The Inside Scoop on Gaming

Save Doctor Lucky

In 1996 -- or should that be 1918? -- the objective was to Kill Doctor Lucky. Chase him round the J. Robert Lucky mansion in effort to get him alone and put the boot in. Or knife, or the rope around his neck or poison down his throat or pipe to the back of the skull or pistol shot through his heart. Of course, you had to do that whilst no one else was in the room as they were trying to do exactly the same thing and like you, not get caught.

Slip forward a few years to 2001 -- and back to 1912, and we get the chance to learn a little more about the exceptionally lucky Doctor Lucky. We all know what happened in that year and the good doctor just happens to aboard as the iceberg heaves into view. This means that the ship is going down and since this is 1912, Doctor Lucky cannot die -- well, not until 1918. So the objective of Cheapass Games’ twenty-seventh title is to Save Doctor Lucky.

The game comes with a game board -- comprised of eight sections -- that depicts the four decks of the doomed cruise liner, a deck of ninety cards and the four-page A5-szied rules leaflet. The cards are divided between Aid, Failure and Move cards. Additionally, each player requires his or her own pawn -- the game is designed for three to seven players, and a single Master Pawn is needed to represent Doctor Lucky.

The game is set up with board laid out as given on the last pages of the rules, with the A deck at the top, the B deck below that, followed by the C and D decks. Players place their pawns on the board in a random manner. They are dealt cards in turn until the first person receives a Move card. Their pawn is placed in the room given on the card and they will make the first move in the game. The deck is dealt out in the manner until all pawns are placed, with the Doctor Lucky pawn being placed last.

The deck is shuffled again and each player receives a hand of six cards. If there are only two or three players, then they receive eight cards. The remaining cards are divided into four piles, each placed beside one of the four decks. When players draw from new cards, they must do so from lowest deck and when that empties, that deck becomes flooded and is no longer accessible. This is a neat mechanic to represent both the sinking ship and set the time limit upon the game. Once a deck is depleted, cards must be draw from the next lowest deck.

Each player’s turn may be an Active Turn or a Snooping Turn. In the latter, player moves their pawn in any adjacent room or keeps it where it is. Then they can draw a single card. On an Active Turn, a player has lot more options, but cannot draw any cards.

As in a Snooping Turn, a pawn can be moved a single room - this is a free move. A player can also play a Move Card, which gives a particular room to which Doctor Lucky or the player’s pawn can be moved. It also gives a number that is the number of steps that either Doctor Lucky or their own pawn can be moved in any direction. A Move Card can be played before or after their free move.

As their last action on a turn, a player can attempt to save Doctor Lucky, although he has tendency to ignore such efforts and rely upon his own good fortune. This can only be done when both the player’s pawn and Doctor Lucky are in the same room, plus, another player’s pawn must be in the same room or have line of sight from another room -- even if it is on another deck! The point is to prove that you saved him -- unlike Kill Doctor Lucky, where the point was to bump him off where no other player could see you! The board is set up so there are plenty of opportunities for line of sight.

To save him, a single Aid Card is played on Doctor Lucky. For example this can be the Pocket Knife, worth two points or Safety Matches worth three points. Some items are better if played in particular locations. For example that Pocket Knife is worth five points if played whilst in the Brig location. If no Aid card is played, a save attempt is worth just the one point.

Every other player now has the opportunity to prevent the save attempt, and all they have to do is to play as many Failure Cards as they want such that they match the value of the Save Attempt. Players can decline to play any Failure Cards, but if too few are played, the Save Attempt succeeds and the game is won.

At the end of every player’s turn Doctor Lucky himself moves, simply following along a prescribed path through the ship. Various rooms through the liner are marked from zero to twenty-two and the Doctor simply moves to the next highest number on the path. Some rooms are unnumbered, so the Doctor moves to the nearest high number, and if a deck is submerged, he simply skips the numbers on that deck.

