The Snitch

The Snitch Rulebook

Table of Contents

Goal of the Game

The players devise plans to smuggle a weapon into the prison and thereby break out. At first everyone works together, but during the game one of them can become the snitch. The snitch's task is to prevent the other inmates from breaking out. Can you trust whom you trust? Can you still complete 5 plans and escape?

What Can Be Seen on the Cards?

The card diagram labels the following parts:

Accomplice side: If you hold a card in your hand, it counts as an accomplice.
Name: Appears on the card. If the same name appears more than once in one plan, the plan fails.
Betrayal symbol: Your accomplices are not always nice. A dagger is allowed, but if more than one dagger appears in a plan, the plan fails.
Refuse symbol: Do you not trust a player? Turn your plan sideways to refuse help.
Item: If a plan fails, it is not all lost. You manage to steal an item. Face-down cards in your secret stash count as items.
Required cards + one extra: The number of cards needed to carry out a plan.
Plan side: A card played face up on the play area counts as a plan. Complete 5 plans to receive the weapon.
Guard: If the guard has you in sight, you may not say anything and may not carry out certain actions, until the guard passes to another player.
Escape plans: If you draw an escape plan, keep it to yourself. It will make the final escape easier.
The snitch: If you draw this card, you are the snitch. You win if you sabotage the escape plans or take the weapon.

Setup

The Interrogation Deck

Shuffle 7 random cards, face down, into a small stack in the play area.
Take the snitch, the 3 escape plans and 9 random cards. Shuffle these cards thoroughly without revealing them. Return 2 random cards to the game box. These cards may not be revealed until the end of the game.
Place the remaining cards sideways on top of the stack of 7 cards already on the play area.
As a reminder, place the interrogation deck marker on top.

Each time a plan fails, the players must draw cards from this deck. If only 7 or fewer cards remain in the deck, the prison riot begins. If the deck runs out, time is up: everyone loses and the snitch wins. If there is no snitch, everyone loses.

The Accomplice Deck

Shuffle the remaining cards and draw 24 cards.
Deal the drawn cards as evenly as possible among the players.

Hand cards may be discussed. Lying about them is allowed. Hand cards may not be shown to any other player.

The remaining cards are placed face down as a draw pile. This is the accomplice deck.

When a plan succeeds, the players draw from this deck.

Starting the Plan-Making

Each player chooses one of their hand cards and places it face up in front of them. This card counts as their personal plan. Players may have only one plan in front of them at any time.

Players keep some room free for their secret stash. Each time a plan fails, the player receives an item. This item is stored in the secret stash.

The Weapon

Place the weapon next to the interrogation deck. Successful plan cards are placed beside it.

The Guard

The guard is given to the most talkative player in the group (guard side up). As long as the guard card lies in front of a player, that player's actions are restricted. They are forbidden to:

say anything
use an item from their secret stash
refuse help by turning their card sideways

Then pass the bar of soap on.

Turn Order

Translator's note: the German sheet has a stray English word, "The", printed before this sentence; it is omitted here.

The most innocent player begins. Give that player the bar of soap (do not drop it). The player places it in front of them with the handcuff symbol face down. When their turn is over, the bar of soap is passed to the player on their left. The bar of soap shows who the active player is.

During Your Turn

Escape Plans

If you draw an escape plan, keep it to yourself. It will make the final escape easier for you.

The Snitch

If you draw this card, you become the snitch. You win if you sabotage the escape plans or get the weapon.

You may perform one of the following actions:

Play a card
Draw a card
Use an item

Then pass the bar of soap.

Translator's note: the German sheet prints the English words "Then pass the Bar of Soap" in this position; they are kept as printed.

Outside Your Turn

You may perform one of the following actions:

Use the refuse symbol

Let us look at this more closely.

Playing a Card

During your turn, you may play one card from your hand face down under another player's plan. Before the prison riot, you can only help inmates in cells directly next to you. So you may only place cards under the plans of players to your right or left.

