Cereal Killer
Cereal Killer Rulebook
Table of Contents
Table of Contents
Credits
Author: Julián Tunni Illustrator: Julián Tunni Graphic design: Julián Tunni Development: J. Tunni and Aibel Nassif Proofreader: Laura González Casares Editors: Sergio Vaquero and Nancy Yao
Author's thanks: Thank you to everyone who encourages me to keep making games! Special mention to Sergio and Nancy, who have lent an unconditional hand since day one <3.
Components
Notebook and pencil.
2 map boards: City and Suburbs (Suburbs used only for 3-player games).
1 Calendar.
3 Character cards: the Killer, the Detective, Lola.
- The Killer: Claim your 6 victims and avoid being found! Starts on a House. Turn: always moves 3 spaces; decides whether to claim a victim. Cannot: walk over the Detective or Lola; end its turn on the Park where it must place the Witness.
- The Detective: Interrogate Witnesses, deduce, and try to arrest the Killer! Starts on a Cafe. Turn: moves up to 3 spaces; if there is a Witness, can approach to ask 1 question; can use the Underground and Lola; can make an arrest attempt.
- Lola: Track, corner, or try to arrest the Killer! Starts on the Food space. Turn: moves up to 4 spaces; can carry out one available action. Cannot: communicate with the Detective; ride the Underground or Train.
6 Question cards.
12 tokens: 1 Detective, 1 Witness, 1 Dog (Lola), 1 Spoon, 1 Badge, 6 Cereal pieces, 1 Bone.
For games with 3 players.
Setup
Below is how to set up a 2-player game. Changes for 3-player games are detailed in "Game for 3 Players."
Return to the box the components for 3 players: the Lola character card, Lola's token and Bone, the Suburbs board, and the Question card marked for 3 players.
- Choose one side of the City map and place it on the table.
- Place the Calendar with the 2-player side face up.
- Place the Spoon on day 1 of the Calendar, and the Badge on space 4 of the arrest-attempts tracker.
- Whoever had breakfast earliest will be the Killer.
- Give the Killer their Character card, the Notebook, the Pencil, the 6 Cereal pieces, and the Witness token.
- Give the Detective their Character card, the 5 Question cards, and their token.
A: Advantage for the Killer. B: Advantage for the Detective.
Victory Conditions
Killer: Wins by fulfilling the victim objectives while remaining hidden until the last day ends. Also wins if the Detective runs out of arrest attempts.
Detective: Wins by arresting the Killer. Also wins if the Killer fails any of its victim objectives, or if the Killer cannot make its 3 moves.
Basic Concepts
Movement and interaction are both to adjacent spaces (orthogonal only — diagonals are not permitted).
The Killer moves by writing down its steps. It is invisible — it has no token representing it on the City.
Turn
Each turn (day) is divided into 2 phases:
- The Killer moves: After moving, check whether the victim objective for that day has been met.
- The Detective acts: After acting, advance the Spoon to the next turn.
By the end of day 4, the Killer must have claimed at least 3 victims during the game.
The Killer
- Choose a House as your starting point and secretly write down, at the top of your notebook, the number of the space with a lone house.
- From now on, you must always move 3 spaces, writing down the 3 numbers of the spaces you pass through.
- You may decide not to claim a victim on one of the seven days.
Movement
- Always move 3 spaces.
- You may retrace your steps.
- You cannot pass through the space where the Detective is.
- You may pass through a Cafe, but it grants you no benefit.
If at any point the Detective corners you and you cannot make your 3 moves, you lose the game.
Victims and Witness
You may only claim 1 victim per turn and per House.
- To claim a victim, place a Cereal piece when you are on a House — whether starting, passing through, or ending your turn on that space. The maximum number of victims per game is 6.
- If there is a Park adjacent to the space where you placed the Cereal piece, place the Witness there. If there are 2 adjacent Parks, you must choose which one to place it in.
- You cannot end your turn on the Park where you are about to place the Witness.
The Killer starts on space 8 and passes through 3, 2, and 1. It could claim a victim on 8, 3, or 1. It chooses to place the Cereal piece on 3. It must place the Witness in one of the adjacent Parks, and settles on space 4 to stay further away.
By the end of turn 2/4/7 you must have 1/3/6 victims in the City. If you fail on any of those turns, you lose the game.
It is possible for the Detective to end its turn on the same space you are on. That's not a problem. Even while sharing that House, you can place a Cereal piece right under its nose and then escape.
The Detective
After the Killer's first turn, choose a Cafe as your starting point and place your token on that space.
During your turn, you may interleave your moves with your actions in whichever order you like.
Movement
- You may move up to 3 spaces (you may decide not to move).
- You may retrace your steps.
- Passing through a Cafe grants 1 extra step. Starting your turn on a Cafe, or passing through the same one again, does not grant this benefit.
Interrogate
The Witnesses that appear on Parks are key pieces of the puzzle. When the moment comes, make use of them:
- Position yourself adjacent to the Witness, or on its space, and ask the Killer one of the Questions.
- You may only ask 1 Question per Witness. Once used, leave that card next to the Calendar — you cannot repeat it on future interrogations.
- The Killer must answer truthfully.
When you finish your turn, remove the Witness from the map (whether or not you interrogated it).
