Wink: Nest of Spies
Wink: Nest of Spies Rulebook
Table of Contents
Table of Contents
Contents
- 2 × 36 Agent cards with 2 different backs
- 32 Counterintelligence cards
- 8 Spy cards of 8 different colors
- 8 Spy pawns of 8 different colors
1 - Game Objective
See without being seen and communicate without being intercepted. Your objective is to identify your new accomplice every turn and get recognized by this player with winks, without getting noticed by the others.
Whenever you and your accomplice recognize each other thanks to a discreet wink, you score one point each. Whenever you reveal the hidden link between two other players by intercepting a wink, you get the two points total that they would have scored.
The winner is the player who has the most points at the end of the game.
2 - Setup
Each player receives a Spy pawn with a Spy card of the same color; place your card face up in front of you so everyone knows which color you are.
Separate the Agent cards into two decks based on their backs.
When playing with 4 or 6 players, include all of the cards in the game; with 5 or 7 players, discard the card with the number 36 from each deck; with 8 players, discard the four cards with the numbers 33, 34, 35 and 36 from each deck.
The discarded cards won't be used during the game, so you can put them back in the box.
Shuffle the Agent cards of one of the decks and lay them out randomly face up on the table, so that they form the "crowd".
Then shuffle the second deck of Agent cards and deal them face down to the players. Players take their cards into their hands without letting the other players see them.
Distribute 4 Counterintelligence cards to each player.
3 - Gameplay
Once the setup is done, the last player to have taken part in a Carnival begins (in case of disagreement, determine the first player randomly). Then take turns in clockwise order.
Calling
On your turn, place your pawn on any card of the crowd and announce the corresponding number loud and clear.
However, it is prohibited to:
- place your pawn on a card that is the same as a card in your hand.
- place your pawn on a card that is already occupied by another player's pawn.
Example: Matthew places his pawn on Agent card 25 and says, "I'm calling on Agent 25!"
The player to your left goes next.
Accomplice
The player who has the called agent in their hand is the "accomplice" and should secretly but clearly make that known to the player who called the card by winking.
These 2 players are accomplices for exactly one round and need to discover each other.
When the player who placed a pawn plays again, they will have to move their pawn to another card and it will be definitely too late...
Example: Matthew called on Agent 25, and Aïcha has Agent 25 in her hand. Therefore, they are accomplices, although Matthew is not yet aware of this. Aïcha has to secretly wink at Matthew to notify him she has the same card, before it is Matthew's turn to play again.
Note: It is forbidden to wink at a player who isn't your accomplice.
Making Contact
At the beginning of your turn, you can designate the player you believed to be your accomplice before moving your pawn to another card.
Example: It is the beginning of Matthew's next turn and his pawn is still on Agent 25. He points at Aïcha and says, "Aïcha has Agent 25!"
There are two possibilities:
- You are correct: The player you designate has the Agent card with that number. You take the original card, on which the pawn was placed, from the crowd and place it face up in front of you (it counts for one point at the end of the game). Your accomplice takes the matching card from their hand and places it face up in front of them (it also counts for one point at the end of the game).
- You are wrong: The designated player does not have that Agent card in their hand. You then flip the original card, on which the pawn was placed, face down. That card remains in the crowd but is now out of the game. The player who has the matching Agent card places it face down in front of them. It will not be worth any points at the end of the game, but will count as a tiebreaker.
Now place your pawn on a different card in the crowd and call on the corresponding number, just like on your first turn.
Counterintelligence
Everyone should pay attention to the other players throughout the game in order to catch winks. If you believe another player is winking - but not to you - you can accuse this player. To do so, call out the player and announce the card you think they have in their hand.
Example: Agustina catches Aïcha winking at Matthew. Because Matthew's pawn is on Agent 25, she calls out Aïcha, saying, "Aïcha has Agent 25."
There are two possibilities:
- Your accusation is correct: The player you called out actually has the announced card. You place one of your Counterintelligence cards in front of you (you won't be able to use it again). You take both cards: the one from the accused player's hand and the one from the crowd. Place both cards face up in front of you to count for two points at the end of the game. Note: This means the player who initially called for this card no longer has an accomplice, and will simply need to wait for their turn to place their pawn on another card of the crowd. Meanwhile, this player can still dedicate their attention to counterintelligence...
- Your accusation is wrong: The player you called out doesn't have the announced card. You discard one of your Counterintelligence cards to the box.
Afterwards, the game continues normally.
Notes: Each player only has 4 Counterintelligence cards and can thus only make 4 accusations.
In a 4-player game, if a wrong accusation is made, it is not possible to accuse someone else regarding the same Agent card.
4 - End of the Game
The game ends when a player has no more Agent cards in their hand, or when all agent cards in the crowd are taken away or face down.
Count your points: 1 point per face-up Agent card in front of you and 1 point per Counterintelligence card still in your hand.
In case of a tie, the tied player with most Counterintelligence cards in front of them is the winner (because of being an effective spy!).
In case there is still a tie, the tied player with the most face-down Agent cards is the winner (because Wink rewards fair play!).
Variant: Before starting to play, everyone can agree on another sign to use, rather than a wink, such as a hand sign, a head movement, etc.