Secret Night at Davis Manor Rulebook

Table of Contents

Table of Contents

• 1. Objectives
• 2. Setup
  • 2.1 Distribution of Roles
  • Dog
  • 2.2 Scoring
  • 2.3 The Main Board
  • 2.4 Player Board
• 3. Start of the Game
  • 3.1 Movement
  • 3.2 To Search
  • 3.3 Perform an Action
  • 3.3.2 Cards
    • More Valuable (use allowed from 00:00)
    • Attack (use allowed from 00:00)
    • Defense
    • Movement
    • Others
• Important Moments
  • Death
  • Escape
  • Arrest
• 4. End of Game
• Characters
  • Otto Oppenheim
  • Yijun Ding
  • Salvatore Fontana
  • Wilma Sanders
  • Kontar Saleh
  • Zachary Davis
  • Chitra Daswani
  • Panchito Falcón
  • Rita Cardoso
  • Eleanor Gibbs
  • Niall O'Sullivan
  • Trevor Williams
  • Margot Boucher

1. Objectives

Complete your mission and add points to your team (police or thieves) to win the game before dawn (9 turns). The thieves must take the money and escape in one of the 3 vehicles. The police must get the handcuffs and arrest the thieves.

The clock starts at 9 p.m. (place the black disk as turn counter).

At 6 o'clock in the morning (not included) the game ends and the points are counted.

2. Setup

The Main Board is unfolded and the vehicle tokens (car, motorcycle and boat) are placed in their corresponding zones.

2.1 Distribution of Roles

Depending on the number of players, the role cards ("confidential" stamp on the back) are shuffled and dealt.

Players	Roles
4 players	1 Chief Inspector / 1 Detective / 1 Thief / 1 Master Thief
5 players	1 Chief Inspector / 1 Detective / 1 Deceiver / 1 Thief / 1 Master Thief
6 players	1 Chief Inspector / 2 Detectives / 2 Thieves / 1 Master Thief
7 players	1 Chief Inspector / 2 Detectives / 1 Deceiver / 2 Thieves / 1 Master Thief
8 players	1 Chief Inspector / 3 Detectives / 3 Thieves / 1 Master Thief

The Master Thief and the Chief Inspector reveal their roles and keep them shown. The rest of the players will keep their roles hidden.

Role	Shown / Secret	Mission	Special skill
Chief Inspector	Shown	To get the handcuffs and arrest the thieves.	Dog (explained below)
Detective	Secret	To get the handcuffs and arrest the thieves.	none
Deceiver	Secret	To end the game in a draw or +/-1	none
Thief	Secret	To get the money and escape. The car and the motorcycle require keys, but not the boat.	none
Master Thief	Shown	To get the money and escape. The car and the motorcycle require keys, but not the boat.	Can roll the roulette twice to remove the handcuffs

Dog

The Chief Inspector controls a police dog (wood color pawn) on his turn as well as his own movements and actions. The dog starts from the brown police hexagon. The Chief Inspector can move him up to 3 hexagons per turn. The dog can only be removed from play using the Beef item card when it attacks or when next to the dog. The Chief Inspector can give the order to attack (even from distance) once per turn, dealing 1 damage. A death by dog bite is considered death by the Chief Inspector. The dog can attack from 00:00 and can be pushed.

2.2 Scoring

On the side of the board we can see the score "thermometer" where police and thieves track their progress. The black disk is placed in the center point as marker.

Police side	Thieves side
2 = A thief dies	A police dies = 2
4 = Master Thief arrested	Thief escaped with money by boat = 4
3 = Thief arrested	Thief escaped with money by car/motorbike = 5
+3 = Money confiscated after arresting a thief	Extra thief in escape = +2
-2 = Police or Deceiver arrested by mistake	Extra Money in escape = +5

For example: A thief dies: The token moves +2 in favor of the police. Then a thief gets away on a motorcycle with the money: +5 for thieves. After these two events, the game is +3 for the thieves.

