Scotland Yard: The Hunt for Mister X
Scotland Yard: The Hunt for Mister X Rulebook
Table of Contents
Table of Contents
Game Idea
Mister X travels across London trying to shake off Scotland Yard and avoid being caught. If Mister X manages to elude the detectives for 13 rounds without getting caught, Mister X wins! You have to be a particularly clever detective to catch Mister X. If you manage to arrive at the same station as Mister X, you'll win the game.
Required Game Materials
- 1 game board
- 4-5 playing pieces
- 3-4 coloured ticket boards
- 1 black ticket
- 1 double-move ticket
- 1 travel log with cover and paper inserts for Mister X
- 1 Mister X visor
Preparation
First decide who will be Mister X.
Tip: Mister X needs nerves of steel, so the most experienced player should take this role.
Place the game board on the table. Mister X should sit so as to see all numbers on the board without standing.
Mister X receives:
- 1 transparent playing piece
- The Mister X visor (conceals Mister X's eyes from giving away any secrets)
- The travel log with cover and paper inserts
- 1 pencil (not included)
- Tickets: 1 x black ticket, 1 x double-move ticket
Each detective receives 1 coloured playing piece and the corresponding ticket board (so players can easily recognize their pieces).
Initial Starting Position
Mister X places the transparent playing piece on the station marked 82.
If 3 detectives are playing, they can choose any one of the start stations 41, 46 or 124, and place their playing piece there.
If a 4th detective is playing, use start station 142. At the beginning and throughout the game, only one detective may be on a station at a time.
How to Play
13 rounds are played. In each round, Mister X moves first, and then the detectives move in any order. Mister X and all detectives move to a new station on each turn.
How Pieces are Drawn
The colours on the stations indicate which means of transportation start and stop there. In order to use a particular means of transportation, the playing piece must be on that station of transportation (i.e. with a matching colour in the station circle).
Exception: If a detective's playing piece lands on the station where Mister X is, the detectives win.
Playing pieces can only be moved to unoccupied stations.
The underground (red) routes are not used in the beginner version.
Taxi
Every station on the map can be reached by taxi (yellow). However, the distance that you travel is short: on your turn, you can only move (along the yellow line) to the next station.
Example of a move by taxi: if your playing piece is on station 100, by taxi you can only move to the stations 80, 81, 101, 113 or 112.
Bus
The bus (turquoise) only drives to and from stations with a turquoise semi-circle. On your turn, you can travel by bus (along the bus route) to the next turquoise bus station, slightly farther than by taxi.
Example of a move by bus: if your playing piece is on station 100, by bus you can move to the stations 63, 82, or 111.
Moving Mister X
On each turn, Mister X selects a new station that is connected to the current location by a yellow (taxi) or turquoise (bus) line. Mister X then writes down the number of the new station on the next line of the travel log, and moves the transparent playing piece to the new location.
On the first turn, Mister X fills out the first space in the travel log by writing down the number of the station the piece landed on.
On the next turn, Mister X moves from the last logged station to a new station, writing the new number on the next space of the travel log.
Mister X Disappears
Mister X disappears in regular intervals and is invisible for an entire round. Before the 3rd, 8th, and 13th moves, Mister X removes the transparent playing piece from the game board and writes down the new, secret destination in the circled space of the travel log shielding the number with one hand so the detectives can't see it. The detectives then make their moves. When they have finished, Mister X places the transparent playing piece back on the board at the previously secret location and then takes a regular turn, moving the transparent piece to the next station.
Black Tickets
By playing the black ticket in any round, Mister X can make another invisible move (in addition to the invisible moves in rounds 3, 8 and 13). Once played the black ticket is removed from the game.
Tip: Mister X should plan carefully when to disappear, to shake off close pursuers.
Double Move
By playing the double-move ticket, Mister X can take two moves (instead of one) on a single turn using any valid combination of bus and taxi routes. Mister X marks the two stations in the travel log (using two fields) and places the playing piece on the second station. Once played, the double-move ticket is removed from the game.
Mister X may choose to play the double-move ticket in the rounds 2, 7 or 12, so that the playing piece disappears on the second move and stays invisible until the next round. Mister X may play a black ticket in combination with the double-move ticket.
Since a double move is the same as 2 normal moves played out consecutively, Mister X cannot move to a station that is already occupied by a detective on either the first or second move.
Mister X may use the double-move ticket in round 13, but then must make another move (move 14) and all detectives may also make one more move.
Moving the Detectives
Once Mister X has completed a turn, the detectives take their turns in any order. Since the detectives all share the same goal, they should work together to coordinate moves. Each detective places their playing piece on the next station along the route according to the means of transportation selected.
End of Game
The detectives win the game if:
- A detective finishes a move on the same station as Mister X. (Mister X, if invisible, must admit defeat!)
- Mister X has no free stations to move to (all possible stations are blocked by detectives).
Mister X wins, if:
- Mister X manages to travel across London for 13 rounds without being caught by the detectives. The round is only over once the detectives have also completed their moves.