GAME RULES

INTRODUCTION

Espionage (Working Title) is a game for 3 to 7 players set in Europe in the WW I era.  The game is played in multiple rounds, called "Cities".  In each City each player has a particular role, and the players all try to engage in espionage and counter-espionage (or just hide if they are Innocent Civilians).  How well a player pursues his or her various roles in the various cities determines who wins.

COMPONENTS

For 3 or 4 players you need a regular 1 deck of 52 cards (i.e., no Jokers).  For 5, 6 or 7 players you need two decks of cards shuffled together (for 104 cards, including no jokers).

I can be useful for each player to have a mat marked with line to lay cards down on, to keep straight the order in which cards were played by different players.

SET UP A CITY

For the first City, select one player at random to go first.  In each subsequent City, the player with the most points goes first.  In the event of a tie for most points, the first player (of those tied for most points) to the left of the player who went first in the last City goes first in this City.  The deal starts with the first player.

At the start of each City shuffle all the cards.  Deal each player 1 card.  Each player looks at his or her card and then places it face down in front of him or her.  This card determines that players Role in the City according to the following table:

Red Number card:  SPY

Red Face Card:    SPY MASTER

Spade:            COUNTER-ESPIONAGE AGENT

Clubs Face Card:  DOUBLE-AGENT

Clubs Number Card:INNOCENT CIVILIAN

Then deal each player five cards.  

TABLE TALK

Players may *not* explicitly say what role they have.  They may imply anything they wish.  Players are encouraged to talk in character, and lie.

PLAY OF A CITY

Each City is played in a number of turns.  Each turn, starting with the first player in that City, each player selects a card from his or her hand and plays it on another player.  A player may *not* play a card on him or herself (except for a very unlikely and special case described below).  When a player has a card played on him or her, the receiving player looks at the card, and then lays the card face down in a specific location in from of him or her.  Meanwhile, the player who played the card draws a new card, replenishing his or her hand to 5 cards.

Cards are worth their face value, with red cards represent "Secrets" that Spies want to pass. Even red cards represent "False, planted Secrets" when played by a Double-Agent.

ARRESTS:

Black Face Cards are Police that can Arrest a Spy, Spy-Master, Double-Agent or Innocent Civilian and Black 10's are Police that can only Arrest Spies, Double-Agents and Innocent Civilians.  If the appropriate card is played on you (given your role) you are Arrested at that point.  Say nothing, and keep playing out the City.  If two or more Counter-Espionage Agents Arrest another player in the same turn, the Counter-Espionage Agents divide the immediate bonus points or penalties by the number of Arresting Agents, rounding away from zero (i.e., rounding up for bonuses, and rounding more negative for penalties).

If a Black 10 or Black Face card is played on Player A by Player B, then on the next Turn Player B *Must* play on Player A, and *Must* play the highest value red card in Player A's hand (if the player has any Red cards).  If a player had more than one other player play a Black 10 and/or Black Face card on him in the same turn, the receiving player chooses which of these other players to play on in their next turn.

REJECTIONS:

Played Ace and 2 Cards represent "Rejections" (i.e., the one player no longer trusts the other player to be a Spy on spying side).  If a Player has an Ace or 2 Card played on him or her by another player, that player is "Rejected" and may no longer play Red Cards on the player who played an Ace or 2 Card on him or her.

 SPECIAL RULE: If (and only if) a player has had *every other player* play an Ace or 2 card on that player, and that player only had red cards in his or her hand, then this player is "Rejected" by everyone.  In this case, the player may [and must] play a card on him or herself that turn.  The player does not score or lose any points for playing on him or herself.

When a Player has a card played on him or her, that player puts it face down in front in a matrix of cards and spaces forming a "Mat."  The cards should be organized so that cards in the same column were played by the same other player, and so that cards in the same row were played at the same time.  Include blank rows for turns in which no card was played on the player.  Rows should be 1/2 card in size.  When the same players has played in two adjacent turns cards on the same other player, that other player should put the later card 1/2 under the earlier card.

When some player cannot draw a new card for their hand from the draw pile, because cards are out, play in that City ends.  Do not play a turn in which any players start with less than 5 cards in their hand.  Go immediately to "Walking Back the Dog" to score that City.  (Note: Cards are not shuffled back into a draw pile until going to a new City.)

"WALKING BACK THE DOG"

Once all the cards for a City have been played, then they are revealed row-by-row by all players.  This is called "Walking the Dog" and publicly "re-enacts" how the City was played turn-by-turn.  Each player keeps track at this time of how they scored in that city.  Scoring is as follows:

 COUNTER-ESPIONAGE AGENT:

Arrested a Spy-Master (i.e., played a Black Face Card on a Spy-Master):  Earn 1/5 the points needed to End the Game (see "Winning" below) if this is the first arrest of this Spy-Master in this City.  Earn the face value of all Red Cards played on this Spy-Master in this and later turns in the City.

