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A trick-taking game with alternating perspectives.

“I learned to recognize the thorough and primitive duality of man; I saw that, of the two natures that contended in the field of my consciousness, even if I could rightly be said to be either, it was only because I was radically both.” —Dr. Jekyll/Mr. Hyde

Theme

This game puts two players against each other and gives them the role of Dr. Jekyll or Mr. Hyde. The main game mechanic is a deck of cards spread out on the table in a ribbon. The ribbon represents the respective personalities of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde and their hunt for ingredients to their special elixir. The ribbon is set up to have some cards face up overlapping the remaining cards face down, at random locations. At the start of the game the ribbon is on the side played mostly by Dr. Jekyll. Throughout the game the entire ribbon of cards will flip back and forth, dramatically, and in one fell swoop, as Dr. Jekyll horrifically changes into Mr. Hyde and back again.

Difficulty Levels

The game has three difficulty levels:

• Mr. Poole, a butler’s perspective (Novice)
• Dr. Jekyll, a mad scientist’s obsession (Normal)
• Mr. Hyde, a murderous desire (Expert)

It is recommended to learn the game at Mr. Poole’s difficulty.

Setup

The following set up describes the game at the Mr. Poole difficulty level. See below for further instructions on setting up the game at higher difficulty levels.
Remove the Excuse from the extended deck. Shuffle the remainder of the extended deck into the basic deck. Create a draw pile by dealing out ten (10) cards into a face down pile. Deal three (3) cards, facedown, to each player to form their starting hands. Take 14 cards and flip all of them faceup; now shuffle these faceup cards into the remaining 14 cards that are facedown. With a heavy hand, spread out the deck of faceup/facedown cards in a straight row, called a ‘ribbon’. Each card should be spread to reveal between ⅓ to ½ of the next card underneath it.
Choose who goes first. The first player takes on the role of Dr. Jekyll. The opposing player is Mr. Hyde.

Game play

The game is played in three distinct phases: Draw, Action(s), and a Transformation. The transformation will take place during your turn after the player’s first basic action and any or all free actions are taken. Special Note: Dr. Jekyll’s first turn of the game only allows a draw, three basic actions, free actions, and no transformation.

Draw

You always start your turn by drawing a single card from the draw pile, adding it to your hand.

Actions

There are three types of basic actions and one free action. On your turn you can take up to four basic actions, in any order, and you can take the same action more than once. The free action is unlimited and always available.

Basic Actions

• Play a card from your hand, either face up or face down, to the ribbon. Place the card anywhere along the line of cards—even on the ends.
• Move a single card in the ribbon, maintaining the card’s orientation (faceup or facedown), to anywhere else in the ribbon.
• Flip a card over, faceup or facedown, maintaining the position of the card within the ribbon.

Free Action

Take a trick from the spread and place it in front of you on the table. If at any time you can isolate a set of three identical ranks from any other cards in the ribbon you may collect that trick as a free action. To isolate a trick, you must have face down cards on both sides of the three-card set. Also, the ends of the ribbon on either left or right can help isolate a set of cards. A set can be comprised of three (3) cards of the same rank or two (2) cards of the same rank and a single Pawn or Court. Pawns and Courts are considered to be ‘wilds’ and cannot be sets in and of themselves.

Transformation

Arguably, the main attraction of the game is how Dr. Jekyll can miraculously transform into Mr. Hyde and back again. During your turn, after your first basic action and any current free actions have been completed, a transformation takes place. Gently lift the card on the bottom of the ribbon (either to the right or left depending on which side the ribbon is on) and in one fell swoop flip the entire ribbon over. This is best accomplished by quickly transferring a single downward force on the cards atop the point of rotation after you begin to lift the bottom most card. After the transformation, your turn continues by completing up to three more basic actions. The side the ribbon is on represents whose personality is currently showing, Dr. Jekyll or Mr. Hyde.
Special Note: you may want to practice this motion of transformation several times before an actual game begins. Admittedly, the motion takes some dexterity but is extremely satisfying when you become proficient at it.

Look here for a tutorial of spreading a ribbon and flipping it over (transformation):
Ribbon tutorial with transformation

Turn Summary

In short, Dr. Jekyll starts the game by taking three basic actions, then Mr. Hyde will take one basic action followed by a transformation. The game then starts a rhythm of three actions on your side of the ribbon then your opponent starts their turn by taking one basic action on your side. This first action kf their turn is then followed by a transformation to continue their turn on the other side.

Game End

The game immediately ends when all the cards in the ribbon are facing the same direction -or- if all the cards are removed from the ribbon. Thematically, this represents the personality of Dr. Jekyll or Mr. Hyde dominating or the tragic end found in the novella.

Scoring

Each trick taken is worth:

• 10 points for pure sets of identical three ranks
• 5 points for sets that contain a single pawn or court

Further, a bonus of 5-points is granted to the person who’s personality won over in the ribbon. In other words, if all the cards are facing up on your side of the ribbon, then you get 5 points. No points are granted if the ribbon is empty. In the event of ties, the win goes to the person who was granted the bonus 5-points. If the ribbon is empty, then the person with the fewest cards in hand wins.

Variants

Higher Difficulty Levels

The following difficulty levels can be added once you feel proficient enough with the base gameplay

• Dr. Jekyll (Normal) The setup and gameplay are the same with the one exception that the draw pile is comprised of three decks of 4 cards each turned face up. These decks are what make up Dr. Jekyll's apothecary. When drawing at the start of your turn you can pick from any of the top cards. When making the Ribbon spread, count out 13 cards to turn face up then shuffle and spread out as normal.

• Mr. Hyde (Hardest) The setup is the same as Dr. Jekyll however each draw pile in the apothecary only has three cards. Before any cards are dealt out to the apothecary or anywhere else, put three cards into the recipe pile above the apothecary. Add the Excuse card to the recipe and give it a good shuffle. This deck represents the hunt that Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde are on to keep the transformations going. Throughout the game when one of the apothecary decks is empty by drawing the last card in that deck the person who emptied it can now peek at the top card of the recipe deck and replace it under the deck. Through these hints and deductive reasoning if at the end of the game you are able to match the suits-exactly-that are in the recipe deck with one of your tricks, then you win immediately. This win condition is pretty rare and will only be possible a few times out of many. Normal scoring conditions apply if no one matches the recipe.

Handicap

If playing with someone more proficient than yourself you may want to suggest more cards be turned towards your side of the ribbon than theirs. Start with 3 more cards faced your direction than adjust from there.

Credits

Links

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