2.3 The Main Board

There are 16 rooms in the mansion. They are represented by their names on the perimeter of the Main Board. At the beginning of the game the object cards are shuffled (green circle at the back) and 16 of them are randomly placed face up in each room held by the Main Board. The rest of the object cards are stacked face down as a draw deck. When they are empty, the discard pile is shuffled in and the draw deck is renewed. The discard pile will be face up.

2.4 Player Board

Each player chooses a color and receives:

• 1 Player Board
• 1 Pawn
• 1 Random character card
• 1 Step saver marker (brown disk)
• 1 Life marker (red disk)

Character and Role card. Each character has a special skill; read your skill aloud to the rest of the players and place it upright in the Player Board as shown in the figure. When you have a secret role, you must hide it under your player board. Once your role has been discovered you must reveal it for all players. If your initial role is not secret, reveal it from the beginning.

Life. All players start with three lives. If a player loses all 3 lives, the player dies and reveals his role (if secret). In his next turn he will respawn from his corresponding hexagon and with a new random character (but he will have lost his cards, his saved steps and his team will have lost points).

Step saver. Place the brown marker on zero steps. With the brown marker you can save steps. For example: If you get a 8 but only need 5 steps, you can stop and save up to a maximum of 3 steps in the saver for another turn.

3. Start of the Game

The first to enter the mansion is the Master Thief. He will do it from the main red hexagon of the thieves. The next player to enter will be the one on his left, clockwise. If he has a hidden role (detective, thief or deceiver) he can start from either the red thieves' hexagon or from the blue police hexagon. In the special case that either main start hexagons are occupied by another player, they would begin from an adjacent hexagon. The Chief Inspector starts from the blue police hexagon. When all the players have finished their turn, the Master Thief advances the clock from 21:00 pm to 22:00 pm.

Note: once the hidden role of a player is revealed, they will re-spawn from their corresponding position. If he is the Deceiver, he can choose again.

3.1 Movement

The basic mechanic will be to spin the roulette, draw an object card, to move the pawn around the board by the steps rolled, and performing actions with object cards and/or the Action Square. The 4 and 5 steps boxes give an extra object card as low score reward. During their movement, the player can do as many actions as they wants/are able to.

For example: A player gets a 10, advances 2, performs a search, then advances 5, uses a weapon, advances 2, pushes an opponent and finally saves 1 step for another turn.

You can not cross-jump over another player's pawn.

Doors. The locker icon door hexagons can be locked using key cards (see cards) after which a locked token is placed over them until unlocked again.

Windows. Blue hexagons block players until they break with the card Window breaker hammer. A broken window token is then placed over the hex and may be crossed by any player for the remainder of the game. Windows can be broken from both sides.

Water. There are three water icons on the map, around the edge of the lake next to the Mansion. When crossing one of these hexes, the player's movement stops. In his next turn he will spin the water roulette. Visa-versa when exiting.

Break-free roulette. There 2 cases where a player's can use the break free roulette:

• Arrest attempt (Handcuffs)
• Kidnapping attempt (Rope)

In any of these cases, the player has the opportunity to spin the roulette and if he gets a green, he can avoid the threat and cannot be a victim in that turn.

Note: If someone is released from handcuffs or rope, the card will back to his owner.

3.2 To Search

The most common action is to perform a search on hexagons marked green. Being on a green search hex gives you the opportunity to take the card stored in the associated room slot on the edge of the Main Board.

Start of the game: all the rooms with shown objects. During the game: manipulated/consulted cards by some player (porch, greenhouse and kitchen).

Once checked, you should keep one of the cards in your hand (or the same) in the slot of the room hidden face down. There can only be one card stored per slot/room. It is not possible to perform two consecutive searches in the same room, another room must be searched between both.

Inventory. The maximum number of cards at the end of your turn is 3, and 1 must always be shown face up next to the player board (even if you only have 1 card in total). If at the end of your turn you have more than 3 cards, discard the remaining cards in the discard pile until you have only 3 (2 in hands and 1 in sight).

