Fatal Rendez Vous
Fatal Rendez Vous Rulebook
Table of Contents
Table of Contents
Content
33 "Role" cards, 1 pair of metal handcuffs with 2 keys, 1 bow tie, stowage bag.
Aim of the Game
If you are a guest, discover the two murderers before the end of the weekend and put them into prison. If you are a murderer, commit your crimes with your accomplice without being found out.
Set-Up
From 5 to 9 players: see special rules.
10 players and more: nominate a games master who will put on the bow tie and pick up the handcuffs. His role is that of the butler: he needs to host the game and cannot therefore be selected as a victim by the murderers, nor put in prison. The butler places two chairs side by side in the corner of the room to form the "prison". He then takes the two Assassin cards and complements them with guest cards ("Invité") so that there are as many cards as players. He deals a card, face down, to each player who discreetly takes note of it: each person thus knows their role and keeps the card with them. Of course, players are not permitted to disclose their role during the game, except to the butler at his request.
Note: for your first games, we advise you to play without special cards (Vamp, Vampire, Cardiaque, Alchimiste, Insomniaque and Myope). Otherwise, you will find the description of these cards on p. 6.
How to Play the Game
The guests ("Invité") have five turns, corresponding to the five crimes of the weekend, to expose the two Assassins concealed among them. The game starts with a murder on Friday evening:
| Time of day | Friday | Saturday | Sunday |
|---|---|---|---|
| Day | - | 2nd murder (turn 2) | 4th murder (turn 4) |
| Night | 1st murder (turn 1) | 3rd murder (turn 3) | 5th murder (turn 5) |
A turn always has four phases, divided up as follows: 1 murder, 2 freeing of suspects, 3 voting by guests, 4 imprisonment of suspects.
1 Murder. At the start of every turn, a murder is committed by one of the two murderers. The first happens on Friday evening. According to the time of day, i.e. day or night (see table above), the murderers commit their crimes differently:
- Night-time murder (fig.1): The players walk into the room (except those who are in prison). When the butler says "Top!", everyone stops and closes their eyes…except the butler who keeps watch. The butler asks the two Assassins to open their eyes and to silently decide which of the two will commit the murder and who will be the victim. The Assassin then moves discreetly towards his victim and taps him on the shoulder 3 times. The victim keeps his eyes closed and raises both hands. He then starts to count silently from 10 to 0 with his fingers which gives the Assassin time to discreetly return to his place. When he reaches 0, the victim dies by uttering a shout: everyone can then open their eyes.
- Daytime murder (fig.2): The players walk into the room (except those who are in prison). When the butler says "Top!", all the players stop on the spot. On the 2nd "Top!", each person very slowly turns round three times, keeping their eyes open and looking around them vigilantly. The two players in prison do not turn around, but keep their eyes open. The Assassin who did not kill the night before kills one of the players by winking at them. The victim finishes turning around three times then dies by uttering a shout.
Notes:
- If one of the two Assassins is in prison, the other one automatically kills.
- Regardless of whether it is day or night, it is not possible to "kill" a player in prison.
Once a guest has been "murdered", he goes to a corner of the room: he can no longer speak nor take part in the vote until the end of the game.
2 Freeing of the suspects. The players put in prison on the previous turn are freed and can therefore participate in the discussions and the vote.
Note: this action does not happen on Friday evening (first murder) because there are no prisoners.
3 The guests' vote. The players discuss among themselves before voting. When the butler says "Top!" each player distinctly designates two different players by pointing a hand at each one of them: the same player cannot be designated with two hands (see fig. 3). Then the butler counts the votes and sends the two players with the most votes against them to prison.
Advice: to maintain the pace of the game, we advise the butler to limit the discussion time between the players to approximately 2 or 3 minutes.
4 Imprisonment of the suspects. The two players with the most votes against them go to prison. If there is a tie between several players, the vote is repeated but only against the players in question. If there is another tie, the youngest goes to prison. The butler then passes the handcuffs to the two suspects and sits them down: if they are the two Assassins, the game ends (see End of Game). Otherwise, the two players remain in prison until phase 2 "Freeing of suspects".
