Your man’s inside. Get your agents to make contact. Complete the mission.

Simple.
Or at least it would be, if it weren’t for THEM.
Those other organizations trying to get in the way.
Artwork by Joshua Norton By Andrew Bowling
If they discover your agent’s identity, it’s over.
Don’t let that happen.
You’ve seen those shady characters walking in and out.
You know something’s up.
And you know that you can bring it down.
Patterns, patterns, patterns. Who gets in? Who doesn’t?
Figure it out before your friends, and the prize is as good as yours.
Secret Agent is a deduction trick-taking game for 2-4 players. The game is
played over a series of missions. For each mission, one player is the Director of
Intelligence, selecting the identity of the Secret Agent. The other players are
Infiltrators from opposing agencies, trying to deduce the identity of the Secret
Agent for themselves. Players “make contact” with the Secret Agent by playing
Agents that share a similar color and rank. The player who is able to get the
most Agents through to the Secret Agent wins!
The Mission
Note: These rules are written for 3 players. When playing with 2 or 4 players, consult the appropriate
section under Additional Rules.
Player Count Cards per Player* Rounds per Mission Missions in Game Setting Up the Game
Shuffle the 52 Agent cards. Each player should leave space for their individual Contact Pile. Leave room
2 8 6 5 for a general discard area as well. Then, randomly choose a player to be the Director for the first mission.
The other players are Infiltrators.
3 7 5 6 Setting Up a Mission
4 6 4 6 -Deal each player: 8 cards with 2 players 7 cards with 3 players 6 cards with 4 players
-Deal the Director an extra card.
*Deal 1 extra Card to the Director -The Director chooses a card from hand and places it facedown as the “Secret Agent.”
-This card is not revealed to the Infiltrator players.
Determining Who Makes Contact
1. If only one Agent matches the COLOR of the Secret Agent, that Agent makes contact. Playing a Mission
2. If multiple Agent cards match in color, then whichever matching card is closer in RANK makes A mission lasts: 6 Rounds with 2 players 5 Rounds with 3 Players 4 Rounds with 4 Players
contact (breaking ties to the highest card). Playing a Round
3. If no Agent cards match in color, then the closest card in rank makes contact (breaking ties to the
highest card). Play begins with the player to the left of the Director in the first round, or with the player who previously
4. If cards are still tied, break tie in Player Order. made contact (see below) in following rounds. Then, proceeding clockwise, each player (including the
Director) takes a turn:
Faceup or Facedown -On their turn, a player may either
Rule 1: If it was played to the table faceup, it is discarded faceup. -Play an Agent card from hand faceup
Rule 2: If an Infiltrator player guesses the Secret Agent’s identity, all cards in Contact Piles get turned - Guess the Secret Agent’s identity (See Guessing the Secret Agent’s Identity )
facedown. Otherwise, faceup cards remain faceup. -After all players have taken their turn (and if no player has correctly guessed the identity
Rule 3: If a card is faceup, it should be visible to all players. If it is facedown, it should only be visible to of the Secret Agent), the Director determines which played Agent MAKES CONTACT for this
the player who owns it. hand as follows:
*Note: When an Infiltrator player guesses the Secret Agent’s identity correctly, all cards they 1. If only one Agent matches the COLOR of the Secret Agent, that Agent makes contact.
add to the Contact Pile are facedown. All players should know the identity of the Secret 2. If multiple Agent cards match in color, then whichever matching card is closer in RANK
Agent, but any other cards remain hidden. makes contact (breaking ties to the highest card).
3. If no Agent cards match in color, then the closest card in rank makes contact

Quick Reference
Player Order (breaking ties to the highest card).
When breaking ties by Player Order, begin with the player to the left of the Director and go clockwise. 4. If cards are still tied, break tie in Player Order. (See Additional Rules)
-The Agent who made contact goes in that player’s Contact Pile faceup.

