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Mr. Jack

2-2 players 30-30 min 7.0 Board Game Geek Rating

In this two-player deduction game, one player secretly controls Jack the Ripper among eight board characters, aiming to escape or survive eight rounds. The investigator must identify Jack with a single accusation. Players alternate moving characters with special abilities between light and shadow. Witnesses reveal Jack's visibility each turn, helping the investigator eliminate innocent suspects while Jack attempts his getaway.

Published 2006

Mr. Jack

Get Ready

Setup the game with these step-by-step instructions before diving into your turn.

1
Choose roles
Decide who plays Jack and who plays the detective through simple choice or coin toss
2
Position players
The detective sits on the right near the yellow edge, Jack sits on the left near the grey edge
3
Draw Jack's identity
Jack randomly takes one of the eight innocent cards and keeps it secret—this is the character he's impersonating
4
Prepare innocent cards
Shuffle all innocent cards and place face down; Jack's drawn card determines his hidden identity
5
Shuffle character cards
Mix the eight character cards before the first round begins
6
Set initial board state
Place gaslights, police cordons, and manhole barriers in their starting positions on the hex board

On Your Turn

What you can do during your turn.

1
Determine turn order
In rounds 1, 3, 5, and 7, the detective chooses first; in rounds 2, 4, 6, and 8, Jack chooses first
2
Draw character cards
Shuffle the eight character cards and reveal four randomly for each round
3
Select characters
First player picks one card and acts, second player picks two cards and acts, first player takes the remaining card
4
Move characters
Each character must move at least one space up to their maximum (1-3 spaces for most, 4 for Miss Stealthy)
5
Use special abilities
Apply each character's unique power according to the timing shown on their card (before, after, during, or instead of movement)
6
Use sewers
Characters may enter a manhole and exit another as one movement space, unless barriers block the manhole
7
Make accusations
The detective may land one character on another only to accuse that character of being Jack
8
Check visibility
At round's end, Jack reveals if he's visible (adjacent to gaslight, in Watson's beam, or next to another character)
9
Mark innocent characters
If Jack is visible, characters in darkness are proven innocent; if invisible, those in light are innocent—flip their tokens
10
Remove gaslights
After rounds 1-4, remove one gaslight in numbered order (1 through 4)
11
Advance turn marker
Move the round marker up one space after completing the round

Winning

How to claim victory.

1
Detective wins by accusation
The detective catches Jack by moving a character onto Jack's character and correctly accusing him
2
Jack wins by escape
Jack wins if he moves his character off the board through an unblocked exit while invisible
3
Jack wins by survival
If Jack's identity isn't discovered and accused by the end of round 8, Jack escapes and wins
4
Escape restrictions
Jack can only leave the district when invisible and cannot escape during round 1 since visibility is unknown until round's end
5
Police cordons block exits
Two of the four corner exits are always blocked; Jack cannot escape through a cordoned street

watch & Learn

Let the pros teach you with these top videos.

Cum se joaca Mr. Jack?

Cum se joaca Mr. Jack?

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Mr. Jack - Opis i pravila

Mr. Jack - Opis i pravila

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FULL rules

Looking for the full details? Grab the complete rulebook as a downloadable PDF.

PDF RULEBOOK

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