Mystery Rummy: Murders in the Rue Morgue
Mystery Rummy: Murders in the Rue Morgue Rulebook
Table of Contents
Table of Contents
About the Case
Edgar Allan Poe is considered one of the most brilliant and imaginative writers of American literature. In 1841 he wrote The Murders in the Rue Morgue. In this story, two women are brutally murdered in their home in the Parisian Quartier St. Roch. The police prefect is at a loss and arrests Adolphe Le Bon, even though he has no real evidence that Le Bon was actually the murderer.
In Poe's story, the hero, Monsieur C. Auguste Dupin, solves the case simply by reading the newspaper articles about the crime and paying a single visit to the scene. He is able to prove that the actual murderer was an Orang-Utan.
Game Overview
You are a detective who has been hired to identify the murderer. Each round is about which player is most successful at solving the case. To do this, you must make the same discoveries and draw the same conclusions as master detective Dupin. The four-player game is especially interesting: here, two players work together as a detective duo.
In this criminal case there is no list of different suspects, as there was in Mystery Rummy Case 1: Jack the Ripper. On the contrary: you begin the game already knowing that the dreaded Orang-Utan actually committed the murders. The challenge lies in proving your suspicion and catching the Orang-Utan.
There are two basic types of cards in the game: Clues and Events. You try to assemble sets of three or more Clues of the same color and lay them out to score points. Events, on the other hand, cannot be assembled into sets. Instead, they bring a strategic element into play. The card text on the Event cards explains how to use them. Their colors match the Clue cards they affect.
A game consists of several rounds, usually 3–5. The game ends once at least one player or team has reached a score of 100 or more.
Further along in this rulebook you will find some rules for advanced players. Leave these rules out when you play Mystery Rummy Case 2: Murders in the Rue Morgue for the first time. Once you are a little more familiar with the game, add the advanced rules; they bring extra appeal to the game.
Contents
This game contains 66 cards, made up as follows:
Clues (49)
| 5 Adolphe Le Bon | 5 3 A.M. | 5 Quartier St. Roch |
| 5 Mademoiselle L'Espanaye | 5 Madame L'Espanaye | 5 Rear Window |
| 5 Newspaper Advertisement | 5 Lightning Rod | 5 The Sailor |
| 4 Edgar Allan Poe |
Events (12)
| 6 Dupin's Help | 1 Monsieur C. Auguste Dupin |
| 1 Police Prefect | 4 Brilliant Deduction |
Other cards
| 1 Orang-Utan | 4 Overview cards |
Card Key
- The name of the card is printed above the card illustration.
- The words along the left edge of the card give the card's name (repeated so it is readable in a fanned hand).
- A judge's gavel in the upper-left corner marks an Event.
- A magnifying glass in the upper-left corner marks a Clue.
- The number in the upper-right corner is the card's point value.
- The card text is printed directly below the card illustration. It states the purpose of the card and what action to carry out.
- The colored diamond in the lower-left corner of a Clue card refers to the matching Bonus Meld that belongs to that Clue.
- The italicized text below the card text is a quotation from The Murders in the Rue Morgue. It serves the atmosphere and has no bearing on how the game is played.
Setup
You need a pen and paper to keep score. Each player receives an Overview card. Take the Orang-Utan out of the deck and place it face up in the middle of the table. (The back of this card is different from the other cards, so it is easy to find.)
Randomly determine a dealer. The dealer shuffles the remaining 61 cards and deals them out as follows:
- With 2 players: each player gets 10 cards.
- With 3 players: each player gets 9 cards.
- With 4 players: each player gets 8 cards.
The players take their cards into their hand face down and may look at them. Place the rest of the deck face down next to the Orang-Utan. This pile is called the Case File. Turn the top card of the Case File face up and place it next to it. That is the discard pile, which is called the Rue Morgue.
Please note that during the game only the top card of the Rue Morgue may ever be visible. Players are not allowed to look through the Rue Morgue, unless a played card allows it.
The following setup steps apply only for a certain number of players:
With 2 players: Place the top 2 cards of the Case File face down under the Orang-Utan. No one may look at these cards.
With 4 players: The two players sitting opposite each other form a team. Each player chooses one of their hand cards and passes it face down to their team partner. You may only look at the card your partner gave you once you yourself have passed a card to your partner.
