M.O.R.P.H.O.
M.O.R.P.H.O. Rulebook
Table of Contents
Table of Contents
I. Game Content
- 21 ID cards
- 21 indication tiles
- 9 sets of reference cards
- 36 white VP tokens (represent 1VP)
- 12 black VP tokens (represent 5VP)
- 2 block tokens
- 1 Psionics token
- 1 set of blue and red tokens
- 1 first player token
II. Game Overview and Goal
In M.O.R.P.H.O., each player controls 1-2 characters represented by ID cards. The game contains several rounds. In each round, players take turns to either investigate other IDs, swap one of their IDs, or use the ID active ability.
Each ID has its winning conditions. When someone's winning condition of their current ID(s) is met, they win the round and score VPs. Start a new round until a player reaches 10 VPs. The game then ends and the one with the most VPs has the victory.
ID Introduction
Each ID card shows: winning condition(s), VPs reward, ID nature (color), ID name, ID abilities, and player count (if any).
ID nature decided the standpoint of the ID. Conflict may occur within the combination of 2 ID cards.
Combinations and Conflict
For 3-6 players, each player controls 2 IDs. Some combinations will cause conflict.
No conflicts:
- MORPHO + MORPHO
- Killers + Killers
- Deserter + Any
- Alien (Green) + Any
Conflicts:
- MORPHO + Killer
- Outsider (Purple) + MORPHO / Killer
The abilities of conflicted IDs are disabled. Also, players cannot score VPs even if one of the winning conditions has been achieved.
For 7-9 players, each player only controls 1 character. No conflict will occur.
III. Setup
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Setup ID cards: Choose between basic mode and expert mode. For your first game, we recommend the basic mode. Expert Mode: Please refer to the Expert Mode section.
Consult the ID Card Setup table below and shuffle the appropriate numbers of ID cards. Deal two cards to each player face down. Each player secretly looks at the ID cards assigned to them. Place the single remaining card face down in the middle of all players.
For 7-9 Players: Deal one instead of two cards face down to each player.
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Setup indication tiles: Consult the ID Card Setup table and place appropriate numbers of Indication tiles above the play area. They show the distribution of IDs in the current game. Players could always use them as a reference to deduce the situation.
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Randomly choose a player to go first. The player takes the first player token.
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Put all other tokens aside within the easy reach of all players.
(Example of 4 players setup, Basic mode: each player has 2 ID cards and 1 ID card is in the middle.)
ID Card Setup (Basic)
2 ID cards per player
| Players | Leader | Technician | Bodyguard | Killer | Deserter | Unknown |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 3 Players | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 3 | 0 |
| 4 Players | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 5 | 0 |
| 5 Players | 1 | 1 | 2 | 2 | 5 | 0 |
| 6 Players | 1 | 1 |
1 ID card per player
| Players | Leader | Technician | Bodyguard | Killer | Deserter | Unknown |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 7 Players | 1 | 1 | 3 | 2 | 1 | 0 |
| 8 Players | 1 | 1 | 3 | 2 | 2 | 0 |
| 9 Players | 1 | 1 | 4 | 2 | 2 | 0 |
ID Card Setup (Expert)
2 ID cards per player
| Players | Leader | Technician | Bodyguard | Killer | Deserter | Unknown |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 3 Players | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 1 |
| 4 Players | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 4 | 1 |
| 5 Players | 1 | 1 | 2 | 2 | 4 | 1 |
| 6 Players | 1 | 1 |
1 ID card per player
| Players | Leader | Technician | Bodyguard | Killer | Deserter | Unknown |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 7 Players | 1 | 1 | 3 | 2 | 0 | 1 |
| 8 Players | 1 | 1 | 3 | 2 | 1 | 1 |
| 9 Players | 1 | 1 | 4 | 2 | 1 | 1 |
IV. Gameplay
Starting from the first player, players take turns to perform ONE action among the following choices.
Action
1. Investigate: Secretly look at the face of an ID card from another player (you cannot investigate the two ID cards adjacent to you).
Important: Players may look at their own ID cards anytime during the game but need to keep their positions.
Example: You can only investigate one of the circled cards. The crossed cards are not allowed for you to investigate. (Diagram: the table layout shows You, your two Neighboring Players, Player A and Player B, and Your Adjacent ID Cards, the ID cards of the players next to you.)
In a game of 7-9 players, each player has one ID card only, so the adjacent ID cards and the neighboring players are the same.
2. Change Job: Exchange one of your ID cards with the one in the middle.
Important:
- You cannot check the ID card in the middle before this action.
- Your combination may be changed because of this action. Remember to check if they are conflicting or not after this action.
3. Use an active ability (not allowed for the first turn): Use ONE active ability of your IDs. If that ID is face down, reveal it before using.
Abilities
Active ability: Use it in your turn as an action. If you have more than one active ability, you can only use one at a time.
