Students Blog

Formal Elements of Scotland Yard

Movement Ledger for Mr. X

Due to the inherent nature of the game being unbalanced, with multiple detectives facing a single Mr. X, the game introduces a mechanic to help balance out the opposing sides. Mr. X is allowed to move across the playing board in a stealthy fashion. This is accomplished by keeping a hidden written record of his movements. With the movements of Mr. X being recorded in the ledger, a game piece is not constantly needed on the game board to represent Mr. X’s whereabouts. To keep the game from being too unbalanced in Mr. X’s favor, he is required to reveal his location every fifth turn after the third turn. These particular turns are conveniently marked on the same leger that Mr. X records his movements in. On those turns Mr. X places a special game piece on the game board that represents his location during that turn. There is one final important function to the use of the Ledger. After Mr. X has made his movement for the turn, he then places a ticket on top of the record
ed destination to make secret that location, but reveal the mode of transportation he took to get there.

Three types of Transportation Tickets

The detectives, in their pursuit of the elusive Mr. X need clues to help them track him down and then apprehend him. The first clue is his occasional appearance on the game board as an actual game piece. The next clue is the type of transportation that Mr. X is using to move between locations. This information is recorded and made known to all detectives by placing the tickets that Mr. X used in the appropriate spot on the Ledger. There are three main types of tickets. The first one is the yellow taxi ticket. These tickets typically let you move only between two connected points that are adjacent to each other. Next there are the green Bus tickets. In most cases these will let you travel a greater distance than the taxi tickets by skipping one or more connected points. Lastly, there are the red subway tickets. These allow the players to travel the greatest distance in a single turn, and can be the most versatile when it comes to zeroing in on Mr. X’s location. The
number of tickets that the detectives are provided with is a diminishing resource and they must coordinate and use their combination of tickets efficiently while tracking down Mr. X.

The game board with crafted movement paths.

Certainly the mostly intricate and detailed design element of the game is the layout of the game board that represents the central map to London. On the game board are approximately two hundred travel points or nodes. Each point is connected to other nearby points by color coded lines that represent the paths that can be traveled between points. For example, a green path can only be traveled by spending a green bus ticket. A player who is traveling along the path, must start and stop and the correct nodes which are color coded as well. The overall arrangement of the nodes is not random. The spread of the different color nodes is mostly consistent across the whole board. However, the physical layout is made to fit within the context of the city map of London, where nodes are set up to reside at known street intersections and other prominent pathways. This creates variety across the board by placing several obstacles, like the main park with its few paths through it, a
nd choke points, like the bridges that cross the Thames river.

Dramatic Elements

Scotland Yard is based on the basic belief that everyone wants to catch a criminal. Three players know he is out there, but only one knows where he is. Sometimes it drives you crazy beause he could literally be one spot away and the game could end in a single move, but it rarely does. What adds to the tension is the mechanic that the Mr. X emerges once every few turns so that the cops get a glimpse of where he is. This helps the detectives know the general location of where Mr. X will be for a few turns afterward but soon the possible routes become exponential and the detectives are forced to fan out or risk it by closing in on one area. During the game, players are constantly trying to think like Mr. X and where his best move would be, which sometimes leads Mr. X to do the opposite. It is Mr. X's job to keep the detectives guessing where he will turn up and then quickly taking a route as far away as possible. He is in control of the game so toying with the detectives is crucial to making them run out of tickets and therefore losing. The most important dramatic element of the game is the fact that the detectives know generally where Mr. X is but there are so many variables that definitely tracking someone down is impossible. Like most good cop movies, the players have to rely on their instincts and on hunches.

Dynamic Elements of Scotland Yard

When the game begins, the players are dropped down in London as if by parachute. The first moments of the game are characterized by immediate excitement and planning, as the positions of the detectives are laid out for players to see. The detectives are observing which areas of the map they have well-covered, and which areas are more open for travel. Meanwhile, Mr. X enjoys his veil of secrecy and safety, at least for the time being.

The dynamic elements of Scotland Yard vary greatly depending on the player’s role: detective or Mr. X. While the detectives are trying to corner Mr. X, block his routes, and eventually catch him, Mr. X is simply trying to get away. However, some aspects of the game are experienced by both players. Mr. X’s position is revealed after his third, eighth, thirteenth, eighteenth, and twenty-fourth moves. As these are turning points in the game, especially for the detectives, who no longer have to guess where Mr. X is, it’s important for all players to be aware of them. Players also try to read each other’s minds and guess the other’s plans. The travel tickets give the detectives a hint as to where Mr. X is, especially when they are closing in on him. If he only has a few available routes, the detectives may be able to figure out exactly where he is given the form of travel he has taken. At times like these, it’s helpful to Mr. X if he has his “2x” pieces and black tickets. They can allow for a quick escape when he is close to being captured. Thinking ahead, thinking backwards, control of the major routes and teamwork become the primary means for winning the game for the players controlling the detectives.

Scotland Yard is simple to play but genuinely exciting. Tension rises as the detectives close in on Mr. X. They can be right next to him and not even know it, and the excitement only ends when he is either caught or escapes for good!

Play Experience (Zack)

The two most interesting moments in the game happened right before Jay (Mr. X) was caught both times. In each instance the detectives had just fanned out because there were so many possible routes he could have taken since submerging into the underground. Luckily, we had kept the bridges to the mainland well guarded so Mr. X would have had to just slip by. When he emerged again we had guessed correctly that he hadn't left the island and immediately converged onto his location but as soon as we had done so he went underground again. We were able to block off most of his routes and narrowed his possible moves to two or three. In both instances where we caught him we could have easily chosen both spots to move. If we had gone one way we would have played it safe and blocked off another escape route, but he could have gotten away. The other way we might have gotten him, or lost of move if nothing was there. In both instances we gambled and luckily caught him.

Playing Experience (Jay)

As Mr. X, I had to do evade the detectives at all costs. What led to my capture, I think, was that I was forced onto the side of the river with the smallest area. I didn’t have much room to maneuver, and the detectives just kept coming closer and closer. I wanted to get off of the island, but they kept the subway routes closely guarded. I felt somewhat like a sitting duck because of good teamwork on the detectives’ side. Still, the game wasn’t frustrating, and I always felt I might escape up until the final moment when I was captured.