Spyfall DC is a board game where each player is assigned a location and role, with one player being the spy. Everyone except the spy asks and answers questions about the location to identify the spy, who must bluff their identity while conversing with others. With each round, the game mixes tension and strategy for an engaging experience.

SPYFALL DC

3-8 Players | 40-50 minutes | Store1: X2, Store2: Not Available

The Joker is on the loose! The Clown Prince of Crime is up to some new tricks. His latest venture finds him causing chaos by infiltrating different locations all across the DC Universe. His cover is so good, even HE doesn't know where he is! The Justice League is aware of his antics and the Heroes have decided the best way to find him is to have everyone start talking. Will The Joker say something that blows his cover? Or will he get away with his dastardly plan?

・196 Cards

20 Standard Location Decks (8 Cards Each)

1 The Joker Deck (8 Cards)

2 Multiverse Decks (8 Cards Each)

1 Ability Deck (12 Cards)

・24 Resealable Bags

・This Mission Briefing Booklet

You will also need to keep track of time during the game, so make sure you have a stopwatch handy. One of the players probably has one on their cell phone.

OVERVIEW

A game of DC Spyfall is made up of several 8-minute rounds. In each round the players find themselves at one specific Location in the DC Multiverse. One player is always The Joker, and that player is the only one who doesn't know where they are. The Joker's goal is to listen carefully, identify the Location, and avoid revealing his identity. Players who are not The Joker (a.k.a., the Heroes) must give an oblique hint to the other Heroes suggesting that they know the Location, thus proving they're not The Joker. Observation, concentration, nonchalance, and cunning — you'll need all of them in game. Stay on your toes!

OBJECTIVE

The Joker's objective is to guess the current Location before time runs out or avoid exposure even after time has run out.

The Heroes' objective is to establish consensus on the identity of The Joker and expose him.

PREPARING FOR ROUND ONE

Before the first round begins, sort all the cards into Location decks. Each standard deck should have seven cards with identical illustrations and one The Joker card. Each deck goes in a separate resealable bag. All cards should be face down, with The Joker card on the bottom. One of the Location cards in each deck will have a Harley Quinn icon. This card should be shuffled into the Location deck just like any other Location.

The Location card with the Harley Quinn icon is very important in the "Harley Quinn Helper" optional game module explained on page 9. If you do not wish to play this variant, disregard the Harley Quinn icon completely. However, at the start of each new play session, be sure to show everyone what the icon looks like, whether you are playing the "Harley Quinn Helper" mode or not. Otherwise, someone might spoil a round by asking about it mid-game.

This game comes with 8 extra The Joker cards and 12 Ability cards. Place each of these decks in a separate resealable bag. Additionally, there are extra copies of 16 of the Locations that are initially packed with The Joker and Ability cards. Shuffle these 16 cards together (none of them should have the Harley Quinn icon) and create two 8-card decks and put each deck in a separate resealable bag. Set all of these decks aside. They are used in the "The Joker's Jest," "Multiverse Madness," and "Powered-Up" optional modules, all explained on pages 8-10.

All the Locations are shown in the middle spread of the Mission Briefing Booklet. The players are advised to study it well before the first round begins. This should give the player who is The Joker an idea of the kinds of Locations they will have to choose from during the game. We strongly advise The Joker player not to study the middle spread during the game that's a dead giveaway.

BEGINNING OF THE ROUND

Each game is a series of short rounds, the number of which is agreed upon by the the players before the beginning of the game. We recommend playing five rounds for your first session (this should take about an hour). A new dealer is chosen for each round. The dealer participates in the game as a regular player. The most suspicious-looking player is the dealer in the first round. This player takes all the resealable bags that are in play, turns them face down, shuffles them, and chooses a random resealable bag. The dealer then removes the cards from the selected resealable bag very carefully to avoid turning them over. The dealer selects a number of cards from the bottom of the deck that corresponds to the number of players, shuffles them, and gives a card to each player. If there are five players, five cards are used. The remaining cards are not turned over. Put them aside carefully — you won't be needing them. Each player looks at their card without letting the others see it, then places it face down in front of them.

The dealer for each successive round is the player who was The Joker in the previous one. That player selects a new deck and deals the cards as described above.

GAME FLOW

The dealer starts the 8-minute timer, and the game begins. The dealer then asks one of the players a question, calling them by name: "Tell me, Larry..." It's a good idea to ask questions that relate to the Location, with the hopes of hearing an answer that also relates to the Location. Questions are asked once; no follow-up questions are allowed. Responses can take any form. The player who answers the question proceeds to ask any other player a question of their own, but cannot ask a question of the player who just asked them a question. The order in which the questions are asked is established by the players themselves and based on the suspicions they have after hearing the questions and answers.

