Scotland Yard: Hunting Mister X
Scotland Yard: Hunting Mister X Rulebook
Table of Contents
Table of Contents
Game Materials
- 7 dice
- 9 double-sided road tiles
- 1 Mr. X board
- 4 pawns
- 3 "Roll again" tokens
- 1 starting player token
You will need pen and paper to play the game.
4 Player Game Setup
Shuffle the road tiles and place them in a random 3x3 grid with the dark circles visible in the top left corner. All tiles must be aligned the same way.
The light circle side is used in the advanced game (see below).
Understanding the Map
Each tile features 4 numbered spaces. Each space is a stop for 1 to 3 means of transport (taxi = yellow, bus = blue, subway = red). The colors indicate which means of transport start and stop there.
The Mr. X board has three boxes: 1 Helicopter, 2 Black Ticket, 3 Double Move.
Decide who will play Mr. X. This player will play alone against all the other players, who will be playing the detectives.
Give the Mr. X player the special Mr. X board, a sheet of paper and a pencil/pen. Place the sheet of paper so that it is visible underneath the cutouts. Mr. X also gets the white pawn.
The other players are the detectives chasing Mister X. Each detective player receives a pawn and places it on a yellow space of their choice (taxi only space). They cannot place their pawn on a red or blue space at this time.
In a game with 2 or 3 players you only play on a 3x2 grid using only 6 tiles. Three of those tiles must feature an underground station. In addition, Mr. X crosses out one Black Ticket on the Mr. X board. That means Mr. X begins the game with two Black Tickets, one Double Move, and the Helicopter. The detectives receive 3 dice instead of 4.
Mr. X now secretly chooses their starting space. They may choose any unoccupied space on the board. They secretly write down the number of their starting location on space 1 on the Mr. X board. Then they cover that space by placing one of the 7 dice on it.
The remaining dice are placed next to the game board and called the dice supply. The detectives receive 4 dice from the supply (3 with 1-2 detectives).
The detective sitting to the left of Mr. X is the starting player. That player receives the starting player token and the supply of "Roll again" tokens.
Finally, Mr. X reveals to the detectives the board tile letter (in the dark circle) of the board that he is starting on. Now the hunt begins!
Playing the Game
The game consists of several rounds. Each round has the same structure:
- First, each detective moves
- Then Mr. X moves
The game ends when Mr. X is caught or if Mr. X manages to avoid capture for 13 rounds.
The Detectives' Turn
The starting player begins and rolls all 4 dice. That player can only choose one die as their move this turn. That player then chooses one rolled die that they can use from their current location:
- Taxi: Move your pawn to any adjacent space that's connected by a yellow line.
- Bus: Move your pawn to the next space with a bus stop (blue semicircle) in horizontal or vertical direction (no turns!). Example: Move horizontally from space 15 to 19.
- Underground: Move the pawn to any other space on the game board with an underground station (number in red rectangle).
- X: If you roll the X symbol, the die cannot be used.
After moving, place the die you used next to the moved pawn on the game board.
Remember: You can only use a means of transport if your pawn occupies a space with a stop for that transport (the circle must contain that color) at the start of your turn.
Then the next detective, in clockwise turn order, rolls the remaining dice and follows the dice rules above.
Attention: Players must move if they can. This applies to both the detectives and Mr. X: If they can move, they must move. If you cannot move, either because all the dice you rolled show the X symbols, or you rolled transports you cannot use, your pawn stays where it is and it's the next player's turn.
Roll again: Three times during the game, the detectives may use one of their "Roll again" tokens. This allows the active player to re-roll all their dice. Once a token is used, it is removed from the game and returned to the box.
Once each detective has finished their turn, whether they moved or not, it's Mr. X's turn.
Mr. X's Turn
To move their pawn, Mr. X takes one die from the game board that was used by a detective this round, without rolling it, and uses the corresponding transport to move. That means, if Mr. X takes a "bus" die, they must use the bus to move.
They write the number of the target space in the next available space on the Mr. X board, then cover the number with the chosen die.
If Mister X cannot use any of the detectives' dice, they must pass. Then that player places a die on the Mr. X board with the X symbol up and it's now the detectives' turn again.
Mr. X Options
Black Ticket: Instead of using one of the available dice, Mr. X has the option to use one of their Black Tickets. The Black Ticket can be used for any means of transportation, and Mr. X doesn't have to tell which one they're using. To use a Black Ticket, Mr. X writes down the target space in the next available space on the Mr. X board, then covers it with one of the played dice (turn it to show the X symbol). Then Mr. X checks off a Black Ticket on the Mr. X board.
Double Move: Once per game, Mr. X can move twice within the same turn. To do this, Mr. X chooses two dice from the game board and uses those symbols to move their pawn, as usual. Then Mr. X checks off the Double Move on the Mr. X board.
Note: It is perfectly legal to use a Black Ticket during a Double Move!
Helicopter: Once per game, Mr. X may use the Helicopter. The Helicopter can only be used when Mr. X is located next to the game board edge. Using the helicopter means that Mr. X must fly to the space at the opposite edge of the board. Once used, Mr. X writes down the new space and covers it with one of the played dice (X symbol up). Then Mr. X checks off the Helicopter on the Mr. X board.
Mister X was spotted!
After Mr. X's 3rd, 7th and 11th turn, the master criminal must reveal their location. After moving and writing down the number, they place their pawn on the game board space on which they are currently located. All dice are removed from the Mr. X board and returned to the dice supply next to the game board, revealing the route they took so far.
Attention: There is compulsion to move. That is, if Mister X or if the detectives can drive, they have to do that.
Next Round
At the beginning of each round, the detectives put the dice from the game board in the dice supply. They start again with 4 (or 3) dice. The player who started the previous round passes the starting player token to the detective on their left. That detective goes first, followed by each other detective in turn order, then it's Mr. X's turn, and so on.
End of the Game
There are two ways the game can end:
- Mr. X is captured. This happens if a detective moves onto a space occupied by Mr. X, or Mr. X moves onto a space occupied by a detective. The detectives win the game.
- Mr. X places a die on the last space of the Mr. X board. Then each detective has one more turn. If they don't catch Mr. X during the final round, Mr. X has escaped and wins the game.
Additional Rules
- You must not move beyond the game board edges.
- Mr. X and the detectives can move past a taxi-only space that is occupied by another pawn.
- Only one pawn per space.
Expert Rules
You have played the game several times and you're looking for a new challenge? Try the expert tiles! At the beginning of the game, turn over 3 random tiles (or 2 tiles for a game with 2 detectives) to the side with the light circles.
The expert tiles come with 3 additional rules:
- One-way street: Taxis and buses can only move in the direction of the arrow, even if only part of the move is via a one-way street. Black Ticket exception: When using a Black Ticket, Mr. X can move against the one-way street.
- Dead end: The street ends here, and you're not allowed to use this path.
- Taxis Only: These diagonal connections can only be used by taxis.
Special 2 Player Game Rule
The detective uses two pawns. During their turn, they roll 3 dice as indicated above. They now choose one of their pawns and move it using one of the rolled dice. Then they re-roll the remaining dice and move the other pawn. You must not move twice with the same pawn.