Cleptómano Rulebook

Table of Contents

Table of Contents

• Summary
• Components
• Objective
• Setup
• Security System
  • Timer
  • Laser Beams
• Loot Pieces
  • Paintings
  • Relics
  • Guard
• How to Play
• Your Turn
  • Walking
  • Stealing
• Penalties
  • Timer
  • Laser Beams and Guard
  • Relics
• End of Turn and Scoring
  • Stop right there!
  • Successful Theft
  • Next Heist
• End of Round
• End of Game
  • Tiebreaker
• Difficulty Levels
• Solo Heist

Summary

In Cleptómano you will try to steal as many paintings and relics as possible in an art museum, using your fingers to evade the security system, made up of a series of laser beams, a guard and a timer. The stolen pieces award different scores and it is up to you to carry off the biggest haul. Getting in and out… sounds like an easy job?

Components

• 2 Walls
• 4 Wall supports
• 1 Guard token
• 5 Laser beams
• 1 Flashlight
• 2 Paintings (this box contains 2 random limited-edition paintings)
• 3 Relics
• 1 Museum gallery (the base of the box)
• 1 Mataburro
• A timer is required during the game.

Objective

Win 2 rounds before the others.

Setup

1. Choose a side of the table to build the museum. The participants will play in turn from the same play area.
2. Put the supports in the slots of the walls, adjusting the height of the walls as you like.
3. Place the museum walls parallel to each other, forming a corridor whose start is one hand-length away from the edge of the table. The space between the corridor and the table edge will be the entrance of the museum.
4. Place the base of the box at the end of the corridor, one hand-width away and perpendicular to it, with the laser printed on it facing the play area. This will be the museum gallery.
5. Adjust the distance between the walls according to the chosen difficulty level (see Difficulty Levels), guided by the lines on the gallery.
6. Find a device suitable to use as a timer and place it beside the edge of the table.
7. The person with the biggest hands steals first and, before starting the first round, chooses any other person to be the guard on duty, handing them the guard's flashlight. Whoever fulfils this role must configure the museum's security system and place the loot pieces (as well as having their chance to steal it).

We recommend playing standing up for greater freedom of movement and maneuvering.

Security System

The museum's security system consists of a series of obstacles to overcome in order to get hold of the loot. Each element that makes it up has its own rules and configuration options:

Timer

Use a timer to define the duration of each turn according to the desired difficulty level (see Difficulty Levels). Leave it beside the edge of the table, within reach of the thief.

Laser Beams

In the museum there are 3 fixed, printed lasers: one on each wall of the corridor and another in the gallery in front of the paintings. These will be in the same location in all games.

The remaining laser beams to add (3 to 5, according to the difficulty level chosen in Difficulty Levels) are configured by whoever is the guard on duty according to the following rules:

• Each laser must rest on both walls, or else have one of its ends on a wall and the other on the table, in contact with the other wall or beneath it, thus being able to cross beneath another laser.
• For 3/4/5 lasers in play there must be, respectively, 1/2/2 ends resting on the table.
• The added lasers must never touch each other.
• Each wall is divided into 3 zones (I, II, III). There can never be more than 2 laser ends in the same zone of a wall.

When placing the laser beams, areas are created between them and the corridor walls, in which you will later place relics, probably having to correct the position of some laser to do so. Don't worry about this for now.

Loot Pieces

Once the security system is configured, whoever is the guard must place the loot in the museum.

Paintings

Place both paintings, one horizontal and the other vertical, on the platform inside the museum gallery.

Relics

• Draw an imaginary X between the end of the corridor and the start of the museum gallery and place one relic in the centre.
• The other two relics must be placed in the largest areas between the walls.
• Whoever is the guard must make sure that the widest space within an area that is to contain a relic is at least the length of a flashlight, using it to measure and verify; and, if very small areas have been generated, must reconfigure the position of one or more lasers.
• Relics must be placed upright.
• There can never be more than one relic per area.
• Each relic must be placed in the centre of the area it occupies, separated from any other component (laser, wall or guard) by a minimum distance equal to its size.

Guard

The guard token is the last element to include to finish configuring the security system, and must be placed following these rules:

• It must be located in any sector of the museum corridor (you can help by pushing it with your flashlight or with a laser that is not in play).
• It can be relocated at the start of each turn by whoever is the guard, except during their own turn.

How to Play

A game of Cleptómano is played in successive rounds, in each of which every participant has one turn, equivalent to one theft attempt. The person with the biggest hands begins and, at the end of each turn, the person who has just played decides who continues, until the round ends.

Once someone has managed to win two rounds, the game is over.

Your Turn

Choose your dominant hand to enter the museum and demonstrate with skill (or clumsiness?) how to get hold of the loot, while the rest of the crooks watch you waiting for you to make the slightest mistake.

