Sherlock in Time Rulebook

Table of Contents

Table of Contents

• Components
  • Clue Cards
• Game Setup
• Gameplay
  • Your Turn
  • Prestige Points
  • Ending a Round
  • Example
• The Dishonourable Shortcut
• End of the Game
• Royal Inheritance Variant

Components

• 48 Clue cards
• 6 Scoring cards
• 6 Honour cards
• 6 Deduction cards
• 6 Reference cards with the icons for the clues

Clue Cards

Each card features 3 pictures which are 3 clues and their corresponding icons:

1. Samurai (Onna-bugeisha)
2. Ninja
3. Geisha
4. Adviser

Suspects: 1 of the 4 potential suspects.

1. Katana
2. Mask
3. Jade Dragon
4. Mirror (only used with the Royal Inheritance variant)

Items: 1 of the 4 potential stolen items.

1. Garden
2. Bedroom
3. Throne Hall

Locations: 1 of the 3 potential locations.

Game Setup

1. Return the 12 Clue cards with the mirror icon in the top left corner to the game box (they are only used with the Royal Inheritance variant).

   Shuffle the remaining Clue cards and place them face down on the table to create the Clue deck.

2. Deal 7 Clue cards to each detective face down. Then each detective does the following: They take all the cards dealt to them but 1 and put them in their hand, so that nobody else can see their clues. Then, they take the remaining card (without flipping it over) and put it in their hand, so that only the other detectives can see the clues: this is their secret card.

3. Deal 1 Reference card, 1 Scoring card, and 1 Honour card to each detective. The Honour cards is placed on top of the Scoring card, showing the open lotus flower face up. These 2 cards are used to indicate the Prestige points scored during the game. Each player starts the game with 0 Prestige points.

4. Deal 1 Deduction card to each player. The Deduction cards must be placed on the table, face up.

   Place the revealed Clue card next to the corresponding number of your Deduction card to keep track of the number of matching clues.

Gameplay

Sherlock in Time is played over 3 rounds. Each round is divided into turns, which are played in clockwise order. Only 1 detective plays during a turn.

In the first round, the starting player is the detective who most recently saw a cherry in blossom (or choose the starting player at random). In rounds 2 and 3, the starting player is the player with the least Prestige points. If there is a tie, the starting player is the tied player to the left of the player who scored the most points in the previous round.

Your Turn

During your turn, follow these steps in order:

1. Reveal 1 of the Clue cards in your hand (not your secret card). The rest of the detectives have to tell you, without lying, how many clues in the revealed card match the clues in your secret card (remember that only the other detectives can see your secret card). They can only tell you the number of clues that match (0, 1, or 2), but not what those clues depict.

2. At the end of your turn, you may try to solve the mystery. If you want to, say out loud 1 suspect, 1 item, and 1 location. The other detectives have to tell you whether the 3 answers match the 3 clues on your secret card.

   If you successfully guess your 3 secret clues, you immediately gain Prestige points according to the number of players that solved the mystery during the current round (see the table below). Additionally, you also skip the rest of your turns during this round. Slide your Honour card down to indicate your current Prestige points.

   If you make any mistakes, you are eliminated until the end of the current round. You can still help the other detectives by telling them the number of clues that match their secret card, but you skip your turn for the rest of the round.

Prestige Points

N.º of detectives	1st to solve	2nd to solve	3rd to solve	4th to solve	5th to solve	6th to solve
2 detectives	3 pts
3 detectives	3 pts	2 pts
4 or 5 detectives	3 pts	2 pts	1 pt
6 detectives	4 pts	3 pts

Ending a Round

At the end of rounds 1 and 2, take all the clue cards (the cards in the detectives' hands and the Clue deck) and prepare the next round, following the same steps as during the game setup. At the end of round 3, the game is over. See "End of the Game".

The round ends immediately when one of the following happens:

• All the detectives that could have scored during the round have already done so.
• All the detectives have been eliminated.

In 4-player games, the first detective to solve the mystery gains 3 Prestige points, the second gains 2, and the third gains 1. When the third player solves the mystery, the round ends. The remaining player does not score any points.

Example

Card A is Violet's secret card, which she cannot see. During the previous turn, she played card B and none of her clues matched her secret card, so she placed card B next to the number "0" of her Deduction card.

Now she just played card C. The other detectives tell her that 2 clues match her secret card, and so she places card C next to the number "2" of her Deduction card. She is still not sure what her secret clues are and it is too soon to try to solve the mystery, but she's a step closer.

The Dishonourable Shortcut

Once per game, and at any time during your turn, you can take the risky dishonourable shortcut to unmistakably rule out or discover 1 clue:

1. Flip over your Honour card so the side with the withered lotus flower is face up (careful not to lose track of your points).
2. Name 1 suspect, item, or location (only one!). The other detectives have to tell you whether your answers match 1 of the clues on your secret card.

Ending the game with the withered lotus on your Honour card face up comes at a high cost, since it is used to resolve ties at the end of the game.

Think twice before taking the dishonourable shortcut.

End of the Game

The game ends after the third round. The winner is the player with the most Prestige points at the end of the game.

If there is a tie, the winner is the tied player with their open lotus flower face up. If the tie remains, the tied players share the victory.

Royal Inheritance Variant

Once you have played several games of Sherlock in Time, you might want to face a greater challenge. The Royal Inheritance variant adds 1 extra item to the game: the mirror. The rules are the same as in the base game, except for the following:

• Games can have up to 6 detectives, instead of 5.
• During step 1 of the game setup, do not return the 12 cards with the mirror icon to the game box. Instead, shuffle them with the rest of the Clue cards to create the Clue deck.
• In step 2 of the game setup, deal 8 Clue cards to each detective face down, instead of 7.

This variant is slightly more difficult and, as a result, each game lasts longer.