Rules of Engagement
Secret Agent Copyright 2019 -All other played Agents are discarded to the discard area faceup. (See Additional
Rules for clarification on Faceup Cards)
 Player Order
Example 1: The three Agent cards played are 5 , 11 , and 8 . The Secret Agent is 8 . The 5 When breaking ties by Player Order, begin with the player to the left of the Director and proceed clockwise.
and 11 both match color, and they are both a distance of 3 from the Secret Agent. Therefore, the 11
makes contact, because it is higher in rank. Faceup and Facedown Cards
All cards discarded faceup and all faceup cards in Contact Piles should be placed so that each card can
Example 2: The three Agent cards played are 6 , 6 , and 13 . The Secret Agent is still 8 . Because easily be viewed by all players. It is also helpful to group discarded cards by the round in which they were
no cards match in color, the card closest in rank makes contact. The 6 and 6 are both a distance discarded. A player may freely consult the facedown cards in their own Contact Pile. Players need not reveal
of 2 from the Secret Agent. Therefore, whichever of those two players is first in Player Order (see the number of facedown Agents in their Contact Pile.
Additional Rules) makes contact.
Guessing the Secret Agent’s Identity 2 Player Rules
Instead of playing an Agent card, an Infiltrator player may attempt to guess the identity of the Secret -At the start of the Infiltrator’s turn, the Infiltrator deals an Agent card faceup from the deck. This Agent acts
Agent. The player names a Color AND Rank. The Director then confirms whether or not the player like an Agent played by another player.
was correct. -The Agent from the deck is LAST in Player Order.
-If correct: -If the Agent from the deck makes contact, all played Agents are discarded; no player adds cards
-The mission IMMEDIATELY ends. to their Contact Piles. The player who began this round begins the next round as well.
-All players turn their Contact Piles facedown. -If a player makes contact, the Agent form the deck is discarded as normal.
-The player who guessed places the Secret Agent and all but 2 cards from their hand in their -If the Infiltrator guesses incorrectly, the round ends as if two players guessed incorrectly in the 3+ player
Contact Pile facedown. game.
-That player becomes the Director for the next mission. -REMEMBER: The game ends after the 5th mission!
4-player Rules (Sniper Card and Double Agent)
-If incorrect:
The 4-player rules use two additional cards: The Sniper and The Double Agent. Neither of these cards are
-The player discards their hand facedown. They cannot play for the rest of the mission.
Agent cards, and they should never be shuffled in with the rest of the deck. The Sniper is given to the first
Director. The Double Agent is set aside until it is needed.
-If TWO Infiltrators guess incorrectly:
-The Director makes contact this round, then the mission ends. The Sniper
-The Director places the Secret Agent and all but 2 cards from hand in their Contact Pile faceup. -At the start of each mission, give the Director The Sniper.
-The Director player stays the Director the for next mission. -Before the Director determines which card makes contact, the player with The Sniper eliminates one of the
players’ played Agent cards (discard it faceup).

Additional Rules
-This can be the player’s own Agent.
-If they eliminated another player’s Agent, that player gets The Sniper.
-If any player guesses the Secret Agent’s identity incorrectly, discard The Sniper for that the rest of
the mission.
The Double Agent
Final Guess -If two players guess the Secret Agent’s identity incorrectly in one mission, the remaining Infiltrator player
After the last round, if the Secret Agent has not yet been guessed, starting with the first remaining receives The Double Agent, taking if from the previous owner (if applicable).
Infiltrator in Player Order, Infiltrator players must guess the identity of the Secret Agent. -At the beginning of any round, the player with The Double Agent may discard it to immediately
take their turn.
-If correct:
-All players turn their Contact Piles facedown.
-That player places the Secret Agent in their Contact Pile facedown.
Change of Disguise
-They become the Director for the next mission.
If players are finding it too easy to memorize the cards in other players’ Contact Piles, you may use the
-If incorrect: optional Change of Disguise rule. At the start of the 3rd and 5th missions, have each player count the
-If this is the first incorrect guess of the mission, the next Infiltrator in player order must guess. number of facedown cards in their Contact Pile and return them to the deck. Then, shuffle the deck and
-Otherwise, the Director places the Secret Agent in their Contact Pile faceup. The Director player deal each player a number of facedown Agent cards equal to the number of facedown cards they originally
stays the Director for the next mission. had in their Contact Pile. These are added to their existing Contact Pile.
Ending a Mission Bureau of Strategic Services Office of National Security
Gather all Agent cards not in Contact Piles and shuffle them. Hand the deck to the new Director. The An organization comprised of some Made up of Russia’s toughest
other players become the new Infiltrators. of the finest agents from throughout agents. This organization is skilled
Western Europe. and relentless.
End of Game and Scoring
The game ends after the 6th mission (5th mission in the 2-player game). The player with the most cards The Yellow Dragons
in their Contact Pile wins! Tied players share victory. Eyes of the Kingdom
With the most prestigious agents
Hailing from the deserts of the
from the East, The Yellow Dragons
Middle East, these hardened agents
are at the forefront of
are some of the best in the world.
Chinese interests.

Rules of Engagement Continued...

Secret Agent Artwork is copyrighted to Joshua Norton