Tip: go to the furthest rooms to hide the cards that are attractive to the rival team.

3.3 Perform an Action

Once per turn, when you are next to another pawn, you may use the Action Square to perform an action. The black disc starts on the Steal icon.

Therefore, the first player to use the Action Square has 3 actions to choose from (Trade, Push or Whisper a Secret). Then move the token to the chosen corner and perform the action.

The next time a player performs an action, his choice will start from the corner of the last action performed.

The actions are:

• To Trade cards with another player, either, 1 for 1, 2 for 2 or 3 for 3. If the target player refuses the offer, you cannot perform another action instead.
• To Steal a card: The target victim shuffles all his cards (shown and hidden) before he is robbed. The player performing the action then chooses 1 card blindly.
• Push: Move a player up to 2 squares. If he encounters an obstacle (wall, other player) stops. To pull is not allowed.
• Whisper a secret: Use it to have a private conversation (whispering to the ear) with another player. This can be useful for plotting strategies or bluffing.

3.3.2 Cards

In addition to these actions, players may use object cards. Unless they have infinite use, the cards are discarded after use.

More Valuable (use allowed from 00:00)

• Money. The main objective of the thieves. The police and deceiver can't escape with it but they can hide this card in their hand or in the mansion. See Escape.
• Handcuffs. Use them to arrest. The arrested player can try to free himself by spinning the roulette. Thieves and Deceivers can't use the handcuffs, but they can hide them. View Arrest.
• Car and motorcycle keys. With these cards you can start the respective vehicles to escape. *The boat doesn't need a card to start. Neither the police nor the Deceiver can use the escape vehicles.
• Beef. Use it next to the dog during your turn or in response to his attack at any time. This removed the dog from play until the end of the game. Once used, is discarded. See Dog.

Attack (use allowed from 00:00)

• Gun. When your pawn is next to another player's pawn, you can use it to deal 2 points of damage to the victim. See Death.
• Poison. When your pawn is next to another player's pawn, you can use it to poison the victim. They must put the card in front of their player board. At the end of their turns they will lose a life. If they (or another player) do not heal with the Aid Kit, the victim will die. See Death.
• Knife. When your pawn is next to another player's pawn, you can use it to deal 1 damage to the victim. See Death.

Defense

• First Aid Kit. Can recover 1 life during his turn or in response to an attack. Can be used with yourself or another player. It also works as an antidote and recovers lives lost to poison.
• Bible. Avoid the attack from a gun shot and discard the card.
• Bulletproof vest. Avoid the attack of a gunshot and keep the card.
• Avoid knife. Avoid the attack of a knife and you discard the card.

Movement

• Coffee. Advance as many extra steps as the cards indicates. It is also cumulative with the step saver.
• Door key. Close a door for 1 turn when next to it. Also used to unlock doors.
• Rope. Allows a player to be tied up. The victim remains stationary for an entire turn or until another player decides to release him (he must be next to the victim). The player may also break free with a roulette.
• Smoke bomb. You can use it in response to an arrest with handcuffs to avoid it or to dodge (jump) a pawn that blocks its passage.

Others

• Window breaker hammer. Once broken, the window can be crossed in both directions like an open door. A blue token is placed to symbolize the broken window.
• Dynamite. Dynamite hidden by another player in one of the search points around the house (card placed face down in its matching perimeter location on the board) deals 2 damage points to the next player who discovers it and wounds (-1) in the adjacent hexagons free of obstacles (walls, other players ...). If it provokes an elimination, his cards are discarded.

Important Moments

Death

If you lose your three lives, you die, show your role and add the corresponding points to the side contrary to your role (except the death of the deceiver which does not benefit anyone and results in no points). Your killer can check your inventory of cards and keep whatever suits them. The rest will go to the discard pile. In the next turn, you will re-spawn with the same role but you will have less time to achieve your objectives and the enemy advances in score.

