Scotland Yard Duel Rulebook

Table of Contents

Table of Contents

• Contents
• Before Your First Game
• Game Objective
• Setup
  • Mister X
  • Detective
• Gameplay
  • The Detective's Turn
    • First move
    • Subsequent moves
  • Mister X's Turn
    • a) Taxi (1) / Bus (2) / Underground (3): Swap city districts
    • b) Black Ticket: Swap city districts
    • c) Sabotage
    • d) Surveillance camera
    • e) City districts with the Scotland Yard symbol
• The Three Action Cards
  • 1) Grid search
  • 2) Reinforcements
  • 3) Surveillance camera
• End of the Game

Contents

1. 25 city districts (including 3 with the Scotland Yard symbol)
2. 2 Scotland Yard figures
3. 2 X-Syndicate figures
4. 27 stands
5. 3 action cards

Before Your First Game

Carefully remove the playing materials from the punchboards. Insert each of the 25 city districts into a stand. The opening should point upwards. Put either Ms. X or Mister X in one of the remaining stands and the female or male Detective in the other.

Note: For the sake of consistency, the member of the X-Syndicate will be referred to as "Mister X" and the investigator from Scotland Yard will be referred to as "the Detective" in these instructions. The rules apply for both the female and male figures, though, regardless of who is playing.

Game Objective

Scotland Yard Duel is a 2-player game. Mister X and the Detective should sit across from one another. The 25 city districts should be set up between the two players to create the play area. Mister X can see 22 of the city districts. The Detective can see the remaining three. Mister X is hiding in one of the 22 concealed city districts. The Detective moves their playing figure in the play area and turns over the city district they just moved to on each turn.

Mister X does not put his playing figure in the play area. Instead, Mister X always swaps around two city districts during his turn! The Detective can therefore only guess whether he might be in one of the two city districts (or somewhere else entirely). Mister X only uses his playing figure when a surveillance camera detects him (see below).

If the Detective finds the city district Mister X is hiding in, then they win. But if three sabotaged city districts are turned over, then Mister X wins.

Setup

Sit across from one another and agree who will be Mister X and who will be the Detective. Each take the corresponding playing figure. The Detective takes the three city districts with the Scotland Yard symbol. Mr. X takes the 22 other city districts.

Each city district has a front (showing information, visible to Mister X) and a back. The front shows the means of transport at the bottom (Taxi, Bus, Underground, or Black Ticket, with its range) and Mister X's action at the center.

Important: The Detective is not allowed to see which city district Mister X puts where! So the Detective should look away for a moment!

Mister X

If you're Mister X, you now build "your London" according to the following rules:

• Set the 22 city districts up in a 5 x 5 grid, leaving the first, third, and fifth spaces in the middle row free.
• Stand all of the city districts up and turn them so that only you (Mr. X) can see the fronts showing the information. The backs face towards the Detective.
• The Detective's starting row may not include any sabotaged districts. (Don't put any sabotaged city districts in the starting row!)

The three city districts with the Scotland Yard symbol will be placed in the free spaces later. The fronts will then face towards the Detective.

IMPORTANT: Mister X only uses his playing figure a few times during the game. You can also be seen on the front of one of the city districts, meaning you'll usually "move" using this city district. It's best not to put this city district in the Detective's starting row at the beginning of the game.

Detective

• If you're the Detective, set up the three city districts with the Scotland Yard symbol once Mister X has finished setting up his city districts. Mister X should look away for a moment while you do this! Use the first, third, and fifth spaces in the middle row for this. The fronts should face in your direction.
• Place the three action cards face up in front of you.

The duel can now begin!

Gameplay

The Detective from Scotland Yard goes first. You then take turns to play. The Detective and Mister X perform different actions during their turns.

The Detective's Turn

First move

On your first turn during the game, take your playing figure and place it on any of the five city districts in the starting row. Then turn the city district face up on the table (back facing down) and place your figure in the opening. It's then Mister X's turn.

