Rear Window Rulebook

Table of Contents

Table of Contents

• Game Tray Setup
• Setup
  • The Watchers' Setup
  • The Director's Setup
• Concepts & Components
  • Objective
  • Watcher Placards
  • Watcher and Director Screens
  • The Director
  • Window Cards
  • Resident Tokens
  • Attribute Tiles
  • Murder Tiles
• Playing the Game
  • Playing a Day
    • 1. Window Phase
    • 2. Deduction Phase
    • 3. Scoring Phase
• Winning the Game
• Frequently Asked Questions
• Credits

Game Tray Setup

Follow these steps to prepare the game tray for your first game:

1. Punch out all the tokens and tiles from the punch boards, grouping identical ones together.
2. Place the two Murder tiles in the top slot of the game tray.
3. Place each set of five Resident tokens into the smaller slots, and place each set of five Attribute tiles into the larger slots. (There isn't a specific slot where each set needs to go.)
4. Place the other tokens with the wooden cubes.

Setup

Choose one player to be the Director. The remaining players will be the Watchers. For your first game, we recommend the most experienced board game player be the Director.

1. Set up the Watcher and Director screens on opposite sides of the table.
2. Place the four Day Boards between them, facing the Watcher screen, as shown. Make sure they are in order and that only the Day 1 Board is face up.
3. Place the Solution Board behind the Director Screen so it matches the orientation of the Day 1 Board.
4. Place the four Watcher placards face up next to the Day Boards. Place the Pointer token and the Investigate token nearby.
5. THE WATCHERS sit on the side of the table behind their screen. Then they take both Murder tiles and four of each Resident token from the game tray. (Leave the Attribute tiles in the game tray for now.)
6. THE DIRECTOR sits behind their screen and does the following:
   • Shuffle the Window cards, placing them in a face-down deck nearby.
   • Take one of each Resident token from the game tray.
   • Take the three Cut tokens and the four wooden cubes.
   • Take the Trunk box and pop it open.

The Watchers' Setup

1. Together, choose any twelve Attributes. Take the set of five tiles for each Attribute you choose and place them face up next to the Day Boards so all players can see them.

   TIP: For your first game, we recommend not choosing any purple Attributes. They add an additional layer of complexity, but also add suspense, once you know how to play.

2. Take one of each of the chosen Attribute tiles and mix them together with one Murder tile. Then pass those thirteen tiles to the Director in a face-down stack. The Director cannot look at them yet!

The twelve Attributes are: The Art Connoisseur, The Virtuoso, The Globetrotter, The Gardener, The Writer, The Gourmand, Très Chic, The Thief, The Photographer, The Athlete, The Animal Lover, and The Heartbroken.

NOTE: If you prefer to choose Attributes randomly, take one of each Attribute tile, mix them up face down, and reveal twelve at random. Return the other eight to the game tray. Take the rest of the tiles that match the revealed Attributes, placing them next to the Day Boards. Then flip the twelve revealed Attribute tiles face down again, mix them with one Murder tile, and pass them in a face-down stack to the Director.

The Director's Setup

1. Draw four random Attribute tiles from the stack that the Watchers passed to you. Place one face up on each of the four Attribute spots on the Solution Board. (One of the tiles could be a murder!) Place the remaining Attribute tiles in the Trunk box. Be sure to keep the Solution Board and the Trunk box hidden from the Watchers.

   IMPORTANT: You cannot tell the Watchers if there's a murder or not!

2. Choose any four Residents to live in the four apartments and place their tokens face up on the four Resident spots on the Solution Board. If there are any purple Attributes on the Solution Board, choose one Resident to place face up on each one. Place any remaining Resident tokens in the Trunk box. Then close the Trunk box and set it aside.

   IMPORTANT: Keep the Solution Board and the Trunk box hidden from the Watchers.

   Each purple Attribute tile requires an additional Resident token. Put the unused Attribute tiles and Resident tokens in the Trunk box.

3. Draw eight Window cards.

Learn how to play with a quick video, or continue reading these instructions! funkogames.com/PlayRearWindow

Concepts & Components

Objective

Rear Window is a cooperative game and all players win or lose together—unless there's a murder! If there's a murder, the game becomes semi-cooperative, with separate ways of winning for the Watchers and the Director. At the beginning of the game, the Watchers won't know if there's a murder or not, but they may become suspicious as the game continues. Make no mistake, this is a game of suspense!

