Museum Rush Rulebook

Table of Contents

Table of Contents

• Components
• Set Up the Game
• How to Play
  • Break In!
  • Turn Sequence
  • Other Players' Turns
• Draw Cards
  • Hand Limit
• Moving
• Guards Moving
  • Which Way?
• Getting Caught!
  • Slipping Away
  • Busted!
  • Re-Entering the Museum
  • Two Thieves at Once
• Steal Actions
  • Steal Loot
  • Attempt to Crack a Lock
  • Using Keys
  • Steal from Another Thief
  • Steal from the Vault or Lost & Found
• Turn Over Next Card
• Playing Item Cards
• Instant Cards
  • How Many Players?
• Escaping the Museum
• Service Rooms
• End of the Game
  • Still Inside?
  • Count Up Your 'Take'
• Thief Abilities
• Using Your Stash
• Buyers
• International Crime Spree

Components

Room tiles (28) – laid out as a 4 by 7 grid:

• 7 Exhibit rooms – Loot, Cameras and Guards are found here.
• 10 Service rooms – including the Vault, the Security Room, and Lost & Found.
• 7 High Security rooms – Rare Treasures are kept here. Crack the code to get in!
• 4 other rooms – good places to stash Loot!

Thieves

• 6 Thief cards: The Cat, The Joker, The Snake, Cipher, The Owl, The Ventriloquist.
• Plastic Thief playing pieces.

Shuffled into the museum

• 14 Loot cards
• 7 Rare Treasure cards
• 6 Camera cards
• 8 Guard cards (plastic Guard models are placed on the board during setup)

Search deck (purple cards)

• 6 Disable cards
• 6 Lure cards
• 3 Take Down cards
• 4 Way Out cards
• 6 Clock cards
• 4 Booby Trap cards

Other components

• 16 Unlock tokens (green)
• 6 Stash cards
• 6 Buyer cards
• 3 dice

Set Up the Game

Your First Game: If this is your first time playing, we suggest you leave out the Thief cards, Buyer cards and the Stash cards (steps 6, 7 & 8). After your first game you can add these in for extra mayhem!

1. Create the museum. Shuffle the Room tiles and lay them out in a 4 by 7 grid as shown, with all the rooms in random positions. In later games you can try different museum layouts (see International Crime Spree, p.16).

2. Fill the museum. a. Thoroughly shuffle together the Camera cards, Guard cards and the Loot cards (but NOT the Rare Treasures – keep those aside for the moment). b. Place 2 of the shuffled cards, face-down on each of the Exhibit Rooms and each of the High Security Rooms (all the red tiles!). c. Put the Rare Treasure cards face-up onto the High Security rooms (the ones with the lock code numbers down the side), on top of the face-down cards. Each card states exactly which room it goes in – the more valuable items have better security! d. Turn over the top card on each Exhibit room. e. Any Guard cards showing are removed (start a discard pile somewhere convenient – perhaps in the box lid). Flip over the next card – if it is another Guard, discard that too. For every Guard card removed, put a plastic Guard model in its place.

Each of the red Exhibit and High Security rooms should now have either a Rare Treasure, Loot card or a Camera card showing face-up and/or a Guard or two.

3. Place a guard. 1 plastic Guard is placed on the Security room. Leave those left to the side.

4. Unlock tokens. Put the green Unlock tokens in a pile somewhere in reach, to the side of the play area.

5. Prepare search deck. Shuffle together all the purple cards to form the Search Deck. Shuffle a lot, so they're well mixed! Keep this deck face-down at the side of the playing area. When you play a purple Item card during the game, place it into a discard pile next to the Search Deck.

6. Arrange a buyer. Shuffle the Buyer cards and hand each player one at random. Keep this a secret, face-down in front of you. Buyer cards are not part of your hand.

7. Locate your stash. Shuffle the Stash cards and hand each player one at random. Keep this a secret, face-down in front of you. Stash cards are not part of your hand.

8. Take your thief. Choose or randomly pass out the plastic Thief playing pieces, then take the corresponding Thief card.

How to Play

Whoever last stole something goes first! Or if no one feels like confessing, choose randomly. Players take turns, moving clockwise.

Break In!

Players can choose any room around the edge of the museum to enter, as long as there isn't a guard or another Thief in the same space. Place your Thief onto the chosen tile.

Each player's Thief breaks in before anything else happens.

