I Say, Holmes! (Second Edition)

I Say, Holmes! (Second Edition) Rulebook

Table of Contents

Game Components

1 Starting Player Card
32 Information Cards
14 Action Cards
9 Interrupt Cards
8 "I Say" Cards
13 Country Cards
14 City Cards
29 Travel Cards
5 Villain Cards
1 Location Marker
1 Travel Marker
8 Telegram Tokens
15 "I Say" Tokens (5 of each type)
6 Case Closed Book Tokens
5 Villain Tokens

Set Up

Create the Deal Out Stack: Sort through the entire deck of cards and find all of those cards with a Set Up Number in their lower left corner that is less than or equal to the number of players (from 3 to 8) in the game. Those cards form the Deal Out Stack.
Deal Cards: Deal six (6) cards to each player from the Deal Out Stack; each player's hand is kept secret unless a card instructs her to reveal some of that information.
Create the Draw Pile: Finally, take all of the remaining cards and shuffle them together. Place them face down in the center of the table to form the Draw Pile.

For example, if there were four players in the game, all of the cards with a Set Up Number of 3 and 4 (for a total of 24 cards) would be removed to create the Deal Out Stack. The remaining 101 cards would form the Draw Pile.

Place the Game Pieces: Place the Location Marker next to the Draw Pile showing its "City" side, along with the Travel Marker. The remaining tokens and markers are placed to one side, face down (so that Victory Point values are hidden from view), and shuffled, forming an available pool within easy reach of all players.
Start the Game: Whoever holds the "Come, Watson, Come! The Game is Afoot!" card begins by playing that card and placing it, face up, in front of the player to their left. That card becomes the Current card (i.e., the card that describes when or where the story is currently taking place and under what circumstances). Play then proceeds clockwise (i.e., to the left) around the table.

Working a Case

During a Case (or Round), you are trying to figure out which player(s) are holding Villain cards, so that you can play cards to attempt to Arrest a Guilty player who is harboring such villainy (see "Making an Arrest via a Card"). Alternatively, you can win by getting rid of all the cards from your hand besides Villains and Interrupts (see "Interrupt Cards"), allowing your Villain(s) to escape!

Taking Your Turn

On your turn you must play one card face up on the table. There are two types of cards you may play:

Suitable Cards: Any card that follows the Story Sequence (see "Suitable Cards" on the next page).
Out-of-Sequence "I Say?" Cards: An "I Say?" card played when it is not listed as an option on the Current card (see "I Say Cards" on the next page).

If you are unable to play a card, see the "If You Cannot Play a Card" section on page 5.

Place the card you played (unless otherwise noted on that card) in front of the player to your left to become the new Current card. The previous Current card is placed in the Discard Pile. If the card played has any Special Instructions, perform that instruction (see "Card Appendix" for any necessary rules clarifications). It is now the next player's turn!

How To Read A Card

Cards contain the following information:

Case Point Value: From 0 to 7, used for Case Closed Scoring.
Card Title: Color coded by Category with a matching colored border.
Special Instructions: The text just below the illustration, if any.
Story Sequence: Suitable cards or card types to follow that card (for all except Villain cards).
Set Up Number: From 3 to 8, if applicable, used to create the Deal Out Stack.
Flavor Text: Quotes from Sherlock Holmes' books.

Suitable Cards

A Suitable card is one that maintains the Story Sequence, which means it matches one of the cards or card types indicated on the Current card.

Story Sequence Clarifications

"Any Similar Location": Any Location card that corresponds to the current side of the Location Marker (i.e., if you are currently located in the City, you must play a City location. Note that the border colors of City and Country cards match the Location Marker).
"Any Dissimilar Location": Any Location card that does not match the current side of the Location Marker (i.e., if you are currently located in the City, you must play a Country location). After playing the Dissimilar Location, flip the Location Marker to the appropriate side.
"Any Travel": Any blue-bordered Travel card. After playing this card and following any Special Instructions, place the Travel Marker on top of the Location Marker. Be sure to show the appropriate side of the Travel Marker (train if traveling to a Dissimilar location; hansom cab if traveling to a Similar location).

