London 1888 Rulebook

Table of Contents

Table of Contents

• Game Description
• About the Game
• Game Setup
• Playing the Game
• Prison and Arrests
• Discovery of Jack the Ripper and Consequences
• Reveals and End of Game
• Strategy Ideas
  • Playing an Innocent
  • Playing Jack the Ripper
• Note: Scoring for Tournaments
• Chronology
• Game Information

Game Description

The game consists of a board, pawns, tokens and cards. Here is the description:

• 1 rulebook
• 1 board
• 1 die
• 8 Character pawns
• 3 Protester pawns
• 2 Police pawns
• 53 tokens, including: 13 Action tokens, 13 Life tokens, 13 Weapon tokens, 14 Silver tokens
• 165 cards, including: 20 Event cards, 8 Character cards, 57 Action cards, 21 Weapon cards, 50 Identity cards (32 False Lead, 10 Suspect, 7 Innocent, 1 Jack the Ripper), 1 Absinthe card, 8 Recap cards
• 60 banknotes, including 30 of £1, 20 of £2 and 10 of £5

About the Game

The game takes place shortly after the first 2 murders; there are still 5 other murders to come before Jack the Ripper disappears without trace.

Each game is different: Jack the Ripper can hide behind any character. He may be part of the nobility, of the police, among the poor or among the wealthy. There are several ways to approach the game:

• You are Jack the Ripper. Then do not let yourself be arrested, even if it means taking your own life should your identity be discovered.
• You are innocent. Help the police and the people capture Jack the Ripper before he disappears.
• You are his accomplice. Then protect Jack the Ripper until the fifth murder is discovered, or until Jack manages to return to his home to take his own life.

At the start of the game your character may play, as you choose, alone or as a team.

Example: ABBERLINE (inspector) may play with GODLEY (deputy) and WARREN (Commissioner-in-Chief), because they are all police.

These same teams may change as the game unfolds.

Example: GULL is Jack the Ripper; WARREN must hush up the affair and must therefore protect him until the 5th murder. ABBERLINE and GODLEY form a new team with the other characters. Remember that a police officer such as ABBERLINE may be Jack the Ripper; GODLEY will then remain an accomplice.

Teams form and dissolve during the game. You are therefore free to play alone, with one or several players, and to change during the game. (Refer to the CHARACTER cards to learn the alliances.)

Game Setup

Take the 5 EVENT/MURDER cards, select one of them face down and set it aside. Then shuffle all the other EVENT/MURDER cards together with the Events.

Place your EVENT/MURDER card face down in the 10th position, counting from the top.

You therefore have 20 cards, the 10th of which is a MURDER card. Take all the EVENT cards and place them in the space provided for this purpose on the right of the board.

Each event turned over during the game will then be placed on location 1, and when the murders are discovered they will be placed on the reserved locations (2).

Give each player 2 ACTION cards, shuffle the remaining cards and place them on the left of the board (3). Underneath this pile will be the DISCARD (4).

Remove the SCALPEL Weapon card and set it aside. Shuffle the WEAPON cards and place them on the left of the board (5). Underneath this pile will be the DISCARD (6).

Place the tokens (WEAPON and LIFE) face up on the board, in the residences or locations indicated by the matching symbol:

• 1 Life point (heart symbol)
• 1 Weapon (gun symbol)

Example: the Hospital receives 2 LIFE tokens; the Police Station receives 2 WEAPONS, etc.

Shuffle the SILVER tokens so that their values are unknown, and place them face down on the BANK locations.

Then shuffle the remaining tokens and distribute them, face down, into the other residences.

Finally give 2£ to each player, and place the rest of the money reserve (BANKNOTES) in the purse in the centre, to the left of the board (7).

Choose the Character cards, at random or not, knowing that with 4 or more players the following characters must be present:

• FREDERICK ABBERLINE — Inspector at the Metropolitan Police. In charge of the detectives in the field during the Whitechapel murder investigation. He has some 84 commendations or citations for good service and knows the East End perfectly.
• GEORGE LUSK — Head of the Protesters. A Freemason and Marxist-leaning politician, he leads the "Mile End Vigilance Committee". He uses the popular anger stirred up by the Ripper's crimes to create an atmosphere of revolt.
• SIR WILLIAM GULL — Queen's Physician. An eminent doctor and Freemason, professor at Oxford and Cambridge. He treated the Prince of Wales for typhoid and was ennobled by the Queen in gratitude. He became her personal physician in 1887.
• SIR CHARLES WARREN — Commissioner-in-Chief. He served in Africa for the Colonial Office before returning to Great Britain. Ennobled by the Queen, he succeeded Edmund Henderson at the head of the Metropolitan Police as Commissioner-in-Chief in 1886.

