Ruse (2014)
Ruse (2014) Rulebook
Table of Contents
Table of Contents
Object of the Game
Only one suspect will lose the game of Ruse. Don't let that person be you!
Any player that has a Method, a Motive, and an Opportunity of the same suit in front of them but has no Alibi to remove an Accusation, no Joker to move an Accusation, and no ability to cover up evidence, loses the game.
Preliminaries
Ruse is played by three to five persons aged 12 years and up. Play time runs 30 to 45 minutes.
The Gear & Pistol suits represent Accusations in three types: Methods (J, Q, K, A), Motives (2, 4, 6, 8, 10), & Opportunities (3, 5, 7, 9). The Crystal & Lamp suits represent Alibis for each of the Gear & Pistol suited cards. Jokers allow Accusations to be move to another player.
Setup
-
Each player chooses a character they will portray, takes that character's portrait tile, and places it on the table in front of them with the color portrait side facing up.
-
Select one of the un-chosen portrait tiles as the victim who was murdered and place it near the center of the table where all players can see it. As you build the story of the murder, feel free to include the victim as part of your tale.
-
A player chosen at random deals 5 cards to each player then uses the remaining cards to form the draw pile. The top card of the draw pile is flipped face-up and placed to the side of the draw pile to start a discard pile.
-
Play begins with the person to the dealer's left and continues clockwise.
Play
At the start of your turn, take the top card of the draw pile or the discard pile.
- If the discard pile is empty, flip over the top card of the draw pile to re-start the discard pile.
- If the draw pile is empty, reshuffle the discard pile to create a new draw pile then flip over the top card of the draw pile to re-start the discard pile.
After taking a card, you must do one of the following actions:
- Make An Accusation
- Reveal A Joker
- Provide An Alibi
- Cover Up Evidence
- Discard A Card
Make an Accusation
You make an Accusation by taking a Method, Motive, or Opportunity card from your hand and placing it face-up on the table in front of another player.
There are some limitations on the Accusations you can make:
- A player may only have one of each type of Accusation (Method, Motive, or Opportunity) made against them.
- All of the Accusations made against a player must be of the same suit.
Then make an accusatory statement based on the image and/or words on the card.
Example: Thomas has the 4 of Gears on the table in front of him. You play the King of Gears against Thomas and say: "Professor, I know for a fact that you have a steam-powered, clockwork golem in the caves beneath the University and that it has the power of ten gorillas--more than enough to crush the life out of your helpless victim!"
Accusations remain face up in front of a player until that player provides an Alibi to refute the Accusation, moves the Accusation to another player, or covers-up evidence to make it go away.
Reveal A Joker
There are two Jokers in the Ruse deck. On your turn you may reveal a Joker from your hand, allowing you to move an Accusation from in front of one player and place it in front of a different player.
- The moved Accusation must match the suit of any other Accusation made against the recipient player.
- The moved Accusation must not match a type of Accusation (Method, Motive, or Opportunity) that has already been made against the recipient player.
- The moved Accusation may be one that was made against you.
- Jokers may move an Accusation to a player with no Accusations in play against him or her.
- A revealed Joker does not go into the discard pile--it is removed from the game.
While moving the Accusation card you make a statement about how you were wrongly accused and point the finger of suspicion at another suspect.
Example: Josephine reveals a Joker from her hand and moves the Eight of Gears from in front of her over to Thomas and says: "I have just received a telegram from the probate court clearing me of shenanigans with the victim's will and stating quite clearly that the Professor was next in line to inherit the fortune."
Provide an Alibi
You provide an Alibi by playing an Alibi card from your hand that matches the value of an Accusation made against you. (Ace for Ace, 3 for 3, Jack for Jack, etc...)
Discard both the Accusation and the Alibi in any order you wish.
While playing the Alibi card you make a statement proclaiming your innocence based on the words and/or image on the card.
Example: Thomas plays the King of Gaslamps on the King of Gears and says... "You imbecile! You know how cold it's been this winter. Every lump of coal in the University is under lock and key to feed the heating plant. I have no fuel to power the boilers that bring life to my mechanical pet. Even now I fear that his gears are icing up beyond repair."
Cover Up Evidence
Each player's portrait tile can be used once per game to cover up evidence of an Accusation when there is no hope of providing an Alibi in time.
To use your portrait tile to cover up evidence, flip it from the colorful side with a confident portrait to the black and white side with a worried portrait. Now you remove one of the Accusations on the table in front of you and place it AT THE BOTTOM of the discard pile.
You are certainly welcome to make a statement when covering up evidence... "Gatling Needle Gun? I don't see any Gatling Needle Gun, and I certainly wouldn't know how to use one even if I had seen it... which I haven't." But drawing attention to yourself at this crisis point may not be wise.
You MUST also discard one card from your hand in the normal manner to complete your turn.
Discard
If you cannot make an Accusation, AND you cannot provide an Alibi to counter an Accusation made against you, AND you cannot or choose not to cover up evidence, AND you do not have a Joker to move an Accusation to another player, AND you do not have three Accusations sitting in front if you, then discard one card from your hand to end your turn.
When you flip that card onto the discard pile, you may feel the urge to mutter under your breath... "You won't get away scot-free while I'm around. I'll find the evidence to bring the Queen's justice to one of you murderous miscreants. Yes sir, just see if I don't!"
Lose Condition
No one wins when murder is afoot, but there is always one guilty person for the constables to carry away in chains. Don't let that person be you!
If your turn ends with a Method, Motive, and Opportunity of the same suit in front of you and you have no Alibi to remove an Accusation, cannot move the Accusation to another player, and cannot cover up evidence, then you are the murderer. The game is over and you must tell your story.
Confess Your Crimes
You've run out of Alibis and there's no more hiding from the truth that is spread out before you. It's time to fess up -- maybe they'll see that you're not really a bad person and understand why you just had to do it.
The rulebook follows this with a sample confession written in the voice of the character (flavour text, omitted here).
Characters
The rulebook names the following characters, each with a portrait tile (the character biographies and the sample confessions in the printed rulebook are flavour fiction and are not reproduced here):
- Major Norman Rudolphus Kroster III
- Duchess Lacey von Brandywine
- Prof. Brandie Engela Kohninburg
- Sir David V. Fenn-Rufierre
- Amelia Lindsay "Scraps" Chiunyu
- Captain Demetrius Sloddavitch
Quick Start Rules
- Choose Portrait Tiles
- Deal 5 Cards to Each Player
- Start Discard Pile
- On Your Turn, Draw Top Card from Deck or Discards and:
- Make an Accusation or
- Reveal a Joker or
- Provide an Alibi or
- Cover Up Evidence or
- Discard a Card
You must confess your crime if you have Method, Motive, and Opportunity Accusations against you at the end of your turn.