Kill Doctor Lucky
Encyclopedia
Kill Doctor Lucky is a humorous board game
designed by James Ernest
and released in 1996
by Cheapass Games
. In 1998, Kill Doctor Lucky won the Origins Award
for Best Abstract Board Game of 1997.
Kill Doctor Lucky is, in concept, a sort of inversion and perhaps a parody
of Cluedo
(Clue in North America). Both games are set in a sprawling mansion full of colorfully named rooms and a variety of dangerous weapons and deal with the murder of the mansion's owner. Cluedo begins after the murder has been committed, and players compete to solve it, but Kill Doctor Lucky ends when the murder is committed, and players compete to commit it.
, a letter opener
, or pinking shears
) while the player's token is in the same room as Doctor Lucky and out of sight of all other players. Each weapon card has a certain point value, and certain weapons are worth more points when used in certain rooms (for example, the trowel
is worth extra points when used in the wine cellar
, an allusion
to Poe
's "The Cask of Amontillado
").
At this point, the player making the murder attempt succeeds, and thereby wins the game, unless the opponents play Failure cards of combined value equal to the value of the weapon used. The situation is complicated by the requirement that players play Failure cards in clockwise order, with each player having only one opportunity to play cards. Since it is to any player's advantage to eliminate failure cards from his opponents' hands, a large part of the strategy of the game consists in bluffing: when one player attacks Doctor Lucky, it is in your interest to persuade your other opponents that you have no failure cards in your hand, to attempt to force them to save the game by spending the required cards.
When played, failure cards are set aside and not returned to the deck. Thus, as the game goes on, fewer and fewer failure cards are in play. This not only builds tension but also forces the game to end in a reasonable amount of time, because once all the failure cards are gone, the next murder attempt cannot fail.
The new Titanic Games version of Kill Doctor Lucky makes two changes to the original rules. First, a minor change was made to game play that now allows everyone to take at least one turn before the Doctor Lucky pawn determines turn order. In the original, it was possible for players to position themselves in such a way as to keep some players from ever getting a turn. This is no longer possible.
The second change was the addition of a new game piece called the "spite token" (a variant in the prior edition). Spite tokens are awarded when a murder attempt fails and adds a bonus point to all future murder attempts. A player also has the option to spend a spite token as a failure point to aid in thwarting an opponent's murder attempt. When spite tokens are spent in this manner they are given to the player they're spent against. This speeds the game up and adds a great deal of strategy to the late game when all of the failure cards have been removed from the deck.
, a mansion in Victoria, British Columbia
.
Save Doctor Lucky (2000):A prequel
to Kill Doctor Lucky, Save Doctor Lucky takes place on a sinking ocean liner
. You decide to go down in history (and the rich Dr. Lucky's good-books) by saving him from the sinking ship. All you have to do is give Dr. Lucky your lifejacket while someone else is watching. Gameplay is similar to Kill Doctor Lucky, except that your goal is to save Doctor Lucky while somebody else is watching. There is also a time limit; if Doctor Lucky is not saved before the ship sinks, everybody loses.
Save Doctor Lucky on Moon Base Copernicus (2002):A new map for Save Doctor Lucky depicting an "unexplodable" space station. Typical, they called it unexploadable, but, it's about to go BOOM! The escape pod only has room for two, so, it looks like you'll get into Dr. Lucky's good-books by saving him and taking him back to earth with you, while the rest of your unfortunate travellers are killed in the explosion.
Kill Doctor Lucky: The Director's Cut (2002):Contains the original board for "Kill Doctor Lucky" and an unnamed, back-printed second board similar to the Craigdarroch expansion board. The rule booklet for this edition also includes suggested variant rules, including "Kill Doctor Lucky and his Dog" (in this version, one can kill Doctor Lucky's dog in front of him, but not vice versa) and a system for players to try to kill each other (resulting in the killer taking the victims cards, and the victim going back to the starting space and continuing from there).
Kill Doctor Lucky Online (2004): A complete, licensed online version of the classic Kill Doctor Lucky game published by GameTable Online
. Can be played with live players or against computer opponents.