With more than 4 players you may add:

• GEORGE GODLEY — Sergeant in J Division. He joined the Metropolitan Police in 1877 under number 61230. He works together with Inspector Frederick Abberline on the affair. He is then a sergeant in J Division, that of Bethnal Green.
• JOHN NETLEY — Coachman. A simple and popular man, he works in the royal stables. A coachman for the bourgeois class of London society, he nevertheless has the opportunity to carry many notable figures in his carriage.
• RICHARD MANSFIELD — Actor. A famous American actor born in Berlin to British parents. He shines in the dual role of Jekyll and Hyde, adapted from Stevenson, at the Lyceum of Henry Irving, having previously been acclaimed in New York.
• PRINCE ALBERT VICTOR — Duke of Clarence and Avondale. Grandson of the Queen, considered somewhat backward and nearly deaf. He contracted syphilis during an orgy in India. Rumours circulate about his instability and his sexual tastes.

Then place each character's pawn on their residence:

• ABBERLINE and GODLEY: at the Police Station (Commissariat).
• WARREN: at Scotland Yard.
• GULL: in his residence.
• LUSK: in his residence.
• NETLEY: in his residence.
• PRINCE ALBERT VICTOR: at the Palais Royal.
• RICHARD MANSFIELD: at Henry Irving's Lyceum Theatre.

Character card note: Place your character card face up, facing you. Around the text you can see Life points represented as drops of blood: 3 at the top, 2 on the left, 1 at the bottom. Each time a player is hit and loses Life points, rotate the card a quarter turn: it goes to 2, then 1, then 0. The same applies when the player gains Life points.

Lusk's privilege note: If LUSK uses his privilege with the 3 Protester pawns, and the MANIFESTATION Event card is revealed, he loses his privilege and the 3 pawns move onto the spaces assigned to them.

Warren and Netley note: WARREN and NETLEY may trade their privilege if they wish (release from prison, or add 2 to their movement), provided they do not use it during their turn. Discussion then takes place between the players, even if they are not on the same space.

Everyone may enter the Park, Press Office, Shop(s), Pub, Morgue, Hospital, Station (Gare), Brothel (Maison Close), Church (Eglise), Bank, Museum, Theatre, Law Courts (Palais de Justice), and the premises of Lees, Acland and Ostrog. However, not all players are allowed to go to the Police Station, to Scotland Yard, or to the Palais Royal. ACTION cards allow players to enter closed or forbidden locations by stealth, and players may then leave them freely.

Later on, a character may have a WEAPON card (which they may change during the game) and as many SILVER and LIFE tokens as they find. Cards and tokens are placed face up on the table beside the CHARACTER card. A player may only have one weapon. If during the game a player finds themselves with 2 weapons, they must choose and discard one of them.

Once the CHARACTER cards have been dealt to the players, take from the IDENTITY cards the one for Jack the Ripper and add a number of INNOCENT cards equal to the number of remaining players.

Example: with 4 players, take Jack the Ripper and 3 other INNOCENT cards; with 5 players, 1 Jack the Ripper card and 4 other INNOCENT cards; etc.

Each player draws one of the IDENTITY cards and secretly looks at it. One of you is therefore Jack the Ripper and the others are Innocents.

Each player receives, according to the number of players:

• with 4 or 5 players: 2 SUSPECT cards and 2 FALSE LEAD cards;
• with 6 or 7 players: 1 SUSPECT card and 3 FALSE LEAD cards;
• with 8 players: 4 FALSE LEAD cards.

Note: not knowing where your IDENTITY/ROLE card is increases the suspense and charm of the game, as much for the person being questioned as for the person questioning them.

Players shuffle their 5 IDENTITY cards so that they no longer know where their own IDENTITY/ROLE card (Innocent or Jack the Ripper) is, and place them face down in front of them. Each player therefore has in front of them a line of suspicion made up of 5 cards (4 IDENTITY cards and 1 IDENTITY/ROLE card).

