Sherlock
Sherlock Rulebook
Table of Contents
Table of Contents
Contents
- 49 game cards
- 1 sack (the "Plumpsack")
Setup
Set the sack aside within reach. Shuffle the 49 game cards. Turn eight cards face up and arrange them in a circle. Important: the arrows on the cards must point outward. Later in the game, whenever cards are turned face up again, they must always be placed so that the arrows point outward.
Place the remaining cards as a face-down deck in the middle of the circle. All players now look carefully at the eight face-up cards and try to memorize the objects shown on them (there is no need to memorize the arrows).
Eight cards lie face up in a circle on the table. The arrows all point outward. The players try to memorize the eight objects.
After about half a minute, all eight cards are turned face down and stay that way.
How to Play
The youngest player begins and must guess first. For simplicity, we call the player whose turn it is the active player.
The active player's right-hand neighbor takes the sack and places it (from outside the circle) in front of any face-down card of their choice.
The active player must now say which object is hidden beneath that face-down card. After stating the guess loudly and clearly, the card is turned face up.
If the active player has guessed correctly, the card stays face up. The active player remains the active player. The sack moves on around the circle, in the direction the arrows point, by as many cards as the number next to the arrow indicates.
The active player must now say again what is hidden beneath the card the sack has landed on. After stating the new guess loudly and clearly, the card is turned face up.
As long as the active player keeps guessing correctly, they remain the active player and the sack keeps moving on. It always moves on, in the direction of the arrows, by as many cards as the number next to the arrow of the card most recently turned face up indicates.
If the sack finally lands on a card that is already face up, the active player has succeeded! They take the face-up card the sack has landed on and place it face down in front of themselves as a prize.
The top card of the face-down deck is then taken and placed (face up, for now) in the empty spot on the table. All players may briefly memorize the new card, then all the face-up cards are turned face down again, so that all eight cards are once more face down.
The starting player's turn has ended, and the next player clockwise becomes the new active player.
Example of Play
Heiko is the active player. His right-hand neighbor (Kai) places the sack face up in front of a card of his choice.
Heiko gives his guess: "Banana!" The face-down card is turned face up.
Since Heiko guessed correctly, he remains the active player, and the sack moves on two cards in the direction of the arrow.
Heiko gives his next guess: "Hat!" The face-down card is turned face up.
Since Heiko has guessed correctly again, he is again the active player. The sack moves on four cards in the direction of the arrow. Heiko gives his next guess: "Hammer!" Correct again!
The sack moves on two cards in the direction of the arrow and lands in front of a face-up card, the banana. Heiko takes the banana and places it beside himself as a prize.
The top card of the deck (a duck) is turned face up and placed in the empty spot. All players memorize the three face-up cards once more carefully. Then all the cards are placed face down. Heiko has ended his turn, and the next player clockwise becomes the new active player.
Continuing Play
Play continues in the manner described above. The active player's right-hand neighbor places the sack in front of any face-down card of their choice. Then the active player must give their guess — if the guess is correct, the sack moves on again in the direction of the arrows, the active player must guess again, and so on.
Very important: if the active player gives a wrong guess for a face-down card, their turn ends immediately. All face-up cards are turned face down again, and the next player clockwise becomes the new active player.
The active player therefore always keeps their turn until either they give a wrong guess, or the sack lands on a card that is already face up (in which case the active player wins that face-up card). After that, the next player clockwise becomes the new active player.
End of Game
The first player to have won six cards is the winner. If you like, you can of course agree on more or fewer cards as the winning condition, entirely as you please.
For Beginners and Experts
Those who want to make the game a little easier can play with fewer cards arranged in the circle. It is recommended to start with six cards and later increase to seven or eight cards.
Those who want it even more difficult can of course also try it with more than eight cards.