"I Say?" Cards

You may always play a permissible "I Say?" card, whether or not "I Say?" is listed as an option on the Current card. A permissible "I Say" card is one whose restrictions for use (in its Special Instructions) are met by the Current card and/or Location Marker. Note that you can never play an "I Say?" card if it is not permissible (due to its Special Instructions), even when "I Say?" is an option on the Current card (i.e., if the card states "Play only while not moving," you cannot play that "I Say?" card while the Current card is a Travel card).

If you play an "I Say?" card as a Suitable card (when "I Say?" is an option on the Current card; see Suitable Cards), not only do you get to use the Special Instructions, but you also get to take one of the "I Say?" tokens (Pipe, Hat, or Magnifying Glass), which award bonus Victory Points at the end of the game. Each player may only have one of each type of "I Say?" token, and you may not look at the value of the "I Say?" token when you receive it.

If you currently have one of each type of "I Say?" token, you cannot take another "I Say?" token.
If there are no "I Say?" tokens of a type you need, you may take one from another player.

After performing its Special Instructions, place that "I Say?" card directly into the Discard Pile and pass the Current card in front of you to the player on your left (as play continues per the previous card).

If You Cannot Play a Card

If you are unable to play a Suitable card or decline to play a permissible "I Say?" card, you must draw the top card from the Draw Pile and do one of the following:

If the drawn card is a Suitable Card you MUST play it, or
If you drew an "I Say?" card you MAY play it if it is permissible, or
If you did not draw a Suitable Card or choose to keep the permissible "I Say?" card you drew, pass the Current card to the player on your left and end your turn.

The player who now has the Current card in front of them must play their turn.

Important: If the Draw Pile runs out, the Discard Pile is reshuffled to form a new Draw Pile and play continues. Do not shuffle the "Come, Watson, Come! The Game is Afoot!" card into the deck.

Interrupt Cards

If another player performs the Special Instructions on the card they have played and this action targets you, you may play a white-bordered Interrupt Card in response. The Interrupt Cards are either Alibi cards or Mastermind cards:

Alibi cards:

You may only play an Alibi card if the Special Instructions or Story Sequence states that it "can be countered with an Alibi." If you are targeted by a Special Instruction which does not include this wording, you cannot play an Alibi card.

When you play an Alibi card, it "interrupts" and negates the Special Instruction's penalty. The Alibi's Special Instructions are performed (see Card Appendix). The Alibi card then becomes the Current card and gets passed to the next player so they may take their turn.

Mastermind cards:

You may play a Mastermind card whenever you are targeted by another card's Special Instructions. The Current card is placed in front of the person who played the Mastermind card and it is now their turn.

The Current card does not have to state that it "can be countered" with an Alibi or Mastermind card.

Unlike the Alibi card, the Mastermind card does not become the Current card. It is discarded after its Special Instructions.

Example

The game commences, and the player to your right plays "The Game is Afoot!" card. That card is played to that player's left (i.e., in front of you), making it the Current card.

Now it is your turn to play. The Story Sequence section reads: "Any Travel," and so you inspect your hand and discover that you have two Travel cards, one Train and one Hansom Cab (a horse-drawn taxi designed for speed and safety in the 1830s). You decide to play your Hansom Cab card, placing it in front of the player to your left and placing the Travel Marker on the Location Marker showing its Hansom Cab side; your Hansom Cab card becomes the Current card, and you place the "The Game is Afoot!" card to one side (as it is never reshuffled into the deck).

It is now the player to your left's turn, and that player must act upon the Current card that you just placed in front of her. She must play "Any Similar Location" or a "Dense Fog" card, either of which is a Suitable card for the Story Sequence – in this case, a "Similar" Location would be one in the City (i.e., where the game begins), so she requires a gold-bordered card to meet that criterion (i.e., London, 221B Baker St., West End, Scotland Yard, and Fleet Street). Note that she could also play an "I Say" card that is playable while moving (i.e., "permissible").

Deduction

If, at the start of your turn, you have seven or more (7+) cards in your hand, you may play up to two cards, one following the other.

