Spy vs Spy
Under development
This game is currently under development, in the Nearly Complete stage. Feedback is strongly encouraged! Feel free to give comments on game design or structure on the talk page.
| Spy vs Spy | ||
|---|---|---|
| Blake Cetnar | ||
| Collect all the pieces of the Thingamajig, avoid the other spy and the police, and get out alive! | ||
| Players: | 2 | |
| Length: | unknown | |
| Complexity: | High | |
| Trios per color: | 3 | |
| Number of colors: | 10 | |
| - - - - - - Other equipment - - - - - - | ||
| Two six-sided dice, Two d8s, 2 dice bags, 5x5 Volcano board, 2 dividers | ||
| Setup time: | 5 minutes | |
| Strategy depth: | Medium | |
| Random chance: | Medium | |
| Theme: | strategy | |
| BGG Link: | not ready yet | |
| Status: Not Specified (v1.0), Year released: 2010 | ||
| Created in August, 2010 | ||
Spy vs Spy: Lunacy at the Labs
Game design by Blake Cetnar, 2010
Last Edited 8.12.2010
Items needed:
A 5x5 Volcano board (or a checkers board)
Numbered paper tokens (provided)
Equipment & Decoy tokens (provided)
Thingamajig sheet (provided)
3 Rainbow stashes
3 Xeno stashes
Two dice bags
Two 6-sided dice
Two 8-sided dice
2 dividers (for players to hide their arsenals)
Story
The Mad Magazine spies are at it again! This time, both spies have received a report that a certain laboratory has produced a new super Thingamajig and both are out to steal it for their own nefarious purposes. As always, two spies will enter, but only one will leave! Your objective is to search the building (leaving a few not so pleasant surprises behind for your opponent along the way), find the three pieces of the Thingamajig, avoid the authorities, and make your way up to the roof of the building where your helicopter is waiting to fly you away.
Setup
Take the 25 paper tokens provided and put them face down on the table and mix them up and then place one at random (face down) in each square on the Volcano board. On the Thingamajig sheet players take turns circling a random number on the sheet until three numbers have been selected. Both players agree which edge of the board will represent the top of the building and place a Clear 3-pip piece just above the middle square on the top of the building to represent the helicopter pad. The opposite edge of the board represents the ground floor where both players will enter the building. Place all the Equipment and Decoy tokens off to the side of the board in the Equipment Pool. There will be a similar area at the opposite edge of the board which is where discarded pieces will be placed.
Place all 2-pip pieces from all colors except Blue, Purple, Red & Clear in a dice bag, and place all 1-pip pieces from all colors except Blue, Purple, Red & Clear in the other bag. Each player takes turns drawing 5 random pieces from the 1-pip bag (and also the associated tokens from the Equipment Pool). Each player then takes turns drawing 5 random pieces from the 2-pip bag. Players place all pieces and tokens behind their dividers to the left which will represent their Arsenal. Reserve some space behind your divider to the right to act as your Used Equipment area which is where you will be putting your traps that have been placed on the board. Finally, take around 20 Decoy tokens from the Equipment Pool and add them to your Arsenal behind your divider.
Place the Black 3-pip piece off the board at one end of the bottom row and the 3-pip White piece at the other end. Set aside one tree of Red pieces (one each of 1, 2, and 3-pip) off to the side of the board. These will represent the Thingamajig pieces which are scattered somewhere in the building. Put a Light Blue 3-pip piece in the middle square on the 2nd row from the bottom, a Green 3-pip piece in the middle square in the middle row, and a Yellow 3-pip piece from the 2nd from top row.
Each player sets their 8-sided dice with the 8 showing next to their divider. One player takes three Orange 3-pip pieces and places them in front of his divider to represent his life counters. The other player takes three Purple 3-pip pieces and places them in front of his divider to represent his life counters. (See below for example setup)
Note: If you wish to make a more challenging game you can include additional stashes of Treehouse and Xeno for more trap pieces (be sure to print out an equal number of additional trap tokens). You can also increase the number of offensive and defensive equipment pieces your spy can carry.
