Mr. Jack

Overview

Mr. Jack is an asymmetric two-player deduction game set in Whitechapel, 1888. One player is Jack (disguised as one of 8 characters) trying to escape or remain hidden; the other is the Detective trying to identify Jack before round 8 ends. Each round, both players activate characters to manipulate light and shadow on the hex-based board. After character actions, Jack declares visible or invisible, allowing the Detective to eliminate suspects.

Components

• 1 game board (Whitechapel hex grid with round counter)
• 8 character tokens (double-sided: Suspect / Innocent)
• 8 character cards (green backs, showing movement and abilities)
• 8 alibi cards (red backs)
• 1 witness card (Visible / Invisible)
• 1 round counter token
• 6 lit gaslight tiles (4 numbered, 2 unnumbered)
• 2 police cordon tokens
• 2 covered manhole tiles

Setup

1. Place the game board and set up characters, gaslights, manholes, and police cordons in their starting positions.
2. Place all 8 character tokens Suspect side up on their designated hexes.
3. Jack draws 1 alibi card secretly (this is Jack’s identity) and keeps it hidden.
4. Place remaining 7 alibi cards face down nearby.
5. Set round counter to 1.

Turn Structure

Each round:

1. Character Selection (4 characters activated per round):
   • Odd rounds (1,3,5,7): Detective draws 4 character cards. Detective picks 1, Jack picks 2, Detective picks last 1.
   • Even rounds (2,4,6,8): Jack draws 4 character cards. Jack picks 1, Detective picks 2, Jack picks last 1.
2. Each selected character moves and uses their special ability.
3. Witness Call: Jack declares Visible or Invisible.
4. Detective eliminates suspects: characters whose visibility status contradicts Jack’s declaration are flipped to Innocent.

Actions

Movement

Each character moves 1-3 hexes (varies by character). Characters cannot pass through other characters, police cordons, or buildings.

Visibility Rules

• Visible: A character on a lit hex (adjacent to a lit gaslight) OR adjacent to another character.
• Invisible: A character not on a lit hex and not adjacent to any other character.

Character Special Abilities

Each of the 8 characters has a unique ability (moving gaslights, using manholes, moving police cordons, swapping positions, etc.).

Escape

Jack can attempt to escape by moving his character to one of the 4 exit hexes on the board edges during a round when his character is invisible. The exit must not be blocked by a police cordon.

Scoring / Victory Conditions

Detective wins if:

• All characters except one are flipped to Innocent (that one is Jack), OR
• The Detective correctly accuses Jack (moves a character onto Jack’s hex and declares an accusation – risky, only if certain).

Jack wins if:

• Jack escapes through an exit while invisible, OR
• Round 8 ends and the Detective has not identified Jack (more than 1 suspect remains).

Special Rules & Edge Cases

• Watson’s lamp provides an additional light source when he is activated.
• Manholes allow characters to teleport between covered manhole tiles.
• Police cordons block movement and exits.
• Once a character is flipped to Innocent, they remain so for the rest of the game.
• Jack can win by escape at any point during the round when his character is activated and invisible on an exit hex.

Player Reference

Phase	Action
Select	Draw 4 character cards; alternate picking 1/2/1
Activate	Move each chosen character and use their ability
Witness	Jack declares Visible or Invisible
Eliminate	Flip non-matching suspects to Innocent
Jack Wins	Escape via exit while invisible, or survive 8 rounds
Detective Wins	Narrow to 1 suspect, or accuse correctly