Passive ability: Cannot be used as an action. But when the condition is met, you must use its passive ability to react. If the card is face down, you must reveal and use its passive ability. Turn the card back to face down afterward. If the card is face up, use its passive ability, then remain face up.
To prevent extra information given, when using active abilities, the player should first ask the targeted player if they have any passive abilities triggered. If no, ask the player on the left. Lastly, ask the player on the right.
Important: If your 2 ID cards conflict with each other, you can't use either active or passive abilities! If that is the case, when your passive abilities are triggered, you cannot reveal the card.
V. End of a Round & Scoring VPs
The round ends when any player achieves the winning condition. The winning player(s) scores the VP reward on the ID card that has achieved the winning condition. If both of your IDs have achieved it, you score the bigger number of VPs.
In some rare cases, if nobody is possible to win the round, the round ends. No player scores VP.
After that, reset the game to start over a new round. Instead of selecting the first player randomly, pass the first player token to the left.
VI. End of the Game
The game ends when a player has 10 or more VPs. The victory goes to the player with the highest VPs!
If there is a tie, the player who acquired more VPs in the last round wins. If there is still a tie, the player with the later turn sequence in the last round wins.
Expert Mode
The expert mode adds Outsiders and Aliens into the game to bring more diversity to the game.
Adding Unknown ID
Except the IDs that are not suitable for the player count, pick any number of outsiders or aliens to shuffle with 1 deserter. Then, draw 1 from them to be added to the other IDs during setup. Do not check which ID it is. The unknown ID will be kept secret until someone reveals it.
For the indication tiles, show all possibilities of the unknown ID.
3-Player Variant
For 3-player games, "Intercept" and "Guard" change to affecting adjacent IDs instead of the neighboring players. Block tokens can be put between 2 cards in this variant.
For example, if an ID is targeted by a "Snipe", it can be guarded by the circled 2 IDs. Unlike the game of 4-6 players, the crossed ID cannot guard it.
VII. Key Concepts
After active abilities: After using an active ability, the ID will remain face up (except Psionics' Body Swap). For the rest of the round, you cannot Investigate or Change job.
Indicate: Point a face down or face up ID card (can be the card in the middle) and say your guess of that ID, reveal it to check if it is correct.
Eliminate: If an ID has been eliminated, flip the indication tile to the crossed side and place the eliminated ID under it. Players with no IDs left cannot perform actions or win within this round.
VIII. Details of IDs
Leader
Winning condition (reward: 3VPs): Mission success OR all killers are eliminated
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Active: Activate Mission - At the start of the next turn, indicate the Technician, if it's correct, team Morpho win the round. If it's wrong or the Technician is eliminated before Leader's next turn, killer(s) wins the round.
Hints: If the Technician is already eliminated, Leader shouldn't Activate Mission. They can still win if killers are eliminated.
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Passive: Intercept - If any IDs of the neighboring players escape, you must reveal the Leader to stop them. Eliminate the escaping ID(s).
Bodyguard
Winning condition (reward: 2VPs): Mission success OR all killers are eliminated
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Passive: Guard - If any ID of the neighboring players are targeted by Snipe, you must reveal Bodyguard to stop it. Then eliminate the ID who was sniping.
A bodyguard cannot guard themself. If a bodyguard is targeted by snipe. They can only be protected by another bodyguard.
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Passive: Intercept - If any IDs of the neighboring players escape, you must reveal a Bodyguard to stop them. Eliminate the escaping ID(s).
Technician
Winning condition (reward: 3VPs): Mission success OR all killers are eliminated
The Technician has no abilities. Conflict does not make the technician ignore the leader's indication.
Killers
Winning condition (reward: 3VPs): Mission failed OR the leader is eliminated
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Active: Snipe - Choose a target ID, if it is not guarded, eliminate it from the round. You cannot snipe the ID in the middle.
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Active: Block - Place a block token between 2 players. Their IDs are not counted as adjacent for any active or passive abilities.
You may place a block token between 2 cards in the 3-player variant.
Hints: You can use block tokens to help you snipe easier. However, beware that you may help Deserters to escape easier as well.
Block tokens can make intercepting or guarding more difficult. However, block tokens do not enable players to investigate their adjacent IDs.
Deserter
Winning condition (reward: 3VPs): Escape successfully
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Active: Escape - To escape, all of your IDs need to be Deserter. Reveal all of your IDs and check if you are intercepted. If not, you win solely this round.
You can only escape when all of your IDs are Deserter. Mercenary is the only exception. Deserter can still escape with the Mercenary.
Extremist
Winning condition (reward: 3VPs): 3 or more deserters are eliminated
- Active: Detonate 3 Bombs - Eliminate 3 IDs one-by-one. Remember to check if anyone wins the round between each target during this ability.
Spy
Winning condition (reward: 2VPs): Report all MORPHO identities
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Active: Report - Indicate Leader, Technician and Bodyguard(s) one-by-one. If all of them are correct, you win the round solely. If not, all players except you score 1 VP and the round ends.
Hints: You can indicate face up cards and the ID in the middle.
