Sherlock Holmes and Moriarty's Web
Sherlock Holmes and Moriarty's Web Rulebook
Table of Contents
Table of Contents
Object of the Game
With the help of the other players, link all of London's unsolved crimes back to Moriarty. You all win (or lose) together.
Game Includes
- 6 Game Pieces
- 12 Crime Tiles
- 45 Moriarty Cards
- 1 Moriarty Tile
- 39 Evidence Tiles
- (10 Location Tiles)
- (17 Clue Tiles)
- (4 Informant Tiles)
- (8 Witness Tiles)
Set Up
"Things must be done decently and in order."
- Separate the tiles by shape. Make face down piles for the Witness, Location, Clue, Crime and Informant Tiles.
- Set the Moriarty Deck off to one side (face down).
- For three to six players, decide which character to play, then take that character's card and matching piece. (See "Game Variants" for 1 and 2 Player rules.) HINT - Sherlock Holmes is a good choice for the least experienced player. Mrs. Hudson is a good choice for the most experienced player.
- Each player draws a Clue Tile, then puts their game piece on top of it.
- Put the black Moriarty tile in the center of the table.
- Draw one Crime Tile per player (e.g. a five player game means five crime tiles). a. Draw one extra crime tile to play the Advanced Game (an advanced five player game starts with six Crime Tiles).
- Choose a player to go first.
Game Play
"I play the game for the game's own sake."
Players take individual turns, and turn order goes clockwise. On your turn:
- Draw two tiles from any one of the Evidence Tile stacks (either the Clue, Witness, Informant or Location stack - your choice). a. Decide which of the Evidence Tiles you want to add to the case on the table. Put the other at the bottom of the stack it came from. b. You can connect a new Evidence Tile to an existing Evidence Tile when: i. The patterns on the borders match. ii. You have a playing piece on top of the tile you want to connect to. iii. The new tile fits in the space available. c. Evidence Tiles that are not connected to anything are called Orphans. Crime cards are not Orphans:
- Move your game piece. On your turn, you get two moves. a. You can move from one tile to any other tile, as long as there is a path connecting them. This counts as a single move. b. You can attach new tiles to the tiles you start and end your moves on. i. You can connect new tiles, existing tiles, tiles that already connect to the board, and orphans. Everything is fair game.
FIGURE 1 (illustration, no caption printed)
FIGURE 2 (illustration, no caption printed) 3. When you have finished moving your game piece and rearranging the board, draw Moriarty cards. a. Count the unsolved Crime Tiles on the table. Draw that many Moriarty Cards. (Do not count Crime Tiles that have already been connected to Moriarty, or face down tiles in the Crime stack.) b. Read the Moriarty Cards, do as they say. i. When Moriarty removes an Evidence Tile, place it at the bottom of the Evidence Tile pile it came from. ii. After you have played a Moriarty Card, place it face up in the discard pile. If you get to the end of the Moriarty Deck, reshuffle the deck and resume play as usual.
Kidnapped by Moriarty
"There is nothing more stimulating than a case where everything goes against you."
- If the tile your game piece is on gets removed, you are considered kidnapped. Immediately move your game piece to the Moriarty Tile. a. While you are kidnapped, you can flip over Evidence Tiles and play Moriarty cards. Nothing else.
- Two game pieces on a single tile protect it. In that case, Moriarty is not able to remove it.
- In order to Rescue someone from Moriarty, an un-captured player must move their game piece to Moriarty's tile, and then leave - taking the captured playing piece(s) with him. But be warned - this will take up both your movements.
- If all players are kidnapped by Moriarty at the same time, Moriarty wins.
Solving a Crime
"Data! Data! Data! I can't make bricks without clay."
Crimes are solved when two (or more) Evidence Tiles create an unbroken path between the Crime Tile and the Moriarty Tile. Solved Crimes become unsolved again if Moriarty disrupts the path.
Winning and Losing the Game
"Any truth is better than indefinite doubt."
The game is won the second there are no unsolved crimes left in play.
If a Moriarty 'Crime!' Card is drawn, but all the Crime Tiles are already in play, the game is lost and Moriarty has triumphed.
Game Variants
"I trust that age doth not wither nor custom stale my infinite variety."
1 Player Game
Because this game is cooperative, it works well as a solitaire game or story-generating exercise. We recommend playing with either three or four characters.
2 Player Game
In a two player game, select a third character (we recommend Mrs. Hudson) to be a "communal" piece you both play together. If the two players cannot agree on how to move the communal piece, its turn is skipped.
Strategy Hints
"You know my methods. Apply them."
- Always pick Location Tiles until you get a black-bordered tile that connects to Moriarty. Only Location Tiles connect to Moriarty. (You have to catch him at the scene of the crime to win.)
- Only Witness and Clue Tiles connect to Crime Tiles.
- Informant Tiles don't connect to the Moriarty Tile or to Crime Tiles, but they will connect any Evidence Tile to any other Evidence Tile. All Informant Tiles are alike.
- Moriarty removes Witness tiles more often than he removes Clue Tiles. Witnesses are always more vulnerable, but they solve more crimes.
- Consider giving either Watson or Lestrade the first move, since they have the best early-game abilities.
- Every turn Holmes takes is an opportunity to rearrange the entire board.
Characters' Special Abilities
"Mediocrity knows nothing higher than itself; but talent instantly recognizes genius."
- Sherlock Holmes - Moves an unlimited number of times per turn. (Not just twice.)
- Doctor Watson - Protects two adjacent tiles. At the end of his turn, his playing piece straddles the tile he ended his turn on, and any single tile connecting to it. He protects both by himself, and neither can be removed by Moriarty.
- Mycroft Holmes - Draws Moriarty Cards at the beginning of his turn, but plays them at the end. If Mycroft solves any crimes during his turn, he can disregard the Moriarty Cards those crimes would have required. Say Mycroft draws five Moriarty Cards, then solves two crimes. He decides which three Moriarty cards he actually has to play, and puts the other two at the bottom of the Moriarty Deck.
- Inspector Lestrade - As his movement, he can jump to any tile in play - whether it is connected to the tile he started on or not. (This includes orphans and the Moriarty tile).
- Irene Adler - Looks at the top tile in each pile before deciding which pile to draw two tiles from (She can show the tiles to the other players, but after her turn is over the other players are not allowed to peek.)
- Mrs. Hudson - Assumes the power of any other character by announcing who she wants to be at the beginning of her turn. If a character is kidnapped, she can still use their power. However, she cannot use the power of a character who is not playing.