The Questions
Which direction are you in? N/S/E/W. State the cardinal direction, taking the Witness as the point of reference. If there are two options, the Killer chooses which to answer. (Example: the Killer is Northwest of the Witness and decides to answer "North.")
Are you in the same row as the Witness? Yes/No
Are you in the same column as the Witness? Yes/No
Are you indoors? Yes, if on a House / Cafe / Underground / Train station.
Are you on an even or odd space? Even/Odd
Additional question for 3-player games:
What zone are you in? City/Suburbs
Arrest
Select the space you are on, or an adjacent one (orthogonal), to attempt to arrest the Killer. (E.g., "Are you on 6?")
If you're right: Congratulations, you've won!
If you're wrong: Your turn ends immediately, and the Badge advances on the arrest-attempts tracker.
You only have 4 arrest attempts in the whole game.
The Underground
- Both the Killer and the Detective can use the Underground.
- While on an Underground space, you may use your next step to exit from the other end.
- You may end your turn on an Underground space.
The Killer leaves space 5, enters the Underground at 10, exits at 16, and ends its turn at 17. That same route would have needed twice as many steps without the Underground!
End of the Game
The game ends immediately as soon as someone reaches one of their victory conditions.
Game for 3 Players
In a 3-player game, the Detective has an ally: Lola, the police dog! Together they form the investigation team and cooperate to arrest the Killer.
Set up the game as described under "Setup," but with the following changes:
- Flip the Calendar card so the 3-player side is showing.
- Place the Suburbs board south of the City (see the Map Difficulty section to choose the difficulty).
- Give Lola her Character card, her token, and the Bone, and give the Detective the sixth Question card.
Map Difficulty
Choose the difficulty by combining the different City and Suburbs boards. The number of feathers indicates the difficulty of the map for the Killer.
- Beginner Killer: City side B + Suburbs side B.
- Recurring Killer: City side A + Suburbs side A.
- Compulsive Killer: City side B + Suburbs side A.
- Cereal Killer: City side A + Suburbs side B.
Victory Conditions
The Detective and Lola win as a team if they arrest the Killer. They also win if the Killer fails any of its victim objectives, or if the Killer cannot make its 3 moves because it is cornered.
Basic Concepts
- Lola cannot speak during the game. Instead, she uses her abilities to give clues and help the Detective.
- Lola's Bark action allows the use of diagonal spaces.
Turns
Each turn (day) is divided into 3 phases:
- The Killer moves.
- Lola acts.
- The Detective acts.
Both the Killer and the Detective play their turns the same way as in a 2-player game.
Arrest attempts are shared.
The Train
The Train works like the Underground, but it has a circuit of three stations, and they must be crossed successively, following the tracks that connect them.
For example, if you want to enter at 30 and exit at 25, you must pass through 34.
Lola, the Police Dog
After the Killer's first turn, place your token on the starting space (Food) and the Bone next to your Character card.
During your turn you may interleave your moves with one ability, in whichever order you like.
Movement
- You may move up to 4 spaces (you may decide not to move).
- You may retrace your steps.
- Passing through the Food space grants you 1 extra step (1 per turn). Starting your turn on the Food space does not grant this benefit.
- Passing through a Cafe grants you no benefit.
- You block the Killer's path just as the Detective does.
- You may share a space with the Detective and with the Witness.
- You cannot use the Underground or the Train to transport yourself, but you may remain on those spaces.
Abilities
At the start of the game, you have your 3 abilities available. Choose an available ability and place the Bone over it on your Character card to mark that it has been used.
- You may only use 1 ability per turn.
- You may never use the same ability twice in a row.
Ability used → marked with the Bone. Available abilities → unmarked.
The Killer must respond only to Lola, secretly, pointing at the answer with a finger on the Killer's Character card.
You may never talk to the Detective to give information about the Killer.
Sniff
Select the space you are on, or an adjacent one, to sniff.
- If the Killer started, passed through, or ended this turn on that space, it must point out the direction it is currently in, taking the sniffed space as the reference.
- If there are 2 options, it chooses which to answer.
- If it is on that same space, it must point to the center (meaning "here").
- If it was not on the chosen space during this turn, it must point to "No" on the card.
The Killer left space 5, passed through 4 and 3, ending its turn on 8. Lola decided to sniff on 4. The Killer was indeed there, so it must point West or South on its card, whichever suits it.
Bark
The Killer must confirm with Yes or No whether it is one space away (orthogonally or diagonally), or on your same space.
Bite
Select the space you are on, or an adjacent one, to make an arrest attempt.
If you're right: Congratulations, the good guys have won!
If you're wrong: Your turn ends immediately, and the Badge advances on the arrest-attempts tracker.
Achievements
Mark the matching icon as you complete the achievements for each of the characters.
- Hunch: Arrest the Killer on day 1.
- Distrust: Arrest the Killer without interrogating any Witnesses.
- Operative: Win by cornering the Killer.
- Claustrophobia: Win without using public transportation.
- Good girl: Announce your abilities by miming the action.
- K9: Win by biting before day 3.
- No trace: Win without Lola ever managing to sniff you out.
- Invisible: Share a space with the Detective and claim a victim there.
- Ce-real: Use real cereal as a component.
- Dolittle: Win the game by letting Lola talk.