Invester
Winning condition (reward: 3VPs): Investing in the winning team
- Active: Invest - Take both Red and Blue investor tokens. Secretly hold either one in your right hand to predict which team will win this round. You must pass for the rest of the round and cannot be eliminated. If the prediction is correct, you win together in the round.
Mercenary
Winning condition (reward: -1VP): Depends on your other identity
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Active: Assassinate - Eliminate 1 adjacent ID. Ignore Guard.
Hints: Mercenary will not conflict with another ID. Therefore, there are a lot of special uses.
For example: Pairing with Deserter, assassinate a bodyguard to escape. Pairing with a Killer to assassinate the Leader.
Psionics
Winning condition (reward: 5VPs): Perceive all identities
You cannot swap this ID through "change job". Also, your second ID cannot use any abilities or win unless you get rid of this ID.
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Active: Perceive - Guess every ID card one-by-one clockwise. If all are correct, you win solely this round. If not, all players except you score 1 vp and the round ends.
To Perceive, start from the next ID clockwise, say your guess of the ID, then turn it over to check if it is correct. If yes, proceed to the next card, and so on.
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Active: Body Swap - Switch Psionics' place with another ID. Then the new owner flip it back to face down. The new owner of Psionics receives a Body Swap token. Having the token makes the Psionics cannot Body Swap again.
Cyborg
Winning condition (reward: 4VPs): The technician is eliminated
You cannot swap this ID through "change job". Also, your second ID cannot use any abilities or win unless you get rid of this ID.
- Active: Snipe - Choose a target ID, if it is not guarded, eliminate it from the round. You cannot snipe the ID in the middle.
Parasite
Winning condition (reward: 4VPs): Escape successfully
You cannot swap this ID through "change job". Also, your second ID cannot use any abilities or win unless you get rid of this ID.
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Active: Parasite Escape - Same with Deserter's escape but you only need to reveal Parasite.
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Passive: Parasite Transmit - When the Parasite has been seen during the checking ID action, you take one of the IDs owned by the player checked you, the ID in the middle, and the Parasite, look and rearrange their locations.
IX. Q & A
Q1. What happens if a player has no ID card left? Ans: If all ID cards of a player have been eliminated, the player will be out of the round. They cannot perform any action and score any VPs in the current round until the next round.
Q2. Following Q1, will adjacent players change if a player is out of the round? Ans: Yes, if a player is out of the round, the 2 players besides that player become adjacent.
Q3. Following Q2, how about block tokens? Are they still in play? Ans: No. If a player is out of the round, the block tokens affecting them will be removed. Removed also means they are not going back to supply. So, in a round, there is a total of 2 block tokens that can be placed.
Q4. If there are 2 killers, are they sharing the 2 block tokens? Ans: Yes. You should think wisely when placing block tokens. Otherwise, you may waste your teammate's tokens.
Q5. Can a Bodyguard guard themself? Ans: No. A Bodyguard can only guard the IDs of the neighboring players (adjacent 2 IDs in the 3-players variant). However, a bodyguard can be guarded by another bodyguard.
Q6. If my IDs are in conflict but either one is eliminated making a team wins, can I score VPs? Ans: No. You cannot score any VPs if your IDs conflict with each other right before the round ends.
For example, you have both Leader and Killer. Then, the round ends because your Leader has been eliminated. Although the winning condition of your Killer is achieved, you cannot score VPs.
Q7. Can I swap my ID if its passive abilities are activated before? Ans: Yes. The ID flips back to face down after activating a passive ability. It is not a must to keep it.
Q8. "I am not so sure about how Leader's Activate mission works" Ans: You can understand the leader in this way: step 1 - use "Activate mission". Step 2 (on the next round) - indicate the technician. If you get it wrong, Killers win. Also, if the technician is eliminated between step 1 and 2, the mission failed and Killers win.
Q9. Activating an active ability will leave the ID face up. Why Psionics' Body Swap is different? Ans: When you have a face up ID, you must use its active abilities in your turn as the action. If the Psionics leaves face up after Body Swapping, the new owner will force to Preceive. We want to prevent that in the game rules.
Q10. In Expert mode, can I change which Aliens or Outsiders to be included between rounds? Ans: You are allowed to do so. You may even switch from Basic mode to Expert mode between rounds. You may increase the variety of IDs round by round to help new players learn them easier.
Q11. Can Cyborg win if the technician is eliminated by other players? Ans: Yes. The same logic applies to all winning conditions. If your winning ID is an ID being eliminated, you win even if you are not the one to eliminate that ID.
Q12. Do Killers win together with Cyborg if the technician is eliminated before Leader's next turn after activating the mission? Ans: No. In a situation without Cyborg, if the technician is eliminated, the Leader fails to indicate an alive technician when it is Leader's turn. Then Killers win. However, if there is a Cyborg, it wins immediately after the technician is eliminated. The mission has not failed yet because Cyborg has already won the round solely before Leader's turn.