Turn Sequence

On your turn complete the following three steps in order:

1. Draw 1 card from the Search deck.
2. Move up to 3 times.
3. Choose up to 1 of the following Steal Actions: a. Steal Loot b. Attempt to crack a lock and steal a Rare Treasure c. Steal from another Thief d. Steal from the Vault or the Lost & Found

Playing Item cards from your hand and picking up keys can be done at any time during your turn, as many times as you like. NB. Booby Trap cards have slightly different rules – see Playing Item Cards.

Other Players' Turns

During another player's turn you can only play Item cards if a Guard moves onto your tile, if a Camera is turned up on your tile, or if another Thief tries to steal from you.

Draw Cards

At the start of each turn, you always draw 1 card from the Search deck (you cannot choose not to!).

Clock and Way Out cards must be dealt with straight away.

All other cards go into your hand.

Disable, Lure, Take Down and Booby Trap cards are collectively called Items. Disable cards are used to counter Cameras. Lure and Take Down cards help you deal with the Guards and avoid getting busted. Booby Traps can catch Guards or other Thieves!

Hand Limit

If you have 8 or more cards at any point in the game, you must immediately drop cards back down to 7.

Dropped Loot and Rare Treasure cards are put face-down in the Vault. Dropped Item cards are put face-down in Lost and Found.

Moving

Each turn you can move your Thief up to 3 times – an individual move being from one room tile to an adjacent room tile. You can only move up, down, left or right – not diagonally.

Some museums have internal spaces or gaps between different areas. You cannot jump over a gap – you can only move between adjacent tiles.

NB. However far you move in a turn, you will be affected by any Guards, Cameras or Booby Traps in the rooms you moved through – you still count as 'moving into' each room in turn and cannot avoid these simply because you didn't stop.

Guards Moving

Guards move just like Thieves, between adjacent Room tiles and never diagonally.

Usually Guards move towards a thief when they are up to no good or have made too much noise.

The nearest Guard moves 2 tiles towards a Thief when:

• A Thief steals Loot or Rare Treasure from any room.
• A Thief attempts but fails to crack a lock.
• A Thief steals from another Thief.
• A Thief steals Items from Lost & Found.
• A Thief moves into a room where there is a Camera card, or a Camera card is turned up in a room where the Thief is.
• A Thief moves into a room with a Booby Trap.

Which Way?

Guards always take the shortest route possible. There are often situations where more than one route is equally short. Whenever there is a choice of route for a Guard, the player to the right of the player whose turn it is moves the Guard. That player is free to direct the Guard into or away from Booby Traps and Thieves – wherever benefits him most – as long as no shorter route is available.

If two Guards are equally close to a Thief (or on the same tile), move just one of them. The player to the right chooses which.

(Diagram caption: "Here there are three possible routes for the Guard. The Player to the right decides.")

Getting Caught!

If a Guard moves onto your tile (or for some reason you move onto his) then a Lure or a Take Down card will keep you safe (see Playing Item Cards).

If you don't have a useful card then there is one last chance to slip away.

Slipping Away

Roll 1 dice. If the result is more than the number of Loot and Rare Treasure cards in your hand then you've slipped past the Guard. Move your Thief to an adjacent room of your choice. This move can trigger other effects as normal when you move into a room.

Busted!

If you roll equal to or less than the number of Loot and Rare Treasure cards in your hand, then you've been busted!

1. You can keep one of the cards in your hand – your choice. The Thief manages to conceal it somewhere about his person! You can also keep any keys (Unlock tokens) that you've gained.
2. Apart from that the cards in your hand are confiscated. Loot and Rare Treasures are placed in a face-down pile in the Vault. Items are placed in a face-down pile in Lost & Found.
3. Your Thief is kicked out of the museum – take your playing piece off.

Re-Entering the Museum

In your next turn you can break in again – choose any room around the edge of the museum, as long as there isn't a Guard or another player. Place your Thief onto the chosen tile (this doesn't count as a move), then proceed with your turn as normal.

Two Thieves at Once

If a Guard moves onto a tile where there is more than one Thief, deal with the current player's Thief first. That player plays any Item cards, attempts to slip away and if all that fails, gets busted. If the Guard is still on the tile, carry on to the next Thief and run through the same steps.

Steal Actions

Steal Loot

If you've moved into an Exhibit room (or an unlocked High Security room) where there is a Loot card, you can steal it and put the card into your hand as your Steal Action.

