Letters From Whitechapel - Walk the streets as Jack the Ripper

Well it's been a while and I would like to lay the blame for my busyness at the feet of life.

In the spirit of Halloween  and all the controversy floating around the supposed discovery of who Jack the Ripper really was, I present to you the board game Letters From Whitechapel.

The game is played by at least two people. One plays Jack the Ripper and the other plays the police officers attempting to catch the illusive killer.

Jack moves by numbers on the board and secretly tracks his/her movements on a sheet of paper. The board is laid out in a map of London, streets running every which way and in 8 spots on the board there are red numbers, symbolizing a location for a potential murder. At the start the round (4 rounds, the four nights Jack the Ripper killed) Jack decides which of the wretched will die and where. He must then out maneuver the officers as best he/she can and get home before being caught or the night is done.

The charm and stress of playing Jack is that you could be a space away from a police officer and they might never know you were there but they could also make a move that completely reveals your location.

The other role in the game is the police. You play as Detective Inspectors Edmund Reid, Frederick Abberline, Henry Moore, and Walter Andrews, famous for their investigation of the real Ripper murders. Your objective is to search the map for Jack's trail and eventually, once he's been cornered, his arrest.

Playing the police can be difficult and frustrating at times but you definitely earn your way to a victory if you are lucky and strategic enough to catch Saucy Jack.

Whitechapel is a very entertaining game and it doesn't take long to understand the rules. There is no greed in this game sadly but a merry goose chase is certainly in store.

Hint for Jack: pick murder scenes all over the board and never kill too close to your home
Hint for the Detectives: Always start at the murder with a pawn or two and find Jack's trail right away. Even if you don't catch him in the first or second night you'll get a sense of his direction and will be able to narrow in on his hideout location.

Stay greedy,

M.



You can also find more info on the game at http://boardgamegeek.com/boardgame/59959/letters-whitechapel