Both cards must be played from your hand; you cannot draw off the deck to play a Suitable card.
Your second card must follow the Story Sequence of the first card played (or be a permissible "I Say?" card); it is played after any Special Instructions on the first card are completed.
Discard the first card, together with the previous Current card.
The second card is played in front of the player to your left, as normal, and it becomes the Current card for that player.

Emptying Your Hand

During the game you may reach a point where you have no cards or only Interrupt and/or Villain cards in your hand. This will give you an opportunity to Close the Case. Depending on the cards you hold, you will either Close the Case by Escaping or by conducting an Impromptu Arrest (see below).

Closing the Case

A Round of play ends (and the Case is Closed) with either a successful Arrest (triggered by the play of an applicable card or an Impromptu Arrest) or when a player's Villain(s) Escape.

Making an Arrest via a Card

When making an Arrest via a card, you (the Arresting player) must name a player (the "Accused player") whom you believe (or merely hope) has a Villain card in their hand. Depending on the card used to make the Arrest, the Accused player may be able to counter this Arrest with an Alibi card, but she can always do so with the Mastermind card.

If the Arrest is countered, continue play as normal (after following the Special Instructions on the Interrupt card).
If the Arrest proceeds un-countered by an Alibi or Mastermind card, the Arresting player takes the Accused player's card hand and secretly examines it:
- a. If the Accused player's hand has one or more Villain cards in it, the Accused player is Guilty. Play ceases and Case Closed Scoring takes place (see next page).
- b. If the Accused player's hand has no Villain cards in it, the Accused player is Innocent. The Arresting player keeps all of the Innocent player's cards, adding them to his hand (the penalty for an unlawful arrest). The Innocent player then receives a fresh hand from the Draw Pile of as many cards as were just taken by the Arresting player. Play then continues normally with the Current card.

Impromptu Arrest

If, at any time, your hand is either completely empty or you only have Interrupt cards, you must make an immediate Impromptu Arrest. However:

If you played your final hand card, finish the Special Instructions, if any, of that card before making the Impromptu Arrest.
If you discarded your final hand card by being targeted by another player's Special Instructions, your Impromptu Arrest interrupts the flow of the game.

An Impromptu Arrest is initially made like any other Arrest (see "Making an Arrest via a Card"), but if the Arrest is countered you must choose another player to Arrest, which itself may be countered; continue until you can proceed with the Arrest un-countered.

Note: It is possible for your Impromptu Arrest to be countered by all of the other players, at which point you may again attempt to Arrest a player who countered a previous attempt.

Escaping

If, at any time, you have one or more Villains in your hand and no other cards besides Interrupts, you may reveal your hand to stage an Escape. Play stops immediately and Case Closed Scoring takes place (see next page).

Case Closed Scoring

After a Successful Arrest:

The Arresting player discards his own hand but keeps all of the Villain cards from the Guilty player's hand.
All other Villain cards held by other players are discarded. They were neither Arrested nor Escaped but are still lurking in the shadows!
All players total the Case Point Values (top left number) of the cards that they still hold; sum these into a Grand Total. Note that the Arresting player is holding on to the Arrested Villain card(s), so be sure to score those too!
The Arresting player then takes the appropriate Case Closed Book token from the available pool. It must be the token with the highest Case Point value on its front that does not exceed the Grand Total scored.
If the Case Closed Book token taken was "Sherlock Holmes: His Last Bow," the game ends and Victory Points are scored (see "Ending the Game").

After an Escape:

If your Villain card(s) Escape, take those Villain tokens from wherever they are located and place them in front of you. If a Villain has previously escaped, you would be taking its token from another player – and now you will score its Victory Points at the end of the game and that player will not! Villains are treacherous that way.

Continuing the Game

Play continues with another Round (i.e., another Case); perform the Set Up again (i.e., a "fresh deal out" of the proper starting cards for that number of players), skipping Step #4 (each player keeps whatever tokens they have earned and/or are given throughout the game) and continue from there.

Ending the Game

When a player has made a successful Arrest and must take the "Sherlock Holmes: His Last Bow" Case Closed Book token, the game (and The Adventures of Sherlock Holmes) has come to an end.

Note: Players can elect to end the game earlier using any mutually agreeable way, such as setting a limited number of rounds; each round usually takes 15 to 20 minutes, including Set Up.

