Teach the Game
A script to read aloud: who wants what, the district, a turn, the end, how each side wins and what each piece does.
How you win
“Whitechapel, at night. One of nine suspects is Jack the Ripper. One of you is Mr. Jack and knows who he is; the other leads Holmes, Watson and their dog Toby. Fifteen minutes, eight turns at most.”
- Investigator: after an Appeal for Witnesses, only one suspect is left on the board.
- Mr. Jack: after an Appeal for Witnesses, he has 6 hourglasses — from Turn tokens he won and Alibi cards he drew.
The boards
- Detectives — Holmes, Watson and Toby walk round the outside of the district
- Mr. Jack’s identity — one Alibi card, face down
- Alibi pile — the other 8 suspects
- Turn tokens — 1 to 8; each one goes to the winner of that turn
The district is 9 street tiles. Walls block a detective’s view; each tile turns over to an empty street when its suspect is cleared.
A round
Each turn has two stages (full rules):
- Manhunt. The 4 Action tokens give 4 actions. On odd turns the Investigator throws them, takes 1, Mr. Jack takes 2, the Investigator the last. On even turns the tokens are flipped and it goes the other way round.
- Appeal for Witnesses. Mr. Jack says whether a detective can see him. Every suspect on the wrong side of that answer is cleared, and the Turn token goes to the Investigator (seen) or to Mr. Jack (not seen).
How the game ends
At the end of a turn: the Investigator wins with one suspect left; Mr. Jack wins with 6 hourglasses. If nobody has won after turn 8, Mr. Jack wins. When both goals come true in the same turn, a chase decides.
Ways to score
| Side | How |
|---|---|
| Investigator | Clear suspects: every Appeal for Witnesses and every Alibi card he draws |
Mr. Jack  | 1 hourglass per Turn token won while unseen, plus 0–2 on each Alibi card he draws |
What each resource is for
| Piece | Why it matters | How it is used |
|---|---|---|
   Detectives | Their lines of sight decide who is cleared | Moved clockwise by their Action tokens or the Joker |
  Street tiles | Walls block sight | Turned or swapped by actions |
 Alibi cards | Clear a suspect, or give Mr. Jack hourglasses | Drawn with the Alibi action |
| Turn tokens | Mr. Jack’s clock | Won by the side the Appeal favours |
Teaching tips
- Show one Appeal for Witnesses on the set-up board before the first turn.
- Every action must be used: taking a token is not optional.
- Rotate the three tiles beside the detectives at setup so a wall faces each of them.
- Play twice, swapping roles.