Suspicious Rulebook

Table of Contents

Table of Contents

• Components
• Setup
• How to Play
  • 1. Launching the Game
  • 2. The Clue Words
  • 3. Debate and Accuse
  • 4. Vote and Reveal
  • 5. Scoreboard
  • 6. End of the Game

Components

• 7 erasable slates
• 7 erasable markers
• 1 card decoder
• 1 scoreboard
• 112 secret keyword cards

Setup

Place the scoreboard in the centre of the table. Choose one person to be the DIRECTOR of the Intelligence Services.

The DIRECTOR's role is to secretly designate who will be THE SPY. They also act as referee during the discussions of the game. Each round, the players take turns playing the role of DIRECTOR. Every player other than the DIRECTOR of the round takes one erasable slate and one erasable marker. The DIRECTOR takes the scoreboard and the card decoder.

How to Play

1. Launching the Game

When you are the DIRECTOR, your duties are as follows: draw a card from the deck and insert it into the decoder. Make sure that no player sees the card, so that nobody knows what the secret keyword is. Each card is divided into two parts: one for those who have the role of AGENT, and another for the player who plays the SPY. On each part there is a keyword.

Ask all the players to close their eyes and secretly choose which player will be the SPY. Clockwise, starting with the player on your left, say the name of every player one by one. When the first named player opens their eyes:

• If it is the player you have chosen as the SPY, show them the secret keyword meant for the SPY (in the example, POOL), covering with your hand all the other words visible in the decoder.
• If the player is one of the AGENTS, show them the secret keyword meant for the AGENT (in the example, POND), covering with your hand all the other words visible in the decoder.

After seeing their secret keyword, each player closes their eyes. Once the round is complete, ask all the players to open their eyes.

2. The Clue Words

Now the DIRECTOR must think of a clue word that links the secret keywords of the SPY and the AGENTS.

The DIRECTOR says the clue word out loud so that all the players have a context for their secret keyword.

Then every player writes a single clue word in the first space of their erasable slate. This word can be anything, except the clue word the DIRECTOR gave.

Here are some useful suggestions for writing appropriate clue words: the goal of the clue word is to convince the AGENTS that you are also an AGENT, so it is important to choose it with care. In general, it is better to give clues that are subtle and vague. Giving obvious clues is not the best strategy, because either you will reveal the AGENTS' keyword (see point 4), or you will denounce yourself as the SPY.

• You may also give completely false clues to mislead the SPY (see point 4), but this may make you appear suspicious in the eyes of the others.
• You may even write the secret keyword that the DIRECTOR showed you. This could create an interesting situation.

When all the players have finished writing, they must place their slates face down. Clockwise, starting with the player to the left of the DIRECTOR, each player shows their slate and reads their clue word out loud.

After the players have shown their clue words, the players write a second clue word under the previous one. This clue word must be different from all those already stated in the previous turn.

The first clue word must not be erased.

When all the players have finished writing, they place their slates face down. Again clockwise, starting with the player to the left of the DIRECTOR, each player shows their slate and reads the second clue word they wrote out loud.

3. Debate and Accuse

The players may now present their conclusions about who the SPY is, either by accusing the others or by defending themselves. The DIRECTOR acts as referee. Our recommendation is to set a time limit of 2 minutes for the debate.

4. Vote and Reveal

Once the time has elapsed, or when the players are ready to vote, everyone must vote for the player they think is the SPY by writing the suspect's name in the box on the back of their erasable slate.

No one may vote for themselves. Even if you think you are the SPY, you must vote for another player. Clockwise, each player reveals the name of the SPY they believe they have unmasked. The player with the most votes is "stopped". If there is a tie in the votes, the AGENTS lose and the SPY wins.

The stopped player must say their secret keyword aloud.

Two things can happen:

1. The stopped player is an AGENT if their secret keyword matches those of the other players (all but one). In this case, the SPY wins.

2. The stopped player is the SPY if their secret keyword is different from that of all the other players. In this case, the SPY has one minute and one attempt to guess the AGENTS' secret keyword. The SPY may look at the other players' clue words several times if necessary. The AGENTS may not speak until the SPY makes an attempt. If the SPY guesses the AGENTS' secret keyword, the SPY wins. Otherwise, the team of AGENTS wins.

5. Scoreboard

Depending on the role they played during the round (SPY or AGENT), the DIRECTOR writes each player's points on the scoreboard using the erasable marker, and adds them to each player's total according to the following rule:

The SPY escapes	The SPY is stopped but found the AGENTS' secret keyword	The SPY is stopped and did not find the AGENTS' secret keyword
SPY +2 / AGENTS 0	SPY +1 / AGENTS 0	SPY 0 / AGENTS +2

6. End of the Game

• In a game of 4 to 5 players, the game ends when each player has had the role of DIRECTOR twice.
• In a game of 6 to 8 players, the game ends when each player has had the role of DIRECTOR once.

The player with the most points at the end of the rounds is the winner of the game!