Game Play
A round of play consists of each spy taking a turn spending their action points and then the cops (if any are on the board) take a turn.
Actions
Spies get 2 action points at the start of each turn. Action points can be spent moving, searching a room, and/or changing equipment. Any action points which are not spent by the end of the turn are lost, they do not carry over to the next turn.
Movement
A spy can move 1 square per action point spent unless he is carrying all 3 pieces of the Thingamajig, in which case if the spy is traveling under his own power (i.e. not in an elevator) it takes 2 action points to move 1 square. There are elevators located at either end of the building and one elevator is located in the middle of the top floor which leads to the helipad on the roof. The roof elevator is only accessible if you have all 3 pieces of the Thingamajig. Elevators can move up or down 1 floor per action point spent. Below shows which directions your spy can legally move. If you move in to a room that contains the other spy or a cop you must immediately stop and initiate combat (see Combat section).
Searching
To search a room the player declares that he is going to search and then examines all the tokens that are on that square behind his divider.
Traps
The first thing you will have to do when searching is deal with any traps in the room. One token you picked up will either be a decoy or a trap token. If the token is a decoy then nothing happens. You may either keep the decoy token in that square or you may replace it with one of your own trap tokens (if you have any). If you place a trap, move your corresponding 1-pip trap piece to the Used area behind your divider.
If the token is a trap then declare what the trap is and lift up your spy piece (your 3-pip piece) to reveal what defensive equipment (2-pip) you are currently using. If the color of your defensive equipment is the same as the trap then you take no damage and the trap is considered to be disarmed. Discard that trap token and your opponent discards that 1-pip trap piece from his Used area. You must replace the existing trap with either one of your decoy tokens or a trap token of your own (if you have any). If you place a trap, move your corresponding 1-pip trap piece to the Used area behind your divider.
If the color of your defensive equipment is not the same color as the trap then the trap goes off and you suffer the effects of that trap (see the Special Equipment sheet on page 7).
Death
If the trap reduces your hit points to 0 or less your spy is killed. Discard one of your life counters. Put all tokens from the room back on the square. If you are carrying any of the pieces of the Thingamajig you drop them, place the Number Tokens of any of those pieces on the square and place the Red pieces you have for each of those pieces on the square as well. If you are carrying any offensive equipment (1-pip) pieces, place that piece on the square and put its associated token back in to the Equipment Pool. This piece does not count as a trap in the room but merely a piece of equipment that was dropped which can later be picked up by either player. Place your spy at one of the entrances of the building (your choice), you keep any defensive equipment (2-pip) piece which you are currently carrying. If your spy dies three times you lose the game.
If your spy is still alive after the trap goes off then take the existing trap token and put it in the Discard area at the side of the board and your opponent discards that 1-pip trap piece from his Used area. You must replace the existing trap with either one of your decoy tokens or a trap token of your own (if you have any). If you place a trap, move your corresponding 1-pip trap piece to the Used area behind your divider.
Number Tokens
Now that you’ve taken care of the traps, if your spy is still alive, it’s time to check to see if there are any numbered tokens at that square and pick up any equipment in the room.
If there is a numbered token, pick it up. Check all number tokens you’ve picked up and see if they match one or more of the three circled on the Thingamajig sheet. If they do, then congratulations! You have found a piece of the Thingamajig for each match! You must declare how many pieces you have found. Take one of the red pieces from the side of the board for each piece you have collected and place them on your end of the table in front of your divider to denote you have those pieces. At this point you can do one of two things. You can keep the piece(s), in which case you keep the Thingamajig Numbered Tokens behind your divider. Your other option is to be sneaky and return some or all the pieces you have to the room, in which case you include the numbered token(s) along with your trap or decoy piece when you place them back on the square. Note that if you put Thingamajig pieces back in the room you do NOT declare it and you do not return your red pieces back to the side of the board. This is to fool your opponent into thinking you still have the pieces.