NOTE: Every time a question is asked, the Mission Briefing Booklet—opened to the Locations spread—should be passed to the player who is going to answer it.

STRATEGIES

The Heroes need to identify The Joker and avoid revealing their Location. Therefore, the Heroes should refrain from being too explicit in their questions. For example, if a player asks, "How is Alfred doing today?" The Joker will instantly identify the Location as the Batcave! However, when a player's questions and answers are too vague, other players might start suspecting them of being The Joker, enabling the real Clown Prince to win.

If you are The Joker, you need to listen to the Heroes' answers carefully, because when you are asked a question, you will need to come up with an answer fast! If the Heroes mention something more than once, like being outdoors, make sure your answer has something to do with the outdoors as well. Once you have heard several questions and answers, you might be ready to guess the Location. If time runs out, convince other players that someone else is The Joker or, better yet, agree with someone else's erroneous accusation!

SAMPLE ROUND

Anne, Juan, Maria, and Isaac find themselves in the The Watchtower. However, Anne isn't aware of this because she got the The Joker card. Juan, Maria, and Isaac proceed to ask vague questions to try to identify The Joker, while Anne's goal is to identify the Location without blowing her cover.

Maria asks the first question:

"Hey Isaac, who are you tracking on the surface right now?"

Isaac responds,

"Black Manta, of course."

Anne, who is The Joker, takes notice: Isaac said Black Manta, so that might be Atlantis. However, Maria did say "surface" and that could mean Atlantis or The Watchtower. Isaac can't ask Maria a question, as you cannot ask a question of the person who asked you a question, so he asks Juan,

"How did you get here?"

All the other players are on alert, since the vague question might suggest that Isaac is The Joker. However, Isaac is just sounding out his fellow players. Since Juan in not The Joker, he answers the question easily:

"This time? I hijacked a Boom Tube."

Anna, The Joker is thoroughly confused — now she suspects the Location convicted, the round ends, and that player's card is revealed. If The might be Warworld.

Juan asks Anne the next question:

"Anne, what is the temperature outside?"

Anne is evasive:

"Oh, you know, bearable but I could be happier with it."

This is where other players start to suspect her of being The Joker — being on a space station, they know that the temperature outside couldn't be colder.

END OF ROUND

A round ends when one of the following three things happen:

1. Eight Minutes Have Passed

When time runs out, players are now free to discuss their suspicions openly, but may not announce the Location or ask for information contained on the Location card.

After a minute or two of discussions, each player should have a suspect in mind. Each player should hold an arm out and get ready to point at the player they feel is The Joker. Players then make an audible count of "1-2-3!" and on the "3," each player simultaneously points to their chosen suspect. Keep pointing so players can make a count. No changing your vote!

If one player has more fingers pointing at them than any other, that player has been successfully convicted of being The Joker and must reveal their card now. If the player has The Joker card, the Heroes win. If the player has a Location card, The Joker wins.

If there is a tie during the voting, no one is convicted.

2. When a Player Gets Suspicious

Each player may stop the clock once per round to declare one of the players a suspect and ask the others to vote. If the vote is unanimous (the suspect doesn't get a vote), that player has been successfully convicted, the round ends, and that player's card is revealed. If The Joker card is revealed, the Heroes win. If a Location card is revealed, The Joker wins. If there is not unanimous agreement, restart the clock, and the player who made the accusation cannot use this action again this round. It's in the Heroes' best interest to perform this action. It might also benefit The Joker to use this action in order to divert suspicion from themselves.

The same person may be the target of multiple accusations during a round.

Note: Players should abstain from discussing The Joker's identity during voting. The players' arguments "for" and "against" the player being The Joker could inadvertently reveal the Location to The Joker.

3. At The Joker's Request

The Joker can stop the clock at any time (except when the clock has already been stopped by another player) by revealing their Joker card to the other players. The Joker is then allowed to consult the Location list in the middle spread of the Mission Briefing Booklet and identify the current Location. The Joker player wins if they identify the Location correctly. Otherwise the Heroes win.

Note: The Joker player may only reveal their card while the game clock is running, and has not run out!

Once the round is over, the cards from that round are returned to the dealer and can no longer be played in the current game session. The resealable bag with this deck is returned to the box.

SCORING

STANDARD MODE (NO MODULES)

The Joker Victory

・The Joker earns 2 points if no one is successfully convicted of being The Joker.

・The Joker earns 4 points if a Hero is successfully convicted of being The Joker.

・The Joker earns 4 points if The Joker stops the round and successfully guesses the Location.

Heroes Victory

・Each Hero earns 1 point.

