The Cold War - A dangerous time for the world. A dangerous time to be a spy... but that is exactly what being a spy is all about. As the shadowy clouds of intrigue and subterfuge settle across the globe you have been called upon by your country to obtain the Top Secret information that will ensure your country's safety and supremacy.

But not all is as it seems; your spies are difficult to control on a global scale, and even worse, there's a Double Agent in your midst who threatens the entire mission!

Can you achieve your goals at the expense of your opponent, or will the entire operation collapse in a sea of Confusion?

Components

• 26 Spy Pieces (the "Spies")
• 26 Movement Pieces
• 1 Top Secret Briefcase (the "Briefcase")
• 1 Game Board
• 2 Spy Notebooks (the "Notebooks")
• 2 Dry Erase Markers
• 1 Punchboard with 6 Special Action Tokens
• Rulebook

Overview

Each player has 13 Spy pieces that they move around the board to capture enemy Spies and to gain control of the Top Secret Briefcase. The twist is that each player does not see the movement capabilities of their own Spies - but they can see how their opponent's Spies can be moved.

Each player deduces the capabilities of their Spies as they are moved and records them in their Spy Notebooks.

Object of the Game

The object of the game is to gain control of the Top Secret Briefcase with one of your Spies and move it to the opposite side of the board (that is, on the opponent's first row).

Setup

Choose which player will be White (the United States) and which will be Red (the U.S.S.R).. Each player randomly prepares his opponent's Spies as follows:

1. Place your opponent's Movement Pieces (which show how a piece moves) face down and shuffle them. Face down means that all movement pieces will show the same symbol on the top side (the "move 2 in any direction" symbol), which is the symbol used when certain pieces are promoted.

2. Select a Spy Piece and insert a random Movement Piece into the cutout area. Be sure the appropriate (non-promoted) side faces out. You may wish to draw the Movement Pieces from the box lid in order to ensure random selection.

3. 

   Place each of your opponent's pieces into its respective starting position on your opponent's side of the board by referring to the "Setup Diagram" on this page. The Movement Piece for each of your opponent's Spies should face you. Do not allow your opponent to see the Movement Pieces.

4. Meanwhile, your opponent sets up your Spies using the same setup steps.

5. Place the Top Secret Briefcase in the center of the 11 x 11 board on the marked square. Give each player the Notebook belonging to their country/color and a dry erase marker. Choose or randomly determine which player will go first.

Game Play

On your turn, announce and make a move with one of your Spies. Your opponent responds with "Yes" to indicate that the move is legal or with "No" to indicate that you must return your Spy to the square it occupied before attempting the move.

The Spy's Movement Piece determines whether your opponent will declare that the move is legal or not.

If the move was legal and your Spy ended in the same square as an opponent's Spy, the opponent's Spy is captured and removed from the game without revealing its Movement Piece.

Simply place that Spy back into the box, movement-side down.

Both players should record what they have learned by the move, legal or not, in their Notebooks. You record what you can deduce about the Spy that you just moved (or tried to move), and your opponent records what they can deduce that you know about your Spy.

Moving Your Spies

The lines on a Spy's Movement Piece show the directions and maximum distance that it can be moved (always in straight lines). No two of your Spies move in quite the same manner. A Spy need not be moved to its maximum distance. A Spy may never change direction during a single move.

The Movement Pieces on your opponent's Spies show the movement lines from your point of view. The direction of up on a Movement Piece always means towards the opponent, and down always means towards you.

A Spy cannot jump over any other Spy or the Top Secret Briefcase.

You cannot move your Spy onto a square that contains one of your own Spies. You can, however, move a Spy onto a square that contains an enemy Spy. In that case, the enemy Spy is captured and removed from the game.

Some Spies have a lock symbol displayed on them. These Spies are not always able to return to their previous square next turn depending on what movement you select for them. This symbol is for reference only.