1. The nearest Guard moves 2 tiles towards you (see Guards Moving).
2. Turn over the next card in the room if there is one (see Turn Over Next Card).

Attempt to Crack a Lock

The High Security rooms are protected by coded locks, which must be cracked before you can steal what's inside. Some are harder than others!

If you've moved into a High Security room, you can attempt to crack the lock as your Steal Action.

1. Roll the 3 dice.
2. Check each digit in the lock code – if the number matches one of the dice, take an Unlock token and place it over that digit.

Not Cracked! If some or all of the digits of the code are still uncovered, then the room is still locked.

1. The nearest Guard moves 2 tiles towards you (see Guards Moving).
2. Any Unlock tokens you've placed so far stay in place so you can try again next turn with a head start!

If you move off the tile at any point before the lock is cracked then the Unlock tokens stay in place – the next Thief to attempt cracking the room gets a head-start!

Using Keys

During the game Thieves can obtain keys from the Guards (see Take Down cards and Booby Trap cards), each one represented by an Unlock token.

If you fail to crack a lock but have enough keys then you can immediately use the Unlock tokens to complete the code. The tokens are placed on the remaining digits and you successfully crack the lock as described above. Once used the Unlock tokens stay in place – you can't use a key more than once.

Example: The Cat rolls to crack the lock on the Judith Room, code 1-3-5. She gets the 1 and the 5 and places two Unlock tokens, leaving one digit still to find. Luckily, in an earlier turn she took down a Guard and gained his key (an Unlock token), which she uses to complete the code and crack the lock!

Cracked! If all the digits of the code are now covered with Unlock tokens (from dice rolls and/or keys), then the lock is cracked and the room is open!

1. You can immediately steal the Rare Treasure from the tile and add it to your hand.
2. The nearest Guard moves 2 tiles towards you (see Guards Moving).
3. Turn over the next card in the room if there is one (see Turn Over Next Card).

Leave the Unlock tokens in place to show the room has been cracked. The room now works just like an Exhibit room.

"I was here first!" NB Only one Thief can crack a lock at a time. If another Thief is already on the tile and rolled to crack the lock in their last turn then you cannot attempt to crack it!

Steal from Another Thief

If you've moved onto the same tile as another Thief, you can attempt to steal from them as your Steal Action, though the scuffle (and cursing) will alert the Guards!

Both players roll 1 dice. The player that rolls highest is successful – take a card at random from your opponent's hand and add it to yours. The player whose turn it is wins ties.

NB. You can choose not to steal from another Thief if you have a better plan… ?

Steal from the Vault or Lost & Found

The Vault: Loot and Rare Treasures that have been confiscated by the Guards or dropped get put in the Vault. If you've moved into the Vault, then as your Steal Action you can break in and steal up to 3 cards. You need to have 2 keys taken from Guards (you cannot roll to crack the lock).

1. The keys (Unlock tokens) are used up and returned to the pile.
2. Choose and steal the 3 cards you want – the rest stay in place.
3. The nearest Guard moves 2 tiles towards you (see Guards Moving).

NB. 2 keys are needed every time someone steals from the Vault.

Lost & Found: Item cards that have been confiscated by the Guards or dropped get put in the Lost & Found. If you've moved into the Lost & Found, then as your Steal Action you can break in and steal up to 3 cards. You need to have 1 key taken from a Guard (you cannot roll to crack the lock).

1. The key (Unlock token) is used up and returned to the pile.
2. Choose and steal the 3 cards you want – the rest stay in place.
3. The nearest Guard moves 2 tiles towards you (see Guards Moving).

NB. a key is needed every time someone steals from the Lost & Found.

Turn Over Next Card

After a card is stolen from an Exhibit room or a High Security room, complete the movement of the closest Guard, play any Item cards as a reaction and work out their effect, then last of all turn over the next card if there is one:

Sequence of Play (After Stealing)

1. Complete the movement of the Guard.
2. Play any Item cards as a reaction and work out their effect.
3. Turn over the next card in the room.

Loot Card: If the new card is more Loot then great, maybe you can hang around and nab it next turn!

Guard Card: If the new card is a Guard then another Guard has started his rounds and is very close by!

1. The player to the right places a new Guard on one of the tiles adjacent to the Exhibit room. The new Guard cannot go on a tile where there is already a Guard or a Thief.
2. If no free tiles are available then the Guard starts in the Security Room (even if a Guard or a Thief is in there!).
3. Discard the Guard card and turn over the next card in the room if there is one, repeating the process.