Now each player chooses one of their hand cards and places it face down under the Orang-Utan. No one may look at the cards under the Orang-Utan. Afterward, each player draws a new card from the Case File and takes it into their hand.
Play Area
Each player has their own area on the table in front of them, into which they place all the cards they play. In the partner variant, the two partners share one play area; all cards are therefore laid out in front of one of the two.
Turn Overview
The game proceeds clockwise and begins with the player to the left of the dealer. Each player carries out the following steps before the next player's turn begins:
- Draw (mandatory)
- Play (optional)
- Discard (mandatory)
Each step of a turn is explained in detail below.
Draw (mandatory)
Draw the top card of either the Case File (the draw pile) or the Rue Morgue (the discard pile). Take it into your hand.
Play (optional)
There are two different card types: Clues and Events. Different conditions apply to how each type may be played.
Clues
You recognize a Clue by the magnifying glass in the upper-left corner. Clues are either melded or added to. You may play as many melds and additions per turn as you like.
A meld consists of a set of 3 or more Clues of the same color. To play a meld, lay the Clues that make it up from your hand into your play area. These cards earn you points at the end of the round.
You may also play Clues individually and lay them into your play area, provided they match a meld that already lies on the table, no matter in whose play area that meld lies. This action is called adding to. For example, if another player has melded a set of The Sailor, you may add a single The Sailor Clue and receive its point value at the end of the round.
All Clue sets except Edgar Allan Poe and Adolphe Le Bon have a Bonus Meld. The matching Bonus Meld is indicated both by the card text and by the colored diamond in the lower-left corner of a card. If you manage to lay out a meld during a round and also have the matching Bonus Meld, either at the same time or later, you receive 10 Bonus points at the end of the round. For example, if you have melded 3 A.M. and then meld Quartier St. Roch, you receive 10 Bonus points at the end.
Events
You recognize an Event by the judge's gavel in the upper-left corner. Events are always played individually, never in melds. You may play at most one Event per turn. To play an Event, lay it from your hand into your play area. The card text on the Event card briefly explains how it is used.
A detailed description of every Event can be found under Individual Events starting on page 6. Some Events give you points at the end of a round.
If playing an Event causes you to receive a new Event into your hand, you may not play that new Event during your current turn, since you have already played an Event.
Discard (mandatory)
Once you have played all the cards you want to play, you must discard one card face up onto the Rue Morgue. You may discard any card you like. This ends your turn.
Individual Events
Here you will find detailed descriptions of every Event.
Brilliant Deduction
This Event may only be played once both card sets listed on the card have already been melded. It does not matter which player melded them, as long as both are in play. For example, if the meld Rear Window lies in front of you and the meld Lightning Rod lies in front of another player, you may play the Brilliant Deduction card on which these two sets are listed. You receive 7 points for this at the end of the round.
Dupin's Help
Play Dupin's Help into your play area when you play the card. Depending on the number of players, you then carry out a special action:
- 2–3 players: either Draw Two or Search the Rue Morgue.
- 4 players: either Search the Rue Morgue or Consult Your Partner.
Draw Two
Draw the top two cards of the Case File and take them into your hand.
Search the Rue Morgue
Take all the cards of the Rue Morgue and look through them without showing them to your fellow players. Choose one card that you want to keep, and show it to all the other players. Take the card into your hand and put the rest back into the Rue Morgue.
Consult Your Partner
Draw first the top card of the Case File. Then take one card from your hand and pass it face down to your team partner. They do the same. You may only look at the card your partner gave you once you yourself have passed a card to your partner.
Monsieur C. Auguste Dupin
Play Monsieur C. Auguste Dupin into your play area when you play the card. During the play of the first Case File, you must Search for the Orang-Utan. During the play of the second Case File, you must Draw Two.
Search for the Orang-Utan
Take all the cards lying under the Orang-Utan, and look through them without showing them to your fellow players. Choose one card that you want to keep, and show it to all the other players. Take the card into your hand and put the rest back under the Orang-Utan.
Draw Two
Draw the top two cards of the Case File and take them into your hand.
Police Prefect
You may only play this Event if a meld for Adolphe Le Bon is already in play somewhere. Play the Police Prefect into your play area. You receive 4 points for it at the end of the round.