• IF THERE IS NOT A MURDER (the Murder tile isn't on the Solution Board), the Director must guide the Watchers to correctly guess all eight Attribute and Resident spots by Day 4.
• IF THERE IS A MURDER (the Murder tile is on the Solution Board), the game changes without the Watchers knowing. The Director must still guide the Watchers to correctly guess most of the Attribute and Resident spots. But the Director will also try to get away with murder by playing Window cards in creative ways to hide the Murder tile from the Watchers. If the Watchers are suspicious of murder, they can try to crack the case of where the murder happened. (See Winning the Game for more details.)

Watcher Placards

Watcher placards represent the main characters from the film. They have abilities that the Watchers can use to help them solve the mystery, but each one can be used only once. Lisa Fremont and Lt. Det. Tom Doyle's abilities require the Director to use a token to give the Watchers information.

• L.B. Jefferies — Hand Me the Binoculars: Choose a face-down Window card on the current day. The Director discards that card, replaces it with a card from their hand, then draws a card.
• Lisa Fremont — Breaking and Entering: Choose a Window card on any day. The Director places the Pointer token on that card, pointing to what they think is the most important feature.
• Det. Lt. Tom Doyle — Investigate: Choose an Attribute tile or Resident token on any previous day. The Director places the Investigate token to show if the chosen tile or token is correct (YES) or incorrect (NO).
• Stella McGaffery — A Nose for Trouble: Choose any day. You may look at any face-down Window cards on that day.

Watcher and Director Screens

If the Watchers think the Director is trying to hide a murder, they can use the Watcher screen to communicate without the Director hearing them.

The Director screen is used to hide the Solution Board from the Watchers. It is very important that the Watchers never see the Solution Board!

The Watcher screen lists the pointing symbols the Watchers can use to keep their choices hidden from the Director: Miss Hearing Aid, Police Officer, Song Writer, Miss Torso, Yes, No, Miss Lonely Hearts, Fire Escape Couple, Mr. Thorwald, Mrs. Thorwald, ?, and !.

At the beginning of the Placement Phase, the Director may use a Cut! token to discard any number of Window cards from their hand then draw that many from the deck.

The Director

When the Director set up the Solution Board, they created the mystery that the Watchers must solve. Throughout the game, the Director provides clues to the Watchers by playing Window Cards. The Director may not speak while playing the game, but they may listen to the Watchers. Then they can react by playing Window cards that will help the Watchers confirm or reconsider their suspicions.

Window Cards

The Director plays Window cards to communicate with the Watchers. Each day, the Director plays eight Window cards to portray the events seen from the rear window of L.B. Jefferies' apartment. Cards may be played face up, representing an open window, or face down, representing a closed window. (See Playing Cards Face Down below.)

Resident Tokens

Resident tokens represent the apartments' occupants. Based on the Window cards that the Director played, the Watchers place Resident tokens to guess who lives in each apartment.

Attribute Tiles

Attribute tiles represent the Residents' behaviors, characteristics, or interests. Based on the Window cards that the Director played, the Watchers place Attribute tiles to guess the qualities or activities of the Residents of each apartment.

Murder Tiles

Murder tiles represent that a murder happened! On Day 4, the Watchers may place their Murder tile to guess that a murder happened in that apartment. (They cannot place it before Day 4.)

Playing the Game

Playing a Day

The game is played in rounds, called days, starting with Day 1. Each day has three phases:

1. Window Phase
2. Deduction Phase
3. Scoring Phase

NOTE: After Day 1, at the start of each day, flip that Day Board face up.

1. Window Phase

The Director plays eight Window cards on the current Day Board to communicate each apartment's Resident and Attribute to the Watchers (or to hide a murder). They may not speak or communicate in any other way. After the Director places all eight Window cards, they draw eight new Window cards and play continues with the Deduction Phase.

Playing cards face down: Each day, the Director may play up to two Window cards face down. They may want to do this if they don't have a good use for a card, or the card might hurt the Director's goals more than help.

