Mystery Rummy: Escape from Alcatraz
Mystery Rummy: Escape from Alcatraz Rulebook
Table of Contents
Table of Contents
Object
The goal of the game is to earn points by helping to foil "Escape plans". The winner is the first player to reach 100 or more points at the end of a round.
Overview
Alcatraz Island is home to one of the most formidable federal prisons ever conceived. Over the years Alcatraz was in operation, 36 men plotted 14 escape attempts. In this Mystery Rummy card game, players have the role of guards. It is your job to foil Escape attempts by gathering information on plans and capturing the mastermind and co-conspirators.
Escape From Alcatraz is played out over a series of rounds. In each round, players take turns drawing cards and possibly playing "Plan cards" and/or an "Escapee card". When the players collect enough information (8 matching Plan cards) related to an "Escape attempt", including the mastermind, they can foil the Escape attempt, capture the culprit and score points. A round is over either when a player discards his or her last card, or at the end of a player's turn when there are no more cards in the "Cell Block" (draw pile).
Contents
129 cards in two decks:
- Plans deck, consisting of 84 Escape Plan cards (12 cards in 7 Plans; each Plan card has a value of 2 points) and 14 Escapee cards, indicated with the escapee symbol (7 "Infamous Escapees" with a value of 10 points each and 7 "Generic Escapees" with a value of 5 points each).
- Action deck, consisting of 31 "Action cards", indicated with the action symbol.
Plus:
- 4 Foiled! Player Cards
- Instructions
Setup
Each player takes a "Foiled!" card and puts it in front of him. Shuffle the "Action deck" and place it face down in the middle of the playing area as shown in diagram. Shuffle the "Plans deck" and place it face down to form the Cell Block (draw pile). Plan and Escapee cards that are discarded go in a face-up pile, referred to as "Solitary". Cards in the discard pile should be spread out so that all cards remain visible during the game.
The play area diagram shows each Player Area (with the cards in that player's hand), the Cell Block, Solitary, the Yard, and the Action Cards deck.
For the first round, choose a dealer. In subsequent rounds, the new dealer is the player to the left of the previous one, rotating clockwise around the table.
The dealer reveals cards from the Cell Block (draw pile) one at a time until an "Escapee" is found. Place that Escapee face up in "the Yard". All other revealed cards are placed face up in Solitary (discard pile) and spread out so all cards are displayed. If the dealer reveals 20 cards and an Escapee has not been found, he looks through the Plans deck for an Escapee and places him in the Yard. Leave the 20 revealed cards in Solitary and reshuffle the Plans deck.
Once an Escapee is found, the dealer gives each player ten cards from the Plans deck. Players look at their cards and organize them in their hands.
Game Play
Players take turns beginning with the player to the left of the dealer and proceeding clockwise. On your turn, perform the following steps in order:
- You must either draw two cards from the Cell Block (draw pile) or draw the top card from Solitary (discard pile).
- You may also gather information on an Escape attempt by playing Plan cards and/or an Escapee card.
Starting a new plan: If there are no cards in play for a particular Escape Plan, you may "meld" (play) three or more matching Plan cards (same name and color) by placing them face up in your play area. However, in order to start a new plan, the number of Escapees in the Yard must be equal to or greater than the number of plans in play. (That is, there must be an available Escapee in the Yard, although there does not need to be an eligible Escapee — see Foiling an Escape below).
You cannot start a new plan if doing so would deplete your hand. (You must have at least one card left in your hand for discarding.)
Laying off on existing plan: If a plan is already started (in front of you and/or another player), you can "lay off" (play) any number of matching Plan cards in your play area.
Draw an Action card: After starting a new plan or laying off an existing plan, you must draw the top card off the Action deck and follow the instructions on it. (Only one Action card is drawn per turn.) After following the instructions on the Action card, put that card in a face-up discard pile near the Action deck. (See the Action cards section for a detailed explanation of each Action card.)
Multiple Plans: You can start and/or lay off as many plans as you want in a single turn provided you meet the requirements to do so (as described above). However, only draw one Action card immediately after your first play of the turn.
Increasing the number of Escapees in the Yard: You may add one (and only one) Escapee from your hand to the Yard any time during your turn. This can be done at any point during the gathering information step. (Before or after playing Plan cards.)
Note: Do not draw an Action card after playing an Escapee to the Yard.
Foiling an Escape Plan
You may foil an Escape attempt when:
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A plan has eight or more total Plan cards in play (counting all matching cards in front of all players). You must have at least one of the Plan cards in front of you.
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You must also identify the plan's "mastermind." You can use an eligible Escapee either from your hand or from the Yard. Infamous Escapees (those with a colored edge) can be used only for the plan that matches their color. Generic Escapees (those with a gray edge) can be used for any plan.
There must be an eligible Escapee (either in your hand or in the Yard) to foil an Escape. If a plan has eight or more cards in play but there are no eligible Escapees (either in the Yard or in your hand), you cannot foil the Escape.
Take the identified Escapee and place him, along with all of the corresponding Plan cards in your play area, under your Foiled! card. (These cards will be scored later.)
In clockwise order, players with corresponding Plan cards already in their play area (not in their hands) place them under their respective Foiled! card. Any player who has matching Plan cards may also play a corresponding Escapee (a "co-conspirator") from his hand by placing the revealed Escapee under his/her Foiled! card. The same requirements apply for the co-conspirator as for the identified Escapee — Generic Escapees can be used for any plan but Infamous Escapees can be used only for the plan that matches their color.
Note: Only the player who foiled the Escape may take an Escapee card from the Yard.
You can only foil one Escape per turn. After foiling an Escape, you cannot do anything else on your turn except discarding.