Playing the Game

A game is made up of several rounds (turns), initiated by the turning over of an EVENT card. A round ends once everyone has played. At the start of the first round no EVENT card is turned over.

Since it is known that at the 5th murder discovered the game is over, if Jack the Ripper is not captured or killed, he wins, alone or with his accomplices. He may also win by taking his own life; we will come back to this later.

The game may last 11 rounds and at most 21 rounds:

A MURDER card is placed in 10th position. So if the 4 other EVENT/MURDER cards come before it, the game ends after 11 rounds; otherwise it may last up to 21 rounds.

The first player is ABBERLINE, who is given the ABSINTHE card. Then play passes to the player on their left, and so on. During their turn, each player has 5 phases, which they may carry out in the order they wish, except for the first and the last:

Example: the player rolls the die and gets a 6. They may move 2 spaces, enter a location (counting as one space), search it, which constitutes their decision phase, leave again and continue their movement.

1. Draw 2 ACTION cards from the draw pile

The player draws 2 ACTION cards and looks at them without showing them to the other players.

2. Roll the die and move your character on the board

The player is not obliged to roll the exact number to enter a location if it is higher, and is not obliged to advance the exact number rolled with the die: they may stop their movement mid-way.

The player is not obliged to move: in that case they do not roll the die.

Example: a result of 3 on the die allows a move of 1 to 3 spaces.

Note: London's streets being very narrow, there may be no more than two players per space. Gatherings, however, are allowed in residences.

3. Play one or several ACTION cards

Players may play as many ACTION cards from their hand as they wish. Each card played is placed face up on the DISCARD. When all the cards have been discarded, they are shuffled and a new draw pile is formed.

Note: the ABSINTHE card indicates who starts the round. It is given to the player on the left at the end of each round. That player will therefore start the following round. The ARREST card may not be played on the holder of that card, nor may the CURFEW card. Likewise, if a player is under the effect of a curfew at the moment they obtain it, it is automatically cancelled.

4. Take one single decision

During this phase the player may choose one, and only one, decision from those listed below.

a) Recover Life points by using one or more LIFE tokens.

b) Use a Weapon, and use it only once during the player's turn. Depending on the range of the weapon, it may be used from afar or up close.

The player who is hit turns their card by the number of Life points they have lost. A shot cannot be fired at someone located in a residence unless the shooter is there with them. The reverse is also not possible: firing from a residence towards the street.

WARNING: Before firing, make sure that no other person stands on another space between you and your target: you would hit them instead. If 2 players are on the same space, the person targeted is the one hit. Also note that the WINCHESTER is not a close-range weapon and cannot be used at DISTANCE 0, hand to hand.

Note: DEFENCE cards (LEATHER CHEST PROTECTOR) may be placed on more than one weapon.

Weapon card note: when using a weapon, attention must be paid to the distance and the injury inflicted.

• DISTANCE: Tells you how many spaces separate you from your target; you may use your weapon if it reaches them. DIST 0 = side by side (point blank, on the same space); DIST 1 = 1 space away; etc.
• IMPACT: injury inflicted. If the opponent is hit, count the number of Life points removed by the weapon.

(The example weapon card shown on the page is a DERRINGER with a range of DISTANCE 0 to 3.)

c) Question a player. Your character and that of another player must be side by side (on the same space). You designate an IDENTITY card of the opposing player. The questioned player turns it over and carries out the action indicated.

d) Search a residence, once inside it. Take one token. If the player finds a Weapon, they set the token aside (out of the game) and draw a WEAPON card, which they place beside their character. If they already have one, they may discard the old or the new one, placing it face up on the WEAPON DISCARD. If they find Silver or a Life point, they add the tokens to their character. If they find an action, they draw an ACTION card and add it to their hand.

e) Buy in a shop. The player may, by going to one of the two shops and paying the price, choose the WEAPON they want from the WEAPON draw pile. The price displayed for the shops is 5£ (unless an EVENT or ACTION card modifies the situation).

f) Propose an exchange with another player. For this, their character and that of another player must be side by side (on the same space). Together they may exchange between themselves one card (WEAPON, ACTION) or one token (SILVER or LIFE). As they see fit, anything is permitted, within the limit of 1 for 1.

g) Trade, if the player is at the Black Market (Marché Noir).

The player who goes to the BLACK MARKET may sell everything (ACTION cards, WEAPONS, LIFE tokens), buy a weapon possibly cheaper than in either of the two shops, or obtain a clue.

