“It is no longer the question “who am I?” but the question “what are we?” that kept Doctor Jekyll awake for nights. The doctor awoke more and more often in the strangest places, and his memory was even more cluttered than the London streets covered with fog, smog and the droppings of noble and less noble animals. It had been Mister Hyde who had given him the freedom to expose and awaken his inner darknesses, but it had also been Hyde who had deprived him of his physical freedom and taken control of his body without the doctor’s knowledge. Now the question is whether the good doctor was really resisting this intruder or whether he had subconsciously already surrendered to Hyde. Were they still two personalities or just collective thoughts with a common enemy, being Scotland Yard who was hot on their heels?”
Background
Jekyll & Hyde vs Scotland Yard is the sequel to the hit trick taking game Jekyll vs Hyde that we previously reviewed. Jekyll vs Hyde was a refreshing trick taking game for two players. Simple, elegant and beautifully designed. Vincent Dutrait is fortunately also back for the sequel, so in terms of visual design, it is still stunning. Jekyll & Hyde vs Scotland Yard is another two-player trick taking game, but this time you are not alone wandering around on the dark streets of London. In fact, Jekyll & Hyde vs Scotland Yard is a cooperative trick taking game and not just that: the game includes a campaign.
Faithful readers know that we like to add some background (on the theme) of our reviews, so for those of you who haven’t read much classic horror literature (or lack relevant pop culture knowledge) a brief summary:
“Jekyll and Hyde” is a famous horror novella written by Robert Louis Stevenson and was first published in 1886. That’s about 11 years before Dracula and The Invisible Man were publisher: two other horror stories largely set on the dreary streets of London.
The story of Jekyll and Hyde revolves around Dr. Henry Jekyll, a doctor operating during Victorian times in London: the perfect setting for any classic horror. Just look up the dark secrets of Queen Victoria… Jekyll discovers an experimental drug that allows him to manifest his dark side in the form of the evil Edward Hyde. A sort of Hulk, but slightly less green and not a member of the Avengers.
Jekyll eagerly uses the potion as a sort of therapy session to explore and expel his inner demons as a kind of personal Purge. The story deals with several themes including the “duality of man,” human nature, urges and suppressing ones’ dark impulses. This all goes reasonably well at first, but over time Hyde takes control of the doctor’s body and thoughts, and the evil gentleman commits a series of heinous crimes. Gradually, it is more difficult for Jekyll and Hyde to separate the personalities and the contradiction becomes boundless. In the end, Jekyll decides to end both lives.
That contradiction was central to the original game, and that element also returns in this cooperative version. However, players must now work together to find the balance, escape Scotland Yard and win the right tricks to end the story with a “happy ending” this time around. In a series of different chapters, players learn different game mechanics and rules while playing. Players earn points if they successfully complete a chapter (more points with fewer attempts) and at the end of all chapters they will hopefully be proud of their (hopefully) high score.
Gameplay
Each chapter consists of two rounds and during those two rounds players will play a number of tricks. Each player is dealt 12 cards at the beginning of a round. The remaining cards are put aside for this round. Players must now give 4 cards to the City of London (their opponent and employer of Scotland Yard, aka the Police). Players must give away all their eights, but are otherwise free to choose which cards to give away to the City. The City’s cards are shuffled and the City plays a card to start the first trick.
As in other trick taking games, players must follow suit. In other words, if the first player plays a blue card, you must also play a blue card if you have a blue card. By the way, you may also play magic potions to follow. These potions, depending on the card played before or after the potion, activate a special effect that can help players on their way to victory.
The order in which cards are played during the beginning of a round determines the ranking of trump colors. After a trick, players check which colors were played and which player played the highest value in the highest ranking. This player wins the trick.
Depending on the chapter, there are additional rules, but in principle, players must reach the end of the board with the correct amount of tricks. The player with the fewest tricks, moves the pawn as many steps as the tricks won. Scotland Yard may also possibly move and overtake the players. Players lose if they have to take too many steps or if Scotland Yard manages to catch the players.
Verdict
Duality is back and once again players must find balance in the amount of tricks they manage to win. The game concept of Jekyll vs Hyde has been cleverly transformed into a cooperative variant with a narrative element. The different chapters are surprising and challenging and gradually introduce new game concepts and challenges, making the replayability of this stroke game great. Once again, the game is fantastically designed and possibly my favorite cooperative trick taking game.
