Agent Black Rulebook

Table of Contents

Table of Contents

• 1. Components
• 2. Setup
• 3. Game Play
  • A. Investigate Action
  • B. Shoot Action
• 4. End of Round and New Round Setup
• 5. End of Game
• 6. Optional Rules (Team Mode)

1. Components

• 24 Identity Cards: 8 Costume, 8 Place, 8 Item
• 24 Clue Tiles
• 1 Investigator
• 1 Pistol
• 8 Victory Point Tokens (VP). Front: Mission Success. Back: Team Marker.
• 2 Rulebooks (KR / JP)

2. Setup

1. Select the Identity Cards and Clue Tiles to use in the game according to the player count (See table below).

Cards / Tiles	Costume	Place	Item
2~4 Players	Use 6 types	Use 6 types	Use 6 types
5‒6 players	Use all 8 types	Use all 8 types	Use all 8 types

※ When playing with 2–4 players, the 6 remaining cards and 6 remaining tiles are not used in this game.

2. Shuffle the selected Clue Tiles well and arrange them in a circle at the center of the table. (Arrange them so that the order Costume → Place → Item repeats.)
3. Place the Investigator and the Pistol at the center of the table (inside the circle of tiles).
4. Divide the Identity Cards by type (Costume, Place, Item), then shuffle each type face-down. Each player takes one card at random from each type, for a total of 3 Identity Cards.
5. Set the remaining Identity Cards aside; they will not be used in this round.
6. The player currently wearing the most black clothing becomes the starting player. (Or as preferred)

3. Game Play

When it is your turn, choose and perform one of the two actions below (A or B).

A. Investigate Action

Search for 3 pieces of information about another agent's identity at once.

A-1. Move the Investigator onto one Clue Tile of your choice. The Investigator cannot remain on the same tile; it must be moved. The tile where the Investigator is placed, along with the tiles on either side of it, becomes the target of this turn's investigation, for a total of 3 Clue Tiles.

[Example] Suppose the tiles currently being investigated are "Police Officer", "Hotel", and "Pocket Watch":

• Player B: Holds the "Police Officer" card, so raises their thumb.
• Player C: Holds none of the three cards, so keeps their fist closed.
• Player D: Holds the "Hotel" card and the "Pocket Watch" card. Even when multiple cards match, they raise only one thumb, as with Player B.

A-2. All other players gather their closed fists at the center of the table.

A-3. When the investigating player calls out "One, two, three!", any player holding an Identity Card that matches any one of the 3 Clue Tiles being investigated raises their thumb. If none of their cards match at all, they keep their fist closed.

※ Important — The investigating player does NOT put out a fist or raise their thumb!

A-4. Once the check is complete, pass the turn to the player on the left.

B. Shoot Action

Target one specific agent and declare one of their identities.

B-1. Hold up the Pistol and target one other player. Then declare one of the identities (Costume, Place, or Item) you expect them to have. (Result → Shot Success or Shot Failure)

B-1-1. [Shot Success]: If the targeted player is holding the declared card, the shot succeeds. The targeted player must immediately reveal that Identity Card face-up in front of themselves. The player who achieved Shot Success proceeds with one more turn. (They may freely choose either to Investigate or to Shoot on the additional turn; if they continue to achieve Shot Success, they may keep taking turns in succession.)

[Example] Player A holds up the pistol and targets Player D, declaring "Are you at the Hotel right now?!" Since Player D holds the "Hotel" card, they respond, "Hotel is correct." Player D immediately reveals the "Hotel" card face-up in front of themselves. Player A has achieved Shot Success, so they proceed with one more turn.

B-1-2. [Shot Failure]: If the targeted player does not hold the declared card, they respond, "I do not have it." The player who failed the shot must choose one of their own Identity Cards and reveal it face-up as a penalty. (They may freely choose which card to reveal.) After that, the turn passes to the player on the left.

[Example] Player A holds up the pistol and targets Player B, declaring "Are you disguised as the Chef?!" Since Player B is not the Chef, they respond, "I am not the Chef." Player A has failed the shot, so they reveal one of their own cards face-up as a penalty and then pass the turn.

B-2. Whenever an Identity Card is revealed, take the matching tile from the Clue Tiles arranged in the circle at the center of the table and place it on top of the just-revealed card. Slide the tiles on either side together to close the gap, so that the circular shape is restored.

Once the gap is closed in this way, depending on where the Investigator is placed, it may become possible to investigate the same element type multiple times. (e.g., Item + Costume + Item)

B-3. A player whose 3 Identity Cards have all been revealed is immediately eliminated from this round and takes no further turns.

4. End of Round and New Round Setup

1. As soon as all players but one have been eliminated, the round ends immediately.
2. The player who survives to the end becomes the winner of that round and takes 1 Victory Point Token (VP). (The color of the VP has no meaning outside of Team Mode. Take any color.)
3. If no player has yet acquired 2 VP, return to Section 2 (Setup) and begin a new round. The starting player of the new round is the player who was eliminated first in the previous round.

5. End of Game

When one player has achieved victory in a total of 2 rounds (acquired 2 VP), the game comes to its final end. Congratulations! The victorious agent will be recorded for posterity as the honored Agent Black!

(If you wish, you may also apply a rule in which the final winner must win 3 rounds, for a longer game.)

6. Optional Rules (Team Mode)

With 4 or 6 players gathered, you can enjoy Team Mode (2:2 / 2:2:2 / 3:3)! You will experience an even more lively party atmosphere.

1. Divide into teams, then exchange seats so that teammates are not seated next to each other. (e.g., seating order: Team A–Team B–Team C–Team A–Team B–Team C)
2. Flip the VP to the Team Marker side. Each team receives tokens of the same color.
3. The basic game rules apply in the same way, but the team to which the last surviving agent belongs wins the round as a whole team.
4. The winning team takes one of their Team Markers and flips it to its Mission Success side to mark the win.
5. Play multiple rounds; the team whose members' tokens all flip to Mission Success first wins the final victory! (In 2:2 and 2:2:2 games, the final winner is decided when a team wins 2 rounds; in 3:3 games, when a team wins 3 rounds.)