Warning: the other players may, at any time, play the ARREST card on the player present at the BLACK MARKET, who will then spend their turn in PRISON (including SIR WARREN or PRINCE ALBERT VICTOR) and will hand over their weapon or silver. The ARREST card, however, does not work on the player who holds the ABSINTHE card.

Black Market box:

• To sell: the player offers their item and rolls the die, which indicates the price offered. If they accept, they discard their item and take the money. Otherwise they keep their item.
• To buy a weapon: they take the WEAPON DISCARD pile and roll the die, which indicates the price to pay for one of them. If none of them interests them, or the price is too high, they may refuse and put the discard back in place.
• To discover a player's identity: they pay 10£ and turn over a card of their choice.

i) Do nothing.

(The source lists options g) and i); no option h) is printed.)

5. Discard excess ACTION cards

The player discards the surplus ACTION cards in their hand, placing them face up on the DISCARD beside the ACTION draw pile. At the end of their phase of play each player must have 2 cards in hand, except ABBERLINE, for whom this is a privilege.

Once the round is over, another round begins by passing the ABSINTHE card to the player on the left, who will be the first to play in the next round. A new EVENT card is turned over, and its action is carried out. Then the new round begins with the player holding the ABSINTHE card. As long as the 5 murders have not been discovered, the game continues.

Prison and Arrests

Note: prison visits are unrestricted, and allow a player to question a player present there. However, two prisoners may not question each other.

A player questioned in prison must reveal two IDENTITY cards designated by the player questioning them.

ABBERLINE and GODLEY may arrest a player and put them in PRISON. For this, the character of ABBERLINE or GODLEY and that of the other player must be side by side (on the same space). A player sent to PRISON spends their next turn there and loses their WEAPON and ACTION cards on entering, unless WARREN saves them by playing a CORRUPTION card, or they discard 10£ to pay for their release. In that case they nonetheless go there, but do not lose any card, do not spend their turn, and are considered a simple visitor.

A player who kills another player without knowing their identity goes to PRISON, even if that player belonged to the police. The dead player NEVER turns over their IDENTITY cards, even though they are no longer in play, since as long as Jack the Ripper is not unmasked, the game continues.

The other players must then discover the identity of each one before the 5th murder is discovered. If the dead player is Jack the Ripper and the identities of the other players are not discovered before the 5th murder, he wins the game.

Discovery of Jack the Ripper and Consequences

As soon as Jack the Ripper is discovered, he is given the SCALPEL. He may afterwards have one additional weapon of his choice. When Jack the Ripper is unmasked before the 5 murders are discovered, he must flee, aided or not by one or several accomplices, until the EVENT cards turned over lead to the 5th murder. He may lose by being arrested or killed by ABBERLINE or GODLEY, or killed by the other players.

He may nevertheless take his own life and win the game. He must then do so at home, in his starting residence, using the ROPE or WORN ROPE card. The STRANGLING CORD does not allow him to take his own life.

Example: if your character is ABBERLINE or GODLEY and you are the Ripper, you must go to the Police Station, which is your starting residence. If you are PRINCE ALBERT VICTOR, you go to the Palais Royal, etc.

Reveals and End of Game

There are several possible endings to the game, depending on how it unfolds:

• The 5 murders are discovered and Jack the Ripper is neither arrested nor dead: he wins the game.
• The 5 murders have not yet been discovered, but it is known who Jack the Ripper is. He must then, with the help of his accomplices if he has any, escape the police and the people, or take his own life. He wins the game with his accomplice(s) when the 5th murder is discovered or when he has managed to reach his home and take his own life.
• If Jack the Ripper is caught alive, or killed by a player, while the identity of the murderer is known: the Innocents win.
• If Jack the Ripper is killed but his identity is not known, because his IDENTITY/ROLE card has not been revealed, the game continues. As long as the other players have not uncovered all the identities, the Ripper may still win if the 5th murder is discovered before the identity of each one is revealed.

As soon as the players know who Jack the Ripper is, each may kill as they wish, without going to prison. Secret passages may be a major advantage; use them judiciously. If the 5th murder is discovered, the round must be ended.

Note: if Jack the Ripper is discovered and arrested by ABBERLINE or GODLEY, he may not play a CORRUPTION card. Moreover, neither WARREN nor the PRINCE may be arrested, since that is the privilege of their character (before the appearance of the RESIGNATION Event for WARREN). They must then be killed.