Important: even if one of the two prisoners is a Assassin, he must not reveal his role! It is vital that the guests send the two Assassins to prison at the same time to win.
End of the Game
The game ends when the two Assassins are in prison at the same time or the five murders have been committed. If the two Assassins have been exposed before the end of the weekend, the guests ("Invité") win. Otherwise, the Assassins win.
Advice: Fatal rendez vous is a detective game but the atmosphere of the game makes all the difference. The player playing the butler has a key role because he sets the atmosphere for the game and the pace. He can give details as if he was really telling a story. To ensure enjoyment from the game, it is important for everyone to "interpret" a character, without giving any clues as to his role in the game.
Rules for 5 to 9 Players
Set-up: The players sit around a table. There is no butler. Take the two Assassin cards and complement with guest ("Invité") cards so that there are as many cards as players. Deal a Role card, face down, to each player who looks at it in secret. Of course, it is not permitted to reveal your role during the game.
Aim of the game: Regardless of whether you are a guest or an Assassin, your aim is to eliminate all of the members of the opposing side.
How to play the game: The game starts. It is Friday evening, it is getting dark. Everyone closes their eyes and places one hand on the table. After 10 seconds, the two Assassins open their eyes and one of them kills one of the guests by tapping their hand gently 3 times. After 10 seconds, the guest ("Invité") utters a shout and dies. Everyone opens their eyes and a discussion takes place for several minutes. Then everyone votes against a single person of their choice: the player with the most votes against them is sacrificed to public condemnation and turns over his card so that everyone can see. If there is a tie between several players, the vote is repeated but only against the players in question. If there is another tie, the youngest is sacrificed.
Important: of course, the "murdered" or "sacrificed" players can no longer speak nor take part in votes.
Then the day is over and another night arrives: new murder… then discussions, vote, sacrifice.
Note: contrary to the rules for 10 players, no murder is committed during the day!
End of the game: The game ends when all of the members of one side (murderer or guest) have been eliminated. The side with survivors wins the game.
Presentation of Cards
The cards of the basic game
INVITÉ ("GUEST") (x 22): He has come to spend a weekend at the mansion. He has no special power.
ASSASSIN ("ASSASSIN") (x 2): There are two Assassins in the game who comprise a team. Only one Assassin can kill at any one time, at night or in the day:
- at night: by walking towards his victim and tapping him on the shoulder 3 times;
- in the day: by winking at his victim.
The special cards
To spice up the game, you can add one or several people with special powers. Replace the number of guest cards of your choice by the same number of special cards before assigning the roles.
CARDIAQUE ("CARDIAC") (x 2): During the night, the cardiac is so nervous that he dies in 5 seconds (and not in 10 seconds like the other players) when he is killed.
INSOMNIAQUE ("INSOMNIAC") (x 1): During the night, the insomniac sleeps badly, he can therefore wake up and open his eyes to see what is happening if he wishes…at his risks and perils.
VAMPIRE ("VAMPIRE") (x 2): During the night, if a murderer comes to kill the vampire, he takes out his Vampire card and exchanges it with that of the murderer. The vampire therefore becomes an assassin. The previous assassin returns to his place and dies instantaneously.
VAMP ("VAMP") (x 1): In the daytime, the vamp chooses a player and blows him a kiss. The "kissed" player falls for her charm and has to vote exactly like her until the end of the game. The vamp can charm up to 2 players (1 per day) but does not have to use her power. She cannot "kiss" a player in prison. If the vamp dies, the players under their spell have their freedom to vote reinstated.
ALCHIMISTE ("ALCHEMIST") (x2): During the night, if a murderer kills the alchemist, he normally dies with his eyes closed by uttering a shout after 10 seconds. When everyone wakes up he takes out his card and miraculously comes alive again. Note: the alchemist can only use his power once during the game.
MYOPE ("MYOPIC") (x 1): During the day, the myopic cannot see the winks of the murderers or the kisses of the vamp… He cannot therefore be killed nor kissed during the day! Nothing happens if a murderer chooses him as a victim in the day and winks at him: the murder is very simply avoided and the game continues.