Once a card has been placed under a plan, you may no longer look at it. Players may talk about the cards played, but they may not reveal whether the cards show a betrayal symbol or not.

Remember! While the guard is in front of you, all verbal and non-verbal communication is forbidden. Communication is decisive during the game. Make sure the other players know which card you played to complete their plans, or which cards have already been played under your plan.

Drawing a Card

Draw a card from the interrogation deck. You may draw an accomplice card or special cards such as …

Escape plans: If you draw this card, keep it in your hand until the end of the game. It makes the final escape easier.
The snitch: If you draw this card, you become the snitch. You may not play this card, and it stays in your hand. Keep this to yourself.

There are rumours of an escape attempt. If you can prevent it, your punishment is reduced. Your goal is to sabotage everything in subtle ways. You have three ways to win:

The last card of the interrogation deck is drawn.
You get the weapon.
The last escape attempt fails.

Completing a Plan

Each plan requires a certain number of face-down cards under it to be complete. The required number is shown in the lower right corner of an accomplice card. As soon as all the required cards lie under a plan, it is resolved immediately.

The player with the bar of soap takes all the cards lying under the plan without looking at them. They add the top card of the accomplice deck, and shuffle the cards aside and out of sight.

Then the shuffled cards are returned to the owner of the plan.

The owner of the plan reveals them, card by card.

There are two possible outcomes …

Success!

If all accomplices are different and no more than 1 betrayal symbol appears in the same plan, it is successful.

The revealed cards are placed under the accomplice deck. The successful plan is revealed and placed next to the weapon.

As a reward, the owner of the plan draws 1 card from the accomplice deck. Then the inmate to their left draws 1 card from the accomplice deck, then the inmate to their right does the same.

The owner of the successful plan draws 1 card from the interrogation deck for each betrayal symbol shown. It is possible that no card has to be drawn, if nobody played a card with a betrayal symbol. Then they choose a new plan from their hand and place it in front of them. You do not have to play a new plan if you have already completed 5 plans.

Caught!

If an accomplice appears more than once in the same plan, or more than one betrayal symbol is revealed, the plan has failed. The owner of the failed plan places its card face down on their secret stash, to represent an item they grabbed before the plan failed.

The owner of the failed plan draws 1 card from the interrogation deck first. Then the inmate to their left and finally the inmate to their right each draw 1 card from the interrogation deck. Then the owner of the failed plan draws one more card from the interrogation deck for each betrayal symbol shown. The revealed cards of the failed plan are placed under the accomplice deck. Then they take a new plan from the accomplice deck and place it face up in front of them.

Finally, the guard is placed in front of the player whose plan failed. Note: the player is forbidden to speak while the guard lies in front of them. If the handcuff symbol lies on top of the bar of soap, it is turned face down again.

Prison Riot Begins

The prison riot begins when 7 cards or fewer remain in the interrogation deck. All cell doors fly open. The players are no longer bound to pass cards only to their neighbours, but may give cards to any fellow player (except themselves).

Using an Item

If the guard does not have you in sight, you may use an item from your secret stash instead of playing or drawing a card. Depending on which item you use, something special happens. After its use, the card is placed under the accomplice deck.

Binoculars: Look at the top 3 cards of the accomplice deck and return them in any order you wish. Useful if you want to bring a plan to success.

Key: You and the players to your left and right each draw 1 card from the accomplice deck.

Brass knuckles: Get rid of unwanted individuals. Play this card next to a plan of your choice and thus complete it more easily. The plan is resolved without an additional card from the accomplice deck.

Bribe money: Bribe the guard. The guard is removed from the game and set aside. Only when a plan fails does the guard come back into play. This item may also be used while the guard lies in front of you.

Crowbar: Play this card next to a plan of your choice. This plan needs one card fewer to be completed. If the plan thereby has enough cards to be completed, it is resolved immediately.

