Mind MGMT: The Psychic Espionage “Game.”

2021

Dive into the world of psychic espionage with Mind MGMT: The Game. Play as rogue agents trying to outsmart an organization set on global domination.

60
minutes

1 - 5
player(s)

13+

Medium

About the game

Mind MGMT: The Psychic Espionage “Game.” is a fascinating board game that plunges you into a world of mystery, intrigue, and espionage. The game is based on the critically acclaimed graphic novel series, ‘Mind MGMT’, by Matt Kindt, which explores a secret organization of spies with psychic abilities.

The game’s theme is deeply rooted in the lore of the graphic novels. As a player, you become engrossed in the secretive world of Mind MGMT, a clandestine organization of operatives with mind-bending abilities. Set in an alternative universe during the Cold War, the game transports you into a world of espionage and psychic warfare.

Game components Unboxing the fun!

Mind MGMT: The Psychic Espionage “Game.” is a thrilling, asymmetrical, hidden movement board game based on the popular comic book series by Matt Kindt. Here are the components included in the game, along with a brief description of their role and interaction with the gameplay:

1. Game Board

The game board is a map of the city where the action takes place. It is divided into different sectors which players move through during the game. The rogue agent uses the game board to secretly move and leave clues, while the recruiting agents try to deduce this movement and capture the rogue agent.

2. Dry Erase Marker

This is used by the rogue agent to track their movement on the hidden side of the game shield. Each move is recorded in sequential order, helping the rogue agent remember his path and the recruiting agents to deduce it.

3. Game Shield

The game shield is used by the rogue agent to hide their movement tracks from the recruiting agents. It has a hidden side where the rogue agent can mark their path using the dry erase marker.

4. Immortal Zelator Cards

These cards are used by the rogue agent to use special abilities and misdirect the recruiting agents. These abilities can range from moving extra spaces to planting decoy clues.

5. Step Cards

Step cards are used by the recruiting agents to track their investigation of the rogue agent’s movements. These cards have a sequence of numbers that align with the spaces on the game board and help the agents to follow the rogue agent’s path.

6. Mental Note Tokens

Recruiting agents use these tokens to mark the sectors they have already investigated. They are a crucial part of the game strategy as they help the agents remember where they’ve been and avoid unnecessary repetitions.

7. Recruitment Tokens

These tokens are used by the rogue agent to track their progress in recruiting other agents. The rogue agent wins the game if they manage to recruit a certain number of agents before being caught.

8. Clue Tokens

Clue tokens are left by the rogue agent to mislead the recruiting agents. However, if interpreted correctly, these clues can lead the recruiting agents right to the rogue agent.

9. Mayhem Markers

Mayhem markers represent disturbances caused by the rogue agent. When a recruitment agent enters a sector with a Mayhem marker, they know the rogue agent has been there recently.

10. Player Pieces

There are various player pieces representing both the rogue agent and the recruiting agents. They are used to track each player’s position on the game board.

These components interact in a variety of ways to create a dynamic and suspenseful game experience. The rogue agent uses their components to evade capture, while the recruiting agents use theirs to track and capture the rogue agent.

Game setup Lay it out, line it up, let’s go

Mind MGMT: The Psychic Espionage “Game” is a thrilling, asymmetric, hidden movement board game. It involves a lot of strategy as players take on different roles. Follow this guide to correctly set up the game and get started:

Step 1: Unpack the game components

Take out the game components from the box. You should have the game board, role cards, dry erase markers, a hidden movement pad, and various tokens for recruits, rogue agents, and immortals.

Step 2: Determine player roles

The game can accommodate between 2 to 5 players. One player is the Recruiter, who is trying to secretly move around the board and recruit agents. The other players are the Rogue Agents, who are trying to hunt down the Recruiter.

Step 3: Place the game board

The game board should be placed in the center of the table. Make sure all players can reach it easily. The Recruiter sits behind the Mental Screen to hide his moves on the hidden movement pad.

Step 4: Distribute initial resources

The Recruiter: The Recruiter receives the hidden movement pad, a dry erase marker, and 16 recruit tokens.
Rogue Agents: Each Rogue Agent receives a character card, 3 clue tokens, and a shift token. The character card details the special abilities of the agent.

Step 5: Set up the immortals

Place the Immortal tokens on their matching spaces on the game board. Immortals are neutral characters that both the Recruiter and the Rogue Agents can interact with.

Step 6: Random elements

Shuffle the Time Card deck and place it face down near the game board. The Time Cards add an element of unpredictability to the game, as they can change the conditions of the gameplay.

Step 7: Start the game

The Recruiter begins the game by secretly selecting a starting location on the hidden movement pad. The game is now ready to start. Happy playing!

