Wo ist Jack the Ripper
Wo ist Jack the Ripper Rulebook
Table of Contents
Table of Contents
Components
- 66 cards
- 12 Story cards [three icons at bottom]
- 39 Research cards [icons in top corners]
- 13 Witnesses [red silhouette]
- 13 Pieces of Evidence [knife]
- 13 Investigations [lens]
- 15 Action cards [paragraph at bottom]
- This rules guide
Goal of the Game
As reporters the players try to write sensational headline stories about the Jack the Ripper murders for their papers. To do this they must speak with informants and look for clues. In game terms the players collect Research cards and meld them to create combinations of Witnesses, Evidence and Investigations. If a player achieves the combination of the current story (the first revealed card), he gets it. Then the hunt for the next story begins.
At the end the player with the most points on his Story cards wins.
Set-up
Shuffle the Research cards to form a deck. Shuffle the Action cards and place this deck next to the Research deck.
Each player draws four Research cards and one Action card.
Shuffle the Story cards. Reveal the top two cards from this deck and place the second next to the deck and the first next to the second.
(Story cards can only be "printed" in the order they are laid out [see below]; i.e. the first Story card must be printed first, then the second.)
Course of the Game
First a start player is chosen (for example, the youngest player); he is the first active player. Then players take turns in clockwise order.
In his turn a player may undertake 2 "Investigations". In addition he must carry out 1 "Action".
Investigations
The following activities are possible "Investigations":
Meld a Research card: The player may meld a Research card. A story can only be printed with these melded Research cards.
Draw a Research card: The player can draw a new Research card from the deck and take it in hand. If afterwards the player has more than 6 Research cards, he must discard one. This limit is in effect for the combination of hand cards plus melded cards.
Print a Story: If the player, using melded Research cards (and only these), can fulfil the current Story card, the story can be printed and he receives the Story card. The combination does not have to be exactly fulfilled. The provided points are a minimum point count which may be exceeded. The story is thereby concluded and the player places it face up nearby. The player moves the used Research cards to the discard pile.
The remaining Story card is moved left to become the current story to be achieved. A new Story card is revealed next to the deck.
All of the other players must choose one of their melded Research cards to take back into the hand (if they have any); all other cards remain as they are.
Action
In addition to the Investigations, each player must at some point during his turn perform one of the following actions:
Play an Action card: The player can play an Action card. Each card states its effects [English readers see Cards Summary below.] The Action card Druckmaschine defekt cannot be played as an action card, being used during another player's turn.
Draw an Action card: The player can draw a new Action card and take it into hand. A player can never have more than 2 Action cards in hand. If he already has two and doesn't wish to play either, he draws a new one and discards one.
When a player has performed his Investigations and Action, his turn ends and the next player takes his turn.
If the Action card or Research card decks become exhausted, the corresponding discard pile is shuffled to form a new deck.
End of the Game
When all of the Story cards have been printed (when the Story deck is exhausted), the game ends. The players count up their Story points.
If a single player has printed more stories than anyone else, he receives 2 extra Story points.
The player with the most Story points wins the game and is awarded the title "Reporter of the Year".
Card Explanations
Story Cards
A Story card provides the reporter the idea for a headline story. Before a story can be printed, a certain number of research cards must be assembled. These are indicated on the bottom of the story card. If there is a zero by a symbol, no Research cards of this type are necessary to print the story.
The knife represents evidence, the silhouette a witness and the lens, an investigation.
The value of a Story card can be found at the top of each card. The higher the Story point number, the more it is worth at the end of the game.
Research Cards
There are three different types of Research cards. For each type there are cards valued either 1 or 2:
- Evidence: Pieces of evidence that come up during research that the reporter can use.
- Witnesses: Witnesses offer important information for the reporter's story.
- Research: The reporters spend considerable time researching in libraries and elsewhere seeking background material to put their stories together.
Action Cards
In addition to researching their stories, reporters also perform actions to obstruct other reporters or gain advantage against their competitors.
Action cards which operate over a longer time (for example, Reporterteam) remain in front of the affected player until their effects have ended.
Action cards can only be played in one's own turn (Druckmaschine defekt is an exception).
There are the following Action cards in the game:
- Diebstahl [2x] - You steal a Research card from another reporter. Draw one at random from an opponent's hand (observing hand limits).
- Druckmaschine defekt [2x] - Since there is a defect in another player's printing press, he cannot print his story this round! (This card can be played at any time on another player as he is about to print.)
- Erfolglose Recherche [4x] - Another reporter's investigation proves fruitless. He must discard one Research card of his choice!
- Pressekonferenz - The police hold a press conference. All of the other reporters discard the Research card of their choice!
- Reporter in U-Haft [2x] - Reporter in Detention. A reporter is suspected to be involved in the Whitehall murders. He must lose a turn!
- Reporterteam - You receive the support of a reporting team. From your next turn to the printing of your story you may perform an additional Investigation! (This card is in effect until the current story is printed, upon which it is discarded.)
- Séance abhalten [2x] - Conduct a seance. Choose 1 from the top 3 cards on the Research deck. The cards you don't choose are discarded!
- Wichtiger Hinweis - From an informant you learn an important clue. You receive +1 on the melded Research card of your choice! (This card is played to increase the value of an melded Research card. It is placed next to the Research card whose value is increased. When this Research card is taken back into the hand or discarded after a story is printed, the action card is immediately discarded.)
Special Rules for 2 or 3 Players
With three, remove the Story cards Polizei tappt im Dunkeln and Annie ermordet aufgefunden from the game.
With two, also remove the Story cards Ist der Ripper in Amerika? and Mordserie nimmt kein Ende from the game.