・If a Hero stops the round and The Joker is unanimously convicted, that Hero earns 1 additional point.

・If The Joker is discovered via pointing at the end of the round, but survived a vote earlier in the round, the Hero who made the original accusation earns 1 additional point.

SCORING EXAMPLES

Heroes Convict The Joker Mid-Round — Isaac stops time and declares that Anne is The Joker. All players, except Anne, vote using their thumbs. The vote ends up 3-0 in favor of conviction. Anne reveals her card, showing she was indeed The Joker. Each Hero earns 1 point for successfully convicting The Joker. Isaac earns 1 additional point as he initiated the successful conviction.

Heroes Convict The Joker After Time Has Expired — The players all talk about their suspicions, then call out "1-2-3!" They then each point at the player they think is The Joker. Two fingers are pointing at Anne, one at Isaac, and one at Maria. Since the majority are pointing at Anne, she flips her card over to reveal that she was The Joker. Each Hero earns 1 point.

Heroes Fail to Convict The Joker Mid-Round, But Succeed After Time Has Expired — Isaac stops time to try and convict Anne. Maria votes against the proposal. Since it was not unanimous, time starts up again. Now time has expired. When fingers get pointed, Anne has three pointed at her, which is a majority ... and she was The Joker. Each Hero earns 1 point. Isaac earns I additional point, as he initiated a conviction procedure against Anne mid-round.

No One Is Convicted After Time Has Expired — When the players point their fingers, Anne and Juan each have two fingers pointing at them. There is no majority, so no one is convicted. Anne reveals herself as The Joker and earns 2 points.

A Hero Is Convicted After Time Has Expired — When the players point their fingers, one person is pointing at Anne, while three are pointing at Juan. Juan has been convicted. He shows his Hero card. Anne reveals her Joker card and earns 4 points.

The Joker Guesses the Location — The Joker Guesses the Location-Anne figures out that the Heroes are in the Watchtower or maybe Warworld. She decides to go for it. Anne flips her card over and says, "You're at the Watchtower!” The Heroes reveal their cards, and Anne scores 4 points for being right.

The Joker Incorrectly Guesses the Location — Anne flips her card over and says, "You're at Warworld!" The Heroes reveal their cards, and Anne is wrong. The Heroes each score 1 point.

DC Spyfall contains four optional modules for advanced players. It is advised that you do not use any of these modules the first time you play the game.

When you are ready to add more to your game, you can use any number of the four modules explained here to throw a wrench into play. When adding a module, make sure it is done at the start of a game and that all players are comfortable with the added rules, since asking for explanations mid-round might ruin the surprise.

POWERED-UP MODULE

Super Heroes do weird and amazing things, right? In DC Spyfall, you can give players interesting powers/hindrances by electing to play with the Powered-Up Module. At the start of each game, shuffle the 12-card Ability deck and deal each player an Ability card along with their Location card. While some of these cards do nothing, the rest have strong effects or restrictions that will add to the confusion of both The Joker and the Heroes.

Note: This module can also be added to other versions of Spyfall.

If your card has game text including the words "One-Shot," you must flip your card up at the opportune moment in which you choose to use it. If it doesn't have the words One-Shot, leave your card face down until the round is over.

At the end of each round, players should reveal their Ability cards so you can see who played their role the best. There are no extra points for this; you're just the most fun person to play with! Turn in all the Ability cards, shuffle them, and deal one card to each player at the start of the next round of play.

Clarification for God Complex: This Ability card may only be used during a mid-round accusation. You might want to be the one to make the accusation. Being "in the majority" means there are more people who agree with you than disagree with you. If it's a tie, you can't use this card.

Example: In a 6-player game, you stop the clock and accuse a player of being The Joker. You and 3 other players vote that the player is The Joker, while the remaining player disagrees. Since your vote to convict was in the majority (4-1), you flip this card over and turn your majority into a unanimous vote, which is what it takes to convict a player mid-round. The game ends and the convicted player reveals their Location card to see which side wins.

HARLEY QUINN HELPER MODULE FOR 5+ PLAYERS

Each basic Location deck has one Location card featuring a Harley Quinn icon on the picture side. During normal play, this icon is ignored. When playing with the Harley Quinn Helper Module, one of the players with knowledge of the Location may be secretly working with The Joker to expose the Location... even though they have no idea which player is actually The Joker! If your Location has the icon, you are Harley Quinn. In games with fewer than 8 players, the Harley Quinn icon might not even show up! Harley Quinn never scores points if the Heroes win.

Harley Quinn tries to give hints to The Joker during the normal course of play. Be careful about being too obvious with your clues. If you blurt something out and The Joker guesses the Location, the Heroes are going to know you are Harley Quinn, and you'll score no points.