Camera Card: If the new card is a Camera then you've been caught on the security tapes! Unless you play a Disable card (see Playing Item Cards) these things happen:

1. The nearest Guard moves 2 more tiles towards you!
2. The Camera card stays in place until it can be disabled.
3. In future turns, if a Thief moves into a room where there is a Camera card the nearest Guard moves 2 more tiles towards them. (Starting your turn on a Camera is fine as long as you move away or play a Disable card.)

Example: The Cat steals a Loot card from an Exhibit room. The nearest Guard moves 2 tiles and reaches the room, but The Cat plays a Lure card to move him away again. Now the next card is turned over and – disaster – it's a Camera, so the Guard moves back again. The Cat has no useful cards left and has to roll the dice to slip away or she'll get busted!

Playing Item Cards

Item cards are vital to deal with Cameras and Guards!

Once Item cards are played, place them face-up into a discard pile next to the Search Deck.

Disable Card: Disable cards counter Cameras. You can play a Disable card when you move onto a tile with a Camera or if one is turned over after you steal something.

1. The nearest Guard does not move.
2. The Camera card is removed from the game.
3. Turn over the next card in the room if there is one.

Lure Card: Lure cards distract Guards and send them in another direction – into Booby Traps or other Thieves, or just so you don't get caught! You can play a Lure card when a Guard moves onto your tile to avoid being busted, or if you are on a tile adjacent to a Guard.

1. If the Guard was on your tile, you are not busted.
2. The Guard moves 1 tile in the direction you choose.

You can also play a Lure card if you are on the same or an adjacent tile to another Thief, to send them somewhere problematic. Or you can play a Lure card on a rival Thief if they attempt to steal from you, and move them away instead.

1. The other Thief moves 1 tile in the direction you choose.

Take Down Card: Take Down cards knock out Guards and allow you to steal their keys! You can play a Take Down card when a Guard moves onto your tile, or if you move onto a Guard's tile.

1. You are not busted.
2. The Guard is removed from the game.
3. Take 1 Unlock token (representing the Guard's key).

Booby Trap Card: Booby Traps can be left in place to catch Guards and Thieves. You can play a Booby Trap card at any point during your movement (but not as a reaction to Guards moving or newly turned-up cards). Place it face-up on an adjacent tile that is unoccupied by Thieves or Guards.

If the tile is an Exhibit room or a High Security room, put it on top of the cards already there – but you cannot place a Booby Trap on top of a Camera card.

If a Guard moves into a room with a Booby Trap:

1. The Guard is removed from the game.
2. The Booby Trap card is removed from the game.
3. 1 Unlock token (representing the Guard's key) is placed in the room. The next Thief that moves into the room picks it up (picking up a key is not a Steal Action).

If a Thief moves into a room with a Booby Trap:

1. The Booby Trap card is removed from the game.
2. You must discard a random card from your hand.
3. The nearest Guard moves 2 tiles towards you (see Guards Moving).

Instant Cards

Way Out and Clock cards must be dealt with as soon as you draw them.

Way Out Card: You've discovered an escape route. Place the Way Out card just outside the museum, next to the edge room tile that is closest to your Thief. If two or more edge rooms are equally close, you can choose. If the closest rooms all already have a Way Out (including the Entrance Hall), then there is no effect – discard the card.

If you draw a Way Out card on the turn after being busted, then you must place the Way Out next to the same tile where you break in. The marked tile can now be used to escape the museum (NB the Way Out card itself is not a room).

Clock Card: Place each Clock card at the side of the playing area so everyone can clearly see how many have been drawn so far.

How Many Players?

The game ends when a certain number of Clock cards have been drawn from the Search deck, depending on the number of players.

Players	Game Ends
2	4th Clock
3	5th Clock
4	6th Clock

NB. However many players there are, you always include all six Clock cards in the Search deck!

As soon as the required number of Clocks have been drawn, the game ends immediately – the current player does not finish their turn.

Escaping the Museum

Thieves can use any Way Out to escape – not just ones they found themselves.

To escape the museum, a Thief simply moves to a room that is a Way Out and declares they are escaping at the end of their turn. That Thief's Loot and Treasure are now safe, but they are out of the game and cannot re-enter the museum, so try to time this just before the final Clock is drawn!

1. Your Loot and Treasure is safe.
2. You cannot re-enter the museum.
3. You don't take any more turns in the game.

Remember that the Entrance Hall counts as a Way Out too.