Whenever "hand" or "fingers" are mentioned, it refers to the hand chosen to play. The other hand is completely disabled during your turn and may not take part in the action in any way.

Follow the rules and avoid being discovered:

Walking

• Use any of your fingers, except the thumb, to walk along the corridor.
• There must always be at least 1 finger fixed on the table: your hand can never be left suspended in the air nor slide over the table.
• You may take as many steps as you wish in any of the areas of the corridor in any direction.
• You may not walk or lean on the museum gallery.

Stealing

• Use any of your fingers (yes, your thumb too) to steal a piece of the loot, always keeping at least one finger fixed on the table.
• You may hold a piece using the palm of your hand and your fingers.
• You may only steal one piece at a time (painting or relic).
• You must steal at least one painting before you can begin stealing relics.
• Relics must be stolen in order, starting with the one closest to the gallery and ending with the one closest to the museum entrance. In case of doubt, the player may choose in which order to steal them.
• Walk with each piece to the museum door, leaving it there to form your loot.
• Pieces may not be "kicked" or pushed with the fingers to take them out of the museum or to change their place. What kind of barbarian would do that?

Penalties

Timer

On your turn you may leave the museum with your loot, drop it off, and go back in for more, as many times as you want, during the established time. But careful: if time runs out and you are still inside the museum, you lose all the loot you had managed to get out. You've been caught!

Laser Beams and Guard

If you touch a laser or the guard token with any part of your hand or with a piece you are carrying, you will receive a penalty, as explained below:

• Each time you touch a laser you lose 1 point.
• Your turn ends immediately and you lose all the loot you had obtained if:
  • You touch the lasers 3 times.
  • You displace one or more lasers, that is, you move them out of their place.
  • You touch the guard token.

Relics

If you knock over a relic or let it fall from your hand while inside the museum, it can no longer be stolen nor will it award points. Well done, you broke it.

End of Turn and Scoring

Stop right there!

If you are caught red-handed (for touching the guard, touching 3 lasers or displacing any of them, or not getting out in time), your turn ends immediately and you receive no score at all. Off to the slammer!

Successful Theft

If before the time established for each turn runs out you manage to leave the museum without being caught, your heist has been a success! You will receive 2 points for each painting and 1 point for each relic you have stolen, minus 1 point for each laser you touched (there is no negative score). Your turn is over; note down your score.

Next Heist

If you have not finished the round, choose someone who has not entered during it to have their theft attempt (it can also be whoever is acting as guard!).

Before starting the next turn, if necessary, whoever is fulfilling the guard role must reconfigure the security system and relocate the loot pieces, so that everything is just as it was before the heist began (remember that the guard token may be moved by whoever is the guard).

End of Round

After every participant has entered the museum once, a round has ended. The recorded scores are then compared: the person who obtained the highest score wins the round. In case of a tie, the round is considered won by each of the tied persons. If nobody has yet managed to win two rounds, a new one is prepared.

Whoever played the last turn in a round chooses who will begin the next one. In turn, whoever begins the round designates who will act as guard (the guard role cannot be fulfilled twice in a row).

End of Game

The game ends when someone has won two rounds.

Tiebreaker

If two or more people meet the victory conditions simultaneously, each of them will have an extra theft attempt. Whoever goes in to steal will choose from among the rest who acts as guard.

Whoever manages to steal a painting in the shortest possible time wins the game.

The penalty for touching a laser will add 1 second to the time mark instead of subtracting 1 point.

Difficulty Levels

Combine the security system configurations to achieve different difficulty levels.

	Easy	Normal	Hard
Timer	∞ (no limit)	60 seconds	30 seconds
Laser beams	3	4	5
Corridor width	wide		narrow

Easy is the recommendation for first games. (The table shows corridor width on a scale from wide to narrow.)

Break the rules and feel free to create your own levels, varying the time and removing or adding elements (even external to the game contents). For example, you can put a chocolate in place of the paintings: whoever achieves the highest score eats it!

Solo Heist

Set up your security system and get the loot in a single attempt. The difficulty level and the score obtained will determine your criminal title.

Title = (1) + (2) + (3), built from three parts:

1st part (timer and lasers):

Lasers \ Timer	∞	60"	30"
3	"Amateur..."	"Mastery..."	"Professional..."
4	"Mastery..."	"Professional..."	"Specialist..."
5	"Professional..."	"Specialist..."	"Legend..."

2nd part (points):

Points	Phrase
1–2	"...in petty thefts..."
3–4	"...in robberies..."
5–6	"...in heists..."
7	"...in master strokes..."

3rd part (corridor): wide corridor: "...of high risk."; narrow corridor: "...impossible."

Example: 60", 5 lasers, 4 points and a wide corridor: "Specialist in high-risk robberies".