Deck of Spies

Full rules

1. Overview
2. Setup
3. Values
4. A turn
5. End of the turn
6. End of the game
7. Tips for beginners
8. Variants

Overview

Deck of Spies is a solo deck-building game: you start with a weak deck of your own – the low cards – and improve it as you play, adding stronger cards and throwing out weak ones. Enemy spies come at you one by one, from the 5s up to the Kings. Each one you must counter (fend off) or, better, recruit into your own deck. By the end you need more than half of the twelve key spies – the Jacks, Queens and Kings – working for you.

• Players: 1.
• You need: one standard deck without jokers.

Designed by James Newman (2021) – official rules: Deck of Spies rulebook (BoardGameGeek).

Setup

1. Sort the deck into four groups: A–4 (16 cards), 5–7, 8–10 and J–K (12 cards each). Shuffle each group on its own.
2. Build the spy deck: lay the J–K face up, put the 8–10 face up on top, and the 5–7 face up on top of those. Only the top spy (a 5, 6 or 7) can be seen; the 8–10 come next, the face cards last.
3. The A–4 are your own draw deck: put them face down in front of you. The four Aces are your double agents – they will be vital.
4. Draw 5 cards into your hand.

You need room for two discard piles: the spy discard pile next to the spy deck (for spies that are out of your way, face down) and your draw discard pile next to your draw deck (face up – these cards come back into your deck).

Values

A = 1, 2–10 = their number, J = 11, Q = 12, K = 13.

A turn

The top card of the spy deck is the spy you face this turn. You must do one of the following:

Counter

Discard cards from your hand whose values add up to at least the spy's value. You may not add cards you don't need just to get rid of them: every card you use must be necessary.

Example: To counter a 5 you could use 2 + 3, A + 4 or a single 7. If you use 3 + 4, you may not throw in a 2 as well – but you may choose 3 + 4 instead of 3 + 2.

The spy goes face down on the spy discard pile. The cards you used go face up on your draw discard pile.

Recruit

As for countering, but all the cards you use must be of the spy's suit. The spy joins you: put it face up on your draw discard pile, together with the cards you used. From now on it is part of your deck.

Example: The spy is the 7♥, and you have the 3♥ and the 5♥: discard them and recruit the 7♥.

Double agents: when recruiting, an Ace of the spy's suit from your hand turns any number of your other hand cards into that suit for this turn. The Ace itself counts 1 and may always be played for this, even if its value isn't needed.

Example: You want the 9♣, but your only clubs are the 4♣ and the A♣. Play the A♣, the 4♣ and other cards of any suit that bring the total to at least 9 – say the 3♦ and the 2♥ (1 + 4 + 3 + 2 = 10). All of them, and the 9♣, go on your draw discard pile.

Assassinate

If the values in your hand don't add up to the spy's value, you can't counter it – you must assassinate it by sacrificing a double agent:

1. Take one Ace from your hand, your draw deck or your draw discard pile and remove it from the game. If you took it from the draw deck, shuffle the draw deck.
2. Put the spy face down on the spy discard pile.
3. Put all cards in your hand on your draw discard pile. Your turn is over.

If you must assassinate but have no Ace left, you have lost.

Retire (optional)

After you have countered or recruited, you may once per turn retire cards: discard two or more cards of the same value from your hand onto the spy discard pile. They are gone from your deck for good. A single card can't be retired.

Example: Your hand is 2♣ 2♥ 2♠ 3♠ 9♦ and the spy is a 7. You counter it with the 9♦, then retire two or all three 2s.

Careful: any face card you retire counts for the spies at the end.

End of the turn

Keep the cards left in your hand and draw back up to 5. If your draw deck is empty when you need to draw, shuffle your draw discard pile and turn it face down as your new draw deck.

End of the game

The game ends after the turn in which you deal with the last spy. Count the face cards (J, Q, K) in your hand, draw deck and draw discard pile. If you have more than there are in the spy discard pile – at least 7 of the 12 – you have infiltrated the spy networks and won. Six each is a loss.

Tips for beginners

• Retire your 2s and 3s. A deck full of small cards can't counter the 8–10s and face cards at the end. Pairs of low cards are your chance to thin it out.
• Recruit early, recruit high. Each recruited 6 or 7 makes the later spies easier – and the face cards at the end are the ones that count.
• Aces work twice. They make recruiting easy and they are your lives. Keep at least one in reserve for an emergency.
• Don't overpay. Countering with exactly the right cards leaves the others in your hand for the next spy.

Variants

All optional.

• Keep score: count the face cards you own at the end – 7 wins, 12 is a perfect game – to compare your games.