Scoring Victory Points (VPs)

After taking the His Last Bow token, all players flip over the tokens in front of them to reveal their score in Victory Points (VPs), adding all of their Case Closed Book, I Say, and Villain tokens to their Telegram tokens.

Note that Telegram tokens score their owner zero or negative Victory Points (yellow text), or award positive Victory Points to the player on their owner's left (<) or right (>) or both (green text)!

Determining the Winner

Determine each player's total score in Victory Points. The player with the highest total score is the winner! A tied score goes to the player with the most Case Closed Book tokens; if that is also tied, the winner is the player with the most Escaped Villain tokens; if that is also tied, the winner is the player with the most "I Say?" tokens; if that is also tied, the game is well and truly a draw!

Variant Rule

Fast Play

In this variant, players may play any number of cards from their hand, one at a time in succession, before passing the turn. All of the cards must be Suitable. You may continue to play out cards until:

You play a Travel card (your turn ends; pass that card to the player on your left as usual), or
You have no Suitable card left to play (pass the Current card to the player on your left, as usual), or
Your hand is empty (see "Impromptu Arrest"), or
You escape as the Villain (see "Escaping"), or

The last card played will be the Current card; other cards played prior to this will be placed in the Discard Pile.

This Rule functions like the Deduction Rule does, but with an unlimited number of cards, no matter how many cards are in your hand.

Card Appendix

Come, Watson, Come! The Game is Afoot!: The owner must play it as the first card of that Round, but it is never reshuffled back into the deck until setting up the next Round.

Travel (blue) Cards

Boat: You must designate another player who must then draw one card from the deck and add it to their hand. An Alibi or Mastermind card can counter this penalty. This card takes you to a Dissimilar location, so show the Train side of the Travel Marker.
Foot Chase: You must designate another player who must then draw one card from the deck and add it to their hand. An Alibi or Mastermind card can counter this penalty. This card takes you to a Similar location, so show the Hansom Cab side of the Travel Marker.
Dense Fog: Each player will secretly contribute one card from their hand to form a mini-deck, which is then shuffled and dealt back out, one card to each player. Villains have a way of relocating under the cover of Dense Fog!

City (gold) Cards

Fleet Street: You must give an opponent one free "I Say?" token (from the newspaper coverage of the case). (See "I Say?" Cards.) You must choose an opponent who does not have a complete set of all three "I Say?" token types, if available.
Scotland Yard: You must designate another player who must then draw two cards from the deck and add them to their hand. An Alibi card cannot counter this penalty (but a Mastermind card can).

Information (orange) Cards

Clue: You must designate another player who must then secretly show you two random cards from their hand. Examine them and secretly return them. An Alibi card cannot counter this examination (but a Mastermind card can).
Disguise: You must designate another player who must then secretly show you the highest-value card from their hand. If they have more than one card tied for highest value, it is their choice which one to show you. Examine it and secretly return it. An Alibi card cannot counter this examination (but a Mastermind card can).
Suspicion: You must designate another player who must then draw one card from the deck and add it to their hand. An Alibi or Mastermind card can counter this penalty.
Telegram: You must give another player a Telegram token, taken at random from those in the stock established during Set Up. If there are none left in the stock, you must move a Telegram token from in front of one player (presumably, yourself) to in front of another player. Telegram tokens are placed in front of their owners and remain face down until the game ends and Victory Points are scored. In general, it is either bad for you (or good for the opponent to your left or right) to receive a Telegram token. An Alibi card cannot counter this "gift" (but a Mastermind card can).

Action (red) Cards

Arrest: See "Making an Arrest via a Card."
Constabulary: If you so choose, select any opponent and secretly give them one card from your hand to add to their own. An Alibi card cannot counter this action (but a Mastermind card can).
Detective: You must designate another player who must then draw two cards from the deck and add them to their hand. An Alibi or Mastermind card can counter this penalty.

