The Case of the Mysterious Mr. X (Scotland Yard)

FOR YOUR EYES ONLY:
Eyewitnesses have recently informed us that the criminal, only known as Mr. X, has been spotted in Central London.  As you know, this vagabond is wanted for such crimes as Grand Larceny, creating selling Forgeries, and disrupting the police force (seriously, none of us could stop laughing when Constable Harpers put his helmet on and out fell a dozen glazed doughnuts).
It is up to you to find and catch this hoodlum and place him behind bars.  We have seen to pre pay for your local transport tickets, as Mr. X's latest crime was sabotaging all our vehicles.
Scotland Yard's honor and reputation rest entirely in your hands, detectives.



BACKGROUND:  Scotland Yard is an asymmetric board game for 3-6 players.  It was first released in 1983, by Manfred Burggraf, and has since been published by Ravensburger Spieleverlag GmbH, Milton Bradley, and others.  One player takes the role of Mr. X, and sneaks around avoiding the rest of the players.

GAMEPLAY:  Each player has a set of tickets, with Mr. X having a different set than the other players.  On their turn, starting with Mr. X, the player uses one of their tickets to move along a path that they are connected to (e,g,, using a taxi ticket moves them on the road, but a bus ticket moves them along the bus line).  The detectives are seen, and move accordingly, but Mr. X is different.



X:  Mr. X does not use a pawn right away.  Instead, the player controlling him writes the path he follows on the Travel Log, and covers it with their ticket instead of returning it to the box like the players.  Mr. X can also double move (taking his turn twice) or throw off the players with black tickets, which count as any type of ticket. On the 3rd, 8th, 13th, and 18th position, the player puts the clear pawn on the space Mr. X ended up on to indicate where he is at that moment.  The piece is removed the next turn.  Mr X also cannot run out of tickets, and if that player ever needs tickets, they are allowed to use tickets in the box.

WINNING:  Mr X wins if he has successfully evaded the detectives long enough that they cannot move anymore, or reaches the last space in the Travel Log.  The Detectives win whenever they land on a space that Mr. X is already on.

CONCLUSION:  This game is a lot of fun, but it can be tricky and frustrating.  I think the biggest problem is when you are playing as Mr. X.  Because most players can't see where Mr. X would be, it can become tempting to cheat.  Mr X needs to be an honest player, who can lose gracefully, and more importantly, will remember where they are.  That's the biggest struggle; not players who cheat, but players who get lost as Mr. X.  There were a few times I just lost where I was.  Sure, you can look at the last place you were on the map, but at least in the version we were using, it was a pain to get it out, and it slows the game down when doing so.  That being said, it can be frustrating and mind-racking trying to find where Mr. X is, but it's also an enjoyable puzzle and rewarding if you do.