If the number in the room does not match one of the three on the Thingamajig sheet then nothing happens. If you are currently carrying one or more pieces of the Thingamajig you can opt to hide some or all of the pieces you carry in that room. When you go to place tokens back in the room at the end of your search just include your numbered tokens for the Thingamajig pieces you wish to hide in the room to the rest of the tokens that are going in to the room. Finally, if there are any loose pieces of equipment dropped in the room you can pick them up. If you already have five pieces of offensive equipment you will need to drop one to make room for the piece you are picking up.
Hint: Most of the time you will want to take the Thingamajig pieces you find since you cannot win without them. However, if your spy is close to dying you may wish to secretly leave some or all your pieces in rooms as you move through the building so that if you die, you won’t drop the Thingamajig pieces in a known location for your opponent to pick up and he will be forced to backtrack your steps to see where you left them. Just be sure to remember which rooms you dropped the pieces in!
Changing Equipment
Your may spend 1 action point to change the equipment your spy is currently carrying with equipment you have in your Arsenal. You may swap your defensive equipment (2-pip), your offensive equipment (1-pip), or both. Pick up your spy and replace your equipment behind your divider so your opponent cannot see what you are changing. Equipment you were originally carrying goes back to your Arsenal. Note: You may declare that you are changing your equipment but not actually change either piece, just to make your opponent think you are changing equipment. However, doing so still costs 1 action point.
The other way to change equipment is to visit one of the special equipment rooms in the building.
Equipment Rooms
There are three special equipment rooms on the board:
The Light Blue room is the Defensive Equipment room.
The Green room is the First Aid room.
The Yellow room is the Offensive Equipment room.
To use a special equipment room you must move in to the room and then expend 1 action point. You cannot use a special equipment room if you are currently carrying all 3 pieces of the Thingamajig or if the other spy or a cop currently occupies that room.
Defensive Equipment Room:
To use the Defensive Equipment room expend 1 action point once you have entered the room and then declare whether you are Shopping or doing a Smash and Grab.
Shopping
If you are shopping then you may pick 1 piece of equipment of whatever color you want that is currently available in the room (in the 2-pip equipment bag). If you already have 5 pieces of defensive equipment then you must give up one of your current defensive equipment pieces, place it back in the bag.
Smash and Grab
If you are doing a Smash and Grab then you must give up all of your defensive equipment (place them back in the 2-pip bag) and may randomly draw an equal number of pieces.
Offensive Equipment Room:
To use the Offensive Equipment room expend 1 action point once you have entered the room and then declare whether you are Shopping or doing a Smash and Grab.
Shopping
If you are shopping then you may pick 1 piece of equipment of whatever color you want that is currently available in the room (in the 1-pip equipment bag, along with its associated token from the Equipment Pool). If you already have 5 pieces of offensive equipment then you must give up one of your current offensive equipment pieces, place it back in the bag and place the associated token back in the Equipment Pool.
Smash and Grab
If you are doing a Smash and Grab then you must give up all of your offensive equipment (place them back in the 1-pip bag and the tokens into the Equipment Pool) and may randomly draw an equal number of pieces along with their tokens.
First Aid Room:
To use the First Aid Equipment room expend 1 action point once you have entered the room to do a mend action. Heal your spy of 1 point of damage for each mend action. Your spy cannot have more than 8 health points.
Combat
If both spies (or a spy and a cop) end up in the same room combat is automatically initiated. The player/cop who moved in to the room is considered the attacker. Each spy comes equipped with a sword by default which deals 1 damage. This weapon can never be discarded or lost … hey we can’t have the poor spies defenseless now can we? Along with the sword each spy can also equip 1 piece of offensive equipment. At the start of combat each player must declare which weapon they will be using, their currently equipped offensive equipment or the sword.