The Doctor Lucky Ambivalence Pack (2005):Includes Kill Doctor Lucky aboard the SS Afgang! and Save Doctor Lucky from the Hotel DuBois! expansion boards.
Kill Doctor Lucky (2006):A new full-color deluxe edition, including mounted board, cards, pawns, rules, and the new spite tokens published by Titanic Games.
Kill Doctor Lucky and His Little Dog, too! (2007): Expansion set from Titanic Games for the above game. Adds a token for Shamrock, the Doctor's cute little dog that'll protect him along with expansion rules.
Board game
A board game is a game which involves counters or pieces being moved on a pre-marked surface or "board", according to a set of rules. Games may be based on pure strategy, chance or a mixture of the two, and usually have a goal which a player aims to achieve...
designed by James Ernest
James Ernest
James Ernest is an American game designer and juggler. He is best known as the owner and lead designer of Cheapass Games. Prior to founding Cheapass, he worked as a juggler at various venues, including Camlann Medieval Village, and as a freelancer with Wizards of the Coast. He also worked for...
and released in 1996
1996 in games
This page lists board and card games, wargames, miniatures games, and table-top role-playing games published in 1996. For video and console games, see 1996 in video gaming.-Game awards given in 1996:*Origins Awards :...
by Cheapass Games
Cheapass Games
Cheapass Games is a game company founded and run by game designer James Ernest, based in Seattle, Washington. Cheapass Games operates on the philosophy that most game owners have plenty of dice, counters, play money, etc., so there is no need to bundle all of these components with every game that...
. In 1998, Kill Doctor Lucky won the Origins Award
Origins Award
The Origins Awards are American awards for outstanding work in the game industry. They are presented by the Academy of Adventure Gaming Arts and Design at the Origins Game Fair on an annual basis for the previous year, so the 1979 awards were given at the 1980 Origins.The Origins Award is commonly...
for Best Abstract Board Game of 1997.
Kill Doctor Lucky is, in concept, a sort of inversion and perhaps a parody
Parody
A parody , in current usage, is an imitative work created to mock, comment on, or trivialise an original work, its subject, author, style, or some other target, by means of humorous, satiric or ironic imitation...
of Cluedo
Cluedo
Cluedo is a popular murder/mystery-themed deduction board game originally published by Waddingtons in Leeds, England in 1949. It was devised by Anthony E. Pratt, a solicitor's clerk from Birmingham, England. It is now published by the United States game and toy company Hasbro, which acquired its U.S...
(Clue in North America). Both games are set in a sprawling mansion full of colorfully named rooms and a variety of dangerous weapons and deal with the murder of the mansion's owner. Cluedo begins after the murder has been committed, and players compete to solve it, but Kill Doctor Lucky ends when the murder is committed, and players compete to commit it.
Gameplay
The gameboard is a floor plan of Doctor Lucky's mansion, and it is accompanied by a deck of cards representing the objects and opportunities that can be found there. Players take turns moving through the rooms of the mansion and accumulating cards, while Doctor Lucky moves through the mansion following a predetermined path. A player may attempt to kill Doctor Lucky by playing a weapon card (such as a runcible spoon, a monkey handThe Monkey's Paw
"The Monkey's Paw" is a horror short story by author W. W. Jacobs. It was published in England in 1902.The story is based on the famous "setup" in which three wishes are granted. In the story, the paw of a dead monkey is a talisman that grants its possessor three wishes, but the wishes come with an...
, a letter opener
Letter opener
A paper knife or letter opener is a knife-like object used to open envelopes or to slit uncut pages of books. Electric versions are also available, which work by using motors to slide the envelopes across a blade...
, or pinking shears
Pinking shears
Pinking shears are scissors, the blades of which are sawtoothed instead of straight. They leave a zigzag pattern instead of a straight edge.Pinking shears have a utilitarian function for cutting woven cloth. Cloth edges that are unfinished will easily fray, the weave becoming undone and threads...