If The Joker correctly guesses the Location, all other players (including the Harley Quinn player) will discuss who they think was playing as Harley Quinn and gave away too much information. Harley Quinn should play along and not give herself away. After 30 seconds of discussion, the non-Joker players will make a count of "1-2-3!" and on "3," each of them must point to another player. The player with the most fingers pointing at them must reveal their card. No one reveals their card in the case of a tie. If that player was not Harley Quinn, The Joker and Harley Quinn win. If the players find Harley Quinn, the Heroes steal the victory!

Scoring

• If The Joker correctly guesses the Location, and Harley Quinn is not discovered, The Joker earns 4 points and Harley Quinn earns 3 points.

• If no one is successfully convicted of being The Joker, The Joker and Harley Quinn each earn 2 points.

• If a Hero is convicted of being The Joker, The Joker earns 4 points and Harley Quinn earns 2 points.

• If the Heroes discover Harley Quinn, each Hero earns 1 point, while The Joker and Harley Quinn earn none.

• If the Heroes successfully convict The Joker, each Hero earns 1 point. The player who initiated the successful conviction of The Joker earns 1 additional point.

• If The Joker is found via pointing at the end of the round, but survived a vote earlier in the round, the Hero who made the original accusation earns 1 additional point.

• If Harley Quinn is convicted as The Joker, the Heroes and The Joker each earn 1 point.

THE JOKER'S JEST MODULE

DC Spyfall comes with eight extra The Joker cards. Keep them in their own resealable bag and mix them in with the rest of the bags when you want to play this mode.

Important: Make sure everyone is aware you are playing The Joker's Jest Module. The all-Joker deck could come up at any time during the play session. It is not grabbed specifically to play during a round.

If you're playing with this module, any of The Joker players may end the round and reveal their card as normal, but may declare that they are playing The Joker's Jest instead of pointing to 1 of the 20 Locations. The risk is that The Joker might end up claiming the round is The Joker's Jest even when it is not! Nevertheless, if you sense that everyone is clueless to a Location, be sure to flip your Joker card and declare The Joker's Jest before the rest of The Jokers (all the other players) do!

・If the player who revealed their Joker card is correct and it is The Joker's Jest, they score 3 points.

・If the player who revealed their Joker card is incorrect and it is not The Joker's Jest, it is a Heroes victory, with the rest of the players scoring 1 point apiece.

If the round ends without anyone discovering that it is The Joker's Jest, no one scores any points.

MULTIVERSE MADNESS MODULE

DC Spyfall comes with an extra copy of each of the following Location cards:

Arkham Asylum, Atlantis, Batcave, Belle Reve Penitentiary, Central City Police Department, Daily Planet, Ferris Air, Fortress of Solitude, Gotham City University, Hall of Justice, Iceberg Lounge, LexCorp Tower, S.T.A.R. Labs, Themyscira, Titans Tower, and Justice League Watchtower.

Shuffle these 16 cards together and then divide them into two resealable bags, with 8 cards each. Note that there are no The Joker cards and no Harley Quinn icons among these cards. If you play DC Spyfall a lot, it is advisable to combine these decks between game sessions, shuffle the cards, and create two new decks.

To play the Multiverse Madness Module, mix these two bags in with the rest of the bags so you won't know which round, if any, takes place in a mixed up universe. You must announce to all players that they are in the mix and could come out at any time.

A player may announce at any time that they believe they are in a Multiverse Madness round. This initiates discussion and then a vote. All players keep their Location cards hidden and count "1-2-3!" On "3," players who agree that they are playing with a Multiverse Madness deck should raise their hands.

If a majority believe they are playing with a Multiverse Madness deck, the round ends and all players reveal their Location cards. Otherwise, play continues.

If it IS Multiverse Madness:

• The player who ended the round and initiated the vote earns 3 points.

• All players who believed that it was a Multiverse Madness deck earn 1 point.

• All players who did not believe that it was a Multiverse Madness deck earn 0 points.

If it is NOT Multiverse Madness:

• The Joker scores 3 points, no matter how he votes.

• All players who believed that it was a Multiverse Madness deck earn 0 points.

• All players who did not believe that it was a Multiverse Madness deck earn 1 point.

If the round ends without the players discovering (and successfully voting) that they were playing the Multiverse Madness Module, no one gets any points.

Note: If you are The Joker, and your group has Multiverse Madness in the mix of decks, you could declare it to be a Multiverse Madness round to throw off the investigation. You KNOW it isn't actually Multiverse Madness due to your very presence, but the other players might believe you. But be wary: If the Heroes have given each other very good clues, they will suspect you instantly!