Although play passes from one player to the next on their left, this can be disrupted by the arrival of Doctor Lucky into an occupied room. When that happens, play passes to the player whose pawn is in the room -- even if they have had a turn recently! If there is more than one player in a room, then the one who goes next in normal turn order in that room, is the one who takes the next turn.

The game ends when the A Deck sinks. Should no one have successfully saved Doctor Lucky by then, then everyone drowns and nobody wins…

The strategy in Save Doctor Lucky is fairly simple. First you want to force the other players to use their Failure cards, so that they cannot later prevent you from saving Doctor Lucky. Secondly you want to try and stay out of sight from other players so they cannot make those attempts, yet at the same time get yourself into position where they can see you when you make your attempt. One other method is to ride the ‘Doctor Lucky Train’. This is to stay one-step ahead of the Doctor on the proscribed track, so that when you move him at the end of your turn, you automatically activate yourself once again! It is possible to do this and take several turns in a row, thus enabling you to take several Snooping Turns and build up your hand of cards, ready for later on…

Like many Cheapass Games, Save Doctor Lucky is fun to play. Fans of Kill Doctor Lucky will enjoy the change of emphasis in the rules. The components will not make the players laugh quite as much as say, Before I kill you, Mister Bond… or The Big Idea, but the cards are amusing nevertheless.

Additionally, there is a small logic puzzle to be found on ten of the cards, which is described as hard but solvable. Though Save Doctor Lucky is fun, it does not have a huge amount of replay value, but the designer has included a list of ‘Non-specific Penalty Rules’ for those that like to spice up their games. These can be earned for uttering ‘Kill’ or ‘Murder’ during a save attempt for example. Four instances are given, though it should no problem to come up with more if required.