) while the player's token is in the same room as Doctor Lucky and out of sight of all other players. Each weapon card has a certain point value, and certain weapons are worth more points when used in certain rooms (for example, the trowel
Trowel
A trowel is one of several similar hand tools used for digging, smoothing, or otherwise moving around small amounts of viscous or particulate material.-Hand tools:...
is worth extra points when used in the wine cellar
Wine cellar
A wine cellar is a storage room for wine in bottles or barrels, or more rarely in carboys, amphorae or plastic containers. In an active wine cellar, important factors such as temperature and humidity are maintained by a climate control system. In contrast, passive wine cellars are not...
, an allusion
Allusion
An allusion is a figure of speech that makes a reference to, or representation of, people, places, events, literary work, myths, or works of art, either directly or by implication. M. H...
to Poe
Edgar Allan Poe
Edgar Allan Poe was an American author, poet, editor and literary critic, considered part of the American Romantic Movement. Best known for his tales of mystery and the macabre, Poe was one of the earliest American practitioners of the short story and is considered the inventor of the detective...
's "The Cask of Amontillado
The Cask of Amontillado
"The Cask of Amontillado" is a short story by Edgar Allan Poe, first published in the November 1846 issue of Godey's Lady's Book....
").
At this point, the player making the murder attempt succeeds, and thereby wins the game, unless the opponents play Failure cards of combined value equal to the value of the weapon used. The situation is complicated by the requirement that players play Failure cards in clockwise order, with each player having only one opportunity to play cards. Since it is to any player's advantage to eliminate failure cards from his opponents' hands, a large part of the strategy of the game consists in bluffing: when one player attacks Doctor Lucky, it is in your interest to persuade your other opponents that you have no failure cards in your hand, to attempt to force them to save the game by spending the required cards.
When played, failure cards are set aside and not returned to the deck. Thus, as the game goes on, fewer and fewer failure cards are in play. This not only builds tension but also forces the game to end in a reasonable amount of time, because once all the failure cards are gone, the next murder attempt cannot fail.
The new Titanic Games version of Kill Doctor Lucky makes two changes to the original rules. First, a minor change was made to game play that now allows everyone to take at least one turn before the Doctor Lucky pawn determines turn order. In the original, it was possible for players to position themselves in such a way as to keep some players from ever getting a turn. This is no longer possible.
The second change was the addition of a new game piece called the "spite token" (a variant in the prior edition). Spite tokens are awarded when a murder attempt fails and adds a bonus point to all future murder attempts. A player also has the option to spend a spite token as a failure point to aid in thwarting an opponent's murder attempt. When spite tokens are spent in this manner they are given to the player they're spent against. This speeds the game up and adds a great deal of strategy to the late game when all of the failure cards have been removed from the deck.
Expansions and spinoffs
Kill Doctor Lucky: Craigdarroch: An Accessory to Murder (1998):An expansion board for Kill Doctor Lucky, Craigdarroch depicts Craigdarroch CastleCraigdarroch Castle
Craigdarroch Castle in Victoria, British Columbia, is a historic, Victorian-era Scottish Baronial mansion. The mansion was designated a National Historic Site of Canada due to its landmark status in Victoria.-Description:...
, a mansion in Victoria, British Columbia
Victoria, British Columbia
Victoria is the capital city of British Columbia, Canada and is located on the southern tip of Vancouver Island off Canada's Pacific coast. The city has a population of about 78,000 within the metropolitan area of Greater Victoria, which has a population of 360,063, the 15th most populous Canadian...
.
Save Doctor Lucky (2000):A prequel
Prequel
A prequel is a work that supplements a previously completed one, and has an earlier time setting.The widely recognized term was a 20th-century neologism, and a portmanteau from pre- and sequel...
to Kill Doctor Lucky, Save Doctor Lucky takes place on a sinking ocean liner
Ocean liner
An ocean liner is a ship designed to transport people from one seaport to another along regular long-distance maritime routes according to a schedule. Liners may also carry cargo or mail, and may sometimes be used for other purposes .Cargo vessels running to a schedule are sometimes referred to as...