Using the Refuse Symbol

You refuse a card that another player wants to place under your plan outside of their turn. You do this by turning your plan card sideways.

The refused card is placed, without showing it, under the accomplice deck. As long as your plan is turned sideways, you cannot use this action until it is replaced by a new plan.

Passing the Bar of Soap

At the end of your turn, the bar of soap is passed to the player on your left. If the guard lies in front of you, you turn the bar of soap over so that the handcuff symbol is shown. When the bar of soap comes back to you with the handcuff symbol on top, you turn it over and pass the guard on to the player on your right at the end of your turn.

Who Gets the Weapon?

Translator's note: the German sheet has a stray English word, "When", printed before this sentence; it is omitted here.

When a total of 5 successful plans have been reached, the weapon has been smuggled into the prison.

All cards (except the interrogation deck and the accomplice deck) are removed from the play area.
The guard card is turned over and the escape route on its back is revealed. All players may talk again and the escape can begin.
The players vote on who gets the weapon.
You want to prevent the snitch from getting the weapon. If they get it, they win immediately and the other players lose. So vote carefully. If the vote is tied, the player with the bar of soap decides.

Shooting or Not

The player with the weapon may shoot a player of their choice, preferably the snitch.

The other players may try to convince them what to do, but ultimately the decision lies with the player with the weapon.

The shot player keeps their cards face down until the end of the game. They are fatally hit and cannot take part in the final escape.

If the wrong player is hit, the snitch has not yet won immediately. The other players can still escape.

The player with the weapon may also decide not to use it. Perhaps nobody needs to be shot because nobody has become the snitch. Once the weapon has been used (or not), the grand finale begins.

The Escape

The escape route requires 6 face-down cards. No arbitrary card is needed to complete the final escape. The players may consult on what to do. The shot player may also give their opinion and try to convince the other players to believe them, or not.

First, all players except the one who was shot must play one card face down under the escape route. The player with the weapon decides the turn order. Do not forget: the player with the weapon must also contribute a card.

The player with the weapon selects players until 6 cards have been played.

Players with escape plan cards may play them as jokers. Escape plan cards have no betrayal symbol and do not correspond to any of the accomplices. Several escape plan cards may be played and they make the escape easier.

If there are an insufficient number of cards under the escape plan, the player with the weapon states which player must contribute an additional card to the escape plan. It is therefore possible for a player to play more than one card if the player with the weapon allows it.

If you must play a card but do not want to play any of your hand cards, you may draw a card from the accomplice deck and place it under the escape plan without showing it or looking at it yourself.

The Unveiling

The final escape is resolved in the same way as the remaining plans, i.e. each accomplice may appear only once and only one betrayal symbol may appear.

The following results are possible:

The Escape Fails

The snitch wins and all other players lose. If the snitch was shot, they win anyway and receive excellent care for their gunshot wound. If no inmate is the snitch, everyone loses.

The Escape Succeeds

The snitch and the shot player lose. All other players win. If no inmate is the snitch and nobody was shot, everyone wins!

Making the Game Easier or Harder

Allow players to talk about the betrayal symbols on their cards (or lie). This makes the game somewhat easier.
The game becomes harder if the following rule is added: when a plan is completed, the revealed cards (added by the other players) must also differ from the accomplices shown on the plan.

Tips from the Criminal Supermind

Do not play cards with the betrayal symbol too quickly. That way the snitch can be kept at a distance for longer. But do not wait too long either, otherwise the final escape may become very difficult.
The snitch cannot sabotage their own plan. Complete the plan of a suspicious player first, but do not expect them to remember the cards that were already played under their plan.
As the snitch, you must sabotage carefully before the last escape attempt is made. Once the weapon has been smuggled into the prison, there is a risk that you will be shot to give the other players an easy escape.

Translator's note: the publisher, author, translator and illustrator credits, the "all rights reserved" and manufacturing lines, and the age warning printed at the foot of the sheet are not transcribed.