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Scotland Yard
On a map of London, detectives track a hidden Mister X in this 1983 Spiel des Jahres winner, the original hide-and-seek deduction game. With only limited transport tickets to go on, players deduce the escape route and close in on Mister X together.
Rules
One player becomes the hidden Mister X, fleeing across London, while the rest become detectives tracking them by the trail of transport tickets alone — the 1983 Spiel des Jahres winner. Mister X's mode of transport is revealed each move, but the destination is shown only now and then.
Components
| Component | Count | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| Game board | 1 | Shows the London transport network |
| Playing pieces | 12 | 6 classic pieces + 6 character pieces (use whichever set you like) |
| Start cards | 29 | Split into detective 'D' cards and Mister X 'X' cards |
| Tickets | 130 | 57 taxi · 45 bus · 23 underground · 5 black tickets |
| Double-move tickets | 2 + 1 replacement | |
| Detective ticket boards | 10 | Separate from Mister X's 2 ticket boards |
| Travel log | 1, with paper | Mister X's only — a pencil is not included |
| Visor | 1 | Hides Mister X's expression |
| Bobby rings | 2 | Worn by neutral pieces in smaller games |
A deduction game for 3–6 players, ages 10 and up, lasting 45–60 minutes. One player is Mister X and the rest are detectives; in a two-player game, the detective side plays two characters at once.
Setup
- 1Decide who plays Mister X. They take the visor, travel log, and their own ticket board, placing 5 black tickets and 2 double-move tickets on it.
- 2Everyone else picks a detective character along with that color's piece and ticket board.
- 3Each detective stacks 4 underground, 8 bus, and 11 taxi tickets on their own board. All remaining underground, bus, and taxi tickets form the general ticket supply beside the board.
- 4In games of 4 or fewer players, add bobbies (neutral pieces) per the table below to help the detectives.
- 5Shuffle the 'D' cards and draw one per detective (and bobby) to place their piece. Mister X secretly draws one 'X' card but does not place a piece on the board yet.
| Players | Bobbies |
|---|---|
| 2 (detective plays 2 characters) | 2 |
| 3 | 2 |
| 4 | 1 |
| 5 or more | 0 |
A turn — Mister X first, detectives in any order
- 1Each round, Mister X moves first.
- 2Then the detectives and bobbies move in whatever order they like, coordinating freely.
- 3A move takes a piece from its current station along a line of one color to the next station of that same color. You may not land on a station already occupied by another piece.
- 4Detectives return the ticket they used to the general supply. Bobbies follow the same movement rules but need no tickets.
If you can move, you must
A detective who still has a usable ticket must move. If no transport ticket applies or no destination is open, that detective sits out the round. Detectives may not trade tickets with each other.
Moving Mister X — concealment, black tickets, and the double-move
- 1Mister X secretly chooses a station connected by a line to their current location.
- 2They write that station's number in the next space of the travel log.
- 3They cover the entry with a ticket matching the transport used. Detectives learn which mode of transport was used, but not where Mister X went.
| Special option | Effect |
|---|---|
| Black ticket (5) | Hides the mode of transport too, allows any means of travel, and is the only way to use the black ferry route across the river |
| Double-move ticket (2 + 1 replacement) | Take two consecutive moves in one round, each written and covered separately; only one double-move ticket may be played per round |
A reveal round cannot be hidden
When writing in a circled space on the travel log (e.g., after the 3rd, 8th, and 13th moves), Mister X must place their piece at the current station after finishing that move, then pick it back up before their next turn. If that reveal happens on the first leg of a double-move, Mister X appears and vanishes again within that same turn.
Ending the game
- Detectives win the instant any detective or bobby lands on the same station as Mister X. Mister X must reveal immediately.
- Mister X wins (1) by evading capture through the end of round 22. A round only ends once the detectives and bobbies have also moved.
- Mister X wins (2) if every detective runs out of usable tickets and none can move any longer.
Strategy tips
- Detectives should pool the trail of transport colors Mister X has used to narrow down likely locations, dividing who tracks which transport type to tighten the net.
- Mister X benefits from deliberately taking a longer route just before a reveal round, making the next reveal harder to predict from past patterns.
- Since the black ticket hides the transport color too, save it for moments when detectives have nearly closed in and you need to scramble their read.
- Detectives should spread ticket use across transport types early on, since running out of any one type limits movement later.
Editions and variants
The same box's official rulebook also includes a separate Beginner's Game. One Mister X and 3–4 detectives play just 13 rounds, and the underground is not used at all (red stations and lines are off-limits). Starting stations are fixed by player count (Mister X at 82; detectives at 41, 46, and 124; a 4th detective adds 142). Reveals still occur after the 3rd, 8th, and 13th moves, which in this shorter 13-round game means the last reveal lands close to the very end.
This guide reflects the current reissue
The rulebook checked here is the 2023 English / 2024 German-print Ravensburger reissue. The Korean-edition manual differs: the owner-verified Korean manual says Mister X reveals the position after the 3rd, 8th, 13th, 18th, and 24th moves (five reveals, versus three here). Its ending round was not on the page checked, and the two structures are not blended here — if your copy's round count differs, follow its own rulebook.
Frequently confused rules
Q. Does Mister X's move reveal the mode of transport?
Usually yes — the ticket used shows the transport color. Only the black ticket also hides which mode was used.
Q. Can detectives trade tickets with each other?
No. Each detective may use only the tickets on their own board, and trading between detectives is not allowed.
Q. What happens if a detective has no usable ticket?
That detective sits out the round. If every detective is in this state at once, Mister X wins immediately.
Q. Does the round end the moment Mister X moves?
No. The round only ends once the detectives and bobbies have also finished their moves (or sat out).
Q. What happens if a double-move crosses a reveal round?
If the first leg lands on a reveal space, Mister X's piece is placed on the board to show that location, then picked back up before the second leg — appearing and disappearing within the same turn.
Q. Can Mister X only be caught during a reveal round?
No. A detective or bobby wins by landing on Mister X's station at any time. Reveal rounds only show a past location.
History and verification scope
Designed by a six-person team — Manfred Burggraf, Dorothy Garrels, Wolf Hoermann, Fritz Ifland, Werner Scheerer, and Werner Schlegel — and published by Ravensburger in 1983, the game won the Spiel des Jahres award that same year (Wikipedia and Namuwiki cross-check, confirmed 2026-10-10).
The reissue checked for this guide credits "Projekt Team III" in its rulebook colophon, with refreshed components (personalizable character pieces, bobbies, a black-ticket ferry, a shared general ticket supply) and revised details. The exact differences from the 1983 original cannot be confirmed without that original rulebook's text, so this guide does not assert them.
English Wikipedia notes that the 1985 Milton Bradley North American edition changed station numbers and some routes. This guide does not cover that edition's specifics and focuses only on the current Ravensburger reissue's rules.
Sources
Ravensburger official English rulebook — Scotland Yard (2023 edition, item 27514)Ravensburger official German rulebook — Scotland Yard full game (item 27515, 2024 print)Wikipedia cross-check — Scotland Yard (board game)Namuwiki cross-check — Scotland Yard (board game, Korean)Rule summaries are reference content written by us, not quotations from the official rulebook. Always check the official rulebook for exact rules. Diagrams are original schematics, not rulebook illustrations.
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Last updated 2026-10-10
💡 Master tip
Detectives narrow down Mister X's possible location using the trail of transport tickets they used, while Mister X benefits from deliberately taking a longer route just before a reveal turn to throw off predictions. Have detectives split up which transport types they track to compress the escape routes like a net.
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