Secrets

Inventor: Allan Stagg, copyright 1998.

Requirements: 1 pack of playing cards, pencil & paper

Number of players: 3-6

Purpose

Each player uses his spies to discover the secrets of other players, while using a policeman to discover his or her own secrets. The player who after 5 turns has gained the greatest number of points from stolen secrets wins the game.

Start of game

Each player has 9 secrets, numbered 1-9. A player has also 4 spies, code-named  Club, Diamond, Heart and Spade, and 1 policeman.

The rules

Each turn a player must send his spies to try to steal the secrets of other players, and nominate which secret will be protected by his policeman. Orders should make clear which spy is truying to steal which secret from which player.

Example: Club steals secret 2 from Bill, Diamond steals secret 9 from Charles, Heart steals secret 9 from Derek, and Spade steals Eric 8. Policeman guards secret 7.

There will be three possible outcomes for each theft order:

1. The spy attempts to steal a secret protected by a policeman. The spy is captured and cannot be used again. The policeman earns 10 points. A policeman captures every spy sent to the secret he protects.
2. Two or more spies attempt to steal the same unprotected secret. They frustrate each other and come away empty handed. The secret remains with its owner.
3. A py attempots to steal an unguarded secret, and no other spy attempts to steal that secret. The stealing player earns a number of points equal to the secret. Thus stealing secret number 7 earns 7 points. The owning player looses his or her secret.

If the policeman has not captured any spies this turn, he must be set to guard a different secret next turn.

End of game

At the end of the fifth round, each player adds the secrets he has stoles and adds the points for captured spies. The player with the higest score win the game.

HIDDEN SECRETS  - a variant

As above, but each player has 10 secrets, identified by A - J. At the start of the game each plyer allocates 45 points among these 10 secrets.

Examples: (0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 9, 9, 9, 9, 9 ) or (4, 4, 4, 4, 4, 5, 5, 5, 5, 5), or any other combination.

These values are notified to the GM ( or written down on paper if played ftf). If a spy succesfully steals a secret, he is told how many points he has gained. In the game report the other players are informed that the secret has been stolen, but not how many points have been gained. If two or more players attempt to steal the same secret, theit attempts fail but they are told the value of the secret. If a spy is captured by a policeman, the value of the secret is made public to all players.