Inkognito

Summary by Philippe Wyns and Sheila Davis

Game for 4 players.

Setup

Put the Man in Black in the lagoon area of the board and the Amabassador (the black pawn) at the embassy (area marked with a top hat).

Each player chooses a color and receives the 4 pawns of that color, 1 passport, and 8 cards (4 cards are identity cards-- 1 for each role, and 4 cards are aspect cards--1 for each type).

Put the the pawns on the matching colored areas (1 each). Set up your passport to screen your notes, and record who is which color.

Taking the remaining 13 noncolored cards, 1 player mixes the identity cards and places one in each envelope, 1 mixes the aspect cards and places one in each envelope, 1 mixes the mission cards cards and places them, and also places the start card in one envelope. The fourth player distributes the envelopes.

Each player now has an envelope with cards identifying the player's role (e.g. Mr. X), his aspect (e.g. thin) and his mission (this is 1/2 of the assignment needed to win the game. Your partner has the other half).

Keep these cards secret until you wish to share them.

Goal

By landing on other player's pawns, each player gains information as to the player's identity through cards displayed. Each player tries first to determine who his partner is, and then after learning from his partner the mission to be completed, attempts to complete that mission.

The partners are always Lord Fiddlebottom and Col. Bubble vs. Agent X and Mme. Zsa Zsa

Start

The player with the start card begins and then play proceeds to his left.

Play Method

The player whose turn it is shakes the Man in Black (MIB). The color of the marbles that appear determines the movement of the pawns.

Red
The player may move one of his pawns on a road (red line).
Blue
The player may move one of his pawns on a waterway (blue line).
Yellow
The player may move one of his pawns on either road or waterway.
Black
The player may move the ambassador one square.
White
No move.

The above moves can be distributed among the pawns in any method desired. A pawn can move more than one space.

Meeting Other Figures

Only one pawn can land on another pawn in a turn. When a player moves the ambassador, he can move it onto one of his own pawns. When a player lands on the pawn of another player, the player whose turn it is can request to see cards. The player may ask one of the following:

Ask for identity cards.
The respondent must show 2 identity and 1 aspect card. One of these must be true.
Ask for aspect cards.
The respondent must show 2 aspect and 1 identity card. One of these must be true.

Near the end of the game, the information on the cards may not be useful. Therefore the player whose turn it is may instead of asking for cards, move his pawn one square on land or water. This square to which he moves, however, must be vacant.

When the player is in the same square as the ambassador he may ask any player for either 2 identity or 2 aspect cards, one of which must be true.

Recording Info

Keep track of the cards shown on the record sheets provided.

End of Turn

After looking at cards and recording the info, the player whose turn it is may move his opponent to any unoccupied, non-numbered location. The ambassador may be move to any unoccupied colored square or to the embassy.

Identity

It is important to keep one's role and aspect a secret until you discover who your partner is, and then you must let him know as quickly as possible.

When showing cards, a player should not show another player the same three cards twice. If he does, the player being shown the cards marks the fact on the back of his record sheet. If a player shows the same three cards for a third time, he must indicate to the other player which card is the true one.

Looking for your Partner

As soon as you discover your partner, try to make your identity known to him. This can be done in 2 ways. Either display your habit to your partner (the habits of the 4 roles are noted below), or show him one of the noncolored cards from your secret envelope. Before you can win the game, you must land on one of his figures to learn his half of the secret mission.

Habits

Secret Mission

As soon as your mission is known, cross-reference your half of the mission with your partner's half on the passport. This will tell you what you and your partner must do to win the game.

For example:

Thus they must bring the one figure representing Col. Bubble to the arsenal (place 1) to complete their mission. They also know that their opponents have either Charlie/Alpha (interrogate Bubble) or Alpha/Charlie (arrest Bubble). In any case they must protect Bubble.

Winning the Game

When a team meets their mission criteria, they announce "Mission Accomplished" and reveal the contents of their secret envelopes. If they are correct they have won the game. If they made a mistake their opponents have won the game.

Strategy Notes

You can show the contents of your secret envelope at any time to throw off your opponents and possibly make them think they are your partner.

You can also display "habits" at any time. It is only necessary to display the true habit when showing cards.

Inkognito for 3 Players

Although designed for 4 players, Inkognito can also be played with 3. What has gone before: The police have arrested the mystery figure and are looking for his partner...

Play Method

Remove the cards and pawns of one color. Distribute the secret cards for 4 players, but make sure that the start card does not go into the envelope of the missing player.

Play as usual trying to determine your partner. When 2 players realize they are partners, they must complete their mission as normal, but they may consider their lone opponent to represent both partners on his side (e.g. if Col. B./Lord F. must interrogate Ag. X, but their opponent is Mme. ZZ, they may interrogate her instead).

The player without a partner must get out of town as soon as he realizes he is alone. For Lord Fiddlebottom or Col. Bubble, this means escaping to the Yacht (place 5) or the Balloon (place 1). Mme. Zsa Zsa or Agent X must go to the Freighter (place 4) or the Submarine (place 6).

As with the 4 player version, verify the win by checking cards.

The Game Cabinet - [email protected] - Ken Tidwell