Interrupt (white) Cards

Alibi: Used to counter an Arrest or when the player is selected for a penalty on certain cards including Boat, Foot Chase, and Detective. The Current card must state that Alibi is an allowed response. The Alibi becomes the Current card after all players secretly pass one card to the player on their right. See "Interrupt Cards."
Mastermind: Used to counter an Arrest or when the player is targeted by any penalty regardless of the Current card. All players pass their entire hand to the player on their right. The previous card remains the Current card, and it is now your turn! See "Interrupt Cards."

"I Say?" (purple) Cards

Sherlock Holmes: Playable on your turn only if the Current card is not a Travel card. You may secretly examine another player's hand and, if they're Guilty, make an Arrest (see "Making an Arrest via a Card"); there is no penalty if they are Innocent (i.e., you don't have to take their hand). An Alibi cannot counter this Arrest (but a Mastermind can).
Dr. John Watson: Playable on your turn only if the Current card is not a Travel card. You may secretly examine another player's hand and, if they're Guilty, make an Arrest (see "Making an Arrest via a Card"); there is no penalty if they are Innocent (i.e., you don't have to take their hand). An Alibi (or a Mastermind) can be used to counter this Arrest (and this is the difference between the Dr. John Watson and Sherlock Holmes cards).
Mycroft Holmes: Playable on your turn only if the Current card is a gold-bordered City Location card (i.e., London, 221B Baker St., West End, Scotland Yard, or Fleet Street). You must exchange your hand with an opponent's hand. That opponent cannot counter this with an Alibi (but can with a Mastermind).
Inspector Lestrade: Playable on your turn only if the Current card is not a Travel card. You may secretly examine another player's hand, but no Arrest is made. An Alibi (or a Mastermind) can be used to counter and prevent this examination.
Irene Adler: Playable on your turn only if the Current card is a Travel card. You must discard any one Villain card of your choice from your hand, if present. This Villain has not Escaped; you have merely discarded it from your hand.
Prime Minister: Playable on your turn only if the Current card is a gold-bordered City Location card (i.e., London, 221B Baker St., West End, Scotland Yard, or Fleet Street). All of your opponents (but not you) draw one card. An Alibi cannot counter this card (but a Mastermind can).
Baker Street Irregulars: Playable on your turn only if the Current card is a gold-bordered City Location card (i.e., London, 221B Baker St., West End, Scotland Yard, or Fleet Street). You must draw one card, but then your opponents must each secretly show you their respective highest-value card. If they have more than one "highest-valued" card to choose from, they need only show you one of them of their choice. An Alibi cannot counter this card (but a Mastermind can).

Villain (black) Cards

John Clay
Professor Moriarty
Colonel Moran
Mr. Woodley
C. A. Milverton

Reminders

"I SAY" CARDS: Can play if permissible even when it is not listed in the Story Sequence of the Current card. If permissible and you play it when it is in the Story Sequence, you also receive one Pipe, Magnifying Glass, or Hat token (one each, maximum). An I Say card is discarded immediately (the next player and Story Sequence are unaltered).

MAKING AN ARREST: The Arresting player names an opponent who might have an opportunity to counter with an Alibi (and can always do so with the Mastermind). The Arresting player takes the Accused player's hand and secretly examines it. If it has a Villain, the Accused player is Guilty; play ceases and Case Scoring takes place immediately. If it does not have a Villain, the Accused player is Innocent; the Arresting player keeps all of the Innocent player's cards, and the Innocent player then receives a fresh hand from the Draw Pile of as many cards as were just taken by the Arresting player. Play continues normally with the Current card.

EMPTYING YOUR HAND: If, at any time, your hand has only Villain and Interrupt cards, you may declare you are "Escaping." Play ceases; all Villain cards in your hand Escape. If you had only Interrupt cards, you must make an immediate Impromptu Arrest instead (see below). If, at any time, your hand has no cards, you must make an immediate Impromptu Arrest (see below).

An Impromptu Arrest is made like any other Arrest. Note that an Alibi (or a Mastermind) can be used to counter an Impromptu Arrest.

Card Ledger

Number of each card in the game, its Case Point Value, and how many copies are dealt out at each Set Up Number (3 to 8 players). A dash means none.

No. in Game	Card Title	3	4	5	6	7	8
1	The Game is Afoot	1	–	–	–	–	–
1	Boat	–	–	–	–	1	–
1	Foot Chase	–	–