If both players choose the sword then both players roll one 6-sided dice. Compare the results, whoever loses (rolls the lower number) takes 1 damage and reduces the number showing on his life counter (8-sided dice) by 1. If both players roll the same number they each take 1 damage and reduce their life counter by 1. After damage is dealt, both the attacker and defender have the option to run away or to attack again. If both attack again then repeat this process. If one player wishes to run away, the retreating player moves 1 square in any legal direction (this is considered a free movement). If both players wish to flee then priority is given to the defender and only the defender will move. If a retreating spy moves in to a square with a spy or cop in it a new round of combat is automatically initiated.
If one person chooses their sword and the other chooses their offensive equipment then the spy wielding the sword will automatically deal 1 damage to the other spy. The sword-wielding spy does not need to reveal what offensive special equipment he currently has equipped since he is not using it. The other spy will check his opponent’s defensive equipment vs. his equipped weapon as normal and determine damage dealt (see below).
For Special Equipment combat. Each spy reveals what offensive and defensive equipment he is using. Each spy checks the color of his weapon vs. the color of the defensive equipment his opponent is using. If the colors are the same then his attack fails and deals no damage. If the color of the defensive equipment is not the same as his weapon then the attack succeeds and deals damage (see the Equipment Sheet on page 7). The other spy does the same.
Special Rules
The Thingamajig
The Thingamajig is rather heavy and cumbersome. The moment your spy picks up all three pieces of it, he must unequip his current offensive equipment (he doesn’t discard it, it just goes back to his arsenal). As long as he is carrying all 3 pieces he cannot search any rooms, cannot use any special rooms, and must expend 2 action points to move one square (except in elevators). Your spy can still spend 1 action point to change his defensive equipment. A spy carrying all 3 pieces of the Thingamajig can still enter combat but may only use his sword and defensive equipment.
If a spy carrying some or all pieces of the Thingamajig is killed then all pieces drop in that room, place all the numbered tokens and the pieces in the room. If a cop kills a spy with any Thingamajig pieces he immediately picks them up.
If the cops currently carry all three pieces of the Thingamajig, the cops carrying pieces of it will immediately start moving towards each other at their best speed until they move in to the same square at which point they will combine the Thingamajig pieces and the largest cop will continue to carry the piece. If the cops manage to combine all three pieces then all cops will each move at their best speed to the closest ground exit (the largest cop carrying the Thingamajig). If one cop has all three pieces of the Thingamajig then he will suffer the same restriction of needing to spend 2 action points to move 1 square.
Law Enforcement
Initially at the start of the game a round of play is comprised of each spy taking 1 turn. Once a piece of the Thingamajig is found and picked up, however, the alarms go off and the cops arrive on the scene. When the first piece of the Thingamajig is found place the Blue 1-pip piece next to one of the ground floor entrances (choose at random) after both spies have taken their turn. On the turn when the 2nd Thingamajig piece is found place the Blue 2-pip piece next to one of the ground floor entrances (choose at random) after both spies have taken their turn. When the 3rd Thingamajig piece is found place the Blue 3-pip piece next to one of the ground floor entrances (choose at random) after both spies have taken their turn. Once a cop is on the board, when both spies have taken their turn a new turn is now added to the round of play which will be for the cops. All cops currently on the board will move at their best speed towards the closest spy carrying a piece of the Thingamajig (counting the number of legal-move squares to each spy). If a spy had pieces of the Thingamajig but he stashed the pieces in a room to hide them and doesn’t actually have any pieces the cops will still pursue him as if he had it. If neither spy has any pieces of the Thingamajig then the cops will each purse whichever spy is closest to them. If a cop catches a spy combat is initiated. Cops never attempt to retreat from combat. See below for stats on each law enforcement piece. Any cops who are killed come back at the end of next turn.