Game flow Round and round we go

‘Mind MGMT: The Psychic Espionage “Game.”’ is an exciting and challenging board game. The game is structured into rounds in which players take turns to perform actions. The game continues until either the rogue agents manage to locate all the Mind MGMT locations or the recruiter captures all the rogue agents. Let’s delve deeper into the specifics of each round and the possible actions players can perform:

1. Recruiter’s Turn:

The game always begins with the Recruiter’s turn. The Recruiter, who plays alone against the rest of the players (Rogue agents), has two main steps in their turn:

Move and Hide: The recruiter moves across the board by marking their current location on the hidden movement track. They can’t backtrack to the space they just left.
Deploy Immortals: The recruiter, after moving, can place Immortals, powerful agents that can hinder the rogue agents’ search. They can be placed on any location, except the one the recruiter just left.

2. Rogue Agents’ Turn:

All the Rogue Agents take their turns simultaneously after the Recruiter’s turn. They have three main steps in their turn:

Discuss and plan: Rogue Agents can discuss their strategies openly. However, they should be careful not to give away too much information, as the recruiter can hear their plans.
Move: Each Rogue Agent moves up to two spaces on the board. They can’t move diagonally, and their movement can be blocked by Immortals.
Search: After moving, Rogue Agents can search for the recruiter. They ask if the recruiter has ever been in their current location. The recruiter must answer truthfully. If the answer is yes, the recruiter places a Step token on that location.

3. End of the Round:

At the end of the round, if the recruiter has visited five different locations, they must reveal one location where they’ve been. This location becomes a permanent clue for the Rogue Agents. If the recruiter has visited all required locations before being caught, they win. Alternatively, if the Rogue Agents manage to capture the recruiter before they’ve visited all required locations, the Rogue Agents win.

Players'turn One turn to rule them all

Mind MGMT: The Psychic Espionage “Game” is an asymmetric, hidden movement game where one player takes on the role of Mind MGMT while the others are rogue agents. The gameplay varies depending on whether you are playing as Mind MGMT or as a rogue agent.

As Mind MGMT:

Movement: The first action you take on your turn is to move. You must move to an adjacent location, unless you use a special ability that allows you to move differently. The path you take is recorded secretly on your hidden movement track.
Recruitment: After moving, you may then recruit agents. To do this, you place a recruit token on your current location. This can be used to misdirect the rogue agents, or to prepare for a potential defensive action.
Special Abilities: You may use any of your special abilities at any point during your turn. These abilities can greatly change the gameplay by allowing you to move in unique ways, recruit more effectively, or manipulate the rogue agents.
End of Turn: At the end of your turn, if you have not been found by the rogue agents, you continue to the next turn. If you have been found, a showdown ensues.

As a Rogue Agent:

Movement: The first action you take on your turn is to move. Unlike Mind MGMT, you move openly on the board. You can move to any adjacent location.
Investigation: After moving, you may then investigate. To do this, you ask the Mind MGMT player if they have ever been in your current location. If they have, they must reveal when they were there, potentially revealing their path.
Special Abilities: You may use any of your special abilities at any point during your turn. These abilities can greatly change the gameplay by allowing you to move in unique ways, investigate more effectively, or work together with other rogue agents.
End of Turn: At the end of your turn, if you have not found Mind MGMT, you continue to the next turn. If you have found them, a showdown ensues.

Strategic Choices: In this game, strategy is key. As Mind MGMT, you need to balance between misdirecting the rogue agents and recruiting effectively. As a rogue agent, you need to work together with your fellow agents to corner Mind MGMT. The use of special abilities can greatly affect the outcome of the game, so choose when and how to use them wisely.

End of the game All good games must come to an end

‘Mind MGMT: The Psychic Espionage “Game.”’ is a competitive game that ends when certain conditions are met. The outcomes can vary, and the game can end in victory for either the rogue agents or the recruiter.

Victory Conditions for the Recruiter:

The game ends in victory for the Recruiter if they are able to recruit enough agents to fulfill their mission. This is achieved in the following ways:

Recruiting Agents: The Recruiter wins if they successfully recruit 16 agents before the time runs out. The Recruiter recruits agents by landing on spaces with agent icons and using the recruit action.
Completing the Mission: Some missions specify certain conditions that the Recruiter must meet to win. If the Recruiter fulfills these conditions, they win the game.

Victory Conditions for the Rogue Agents:

The game ends in victory for the Rogue Agents if they are able to successfully track the Recruiter. This is achieved in the following ways:

Tracking the Recruiter: The Rogue Agents win if they successfully track the Recruiter’s path. They do this by using their mental note cards to guess the Recruiter’s location. If they guess correctly three times, they win the game.
Time Runs Out: The Rogue Agents also win if time runs out before the Recruiter is able to recruit 16 agents or complete their mission.