Escape

Once a thief escapes, they reveal their role. The boat has room for 1 player to escape in, the motorcycle 2 and the car 4. Simply landing on any of the Hexagons of the vehicle tokens counts as being "in" that vehicle. The more thieves get away, the more points they get. Being placed within the vehicle token (with the correct vehicle keys) the player is considered able to escape. They can however wait in place and sacrifice their movement giving time for accomplices to join them. Only the player with the correct vehicle keys can initiate the escape, taking all other players on the token with them. Each vehicle has a single use. When used, the token of the vehicle is discarded and is no longer available.

Tip: Once escaped, the thief's inventory is discarded (including money and vehicle keys), so it is a good idea to save important objects in room slots before the escape.

Arrest

When a player is handcuffed, the policeman places the handcuff card in front of that player. Unless the arrested player is released when rolling the "Break-Free" roulette and getting green and/or with a Smoke Bomb card, the handcuffed player is considered arrested and reveals his role. If they are a thief, the police add to their score, the captor receives the arrested's inventory and decides which cards to keep and which ones to discard. If they have accidentally arrested a police role or the deceiver, -2 points for police team, they will have lost their handcuffs.

Note: remember that the Money, Vehicle keys, Handcuffs and Beef are not disposable objects. If the victim/thief carried any of these cards, the assassin/captor must keep them in their inventory.

Note: In the remote case where the assassin/captor also has his inventory complete with non discardable cards, he decides who to give the remaining cards to.

4. End of Game

The game ends at dawn (9 turns - 6:00 am) or when a team's score counter reaches 10 points. If the game ends in a tie and the Deceiver is not in play, the first team to score wins.

Characters

Otto Oppenheim

Occupation: Doctor. Nationality: German. Age: 63. Skill: Can heal once without a first aid card.

Yijun Ding

Occupation: Professional dancer. Nationality: China. Age: Unknown. Skill: Able to avoid the first knife attack.

Salvatore Fontana

Occupation: Priest (not confirmed). Nationality: Italian. Age: 25. Skill: Avoids the first gun shot.

Wilma Sanders

Occupation: Mayoress. Nationality: American. Age: 58. Skill: Once per game, during her turn, can move the clock 1 hour forward or backwards.

Kontar Saleh

Occupation: Entrepreneur. Nationality: Egyptian. Age: 44. Skill: Can re-spin the roulette once per turn to try to improve his movement score. Keep the last one.

Zachary Davis

Occupation: Journalist. Nationality: English. Age: 33. Skill: Once per game they can check to see the secret role of one player.

Chitra Daswani

Occupation: Witch. Nationality: India. Age: 50. Skill: Once per game, can move another player 5 squares in a straight line from the distance.

Panchito Falcón

Occupation: Actor. Nationality: Cuban (not confirmed). Age: Unknown. Skill: Does not have to keep a card shown.

Rita Cardoso

Occupation: Horse Rider. Nationality: Brazilian. Age: 28. Skill: Always adds +2 to their movement score.

Eleanor Gibbs

Occupation: Housekeeper. Nationality: Canadian. Age: 32. Skill: Can not be locked in a room, or tied up. She removes locks.

Niall O'Sullivan

Occupation: Boxer. Nationality: Irish. Age: 51. Skill: Has an unlimited number of pushes which move a player up to 6 squares in a straight line free of obstacles.

Trevor Williams

Occupation: Engineer. Nationality: South African. Age: 59. Skill: Can disarm the dynamite and keep it.

Margot Boucher

Occupation: Chef. Nationality: French. Age: 36. Skill: Their knife attack damages -2 instead of -1

Victoria Walker

Occupation: Lawyer. Nationality: Australian. Age: 41. Skill: You can't steal cards from the lawyer.

Alexandr Korovin

Occupation: Trumpet player. Nationality: Russian. Age: 48. Skill: Once per game, can concatenate an extra turn.

Catalina Fernández

Occupation: Professor. Nationality: Spanish. Age: 39. Skill: Draws an extra card in her 2 first turns.