Stolen Paintings

To set up the game, each player is given a score sheet. The painting cards are shuffled to create a draw pile, and a pen and an hourglass are placed nearby. One player is designated as the thief for the round, while the others act as detectives.

The objective for the thief is to successfully steal paintings from the exhibition without the detectives identifying them. Conversely, the detectives' goal is to correctly identify which paintings the thief has stolen from the exhibition.

The game proceeds in two main phases. First, in the 'Exhibition Phase,' the thief reveals 24 painting cards, arranging them in a 4x6 grid. Detectives have a limited time (indicated by the hourglass) to memorize these paintings. Once time runs out, detectives close their eyes, and the thief secretly removes 1 to 3 paintings from the grid, replacing them with new cards from the deck. The thief then arranges 8 paintings (including the newly added ones and some remaining from the original 24) in a row, numbering them 1-8. Second, in the 'Auction Phase,' detectives open their eyes and, without revealing their choices to others, mark on their score sheets which of the 8 displayed paintings they believe were stolen.

Scoring occurs after detectives have made their selections. Detectives earn points based on the number of stolen paintings they correctly identify: 1 point for one correct identification, 3 points for two, and 6 points for three. If a detective correctly identifies all stolen paintings, they receive an additional 3 bonus points. The thief scores 1 point for each stolen painting that was not identified by any detective.

The game concludes after every player has had an opportunity to play as the thief. All players tally their total scores from all rounds. The player with the highest overall score is declared the winner. In the event of a tie, the player who achieved the highest score during their turn as the thief wins. If scores remain tied, all tied players share the victory.