Further Game Elements
Feeding the Orang-Utan
The Orang-Utan is a special card that is neither a Clue nor an Event. It lies next to the Case File from the start of the game. Always, whenever you play a meld, you must feed the Orang-Utan. This means the following:
- Look at the top card of the Case File without showing it to the other players.
- Look at the top card of the Rue Morgue.
- Place either the top card of the Case File or the top card of the Rue Morgue face down under the Orang-Utan.
If you place the top card of the Rue Morgue under the Orang-Utan, put the card from the Case File back face down on top of it. You now have the advantage of being the only player who knows which card is coming next in the Case File. If there is no card in the Rue Morgue, you must place the top card of the Case File under the Orang-Utan. You are still allowed to look at this card.
The Second Case File
If a player draws the last card of the Case File and does not end the round by doing so (see Ending the Round), the first Case File ends. The dealer takes all the cards lying under the Orang-Utan, as well as all the cards from the Rue Morgue, and shuffles them together to create the second Case File. From this point on, the Orang-Utan counts as having escaped; set it aside. No further cards are placed under the Orang-Utan for the rest of the round. If the game continues into the second Case File, all players ignore the rule Feeding the Orang-Utan after having made a meld.
Ending the Round
There are two ways for a round to end:
-
The case is solved: A round ends when a player discards their last hand card into the Rue Morgue. A player may never avoid playing their last hand card! If the case is solved during the first Case File, first follow the rule Catching the Orang-Utan, then carry out the scoring. If the case is solved during the second Case File, the Orang-Utan has escaped, and you go directly to scoring.
-
The case remains unsolved: A round ends when both the first and the second Case File have been completely gone through without a player having discarded their last hand card into the Rue Morgue. The player who draws the last card of the second Case File still finishes their turn, and then the round is over. No player receives any points! Skip the scoring and begin a new round.
Catching the Orang-Utan
If you manage to discard your last hand card into the Rue Morgue while still in the first Case File, not only does the round end, but you have also caught the Orang-Utan! Before carrying out the scoring, turn all the cards lying under the Orang-Utan face up and check these cards for the following cases:
- Melds: Find complete Clue melds under the Orang-Utan (three or more Clues of the same color) and lay them out in your play area.
- Additions: Find Clues under the Orang-Utan that match any player's melds and lay them out in your play area.
- Unplayable Clues discarded: Lay any Clues for which no matching melds are in play into the Rue Morgue.
- Events: If you find the cards Dupin's Help or Monsieur C. Auguste Dupin under the Orang-Utan, discard them into the Rue Morgue. If the Police Prefect is under the Orang-Utan, lay it into your play area, provided any player has a meld for Adolphe Le Bon in play. If no Adolphe Le Bon meld is in play, discard the Police Prefect into the Rue Morgue. A Brilliant Deduction found under the Orang-Utan may only be laid into your play area if both of its matching melds are in play, regardless of which player holds them. If both matching melds are not in play, discard the Brilliant Deduction into the Rue Morgue.
Scoring
If the round ended because a player discarded their last hand card, a scoring takes place. Cards in play earn players plus points, hand cards, on the other hand, cause minus points. However, first all players who still have at least one hand card check whether they may discard cards without receiving minus points for them:
- Any Clue that matches a meld already in play may be discarded into the Rue Morgue.
- Any Event whose color matches a color already in play may be discarded into the Rue Morgue. (If you hold a Brilliant Deduction in hand, and only one of its two matching colors is in play, you may discard it.)
- If you are playing with four players, and your team partner ended the round by discarding their last hand card, you may discard all of your hand cards into the Rue Morgue.
Now the scoring takes place:
- Add up card values: Add up the point values of all Clues and Events in your play area.
- Add up Bonus points: Add 10 Bonus points for each pair of matching Bonus Melds in your play area.
- Subtract hand cards: Subtract the point values of all cards remaining in your hand from your earned points. You can end up with a negative total this way.
All players add their points from this round to the points they have already earned in previous rounds.
End of Game
A game ends once, at the end of a round, at least one player or one team has reached 100 or more points. The player or team with the highest score wins. In case of a tie, play another round.
Example of a Turn
The following example is meant to show you how the game works. In a normal round it is highly unlikely that you would get such good cards into your hand and be able to carry out two melds right at the start. Still, the example illustrates some of the game's particularities and may help you get started.
