Black Spy
Black Spy Rulebook
Table of Contents
Table of Contents
Components
- 1 deck of 60 cards
- 1 scorepad
- This rulebook
The card deck is composed of 60 cards: 11 cards each of blue, yellow, red, and green color — one Informer, one Interrogator, one Infiltrator, one Saboteur, one Assassin, one Agent, one Spy, one Double Agent, one Code Breaker, one Deputy Director, and one Director. 16 black cards — the same cards as above plus 5 more "Spy" cards.
The rank of the cards is: 1) Informer (lowest rank), 2) Interrogator, 3) Infiltrator, 4) Saboteur, 5) Assassin, 6) Agent, 7) Spy, 8) Double Agent, 9) Code Breaker, 10) Deputy Director, and 11) Director (highest rank).
Setup
Each game is divided into a number of deals.
To determine the first dealer, each player draws a card. The player who draws the highest card becomes the first dealer. In case of a tie for high card, the tied players draw again until one player has the lone high card.
The dealer deals out all the cards to the players, one at a time to each player, starting with the player on his left. The number of cards each player will receive varies with the number of players: three players — 20 cards each; four players — 15 cards each; five players — 12 cards each; six players — 10 cards each.
After the first deal, the deal proceeds clockwise (going left) around the table, each player dealing in turn.
Passing Cards
Each deal, each player must pass any three of his cards (face down) to one other player. The pass alternates each deal: on the first round, players pass their cards to the player to their left; on the second round, the one to their right. Players will thus pass left, right, left, right, and so forth. In a four-player game, alternate the pass in this way: left, right, across, left, right, across, etc. A player may not look at the cards he is being passed until he has passed his three cards.
Playing a Trick
Each deal consists of a number of tricks.
The player with the Red 1 (this card shows a red star) leads the first trick by playing the first card. A black card may not be led on the first trick. Play then proceeds clockwise (to the left) around the table, with each player playing one card per turn.
A player must play one card each time it is his turn to play. Each player must play a card of the same color or a card of the same rank as the lead card. If a player does not have a card of the same color or rank, he may play any card.
After each player has played one card, the one who played the highest ranking card in the color that was led takes the trick. (If a black card was led and two or more players have played a Black Spy, and the Black Spy is the highest ranking card played, the one who played the first Black Spy takes the trick.) That player picks up all the cards and places them face-down in front of him. This player also leads the next trick by playing any card. Play continues in this manner until every card has been played.
Scoring
Once a deal is over, each player counts his points. The card values are:
| Card | Rank | Points |
|---|---|---|
| Black Informer | (1) | 1 point |
| Black Interrogator | (2) | 1 point |
| Black Infiltrator | (3) | 1 point |
| Black Saboteur | (4) | 1 point |
| Black Assassin | (5) | 1 point |
| Black Agent | (6) | 1 point |
| Black Spy (6 copies) | (7) | 10 points each |
| Black Double Agent | (8) | 2 points |
| Black Code Breaker | (9) | 3 points |
| Black Deputy Director | (10) | 4 points |
| Black Director | (11) | 5 points |
| Blue, Yellow, Red and Green Spy | (7) | -5 points each |
Total points on each deal is 60 points.
Special scoring situation: At the end of a deal, if a player collected all 16 black cards (regardless of the other cards he may have collected), then that player scores 0 points and every other player scores 60 points.
End of Game
One player records the scores on the scorepad. The game is over when a player's score reaches or exceeds a certain end-value. This value varies with the number of players: 200 points in a three-player game, 150 points in a four-player game, 120 points in a five-player game or 100 points in a six-player game. The player with the lowest score is the winner.
Variants
Each of these variants may be combined. You are also welcome to try out any variants of your own.
No Good Spies
The Blue, Yellow, Red and Green Spies do not affect the score (they are worth 0 points). This results in each deal having a total value of 80 points.
Capture or Release
If one player takes all the black cards in one deal, that player may choose to subtract 60 points from his score instead of giving each other player 60 points (as per the normal rule). When one player succeeds in getting all the black cards in one deal, the Blue, Yellow, Red, and Green Spies are worth 0. This last point will already be in effect when playing with the No Good Spies variant.
The Mole
The dealer deals the first hand normally. Starting with the second deal and before distributing the cards to the players, the dealer sets aside three cards per player (e.g. 12 cards in a four-player game, 15 cards in a five-player game, etc.). These cards represent "The Mole". The remaining cards are dealt among the players normally.
At the end of a deal, the player with the highest score takes "The Mole" and selects any three cards from it. He then gives the remaining Mole cards to the player with the next highest score, who also selects three cards. After choosing his cards, that player gives the remaining Mole cards to the third player with the highest score and so forth. The player with the lowest score will get the last three cards, which he must add to his hand.
In case of any ties for the highest score, the youngest player is always the first to choose his cards from "The Mole".
Calling Color
After the pass, the dealer calls a color other than black, after looking at his hand. The player to his left must lead with that color on the first trick. If that player cannot, then lead passes to the player to his left, and so forth until a player can lead with a card of that color. Beginning with the second trick, the player to lead may play any card. When playing with this variant, the player with the Red 1 does not lead the first trick.
Following Rank
A player may now play a card of the same rank as the card that the player to his right played (the player who plays before him) in addition to being able to play a card of the same color that was led, or the same rank that was led.
Going Back
A player must exceed the end-value to end the game. A player who gets exactly the end-value decreases his score by half. In addition, a player who gets exactly half of the end-value decreases his score by half.
Example in a three-player game: A player must get 201 points or more to end the game. A player who reaches a score of exactly 200 points goes back to 100 points. In addition, a player who gets exactly 100 points goes back to a score of 50 points.
Credits
Game Design: Alan R. Moon Art: Chris Quilliams Producer: Michael Sanfilippo Publisher: Steven Kimball
© 2016 Z-Man Games. Z-Man Games is a registered trademark of Z-Man Games. The Z-Man Games logo is a trademark of Z-Man Games. Fantasy Flight Supply is a trademark of Fantasy Flight Games.