by Jeremy Bushnell and Jonathan Leistiko
Guide a hopelessly befuddled secret agent back to your territory.
All of the game-specific pieces are available in a convenient downloadable bundle. Both bundles have identical contents – only their method of packaging differs:
Put the Nation Map and the Radio Receiver on the table where everyone can reach them. Put the Agent in the middle of the Nation Map.
Take eight Command chips that correspond to your side of the Nation Map and a Headquarters sheet. The extra two Command chips are just that – extras in case some are lost; set them aside and do not use them.
Put the Order chits in one cup and set it within reach of all players; this is the Brain Trust. Keep the other cup empty and set it nearby; this cup is the Transmitter.
Randomly select a player. Turn the Agent so it faces that player.
There is no “first player;” play is roughly simultaneous. A round of play has the following steps:
1. Allocate Resources: Use your Headquarters sheet to secretly allocate your Command chips to Intel and Broadcast Strength. When all players are done, proceed to the next step.
2. Reveal Allocations: Reveal your allocations. Draw Order chits equal to the number of chips you allocated to Intel. You may keep these chips hidden if you wish to. If the Brain Trust runs out of Order chips, put all discarded Order chips in the Brain Trust, shake it up, and continue the game.
3. Prepare Transmission: Place all of your chips allocated to Broadcast Strength in the Transmitter.
4. Broadcast Orders & Recieve Orders: Shake the Transmitter to assure randomness. Draw eight chips from the Transmitter, one at a time. When your chip is drawn, place a Order chit from your hand on a vacant space on the Radio Receiver. If you have a Order chit, then you must play one. If you have no Order chits left, then use a Command chip in its place.
5. Execute Orders: The Agent executes the commands on the Radio Receiver sequentially, starting with #1 and ending with #8. A straight arrow makes the Agent move forward one space. An arrow curving to the left makes the Agent turn 90 degrees counterclockwise. An arrow curving to the right makes the Agent turn 90 degrees clockwise. Command chips cause the Agent to stay still. If the Agent steps off your side of the board while executing commands, the following things happen:
6. Debriefing: If you have more than 4 Order chits, then choose chits to discard until you have 4 chits. Reclaim all of your Command chips from the Transmitter and the Radio Receiver. Begin a new round.
The game ends when any player has more than 5 points. The player with the most points wins the game.
If you play with any of the following variants, we recommend that you play with only one at a time. The Order chits with gray dots can be played face-up for their normal effect or face-down for their special Variant effect.
Jeremy thought of the idea for Quadruple Agent at least 18 months ago. It was supposed to be a real-time simultaneous play game, but we couldn’t quite figure out how to made the mechanics work and the game got shelved. About 6 months ago I was backing up the website and stumbled across the banner that Jeremy made for the game. This got me thinking about the game again. Two months ago, I sat down and wrote the rules pretty much the way they’re presented here and playtested them with the Monday Night Gaming Group. If you’re familiar with the other Invisible City games, then the influence of Run, Hamster, Run! is pretty obvious; I like using resource pools and bags of beads.
Props to Jeremy for thinking to the game in the first place. Thanks to Sharon for editing the rules. Thanks to the Monday Night Games Group (Kori, Kathy, and Frank) for playtesting.