You are playing a two-player game of Mystery Rummy and have already had a few turns. Among the cards in your hand, you have 2 blue 3 A.M. Clues and 3 dark blue Quartier St. Roch Clues.
At the start of your turn you must take either the top card of the Case File (the draw pile) or of the Rue Morgue (the discard pile). The Sailor lies face up on the Rue Morgue. Since you hold no The Sailor cards in your hand, you find the top card of the Case File more useful. You draw the Event Dupin's Help and take it into your hand.
You meld the Clues Quartier St. Roch, since you have 3 of them. After melding, you must Feed the Orang-Utan — either with the top card of the Rue Morgue or of the Case File.
You look at the top card of the Case File. It is a Clue, 3 A.M. You decide to take the card The Sailor from the Rue Morgue in order to feed the Orang-Utan. (Now the card Lightning Rod is on top.) You place the 3 A.M. Clue face down back on top of the Case File.
Next, you decide to play Dupin's Help, and lay the card face up in front of you. Thanks to Dupin's Help, you may now either draw the top two cards from the Case File or Search the Rue Morgue. You clearly remember that you just saw a 3 A.M. Clue as the top card of the Case File. Added to the two 3 A.M. Clues you hold in your hand, this card would allow you a further meld; therefore you take the top two cards of the Case File.
You now meld the 3 Clues 3 A.M. Since you have made another meld, you must again Feed the Orang-Utan. This time the top card of the Case File is Adolphe Le Bon. You decide to take the card Lightning Rod from the Rue Morgue to feed the Orang-Utan. The card Adolphe Le Bon remains on the Case File.
You have now made 2 melds that grant each other a bonus. (Note the matching colored diamonds on the cards.) You receive 10 Bonus points for this in the scoring at the end of the round.
Since you played Dupin's Help to pick up the 3 A.M. Clue, you were also lucky enough to draw the Event Brilliant Deduction, which names both 3 A.M. and Quartier St. Roch. This Brilliant Deduction card is an Event card worth 7 points that may be played once both the meld 3 A.M. and the meld Quartier St. Roch are in play. However, since only one Event may be played per turn, and you have already played Dupin's Help, you must wait until your next turn before you can lay out Brilliant Deduction.
To end your turn, you must always discard one card face up into the Rue Morgue.
Advanced Rules
We recommend using these rules once you have become a little familiar with the base game. These rules are used at all official Murders in the Rue Morgue tournaments.
Rule 1: Monsieur C. Auguste Dupin
If the card Monsieur C. Auguste Dupin lies in your play area at the end of a round, you receive 2 Bonus points in the scoring for every copy of Dupin's Help that lies in the play areas of other players, but you also receive 2 Minus points for every Dupin's Help in your own play area. For example, if you have Monsieur C. Auguste Dupin and 2 copies of Dupin's Help, you lose 4 points. If your opponents meanwhile have 3 copies of Dupin's Help laid out, Monsieur C. Auguste Dupin would bring you 6 points in this case. All told, Monsieur C. Auguste Dupin would earn you 2 points net in this example.
Rule 2: The Exclusion Rule
To allow players and teams to catch up, there is the possibility that a player or a team scores while the other player or team receives no points at all. For you to score as the only player or team at the end of a round, the following conditions must be met:
A) You must have caught the Orang-Utan (ended the round during the play of the first Case File). B) A complete Bonus (two matching Bonus Melds) as well as the matching Brilliant Deduction must lie in your play area. (The cards needed for this may also come from the Orang-Utan's haul.) C) Your opponent must not have a complete Bonus, including the matching Brilliant Deduction, lying in their play area.
If it becomes apparent that an opponent has the necessary cards lying in front of them to exclude you from scoring, you can prevent this in 3 ways:
- Play a complete Bonus, including the matching Brilliant Deduction, into your own play area.
- Catch the Orang-Utan.
- Make sure that a second Case File must be formed and that the Orang-Utan escapes.
The scoring for a player or team that has excluded their opponent is carried out normally. If you manage to prevent the exclusion, the scoring is carried out normally for all players/teams.
Tactical Tips
Murders in the Rue Morgue allows for a refined and exciting card game. Here we give you some basic tactical tips for different situations.
The Orang-Utan
Which cards should I place under the Orang-Utan?
