Gaming Notes: Scotland Yard

At the last Dude Night, I broke out the classic Spiel des Jahres Award winning game from the '80's - Scotland Yard.

Being the only one who had previous experience playing the game, I, of course, was Mr. X. The other players all played the detectives that cooperatively were trying to capture me as I secretly moved around the board.

I've got to say that I wasn't thrilled with my initial starting position. I was kind of landlocked in the middle of the board with no quick transportation nearby. I decided to make my way to the upper left hand quadrant.

When I revealed myself the first time I was quickly surrounded. Within two moves I had two detectives immediately on either side of me. A third detective could have moved directly onto my position, ending the game. I lucked out and he went the other way. Whew! I decided to play the same game of taxi-taxi-taxi and I evaded their grasp.

When next I appeared, I quickly used to black tickets from a river route station, throwing them into disarray. They scattered to the four winds trying to cover all possible avenues of escape. I easily eluded them as they ran short on resources. 

For me, it was a happy ending that law enforcement was befuddled and the infamous criminal Mr. X escaped to play the game of cat and mouse again another day!

Games From My Youth: Scotland Yard

Big name board game companies CAN make interesting strategy games. Remember this one?

Scotland Yard is a game where five players control detectives. The detectives move about the board using underground (subways), taxis, and buses. The goal of the detectives is to capture the elusive Mr. X! Mr. X is controlled by a sixth player. So although this game is a "co-op" game, you're not playing against the board - all of the players are trying to beat one other player.

What makes this game unique is the "Mr. X Mechanic." While the detectives are represented on the board by clear plastic tokens with colored dots on them, Mr. X's movements are shrouded in secrecy because Mr. X merely writes down his position without a playing piece on the board. At several set points in the game, Mr. X's position is revealed and the detectives try to quickly swarm to cut off his escape routes.

This game is a ton of fun. As a detective, it's grand tradition to look for any clue as to the whereabouts of Mr. X. Players carefully read Mr. X's eyes to see where he's looking on the board. Body language is interpreted for any sign of stress or anxiety. Even the movements of the pen are interpreted... Did I just see top of the pen move as if he wrote a one and then an eight? Is Mr. X on 18? Scotland Yard is definitely a thinking man's game. The players must use a good deal of deductive reasoning and psychology to figure out the moves of the opposition.

I still have my original copy of the gem. If you don't, fortunately, you can find them cheap on eBay.

This isa Spiel des Jahres Award winner from 1983 that shouldn't be forgotten.