MR JACK
When it comes to playing the game of Mr Jack, you have two roles to choose from. You can either be Jack the Ripper or the private investigator hot on his trail. It’s an exciting game of cat and mouse! As Jack, your goal is to escape town or avoid suspicion. As the investigator, you have to carefully observe the eight characters on the board and make one accusation to catch Jack. The question is, can Jack stay hidden or will his wicked ways be exposed?
SETUP
First, we need to decide who will play each role. I’ll play as the detective, so I’ll stand up and face the board. The yellow edge should be directly in front of me. Jack, on the other hand, will be positioned on the opposite side of the board. They’ll be looking at everything upside down, with the grey edge in front of them. We’ll place the manhole covers and gaslight cards in their designated spots on the board.
Next, let’s make sure all the character cards are facing up with their suspect side showing. We’ll have four of them placed in the dark and the other four in the light. Now we shuffle the character cards and put them beside the board. The alibi cards go next to the character cards. Finally, we place the witness card beside the board, making sure Jack’s face is visible.
When I’m playing the role of Jack, I draw a single alibi card that reveals the character I have to pretend to be. This character is the only one without an alibi, so I need to keep it a secret throughout the game. Now we’re ready to start playing!
GAMEPLAY
The game consists of eight rounds, or maybe even fewer. Each turn, every player chooses two characters to play. During odd turns, the detective picks a character and can use their special ability if they want to. Then, I, as Jack, get to play my two-character cards and use both of their abilities. Finally, the detective plays their last character card. On even turns, the number of cards played switches.
Hey there! Let me explain how this game works. When all the characters have been played, I have to let my opponent know if I can be seen or not. Now, if I’m standing next to another character or on a hex with lights, then I can be seen. But here’s the twist – if I place the Witness card next to the board with the side that says “Seen” facing up, then the characters in the dark are actually innocent. So the detective can switch them to their innocent side and keep their location a secret.
On the other hand, if I place the Witness card next to the board with the opposite side showing, then I’m still hidden in the dark. In this case, the detective can flip all the characters in the light to innocent. Pretty sneaky, right? Now, if I can’t be seen at all, I’ll try to leave the district in the next turn. So the detective better make sure to cover all the exits!
Hey there! Just wanted to share something pretty cool with you. So, in this game I’ve been playing called “Gaslight,” there’s this really interesting mechanic where the gaslights can go out at the end of each turn. These are the lights that keep everything lit up, you know? And when they go out, they’re gone for good!
Now, to start a new turn, we just need to finish all the steps and move the turn counter ahead by one space. It’s kind of exciting, always keeps me on my toes.
Ready for the Endgame?
There are actually three ways the game can come to an end. The first way is if Jack, the main character, manages to escape the area by moving out of the district. If Jack pulls that off, they win big time!
On the other hand, if the detective catches Jack before they can escape, well, the detective wins instead. But here’s the thing: if the detective mistakenly points the finger at the wrong person, Jack slips away to freedom and takes home the victory!
By the way, my name’s Ellie! I live in Northeast Tennessee and I absolutely adore animals, fantasy books, and spending time outdoors. My awesome husband and my two fluffy fur babies mean the world to me. Oh, and I’m so glad to be part of this amazing community!