Save Doctor Lucky
Save Doctor Lucky Capsule Review by Pookie on 05/03/02 Style: 3 (Average) Substance: 4 (Meaty) Another fun, fast-paced and occasionally chaotic game from Cheapass. Product: Save Doctor Lucky Author: James Ernest Category: Board/Tactical Game Company/Publisher: Cheapass Games Line: Cost: $7.50 Page count: Year published: 2001 ISBN: SKU: CAG027 Comp copy?: yes Capsule Review by Pookie on 05/03/02 Genre tags: Historical Comedy	*Save Doctor Lucky* In 1996 -- or should that be 1918? -- the objective was to *Kill Doctor Lucky. Chase him round the J. Robert Lucky mansion in effort to get him alone and put the boot in. Or knife, or the rope around his neck or poison down his throat or pipe to the back of the skull or pistol shot through his heart. Of course, you had to do that whilst no one else was in the room as they were trying to do exactly the same thing and like you, not get caught. Slip forward a few years to 2001 -- and back to 1912, and we get the chance to learn a little more about the exceptionally lucky Doctor Lucky. We all know what happened in that year and the good doctor just happens to aboard as the iceberg heaves into view. This means that the ship is going down and since this is 1912, Doctor Lucky cannot die -- well, not until 1918. So the objective of Cheapass Games’ twenty-seventh title is to Save Doctor Lucky. The game comes with a game board -- comprised of eight sections -- that depicts the four decks of the doomed cruise liner, a deck of ninety cards and the four-page A5-szied rules leaflet. The cards are divided between Aid, Failure and Move cards. Additionally, each player requires his or her own pawn -- the game is designed for three to seven players, and a single Master Pawn is needed to represent Doctor Lucky. The game is set up with board laid out as given on the last pages of the rules, with the A deck at the top, the B deck below that, followed by the C and D decks. Players place their pawns on the board in a random manner. They are dealt cards in turn until the first person receives a Move card. Their pawn is placed in the room given on the card and they will make the first move in the game. The deck is dealt out in the manner until all pawns are placed, with the Doctor Lucky pawn being placed last. The deck is shuffled again and each player receives a hand of six cards. If there are only two or three players, then they receive eight cards. The remaining cards are divided into four piles, each placed beside one of the four decks. When players draw from new cards, they must do so from lowest deck and when that empties, that deck becomes flooded and is no longer accessible. This is a neat mechanic to represent both the sinking ship and set the time limit upon the game. Once a deck is depleted, cards must be draw from the next lowest deck. Each player’s turn may be an Active Turn or a Snooping Turn. In the latter, player moves their pawn in any adjacent room or keeps it where it is. Then they can draw a single card. On an Active Turn, a player has lot more options, but cannot draw any cards. As in a Snooping Turn, a pawn can be moved a single room - this is a free move. A player can also play a Move Card, which gives a particular room to which Doctor Lucky or the player’s pawn can be moved. It also gives a number that is the number of steps that either Doctor Lucky or their own pawn can be moved in any direction. A Move Card can be played before or after their free move. As their last action on a turn, a player can attempt to save Doctor Lucky, although he has tendency to ignore such efforts and rely upon his own good fortune. This can only be done when both the player’s pawn and Doctor Lucky are in the same room, plus, another player’s pawn must be in the same room or have line of sight from another room -- even if it is on another deck! The point is to prove that you saved him -- unlike Kill Doctor Lucky, where the point was to bump him off where no other player could see you! The board is set up so there are plenty of opportunities for line of sight. To save him, a single Aid Card is played on Doctor Lucky. For example this can be the Pocket Knife, worth two points or Safety Matches worth three points. Some items are better if played in particular locations. For example that Pocket Knife is worth five points if played whilst in the Brig location. If no Aid card is played, a save attempt is worth just the one point. Every other player now has the opportunity to prevent the save attempt, and all they have to do is to play as many Failure Cards as they want such that they match the value of the Save Attempt. Players can decline to play any Failure Cards, but if too few are played, the Save Attempt succeeds and the game is won. At the end of every player’s turn Doctor Lucky himself moves, simply following along a prescribed path through the ship. Various rooms through the liner are marked from zero to twenty-two and the Doctor simply moves to the next highest number on the path. Some rooms are unnumbered, so the Doctor moves to the nearest high number, and if a deck is submerged, he simply skips the numbers on that deck. Although play passes from one player to the next on their left, this can be disrupted by the arrival of Doctor Lucky into an occupied room. When that happens, play passes to the player whose pawn is in the room -- even if they have had a turn recently! If there is more than one player in a room, then the one who goes next in normal turn order in that room, is the one who takes the next turn. The game ends when the A Deck sinks. Should no one have successfully saved Doctor Lucky by then, then everyone drowns and nobody wins… The strategy in Save Doctor Lucky* is fairly simple. First you want to force the other players to use their Failure cards, so that they cannot later prevent you from saving Doctor Lucky. Secondly you want to try and stay out of sight from other players so they cannot make those attempts, yet at the same time get yourself into position where they can see you when you make your attempt. One other method is to ride the ‘Doctor Lucky Train’. This is to stay one-step ahead of the Doctor on the proscribed track, so that when you move him at the end of your turn, you automatically activate yourself once again! It is possible to do this and take several turns in a row, thus enabling you to take several Snooping Turns and build up your hand of cards, ready for later on… Like many Cheapass Games, *Save Doctor Lucky* is fun to play. Fans of *Kill Doctor Lucky* will enjoy the change of emphasis in the rules. The components will not make the players laugh quite as much as say, *Before I kill you, Mister Bond…* or *The Big Idea, but the cards are amusing nevertheless. Additionally, there is a small logic puzzle to be found on ten of the cards, which is described as hard but solvable. Though Save Doctor Lucky* is fun, it does not have a huge amount of replay value, but the designer has included a list of ‘Non-specific Penalty Rules’ for those that like to spice up their games. These can be earned for uttering ‘Kill’ or ‘Murder’ during a save attempt for example. Four instances are given, though it should no problem to come up with more if required.