Subsequent moves

1. When it's your turn, move the Detective to a city district that you've not turned over yet. To do this, always take the means of transport shown at the bottom of the city district you're currently in: Taxi, Bus, Underground, or Black Ticket. Depending on the means of transport, move to a city district that is 1, 2, 3, or any number of spaces away (Taxi 1, Bus 1-2, Underground 1-3, Black Ticket any number).

   You cannot use the Black Ticket to move to a city district with the Scotland Yard symbol.

   You can only move orthogonally (up, down, left, right) and not diagonally. You don't have to move the full number of spaces. City districts you've already turned over still count as spaces, of course, but you're not allowed to end your turn on them.

   Example move by the Detective: You're in a city district with an underground train. You use all three spaces and move to the city district circled in red. You could also have moved to one of the city districts marked with a red check. If your city district had a bus as the means of transport, then you could only travel to the city districts with a green check. By taxi, you could only have traveled to the space to your right with a yellow check. With a Black Ticket, you could have jumped to any (not turned over) city district, though not on one with the Scotland Yard symbol.

   You must turn over a new city district on your turn! You cannot end your turn on a city district that has already been turned over.

2. Turn the city district over, place it face up (backside down) on the table, and put the Detective in the opening.

It's then Mister X's turn. The exceptions here are the three city districts with the Scotland Yard symbol and the three sabotaged city districts (see below).

Mister X's Turn

If you're Mister X, your move depends on the Detective's move. You must always perform the action shown at the center of the city district that the Detective just moved to.

a) Taxi (1) / Bus (2) / Underground (3): Swap city districts

You leave a trail of chaos in your wake — and this is reflected in the game by you swapping city districts around. The Detective sees the swap, but doesn't know whether you're in one of these two city districts or whether the swap is just another red herring.

Swap around two city districts that are up to one, two, or three spaces apart. The city district that the Detective is currently in determines the distance. You can also only move orthogonally (up, down, left, right) and not diagonally.

Example move by Mister X: The Detective is on a city district with an underground train. On your turn, you may therefore now swap two city districts that are one, two, or three spaces apart. You decide to make full use of the distance and to move the sabotaged city district closer to the Detective.

b) Black Ticket: Swap city districts

The Black Ticket allows you to temporarily evade capture! You may swap any two city districts that haven't been turned over yet. Unlike during your normal turn, the Detective must look away while you do this!

c) Sabotage

If sabotage is discovered, Mr. X is one step closer to their goal: Mr. X will win as soon as all three of the sabotaged city districts have been uncovered. It's immediately the Detective's turn again though.

d) Surveillance camera

If this city district is turned over, then you must reveal your location, at least partially. Take the Mister X playing figure and place it next to the row or column with the city district on which Mister X is hiding. You decide if you chose row or column.

You only move your playing figure again when another city district with a surveillance camera is revealed (or the corresponding action card is used). It's then immediately the Detective's turn.

e) City districts with the Scotland Yard symbol

Normally, the detective's turn ends when they've moved to a city district and turned it over. However, if they end their turn in a city district with the Scotland Yard symbol, they may immediately use one of the three action cards. Mister X must then perform this action (and only this action). Return the action card to the box after using it once.

The Three Action Cards

1) Grid search

Turn over a city district that is orthogonally or diagonally next to the city district where Mister X is hiding. This may also be a sabotaged city district or one with the Scotland Yard symbol. If it is a district with a Scotland Yard symbol on it, the Detective cannot use that location to reveal another action card this game.

BEWARE: Think carefully which of the (up to) eight possible city districts you want to turn over. This can give away a lot about your location and lead to you being captured (and losing the game)!

2) Reinforcements

You must forfeit your turn — the Detective can immediately play again.

3) Surveillance camera

If the Detective plays this card, then you must give a clue about your location. The same rules apply as for the city district with the surveillance camera (see above).

End of the Game

Scotland Yard wins, if

• The Detective turns over the city district during their turn where Mister X is hiding.

or

• Mister X cannot move and can no longer swap around any city districts during his turn in accordance with the rules.

The X Syndicate wins, if

• all three of the sabotaged city districts have been turned over.

or

• The Detective cannot move and can no longer play a turn in accordance with the rules.