The features listed below are included in the augmented board game “The Mole”:
The most important features are explained in the following sections.
To create the game, two steps are required.
Host: Open the browser on your computer, laptop or SmartTV and visit http://themole.ml. Click on “Create game” to start a new game session. Now you can see the game lobby and the players that have joined. Once all players are present, click on “Start game”.
Players: If the game lobby is open on your computer, laptop or SmartTV, players can enter. To do this, scan the QR code or visit http://scotlandyard.ml.
The game characters
Two sides face each other in the game: the Scotland yard detective team and the murderer, secretly supported by the mole. The murderer knows that you are investigating him. That’s why he’s on your tail. Keep an eye on him to avoid getting caught. All players are in the Scotland Yard detective team. You must find all the necessary evidence to arrest the murderer. However, one of you is a mole. In the beginning of the game, everyone is informed about their role. Watch out who you can trust. The mole can hinder you during the investigation.
The Mission
At the start of the game, players are randomly assigned different clues. There are five categories of evidence, each containing three clues. An example for a category of evidence would be the means of escape with the clues: 1. model (e.g. a carriage), 2. color (e.g. black), 3. escape route (e.g. towards the north). Once you secured all three clues, you can verify a piece of evidence. Your mission is to verify four categories. But be careful, categories verified by the mole are considered destroyed in the end! In summary, the game is about finding clues, sharing them with other players, verifying the categories and bringing the evidence to Scotland Yard before the murderer can catch up with you!
Once the game is started, a map and other game-related information appear on your computer, laptop or SmartTV. There are four map sections in total, each with around 20 fields. The fields are connected to each other and show the path you have to complete. When you reach the end of a map, you’ll automatically move on to the next section, provided it’s not the last one.
On the board game map there are three types of fields: “normal fields” (white), “occasion fields” (grey) which can trigger an event on your smartphone and “minigame fields” (blue) which offer you a shortcut, if you manage to win the minigame. On an “occasion field”, the player must choose one from two occasions. There are five occasions in total, three of which are positive and two negative. The “minigame field” is always located at a shortcut. Crossing a minigame field, the detective team will always be stopped to play a minigame (so far: a pantomime game) and if the word is guessed correctly by the whole team, the team is allowed to take the shortcut. On a “normal field” nothing happens.
On the upper left half of the computer, laptop or SmartTV screen there is a reminder of your mission.
Below that is a list of your clues that can be found and verified. Once a piece of evidence is verified, its color changes and the name of the player who verified it appears.
On the lower left half your history is displayed, which documents the events of the game board. If you have forgotten something, you can read the last moves and other important information again.
On the upper right half there is the room code and five buttons.
The bottom bar shows the player order. The player marked in white is always the one whose turn it is. You can also see your player number here.
Players take their turn one after the other. The following options are available to you while waiting for your turn:
View role: Here you can see your role. If you are the mole, then keep it secret and do not stand out.
Click the button “Show Clues” to see all your clues. For each evidence category there are three correct clues that you have to find. If you have found all the clues of a category, you can verify them under “Send in Evidence”.
When it is your turn, you will see a selection menu. Here you can choose between four options.
1. Roll the dice: To advance on the map you can roll the dice and confirm the corresponding steps. For this you need a dice and a dicing disc. The game tells you how to roll the dice. If nothing special is shown to you, you roll the dice normally and enter the rolled number in the smartphone. If you see hinder/easy dice instead, you have to read exactly what to do. In both variants you have to use the dicing disc and try to hit the center. Then enter the area you landed in on your smartphone.
2. Search for clues: One way to get clues is to look for clues on your turn. Here you roll the dice and if you roll a four, five or six, you will find a clue. If successful, confirm this on your smartphone.
3. Share clue: Here you can share clues with other players to verify evidence faster. But be careful, don’t always give your clues to the same person, because it could be the mole using them to work against the team.
4. Verify proof: If you have found all three clues of a category, you can secure a piece of evidence here. Remember, by the end of the game your team must have verified four pieces.
If you have new messages or other important information, you will be notified by a popup window on your smartphone.
