card.

2. Revolver: Threaten a player.

   If you have a Revolver card, you can threaten to shoot a player. The Altimeter is not affected. The player threatened can ask for proof of a Revolver card. If they are threatened, they have four choices:

   a) They can show you all of their cards. You can take one of your choice. The player threatened picks up a Flannel card to replace the item they lost.

   b) Refuse to give up their items, at which point you must pull your trigger. If you have a Bullet card, they will be shot (see standard rules for procedure). If you have NO Bullet card, you must place your empty Revolver card face up on the Discard pile and replace it with a Flannel card.

   c) Produce their own Revolver card and create a Standoff.

   d) They can perform a Kung Fu move to dismiss the threat. The assailant loses the Revolver card face up to the Discard pile. This move can be negated by Kung Fu move in retaliation.

3. Disposal: Throw items off the plane.

   You can throw up to 2 items off the Plane (completely removing them from play). For every item you throw off, you must discard another one, face up.

   You can do this any time, there is no card required.

   This is a drastic action that can dramatically alter the course of play.

Advanced Trading: Challenges

If you both agree a trade, both parties place the cards face down for the exchange. If there are no challenges, the cards are swapped without incident.

If one of the parties suspects a double cross, they can challenge, and the suspect must turn their card(s) over.

• If the suspect was lying, the accuser can take the originally agreed card (or ANY card owned by the suspect if there was a bluff) and trade it for their face down card. They can also abort the transaction.
• If the suspect was being truthful, the suspect can take the originally agreed card from the accuser (or ANY card owned if there was a bluff) and trade it for their card.

Advanced Trading: Counter Challenge

The suspect can also make a Counter Challenge and the accusers' card is also revealed.

If only one of the parties was telling the truth, the honest trader may take the originally agreed card(s) (or another card if it was a bluff) in exchange for the original card(s) offered. They can also abort. In addition, the honest trader may swap another card from his hand for another card from the liar.

• If both parties lied, the transaction is void
• If both parties told the truth, the transaction is void.

Box Contents

• Card Organiser x 1
• Altimeter x 1
• Land the Plane! Game x 1
• Wooden Plane Token x 1
• Dice x 2
• Playing Tokens x 6
• Playing Cards x 70