Strategy Ideas

Many strategies may be attempted during the game. Everyone creates their own game. Here are some tips for Innocent players and for Jack the Ripper.

Playing an Innocent

• Ask yourself what you need: to arm yourself with a weapon, to have silver, to have Life points in case of a hard knock, to move the investigation forward, or on the contrary to prevent it from succeeding if you are an accomplice?
• Warning: killing a person without knowing their identity is a double risk. You go to prison, and if the dead person is Jack the Ripper while identities remain undisclosed when the 5th murder is discovered, he is the one who wins.
• Be careful: the game may end in 11 rounds. Do not forget it.
• If you feel you will be the accomplice of Jack the Ripper, start taking the lead by protecting him: either by arming yourself with a good weapon or the ROPE card, which can help him take his own life, or by influencing the other players...
• Remember, everyone is a suspect; trust no one.

Playing Jack the Ripper

• Act as if you were innocent; remember that Jack the Ripper was a good actor.
• Question players, to show your innocence.
• Sometimes going to prison can help when only one murder remains. But then, of course... it is also a risk. If your identity is discovered in prison, you lose.
• Discarding the ROPE action card may be a strategy. The players may deduce that you are not Jack... but it is also a risk, since there is only one in the game.
• The better you lie and mislead, by doing your utmost to imitate an Innocent player, the longer you have a chance of not being unmasked.

There are so many strategies to invent that the game will only be more fun. Suspense and twists await you.

Note: it is possible to play without the ABSINTHE card, but this loses interest and strategy. If you play with players who are not very "rules-complex" or new to the world of games, you may eliminate this card and always start a round with ABBERLINE.

Playing with the ABSINTHE card increases suspense and tension, since one cannot foresee several moves in advance.

Note: Scoring for Tournaments

It is possible to be Jack the Ripper and be unmasked before the 11th round. It is generally considered that the player who plays Jack the Ripper is good and worthy of the character when they pass the 10-round mark. One really has to be a good manipulator.

Winning as Jack the Ripper proves that you knew how to combine manipulation, strategy and luck to good effect.

If you want to take part in a tournament, a points system may be set up:

Result	Points
Innocents — the Innocents win	1 point per Innocent
Jack the Ripper and his accomplices — identity discovered:
Suicide	2 points
Kills everyone	3 points
5th murder in the 11th round	4 points
5 murders between the 12th and 16th round	5 points
5 murders in the 17th round and later	6 points
Jack the Ripper and his accomplices — identity not discovered:
Kills everyone	7 points
5th murder in the 11th round	8 points

Chronology

The source prints this timeline as a two-column strip; the entries are listed here in date order.

• 1888, 5 April: Emma Smith dies of injuries received in an attack two days earlier.
• 7 August: Martha Tabram is murdered in George Yard Buildings. Her husband identifies her seven days later.
• 31 August: Polly Nichols is killed at Bucks Row.
• 8 September: Annie Chapman is killed in Hanbury Street.
• 10 September: George Lusk is elected president of the Whitechapel Vigilance Committee.
• 19 September: Dr Phillips suggests that the woman's womb may have been removed in order to be sold to medical students researching such things.
• 27 September: A letter titled "Dear Boss – Cher Patron" arrives at the Press Bureau, the first to use the name "Jack the Ripper".
• 29 September: Catherine Eddowes is arrested at 8:45 pm for public drunkenness by Sergeant James Byfield.
• 30 September: Elizabeth Stride and Catherine Eddowes are killed at 1:00 and 1:45 in the morning respectively. The Whitechapel Vigilance Committee sends a letter to the Law Courts asking that a reward be offered. Request rejected.
• 1 October: The morning edition of the Daily News prints the text of the "Dear Boss" letter first. Queen Victoria telephones the Law Courts in person and expresses her distress at the murders. A postcard titled "Saucy Jacky" arrives at the Press Bureau; the Star prints its text in the evening edition. The Financial News helps offer a £300 reward for the capture of the murderer. The Lord Mayor adds £500 to the reward. Sir Alfred Kirby offers an additional £100 and 50 men of his private militia to help apprehend the criminal. His offer is declined.

Game Information

• Mechanics: strategy, role, investigation, deduction
• Players: 4 to 8
• Duration: 90 minutes and more
• Age: 12 and up