Cut tokens: Any time during the Window Phase, the Director may remove a Cut token from the game to discard any number of Window cards and draw that many new cards. When discarding, make sure to set the cards aside face down. The Director may use more than one Cut token on the same day.

2. Deduction Phase

The Watchers may discuss the eight Window cards that the Director played that day. They can also review previous days, discussing those Window cards and what they've learned. Then, as a group, the Watchers place a Resident token and an Attribute tile on each apartment until all the slots on the current Day Board are filled. When the Watchers are satisfied with their guesses, they let the Director know they are finished.

NOTE: The Watchers cannot place two of the same Resident token or Attribute tile on the same day. (They have only four of each token and tile — one for each day.)

Purple Attribute tiles: Purple Attribute tiles have an Attribute that involves another person and a slot for a Resident token. When placing a purple Attribute tile, the Watchers must also place an additional Resident token on top of it.

Watcher placards: Any time during the Deduction Phase, the Watchers may use the ability on a Watcher placard. There is no limit to the number of Watcher placards that can be used each day. However, each one may be used only once during the entire game. When used, flip the placard face down.

Accusing the Director of murder! On Day 4, if the Watchers think the Director was hiding a murder, they place the Murder tile on the Attribute spot of the apartment where they think the murder occurred.

3. Scoring Phase

The Director compares the Resident and Attribute spots on the current Day Board to the Solution Board behind their screen. They count how many tokens and tiles the Watchers guessed correctly and place a wooden cube on that number in the center of the Day Board. In the rare case all the Watchers' guesses were wrong, the Director places the cube next to the Day Board.

IMPORTANT: For Purple Attribute tiles, both the tile itself and the Resident token on it must match the Solution Board to count as one correct guess. Eight is the most the Watchers can score.

Winning the Game

How the players win the game depends on if there was a murder or not, as explained below. Remember, whether there was a murder will not be revealed until the end of the game.

• IF THERE WAS NOT A MURDER, and the Watchers guess all eight spots correctly, all the players win. (It's possible to win before Day 4.) But if by the end of Day 4, the Watchers do not guess all eight spots correctly, all the players lose.

• IF THERE WAS A MURDER, the Director and Watchers have different ways to win:

  • The Director wins if on Day 4, the Watchers guess six or seven spots correctly, but they do not guess the Murder tile correctly.
  • The Watchers win if on Day 4, the Watchers guess seven or eight spots correctly, including the Murder tile.

  If the Watchers guess fewer than six spots correctly, all the players lose.

Frequently Asked Questions

Q: During the Window Phase, does the Director have to play all eight Window cards in sequence from top to bottom and left to right? A: No. The Director can place the Window cards in any order and at whatever pace they choose until all eight windows are filled.

Q: When the Watchers use L.B. Jefferies' placard, can the Director replace the discarded Window card with a face-down Window card? A: Yes. The Director may place the new Window card face down.

Q: After the Watchers use Stella McGaffery's placard, can the Watchers look at those face-down Window cards again later if they forget what's on them? A: Yes. The Watchers can look at those specific face-down Window cards any time for the rest of the game.

Q: When the Watchers use Det. Lt. Tom Doyle's placard, can they choose a purple Attribute tile with a Resident token on it? A: Yes, but the Watchers must choose either the Attribute tile or the Resident token on it. Then the Director places the Investigate token to show if that one tile or token is correct.

Q: When the Watchers use Det. Lt. Tom Doyle's placard, can the Director lie about if the tile or token is correct if they are trying to hide a murder? A: No. The Director must be truthful when placing the Investigate token.

Q: When the Watchers use Lisa Fremont's placard, can the Director lie about what they think is the most important feature if they are trying to hide a murder? A: Yes. The Director may choose something that would throw the Watchers off the trail.

Q: What do "Gourmand," "Trés Chic," and "Virtuoso" mean? A: A gourmand is a person who enjoys eating or is an expert judge of good food. Trés chic means very stylish or fashionable. A virtuoso is a person who's highly skilled in music.

Credits

This game was designed by the nosy neighbors at Prospero Hall. For more about our games, go to prosperohall.com.

Contents: Director Screen, Watcher Screen, 4 Day Boards, Solution Board, 4 Watcher Placards, 70 Window Cards, 102 Tiles, 45 Tokens, Trunk Box, 4 Wooden Cubes, Instructions.

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