. You decide to go down in history (and the rich Dr. Lucky's good-books) by saving him from the sinking ship. All you have to do is give Dr. Lucky your lifejacket while someone else is watching. Gameplay is similar to Kill Doctor Lucky, except that your goal is to save Doctor Lucky while somebody else is watching. There is also a time limit; if Doctor Lucky is not saved before the ship sinks, everybody loses.
Save Doctor Lucky on Moon Base Copernicus (2002):A new map for Save Doctor Lucky depicting an "unexplodable" space station. Typical, they called it unexploadable, but, it's about to go BOOM! The escape pod only has room for two, so, it looks like you'll get into Dr. Lucky's good-books by saving him and taking him back to earth with you, while the rest of your unfortunate travellers are killed in the explosion.
Kill Doctor Lucky: The Director's Cut (2002):Contains the original board for "Kill Doctor Lucky" and an unnamed, back-printed second board similar to the Craigdarroch expansion board. The rule booklet for this edition also includes suggested variant rules, including "Kill Doctor Lucky and his Dog" (in this version, one can kill Doctor Lucky's dog in front of him, but not vice versa) and a system for players to try to kill each other (resulting in the killer taking the victims cards, and the victim going back to the starting space and continuing from there).
Kill Doctor Lucky Online (2004): A complete, licensed online version of the classic Kill Doctor Lucky game published by GameTable Online
GameTable Online
GameTable Online is a popular web game portal that specializes in online adaptations of board, card, and dice games. Their game platform offers both head-to-head play against other players or computer opponents for single player mode. As of September 2010 GameTable Online offers 28 games...
. Can be played with live players or against computer opponents.
The Doctor Lucky Ambivalence Pack (2005):Includes Kill Doctor Lucky aboard the SS Afgang! and Save Doctor Lucky from the Hotel DuBois! expansion boards.
Kill Doctor Lucky (2006):A new full-color deluxe edition, including mounted board, cards, pawns, rules, and the new spite tokens published by Titanic Games.
Kill Doctor Lucky and His Little Dog, too! (2007): Expansion set from Titanic Games for the above game. Adds a token for Shamrock, the Doctor's cute little dog that'll protect him along with expansion rules.
Other notes
- The Failure-card mechanic is a prime example of the game theoryGame theoryGame theory is a mathematical method for analyzing calculated circumstances, such as in games, where a person’s success is based upon the choices of others...
concept of the prisoner's dilemmaPrisoner's dilemmaThe prisoner’s dilemma is a canonical example of a game, analyzed in game theory that shows why two individuals might not cooperate, even if it appears that it is in their best interest to do so. It was originally framed by Merrill Flood and Melvin Dresher working at RAND in 1950. Albert W...
, to the extent that it has become known among many gamers as "Kill Doctor Lucky Syndrome".http://www.thedicetower.com/musings/musings6.htm - The Craigdarroch expansion to the game was unavailable for a brief time after the current owners of the castle objected to the use of the estate's name and floor plan without permission. The expansion is now available in an edited form as part of Kill Doctor Lucky: The Director's Cut (2002). (A similar debate caused Cheapass Games to repackage their game Before I Kill You, Mr. BondBefore I Kill You, Mr. BondBefore I Kill You, Mr. Bond was a card game designed by James Ernest and published by Cheapass Games. Players took the roles of supervillains in a spy movie, capturing superspies and taunting them. Other players can foil the taunts by playing another taunt with a letter that corresponds to the...
as James Ernest's Totally Renamed Spy Game.) - Kill Doctor Lucky is also featured on The Cheapass Album by Beatnik TurtleBeatnik TurtleBeatnik Turtle is an indie rock band from Chicago formed in 1998. Beatnik Turtle plays alternative and pop-rock "with a sense of humor." Their sound is rooted in the song-based pop-rock sound of They Might Be Giants, Fountains of Wayne, The Saw Doctors, Barenaked Ladies, Cracker, Cake, and The...
.
External links
- Kill Doctor Lucky product page at Cheapass Games
- Kill Doctor Lucky product page at Titanic Games
- Kill Doctor Lucky free online version at GameTable Online