- BGG rank
- BGG #1,289
- BGG rating
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A Study in Emerald
- 2–5 players
- 90 min
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- 2013
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I, Spy
2015
Rules assistance for I, Spy
Plain-language explanations of turns, card effects and disputed situations, with official source references and saved question history.
- 2–4 players
- 90 min
- 13+
- Complexity 3.1/5
For 2 players
Rules assistant for I, Spy
What would you like to know?
Answers come from the official rulebook, with the page to check.
I, Spy is a board game released in 2015 for 2–4 players, 90 minutes per game, and ages 13 and up. It was designed by C. Simon Reid and its main mechanics are Hand Management, Point to Point Movement, and Hidden Roles.
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About the game
I, Spy is an exciting contest of disguised intentions, political manipulation, and spy games spanning an espionage-wracked pre-war Europe. Deceive your opponents as an agent secretly working for a European power, recruiting key assets, buying off politicians, and instigating sabotage against foreign capitals. However, you will need the reluctant (or unwitting) support of your opponents to position your homeland for European domination, so tread carefully and do not reveal your true identity. Game Overview: At the start of the game, you receive an Alignment Token, which tells you which one of the competing European nations you secretly work for. The rest of the game unfolds over the course of 14 rounds, with each player (spy) performing 3 Actions per round. These actions include moving around the map, acquiring resources in the form of Supply Tokens, improving your abilities by recruiting Assets, manipulating the otherwise-random Politicians to your advantage, or even directly harassing opposing spies. But any action you take will directly affect at least one Nation, in the form of gains or losses in Influence points. Your mission during the game is to generate Influence for your own Nation, while at the same time preventing your opponents’ Nations from gaining too much—if you can deduce which Nations they are! Influence is tallied and compared during Scoring Phases, which take place at set intervals throughout the game. In a Scoring Phase, each Nation receives Power points based on how much Influence it has accumulated so far. At the end of the game, players reveal their Alignment Tokens, and the player whose Nation has the most Power is the winner.
Designers
Publishers
- Lost Boys Productions
Questions and answers
I, Spy supports 2–4 players according to the catalogue. This range comes from the publisher’s listed player count, so the game can be set up for any group size within it. Some setups, rules and scoring details may still vary by player count, so check your edition’s rulebook for the exact configuration.
The listed playing time for I, Spy is 90 minutes. This is the publisher’s estimate for a full game. The actual duration depends on the group, the player count and familiarity with the rules: first sessions usually run longer, while experienced groups often finish faster. Setup and teaching time are not included in this estimate.
The catalogue lists I, Spy for ages 13 and up. This is the publisher’s recommendation and reflects reading demands, rule complexity and small components rather than theme alone. Younger players can often join with help from an adult, so check the age guidance on your edition and consider your group’s experience with board games.
I, Spy has a complexity rating of 3.1 out of 5 from BoardGameGeek players, which makes it a medium-weight game. The rating reflects how much rules knowledge, planning and decision-making a typical game demands. Expect a longer first teach for heavier games, and use a preparation guide before game night.
I, Spy belongs to these categories: Deduction, Bluffing, and Spies / Secret Agents. Its main mechanics are Hand Management, Point to Point Movement, and Hidden Roles. Categories describe the theme and setting of a game, while mechanics describe what players actually do on their turns. Each mechanic links to a catalogue hub with similar games, which helps when you want something comparable.
The credited designers of I, Spy are: C. Simon Reid. These credits come from the published game data and name the people responsible for the game’s design, not its illustrators or publishers. Designer pages on MeepleRules collect other titles by the same designers, which helps when you enjoy a game and want to find similar ones.
The catalogue lists I, Spy as a base game. It can be played on its own with the components in the box and does not require any other title. Expansions, if any exist, add new content or rules on top of it and are listed separately in the catalogue with a link back to this base game.