Spy Tiles

Promoting Spies

The four Promotable Movement Pieces on each side can be identified by the Crown icon (as well as their inability to move backwards). Only these four Spies can be promoted.

If any of these Spies reach a space on the opponent's board edge, your opponent must announce the promotion and replace the Spy's Movement Piece by flipping the Movement Piece to its other side (the "Promoted Side"). The former Movement Piece is not revealed to the opponent, and care must be taken to ensure that it is not accidentally revealed.

The Top Secret Briefcase

If you move a Spy into the square occupied by the Top Secret Briefcase (capturing an enemy Spy in the same square, if applicable), place your Spy on top of the Briefcase. Your Spy now has control of the Briefcase.

If you decide to move your Spy that controls the Briefcase, you have three options:

• You can move your Spy and leave the Briefcase behind. You would now no longer have control of the Briefcase.

• You can move your Spy and carry the Briefcase with it. If you carry the Briefcase onto a square containing an enemy Spy, you would capture that enemy Spy and still maintain control of the Briefcase.

• You can move the Briefcase instead of moving your Spy. The Briefcase can only move in a direction and for a distance that your controlling Spy could move. Such a move could be denied just like a normal move.
  
  The Briefcase may not be moved to jump over any Spy. It can, however, end its move on a square that contains another Spy, either one of your Spies or an enemy Spy.

If the Briefcase ends on a square containing one of your Spies, then that Spy is placed on top of the Briefcase and gains control of it.

If it ends on a square that contains an enemy Spy, the enemy Spy is placed on top of the Briefcase and takes control of it (although passing to an enemy Spy is hardly ever a good idea). The Briefcase can also end on a vacant square. In this case, neither player has control of the Briefcase.

Double Agent

Each player has a Movement Piece that shows a question mark (?) on its non-promoted side. This is the Double Agent, which is a Spy secretly working for your opponent.

This Spy is set up and works just like any other Spy as described in the preceding rules. There are some differences, however.

Your opponent may freely choose whether a move of the Double Agent is legal or not, answering "Yes" or "No" after each move as your opponent desires. The opponent may even declare "Yes" to a move one turn and then "No" to the same move on a later turn. Of course, this is not very wise, because it would reveal that this Spy is the Double Agent.

Before moving a Spy on your turn, you may attempt to "Eliminate the Double Agent" by declaring that you wish to remove one of your own Spies from the game.

This action is free, and is made in addition to the regular portion of your turn. This action may be taken only once per turn, but may be taken in consecutive turns. You simply select one of your own Spies to be removed (that is, the Spy you believe is your Double Agent), and it is removed from the game without revealing its Movement Piece.

This action may be very important if your Double Agent has the Briefcase but your opponent refuses to allow it to move.

Alternatively, before moving a Spy on your turn, you may choose to "Eliminate the Opponent's Double Agent" by removing your opponent's Double Agent piece from the board and revealing it to your opponent to verify its identity.

This action is free, and is made in addition to the regular portion of your turn. In this case, you must eliminate only your opponent's real Double Agent. You may not eliminate a different piece. This action may also be very important if your opponent's Double Agent has delivered the Briefcase to your side. You could simply eliminate the agent, and then move onto the Briefcase with your own Spy.

You may not "Eliminate the Double Agent" and "Eliminate the Opponent's Double Agent" on the same turn.

The Double Agent is eligible to win the game for you if your opponent is so foolish as to allow that Spy to carry the Briefcase to the opponent's first row.

Notebooks

The Notebooks are used to keep track of what is known about the Spies. One side of the Notebook is labeled "My Spies" to track what you know about them.

The other side of the Notebook is labeled "Opponent's Spies", which you can use to keep track of your opponent's spies, because you also want to know what he knows.

The best way to keep track of information about a Spy is to cross out what the Spy cannot be. You're then left with what the Spy can be. As further possibilities are ruled out, you start to deduce the exact movement type of your Spy for that game.

Continue Reading