At first, simply place a card under the Orang-Utan that you believe is of no use to you. It is dangerous to place a Brilliant Deduction under the Orang-Utan, since with some luck it may help your opponents exclude you from the scoring (see Advanced Rules). The cards most often placed under the Orang-Utan are Edgar Allan Poe and Adolphe Le Bon. With more experience you will figure out how to make the Orang-Utan "work" for you. Then try to place under the Orang-Utan specific melds that add to your hand.
Laying Out Melds
What is the best strategy for melding card sets?
Try to only meld when a card lies in the Rue Morgue. This way you have a choice between 2 cards to feed the Orang-Utan. Try to play defensively, and leave a card on top of the Case File for your opponent if you know it will not help them, in order to lay out a meld.
It is also a good strategy to keep a Dupin's Help card in reserve after you have laid out a meld. Remember: after you have laid out a meld, you may look into the Case File to decide which card you want to feed the Orang-Utan. If you spot a card there that you can use, you can play Dupin's Help to take that card as well as another one.
Partner Variant
Which card should I give my partner at the start of the game or during the "Consult Your Partner" action?
If you are passing your partner a Clue that is bonus-capable, ask them to meld that card set, since you are close to being able to meld the matching Bonus set. For example, if you hold 2 3 A.M. Clues in hand and 1 Quartier St. Roch Clue, give them Quartier St. Roch. Your partner will then know that they should pass you a 3 A.M. Clue as soon as the opportunity arises.
If you each hold one or two cards from two matching Bonus Melds, and additionally hold the matching Brilliant Deduction card in hand, pass that card to show that you both hold the colors. If you have no matching cards at all, try to pass a card without a bonus, such as Edgar Allan Poe or Adolphe Le Bon.
With some experience, you will learn how to work together with your partner from the first card dealt and the first card discarded.
Remember: The goal of the game is to accumulate the most points. You earn points as follows:
- Melding Clue sets
- Adding Clues to sets already melded
- Playing Events with a positive point value
- Melding Bonus sets
- Catching the Orang-Utan
Glossary
- Discard pile: See -> Rue Morgue.
- Round: A round is made up of many -> turns by the players and ends when the conditions named on pages 7 and 8 are met. Several rounds make up a -> game.
- Events: These cards show a judge's gavel in the upper-left corner. You may only play one Event per turn.
- Adding to: Playing one or more cards into your -> play area that match another player's -> meld.
- Case File: This is the draw pile. When a player takes the last card of the Case File for the first time in a -> round, the dealer shuffles the -> Rue Morgue together with the cards lying under the Orang-Utan and prepares them as the second Case File. If later the last card of the second Case File is also taken, the -> round ends after the -> turn of the player who took the card.
- Clues: These cards show a magnifying glass in the upper-left corner. During a turn you may play as many Clues as you like, either to -> meld or to -> add to an existing meld. Every Clue you play is laid into your -> play area, even if you use it to add to another player's -> melds. A player must feed the Orang-Utan after every -> meld, either with the top card of the Case File or of the Rue Morgue.
- Meld: A set of 3 or more -> Clues of the same color. -> Events cannot be melded.
- Game: A game of Mystery Rummy consists of several -> rounds. It ends once at least one player or team reaches a score of 100 or more. The player or team with the highest score wins. In case of a tie, another -> round must be played.
- Rue Morgue: This is the discard pile. Only the top card is ever visible. Players are not permitted to look through the Rue Morgue, unless a played card allows it.
- Play area: Each player has their own area on the table in front of them, into which they lay all the cards that earn them points at the end of a -> round. In the partner variant, the two partners share one play area. All cards are therefore laid out in front of one of them.
- Turn: In turn order, each player takes their turn, consisting of the following steps: Draw (mandatory), Play (optional), Discard (mandatory). This continues until the -> round ends and scoring takes place.
- Draw pile: See -> Case File.
Credits
Author: Mike Fitzgerald • Illustration: Virginijus Poshkus
Translation (German edition): Bernd Perplies Graphic design (German edition): Christine Conrad Rulebook revision: Thygra Spiele-Agentur
The publisher and author thank the numerous playtesters.
First English edition © 1999 U.S. Games Systems, Inc. © German edition 2009 U.S. Games Systems, Inc.
A game by Pegasus Spiele GmbH, under license from U.S. Games Systems, Inc. All rights reserved.