Before final scoring, players must ensure they have performed all necessary actions. The Recruiter must have made all possible recruitment attempts, and the Rogue Agents must have made all possible guesses to the Recruiter’s location. Once all actions have been taken and one of the victory conditions is met, the game ends and final scoring commences.

Scoring Did you outsmart your rivals?

In ‘Mind MGMT: The Psychic Espionage “Game.”‘, the scoring system is primarily based on the successful completion of missions by both teams – The Recruiters and The Rogue Agents.

The Recruiters:

Mission completion: For every mission they successfully complete, the Recruiters gain 1 point.
Identifying Rogue Agents: If the Recruiters manage to identify a Rogue Agent in their current location, they get an additional point.
End of game: If the Recruiters successfully complete all their missions before the Rogue Agents do, they earn an extra 2 points.

The Rogue Agents:

Mission completion: For every mission they successfully complete, the Rogue Agents gain 1 point.
Avoiding the Recruiters: If the Rogue Agents manage to avoid detection by the Recruiters until the end of the game, they receive an additional 2 points.

Tie-Breaking Rules:

The first tie-breaking rule is based on the number of missions successfully completed. The team with the most completed missions wins.
If there is still a tie, the winner is then determined by who completed their missions first.
Finally, if there is still a tie, the team who managed to avoid detection for the longest period of time wins.

Particular Cases and Exceptions Wait… is that legal?

Mind MGMT: The Psychic Espionage “Game” is a unique, hidden movement game where players engage in a secret battle of psychic abilities. The game has some rare or special rules, exceptions, and requires some rule clarifications that can be important to understand for optimal gameplay.

1. The Recruit Rule:

Normally, players can move onto a location and recruit there. However, there is a special rule that allows the Recruiter to recruit a location without moving onto it. This is a rare exception and requires a specific card to be played. Also, the Recruiter can only use this ability once per turn.

2. The Mental Note Rule:

The Mental Note rule is unique to Mind MGMT. This rule allows the Rogue Agents to make mental notes on the board. However, these notes must be erased at the end of the turn. The Mental Note rule cannot be utilized if a player has been subjected to a blackout.

3. The Blackout Rule:

During a blackout, a player cannot use any psychic abilities or make any mental notes. They also cannot recruit or move. A blackout can be a game-changing event and must be strategically used to gain an advantage.

4. The Immortals Rule:

Unlike other pieces in the game, the Immortals cannot be killed or removed from the board. This is a significant exception to the general rules of piece removal and can significantly change the strategy of the game.

5. Rule Clarifications:

Movement: Pieces can only move to adjacent locations. Diagonal movements are not allowed.
Recruiting: A player can only recruit once per turn unless they have a special card that allows them to recruit more than once.
Psychic Abilities: Psychic abilities can be blocked by other psychic abilities. The timing of when abilities are used can significantly impact the game.

Understanding these special rules and clarifications can greatly enhance the playing experience of Mind MGMT: The Psychic Espionage “Game”.

Tips and tricks Play smarter, not harder!

Advanced Strategies:

Master the use of recruit tokens: Recruit tokens are a crucial part of the game. They allow you to recruit agents and gain their abilities. Plan your moves carefully to acquire the recruit tokens you need.
Control the board: In Mind MGMT, controlling the board is essential. The more you control the board, the more options you have. Make sure to use your agents effectively to control as many areas as possible.
Use diversion tactics: You can use diversion tactics to mislead your opponent. For instance, you can lead them to believe you’re planning a move in one area while your actual plan is to move in another.

Beginner Tips:

Learn the abilities of the agents: Each agent in Mind MGMT has unique abilities. Understanding these abilities and how to use them effectively is key to winning the game.
Play defensively: As a beginner, it’s a good idea to play defensively until you get a feel for the game. This means focusing on protecting your own areas rather than trying to invade your opponent’s territory.
Try different strategies: The best way to learn the game is by trying different strategies and seeing what works best for you. This will also help you understand the strengths and weaknesses of each strategy.

Common Mistakes to Avoid:

Ignoring the recruit tokens: Some players tend to ignore the recruit tokens, focusing solely on the agents. This is a mistake as recruit tokens can significantly enhance your gameplay.
Not paying attention to your opponent’s moves: It’s crucial to pay attention to your opponent’s moves. If you fail to do so, you might miss out on crucial information that could turn the tide of the game.
Over-aggression: While aggression can be beneficial in Mind MGMT, being overly aggressive can backfire. It can leave your areas vulnerable and make you a target for other players.

Ways to Optimize Gameplay:

Plan your moves: Always plan your moves ahead of time. This will allow you to make strategic decisions and stay one step ahead of your opponents.
Balance your strategy: Don’t focus too much on offense or defense. Balance is key in Mind MGMT. You need to balance your offensive and defensive strategies to be successful.
Communicate with your team: If you’re playing in team mode, communication is key. Make sure to discuss your strategies with your team and coordinate your moves.