Mr. Jack FAQ
100 questions players ask · Updated Nov 12, 2026 · Full rulebook
Game Basics
Set-up
Game Turn
- What happens when the selected character has no legal move?
- Can an activated character end its move on the space it started from?
- In what order do the players choose characters each turn?
- When are the character cards reshuffled?
- Do innocent character tokens stay flipped for the rest of the game?
- Is there a call for witnesses after turn 1 too?
- When is a gaslight shut off relative to the call for witnesses?
- Can two characters end on the same hex, or move past other characters?
- Must a character use its special ability whenever it is activated?
- Can a character pass through occupied hexes or end its move where it started?
End of the Game
- Can Miss Stealthy or Jack escape on the first turn?
- Does Jack's escape depend on whether he is seen during the turn he escapes?
- Must Jack be unseen to escape even when he is the last suspect left?
- Does Jack have to step past the exit hex onto the dark grey area to escape?
- Which hex counts as the exit at each corner of the board?
- How does Jack win by leaving the district?
- Does Jack need an extra movement point to leave the board from an edge hex?
- How do you make an accusation, and is it resolved at once?
- Can the inspector accuse before only one suspect remains?
- Can a suspect be moved onto a detective's character so that the detective accuses him?
- Must Jack still be declared seen or unseen at the end of turn 8?
- Can the detective always stop Miss Stealthy from escaping on turn 2?
- Can any character other than Miss Stealthy escape on turn 2?
- Can Miss Stealthy escape from a hex that is not next to an exit?
- Do characters standing on the escape route or on a manhole stop Jack from escaping?
Sherlock Holmes and Watson
- Can Sherlock Holmes draw his alibi card before he moves?
- When Sherlock Holmes clears a suspect with an alibi card, should that character's token be flipped?
- Who looks at the alibi card that Sherlock Holmes draws?
- Is the alibi card that Sherlock Holmes draws ever revealed to the other player?
- Does Sherlock Holmes draw an alibi card every time he is moved?
- Can Sherlock Holmes draw an alibi card for a character already proven innocent?
- Do characters block Watson's lantern light?
- How far does Watson's lantern beam reach, and does it light the hexes next to him?
- Is Watson lit by his own lantern, or seen because of it?
- Does Watson's lantern pass through or light a gaslight, lit or shut off?
- Does Watson's lantern pass over a manhole or sewer hex?
- Is Watson's lantern always on, or only during the turn?
- When does Watson's lantern take effect: during his move, or at the call for witnesses?
- When Goodley or Gull moves Watson, who chooses which way his lantern points?
Sergeant Goodley's Whistle
- Must Sergeant Goodley's whistle use all three movement points?
- How can Goodley's three whistle points be split among characters?
- Can Goodley move before or after blowing the whistle, and can he accuse a suspect the whistle brought closer?
- Must a character moved by the whistle end closer to Goodley than it started?
- How is a character's distance from Goodley measured for the whistle?
- Can a character moved by the whistle go around an obstacle, or pass through Goodley's own hex?
- Can a character moved by Goodley's whistle use its own special ability, or the sewers?
- Can Goodley's whistle move Jack, or another suspect, onto a character so that it accuses?
- Must a revealed Mr. Jack move toward Goodley's whistle?
Miss Stealthy, Gull and the Other Characters
- How far can Miss Stealthy move, and can she cross buildings, gaslights and gardens?
- Are the free-standing houses at d8 and j5 playable hexes for Miss Stealthy?
- When checking whether Miss Stealthy has a legal move, does her crossing ability count?
- Can Gull swap places with a character and also move in the same turn?
- If Gull has no legal move, must he swap places with another character?
- Can Gull accuse a suspect by using his swap ability?
- Can John Smith move a numbered gaslight tile onto any shut-off gaslight hex?
- Can John Smith put back a gaslight tile that was already removed from the game?
- Do John Smith or Jeremy Bert have to stand next to a gaslight or manhole to use their power, or move a tile from a distance?
Use of Tokens or Special Hexes
- Are unlit gas lamps obstacles, including the unshaded lamp hex near the starting positions?
- Is the statue hex in the middle of the board an obstacle or a street space?
- Can characters stop on or pass through a gaslight hex?
- Can a character walk across, or end its move on, a manhole cover?
- Can a character stand on an open manhole, and can the manhole it stands on be covered?
- How many movement points does a sewer trip between two open manholes cost?
- Can a character use the sewers through a manhole another character is standing on?
Mr. Jack: ExtensionExpansion
- Does Abberline limit a character that starts its move next to him to one space?
- If Goodley's whistle moves a character stuck next to Abberline, how far can that character go?
- Can Joseph Lane move 3 spaces after moving his barricade away from Abberline?
- When Pizer lands next to Abberline and another character, which one moves first?
- How far must a character frightened by John Pizer move?
- Can John Pizer's ability move Mr. Jack out of the district?
- Can Pizer push another suspect onto a hex so that the suspect makes an accusation?
- Can Spring-Heeled Man leave the board by jumping?
- How does Spring-Heeled Man's jump over another character work, and what if the landing hex is occupied?
- How many movement points does Spring-Heeled Man have, and can his jumps mix with normal moves?
- Can Spring-Heeled Man jump while running away from Pizer?
- What happens when the selected character cannot move at all?
- How are manholes, lamp posts and police cordons placed when playing with the Extension?
- Where do the characters start when playing with the Extension?
- Can the Extension be played together with the Carriage?
- Can Madame use manholes, or only pass over them?
- Where can Joseph Lane's barricade be placed?
- Can characters pass through Lane's barricade, and do characters on opposite sides count as neighbours?
- Does the Extension's second barricade tile count as an extra piece, and how is the barricade built?
Mr. Jack: The CarriageExpansion
- Is the Carriage an obstacle, and how does it work with barricades, Abberline and Spring-Heeled Man?
- When must the Carriage's passenger be set down, and can Gull swap with it?
- Does the Carriage count as a witness for Jack?
- Where must the Carriage's first move begin?
- Does the Carriage's first move off the statue count as one movement point?
- How often can the Carriage be used in a round?
- Can an unoccupied Carriage pick up a character on its eighth move and drop it on an adjacent space?
- Can the Carriage be parked where it blocks an exit?
- Can Miss Stealthy move through the Carriage?
- What happens if the Carriage's passenger has no free street hex to step onto at the end of the round?
- If a player uses the Carriage instead of a character card, which card goes out of play?