Arrested a Spy (i.e., played a Black Face Card or a Black 10 on a Spy):  Earn 1/10 the points needed to End the Game if this is the first arrest of this Spy in this City.  Earn the face value of all Red Cards played by this Spy (on *any* player) in this and later turns in the City.

Rejected (Ace or 2 played) by a Spy or Spy Master who has not been Arrested.  Lose 1/20 of the points needed to End the Game.  Your score cannot go negative on this loss.

Arrested a Double-Agent.  Lose 1/5 of the points needed to End the Game if this is the first arrest of this Double-Agent in this City.  Your Score can go negative on this loss.

Arrested an Innocent Civilian.  Lose 1/10 of the points needed to End the Game if this is the first arrest of this Innocent Civilian in this City.  Your Score cannot go negative on this loss.

 SPY-MASTER:

Earn the face value of all Red Cards played on you by a Spy *before* any Counter-Espionage Agent played a Black Face Card on you.

Lose 3 times the Face Value of all Even Red Cards played on you by a Double Agent.

Gain 2 times the Face Value of all Odd Red Cards played on you by a Double Agent.

Gain 1/10 of the points needed to win the game if you Rejected a Double-Agent.  Lose 1/20 of the points needed to win the game if you Rejected a Spy or Spy-Master.  Your Score cannot go negative on this loss.

If you are Arrested (i.e., a Counter-Espionage Agent played a Black Face Card on you) lose 1/5 of all the points needed to End the Game.  Pay this penalty only once, even if arrested multiple times.  Your Score can go negative on this loss.

 SPY:

Earn the face value of all Red Cards you played on another Spy before either you or that Spy was arrested.

Earn three times the face value of all Red Cards you played on a Spy-Master before either you or that Spy-Master was arrested.

Lose the face value of all Even Red Cards played on you by a Double-Agent.

Gain the face value of all Odd Red Cards played on you by a Double-Agent.

If you are Arrested (i.e., a Counter-Espionage Agent played a Black Face Card on you) lose 1/5 of all the points needed to End the Game.  Pay this penalty only once, even if arrested multiple times.  Your Score can go negative on this loss.

 INNOCENT CIVILIAN:

Earn 1/4 the points needed to End the Game.

"Loose Lips Sink Ships": Lose the Face value of all Red Cards you give to as Spy before that Spy is Arrested.  Lose 2 times the Face value of all Red Cards you give to a Spy-Master before that Spy-Master is Arrested.

If you are Arrested (i.e., a Counter-Espionage Agent played a Black Face Card or Black 10 on you) lose 1/5 of all the points needed to End the Game.  Pay this penalty only once, even if arrested multiple times.  Your Score can go negative on this loss.

 DOUBLE AGENT:

Gain twice the face value of all Even Red Cards you play on a Spy before he is arrested.  Gain five times the face value of all Even Red Cards you play on a Spy-Master before you or he are Arrested.

Lose three times the face value of all Odd Red Cards you play on a Spy before he is arrested.  Lose Six times the face value of all Odd Red cards you play on a Spy-Master before he is arrested.

If you are Arrested (i.e., a Counter-Espionage Agent played a Black Face Card or Black 10 on you) lose 1/10 of all the points needed to End the Game.  Pay this penalty only once, even if arrested multiple times.  Your Score cannot go negative on this loss.  

If you are Rejected by a Spy, lose 1/20 of the points needed to Win the Game.  If you are Rejected by a Spy-Master, lose 1/10 of the points needed to Win the Game.  Your Score can go negative on these losses.

WINNING

Check for the game end after fully scoring each City.  Play until after the first City where a player has more points than shown in the table below.  At that point, the player with the most points wins.  Equal points tie.

#Players       Points to End the Game

3                       240

4                       160

5                       300

6                       240

7                       180

OPTIONAL RULES

Special rules can be assigned to having other cards played on a player.  In general these should result in limitations and mandates on how players play cards from their hand.

All Black 10 and Face Cards are played Face Up when first playing a City.  (They remain face up when Walking the Dog.)

Double the points to end the game for a longer game.  Halve the points to end the game for a shorter game (which may even end after a single city).  Do not double or halve the points for bonuses or penalties {e.g., if you are playing a "long" 4 player game and as a Spy you are Arrested, the penalty is 160 x (-1/5) = -32 points, not (160 x 2) x (-1/5) = -64 points.}

© 2009, Tom McKendree