Review of [Horror Week] Mr. Jack

As the night fog blows in to Whitechapel, a murderer stalks the streets. All the greatest minds gather in London to find the killer – but the devious villain has adopted a disguise, and stymies their efforts by masquerading as one of the investigators!

No, that first paragraph is not historically accurate. It does, however, provide a fairly accurate description of Mr. Jack, the game of deduction and confusion from Asmodee U.S. In the game, two players face off. One of them is the keen mind of Scotland Yard; the other is the diabolical murderer known as Jack the Ripper. The investigators must unmask the villain and stop the killer before he can escape into the night.

At first read, the rules to Mr. Jack can be a little confusing. There are eight investigators, and both players take turns moving them around the board and invoking their special abilities. Characters like LeStrade, Sherlock Holmes and Watson roam the streets, alongside unknowns like Jack Smith, the lamplighter, and Sergeant Goodley, the flat-foot copper. Players alternate through the characters, moving them and using their special abilities. The catch is that one of the characters has been replaced with Gentleman Jack, and the inspector must uncover his identity and stop him before the end of eight turns.

Each character provides a different ability. Sherlock Holmes, for instance, can expose alibis and narrow the field of possible killers, while Jeremy Bert can rearrange manhole covers. Watson carries a lantern, and Miss Stealthy sneaks through buildings. Players manipulate the abilities to their own goals – Jack tries to use the abilities to confuse the inspector, while the inspector tries to narrow the field of possible suspects.

At the end of each turn, Jack must tell the inspector whether the killer can be seen by anyone. If the killer is next to a light post or another character, or in the beam from Watson’s lantern, he is witnessed. If not, he is in the dark. When Jack announces the fraud’s status, the inspector can turn all the characters who don’t match the killer’s status upside down, to reveal their proven innocence. Once the killer is exposed, the inspector must move another character atop the suspect and announce an arrest, after which point Jack must tell the inspector if he’s right. If the inspector is right, he wins. If not, or if Jack escapes Whitechapel or simply outlasts the inspector, Jack wins.

The game is fairly balanced, and terribly tricky to play. In typical form for a game from Asmodee U.S., every decision can be manipulated a dozen directions, and plans must be made for several characters at once. And in true Euro-game fashion, one unforeseen maneuver from an opponent can throw the best-laid plans into total chaos.

Players of Dungeon Twister will be reminded of the careful planning required to compete. The same head-twisting plotting that makes a player successful at Dungeon Twister is required in Mr. Jack, where one false step can lead to a completely wasted turn – or exposed villain.

The pieces of Mr. Jack are nice, but a little bland. The rule book can be a little confusing, and is obviously translated from the original – the first two languages in the book are German and French, with English as the third. The illustrations for the characters are delightful, however, and more than make up for the abundance of gray hexes on the game board.

All things considered, Mr. Jack can occupy a good half-hour for a pair of intense thinkers, but it may be a little slow for those who like a good romp of a board game. The mental exercise can be intimidating, but for those who enjoy a good challenge, Mr. Jack is just plain fun. And you don’t even have to take my word for it – Mr. Jack won the 2007 International Gamers Award in the General Strategy, 2-Player category.

Style: 4 – Great character illustrations make up for some otherwise nondescript pieces.

Substance: 4 – A thinking man’s game with a fair bit of replay value.