When foiling an Escape, you may not use an Escapee card from your hand if doing so would cause you to play the last card in your hand. (You must have at least one card left in your hand for discarding after foiling an Escape.)
Discarding
- You must end your turn by discarding a single card (a Plan card or an Escapee) from your hand to Solitary. After discarding, play passes clockwise to the next player on your left.
End of Round and Scoring
A round is over either when a player discards his or her last card (referred to as "going out") or at the end of a player's turn when there are no more cards in the Cell Block (draw pile).
Scoring example — point value of the cards under a Foiled! card:
2 + 2 + 2 + 2 + 2 + 2 + 5 + 2 + 2 + 2 + 10 = 33
All players score the total number of points on all the cards under their Foiled! cards. Cards still in play and cards in players' hands do not count for or against scoring.
If a round ends by a player going out (discarding the last card in his or her hand), that player gains 3 bonus points for each Escapee (Infamous or Generic) still in the Yard at the end of the round. If a player goes out before any Escape attempts have been foiled, that player gets full points for each Escapee in the Yard (the face value of each Escapee; 10 points for each Infamous Escapee and 5 points for each Generic Escapee) and no one else scores any points for that round.
If at least one player has 100 or more points, the game is over. If there is a tie, players may elect to play another round to break the tie. Otherwise, all the cards in the Plans deck are gathered and shuffled thoroughly, and the players begin a new round. The Action deck is not reshuffled at the end of a round; it is only reshuffled when the Action deck is exhausted.
Note that a round is not considered over if a player uses the only card of his hand, an Escapee, during another player foiling an Escape attempt. Play continues as normal and upon reaching the player with no card, he or she draws cards and performs the other steps of a normal turn. If that player goes out on his turn, then the round is over.
Winning the Game
The first player to accumulate 100 or more points at the end of a round wins the game. If two or more players are tied, they share in the victory. Alternatively, the players may elect to play another round to determine a winner.
Action Cards
Immediately after starting a new plan or laying off an existing plan for the first time each turn, the current player must draw the top card of the Action deck and follow the instructions on it. This is done only once on a player's turn and is performed immediately after the player first plays any Plan cards. Note: Escapees added to the Yard may allow current player to continue play.
Discard the Action card after following its instructions (unless the Action card specifies otherwise). Reshuffle the Action deck when the it runs out; the Action deck is not shuffled between hands.
If an Action card requires a player to draw and/or reveal cards from the Cell Block (draw pile) and there are not enough cards in the Cell Block, draw as many as possible. Note that this will cause the end of the round at the finish of the current player's turn and prevents the current player from gaining bonus points by going out, unless the player discards his last card at the end of the turn. (You only get the bonus when you go out by discarding your last card.)
Action Card Descriptions
Work Detail (x12): The current player can either draw the top two cards from the Cell Block (draw pile) or search Solitary (discard pile) and take any single card into his/her hand. The card chosen must be shown to all players. Players are allowed to look through the cards in Solitary before deciding which option to take.
Cell Search (x4): The current player must turn over the top three cards of the Cell Block (draw pile) and choose one of them to add to his/her hand. The revealed cards must be shown to all players. The cards not chosen are placed in Solitary (discarded).
Plan Uncovered (x4): The current player must take one Plan card from any other player's play area and place it in his or her own play area (regardless of whether or not the current player has any cards of that plan already in the play area). If no other player has any cards in play, the current player draws a single card from the Cell Block (draw pile). After taking a Plan card (or drawing a card), the player turns over the top three cards from the Cell Block. Any Escapees that are revealed are added to the Yard. All other cards are placed in Solitary (discarded).
Returning Favors (x4): The current player names a type of Escape plan (it does not matter whether or not the plan is already started; any of the seven types of plans can be chosen). Starting with the first player to his left, the current player asks each player in turn if they have a matching Plan card in hand. Once the current player receives a Plan card, he stops asking other players for one. The player who gave up a Plan card draws one replacement card from the Cell Block (draw pile). Only one Plan card may be gained using this action. If no players have a matching Plan card, the current player receives no card.
Ratted On (x4): The current player draws two cards from the Cell Block (draw pile) and adds them to his or her hand. After taking two cards, the player turns over the next three cards from the Cell Block. Any Escapees that are revealed are added to the Yard. All other cards are placed in Solitary (discarded).
Guard Help (x1): This card allows the current player to foil an Escape plan with only five Plan cards, instead of eight. The player places this card on any plan currently in play. It does not have to be one that the current player has in play; it can be any player's plan. This plan can now be used to foil an Escape with five or more Plan cards are in play, instead of eight. All other rules for escaping apply. Once the plan is used by any player as part of foiling an Escape (or at the end of a round), discard this card to the Action card discard pile. If there are no plans in play when Guard Help is drawn, it is discarded with no effect.
Change in Plan (x1): This card allows the current player to use any Escapee to foil any Escape plan. The player places this card on any plan currently in play. It does not have to be one that the current player has in play; it can be any player's plan. If this plan is subsequently used in foiling an Escape, the player who initiates the foiling of the Escape may use any Escapee (including an Infamous Escapee whose color does not match this plan) from either the Yard or his or her hand. Other players still need a matching color Infamous Escapee or a Generic Escapee from their hands. Discard this card to the Action Card discard pile after foiling the Escape (or at the end of a round).
Warden (x1): Beginning with the current player and going clockwise, each player must either add an Escapee to the Yard from his hand and draw a replacement card from the Cell Block (draw pile), or discard all Plan cards of a single plan type (matching color) from his play area. Each player can choose which action to perform. Players who have no Plan cards in their play area and no Escapees in their hand do nothing. If there are no cards in the Cell Block when a player adds an Escapee to the Yard, they still add the Escapee but do not draw a replacement card.