Mystery on the Nile Rulebook

Table of Contents

Table of Contents

• Components
• Preparation
• Course of Play

Components

• 1 game board: shows the Nile from Aswan to Cairo, the steamboat "Cleopatra", and below it the 4 main suspects.
• 1 wooden ship: used to show the position of the steamboat on the Nile.
• 60 place cards: 12 Pool, 12 Bar, 12 Sun Deck, 12 Restaurant, 6 combination cards, and 6 "No idea!" cards. These are the places where clues can be searched for.
• 36 clue cards: 12 Fingerprint, 12 Stain, and 12 Footprint. By exchanging these cards suitably, the culprit can be tracked down.
• 12 "fact" cards: 4 Fingerprint, 4 Stain, and 4 Footprint. These show the traces of the crime, i.e. what really happened.

Preparation

• Take the 12 "fact" cards. Shuffle the 3 different stacks separately and place them on the matching spaces on the game board. Turn over the top card of the Fingerprint stack. The top card of the Stain stack is only turned over once the ship has reached or passed the 5th space on the river. The same applies to the top card of the Footprint stack, which is turned over only after the 9th space (marked by a thick black line on the game board) has been reached.
• Each player receives one combination card and one "No idea!" card from the place cards. The remaining combination and "No idea!" cards go back into the box.
• Shuffle the remaining 48 place cards well and place one face-up card on each space above the river and one face-down card on each space below the river.
• Sort the clue cards into Fingerprint, Stain, and Footprint. Shuffle each stack well.
• Each time, place 2 face-down cards from these stacks next to the 4 suspects. The 4 pairs of fingerprints go under the "fact" card stack of Fingerprints, the Stain cards go under the "fact" card stack of Stains, and the Footprint cards go under the "fact" card stack of Footprints.
• Shuffle the remaining cards well and distribute them evenly among the players.
• Place the ship on Aswan.
• The starting player receives the "1st player" card.
• Play proceeds clockwise.

Course of Play

1. Starting with the starting player, each player decides whether to let the ship sail or to have the ship slow down. A player may sail, brake, or pass.

   • If everyone passes, the boat moves forward one space with the current.
   • If someone sails and none of the following players brakes, the boat moves forward 2 spaces.
   • If a player wants to brake, they must give up one of their place cards, except the "No idea!" card.
   • Once someone has braked, no other player may sail any further.
   • A player may brake immediately in order to achieve a slow speed.

2. The ship is pushed one or two spaces forward on the Nile, and the place card under the ship is turned over. A new "fact" card is turned over if the ship lands on the 5th or 9th space.

3. Each player chooses one or two place cards from their hand and turns them over simultaneously.

   • The cards a player chooses must match the place cards lying next to the ship. The combination card and the "No idea!" card are also place cards and may be played.
   • With the combination card, a player may go anywhere. With the "No idea!" card, a player may think about what they already know. A second card may then no longer be played. Instead, the player may take one of the 2 place cards next to the ship. This is the only way to get place cards back. Here the order of play is important: when both cards are gone, the other players go home empty-handed. The combination card that has been played goes out of the game, and the "No idea!" card returns to the player's hand.
   • The chosen place cards show the places where a player can shadow a suspect.

4. In turn, each player either shadows a suspect or takes a new place card.

   • A player may look at one of the 3 pairs of clue cards next to a suspect.

When the ship arrives in Cairo, the detectives state which persons are suspected. A person may only be suspected when a matching pair of clue cards lies next to them.

The player with the most correct clues wins.