Service Rooms

Archives A & B: The two Archive tiles are connected by an underground passageway. A Thief can move from one Archive to the other as if the two tiles were adjacent (but not when slipping away from Guards or if being Lured). Guards do not use the passageway.

The Entrance Hall: The Entrance Hall tile acts as a Way Out where you can escape at the end of the game (see End of the Game).

The Gents and the Ladies: Thieves cannot be caught in either of these rooms (the Guards don't bother to look in the cubicles).

Control Room: If you've started on or moved into the Control Room at any point during your move, then you can disable any one Camera in the museum (just as if someone had used a Disable card). Only once per turn!

Security Room: If you've started on or moved into the Security Room at any point during your move, then you can move any one Guard one space (just as if someone had used a Lure card). Only once per turn!

Gift Shop: If you've started on or moved into the Gift Shop at any point during your move, then you can draw one extra card from the Search Deck. Only once per turn!

End of the Game

As soon as the required number of Clocks have been drawn, the game ends immediately – the current player does not finish their turn. (See How Many Players?.)

Still Inside?

Thieves who are still inside the museum must rush to the nearest Way Out (remember the Entrance Hall counts, as well as any tile marked with a Way Out card).

1. Count the number of tiles to the nearest Way Out.
2. For every tile, roll a dice. If you roll a 0, 1 or 2 you must drop a card of your choice from your hand.
3. Roll once more for each Guard on the route.
4. Roll once more for each Booby Trap on the route.

Count Up Your 'Take'

Each player adds up the total value of the Loot and Rare Treasure in their hand. The player with the highest total is the winner!

In the case of a draw, use the total value of the Item cards in your hand as a tie-breaker.

Stashed cards and Buyer bonuses are added to your take as described under Using Your Stash and Buyers below.

Thief Abilities

Thief abilities give each character a slightly different playing style. Each ability overrides the normal rules of the game:

The Cat: As well as up and down and left and right, The Cat can move diagonally between rooms (but not when slipping away from Guards or if being Lured).

The Owl: When drawing cards from the Search deck, take 2 cards, choose 1 to keep and put the other one back at the bottom of the deck.

The Cipher: Once during his movement the Cipher can use the Security Room or Control Room from up to 3 spaces away, as if he was in the room.

The Joker: During his own turn the Joker's player moves Guards instead of the player to the right. All the other rules for moving Guards still apply.

The Snake: When slipping away from a Guard, the Snake adds 1 to her dice result.

The Ventriloquist: When playing a Lure card, the Ventriloquist can move the Guard/Thief up to 3 spaces.

Using Your Stash

Your Stash is a secret spot somewhere in the museum where you can store some of your ill-gotten gains safe from the Guards, to pick up another day when the heat is off!

Each player is dealt a Stash card at the start of the game. Take a moment to locate the room mentioned on the card – look for the matching Stash icon – but keep it a secret with the card face-down in front of you (the Stash card is not part of your hand).

Once per game, if you have moved into your Stash location, you can stash some Loot or Treasure:

1. Reveal your Stash card to show you are in the right place.
2. Put one Loot or Rare Treasure card from your hand under your Stash card.
3. That card is safe – it cannot be confiscated, stolen, discarded or lost in any way.
4. That card no longer counts towards your hand limit.
5. Carry on with your movement if you have any left.

At the end of the game include your stashed card when you count up your take.

Buyers

Buyers are dealers and wealthy collectors who are each after two specific pieces from the museum – one Loot and one Rare Treasure.

Each player is dealt a Buyer card at the start of the game. Keep an eye out for pieces they want – look for the matching coloured icon – but keep it a secret with the card face-down in front of you (the Buyer card is not part of your hand).

At the end of the game, if you managed to steal one or both of the pieces that your Buyer is after, you get an extra $2 million for each.

Buyer card note: "At the end of the game she will pay you $2 million extra for that treasure!"

International Crime Spree

Travel the world, stealing from the biggest museums across the globe!

Each museum shown here presents a different layout for the game and presents new challenges. Just choose one of these to use instead of the Classic 7x4 layout.

The museum layouts are shown as grid diagrams on page 16 of the rulebook: Prado, The Acropolis, Louvre, Rijksmuseum, British Museum, The Met, Smithsonian, Hermitage, Pinacoteca and Uffizi. The diagrams are graphical and are not transcribed in this file; use the printed rulebook page to set up one of these layouts.