Blue 1-pip: The deputy. He moves 1 square per turn. When in combat he will deal 1 damage to the opposing spy (no defensive equipment works against this damage). 1 damage to this piece kills it.
Blue 2-pip: The Sheriff. He moves 2 squares per turn. When in combat roll one 6-sided dice. On a 1-3 he will deal 1 damage to the opposing spy. On a 4-6 he deals 2 damage (no defensive equipment works against this damage). 2 damage to this piece kills it. If a spy breaks off an attack against the Sheriff before killing it then all damage dealt to the Sheriff is healed and the next time someone is in combat against it they will once again need to deal 2 damage to it to kill it.
Blue 3-pip. SWAT Team. He moves 3 squares per turn. When in combat roll one 6-sided dice. On a 1-2 he will deal 1 damage to the opposing spy. On a 3-4 he deals 2 damage. On a 5-6 he deals 3 damage (no defensive equipment works against this damage)! 3 damage to this piece kills it. Note: This means that you can’t kill the SWAT Team in one combat, it will be necessary to fight in two or more consecutive rounds of combat. If a spy breaks off an attack against the SWAT Team before killing it then all damage dealt to the SWAT Team is healed and the next time someone is in combat against it they will once again need to deal 3 damage to it to kill it.
Special Equipment:
1-pip
Each 1-pip piece serves as two different pieces of equipment. One is when it is being carried by a spy and the other is when it is set as a trap in a room. Each description below is broken down into its separate descriptions, the first is when it is being carried (E) and the last is when it is a trap (T).
Green:
E) Acid-Thrower Gun. In combat, if the opponent does not have the green 2-pip equipped then deal 2 damage to him.
T) Bucket of Acid. A bucket of acid is propped up on top of the door and falls on you when you walk in the room. If your spy does not have the green 2-pip equipped then deal 1 damage to him and his currently equipped offensive weapon is dissolved! Discard it and its associated token from the player’s arsenal.
Orange:
E) Flamethrower. In combat, if the opponent does not have the Orange 2-pip equipped then deal 2 damage to him.
T) Fire Bomb. If your spy does not have the Orange 2-pip equipped he is dealt 1 damage and is on fire! Discard your currently equipped defensive equipment.
Yellow:
E) Laser Blaster. In combat, if the opponent does not have the Yellow 2-pip equipped then deal 2 damage to him.
T) Security Laser. If your spy does not have the Yellow 2-pip equipped he is dealt 1 damage. Roll a 6-sided dice. On any roll other than a 5 or 6 your spy takes an additional 1 damage.
Black:
E) Tar Gun. In combat, if the opponent does not have the black 2-pip equipped then deal 2 damage to him.
T) Oil Slick. A pool of oil is sprayed in to the room. If the spy does not have the black 2-pip equipped then he is dealt 1 damage and rolls a 6-sided dice. On any roll other than a 5 or 6 he slides out of the room (choose direction at random) before he has a chance to search the rest of the room.
White:
E) Fire Extinguisher. In combat, if the opponent does not have the White 2-pip equipped then deal 2 damage to him.
T) Smoke Cloud. A cloud of smoke fills the room. If the spy does not have the White 2-pip equipped then he is dealt 1 damage and rolls a 6-sided dice. On any roll other than a 5 or 6 he cannot continue to search the room that turn.
Lt. Blue:
E) Freeze Gun. In combat, if the opponent does not have the Lt Blue 2-pip equipped then deal 2 damage to him.
T) Freezing Spray. A shower of freezing water sprays from the sprinkler system and encases your spy in ice. Your spy takes 1 damage, lose any remaining action points for this turn, and lose 1 action point next turn.
You will need to print out the tokens and Thingamajig sheet below. I would suggest coloring the back of the Number tokens black, or put on an additional layer of paper so that you can't see through the paper and still be able to read it when it is flipped down.
 This game is licensed under a Creative_Commons License and is copyrighted © 2010 by me, User:Blake Cetnar |