Rulebook

ver 1.0 Feb 25th 2025

In the heart of a tumultuous Europe, amidst dark alleys and opulent salons, a game of deception and secret negotiations unfolds.

In Operation: Mata Hari, you will step into the roles of cunning and unscrupulous spies, ready to do whatever it takes to obtain incriminating evidence, objects, and equipment necessary to complete your secret mission. Each exchange is a duel of wits, a game of veiled promises and half-truths intertwined in a dance of manipulation. The priority will be to avoid compromising your cover, remaining incognito until the end of the mission. Only those who can play their cards with cunning and expose the moves of their opponents will emerge as the Master of Deception.

ARE YOU READY TO MOVE IN THE SHADOWS AND COMPLETE THE PERFECT OPERATION?

MATERIALS

Card Type n° Note
Resource Cards 63 With the same back, Partner Cards 18 they will form the Operation deck
Partner Cards 18
Objective Cards 9
Cover Cards 10 Each with two sides: Undercover and Compromised
TOTAL CARD 100

 

Color Type Resource
RED Incriminating
evidence		 Tape Recorder
Photographs
Documents
BluE Objects Poison
Gun
Briefcase
Green Equipment Coat
Disguise
Gloves

Resource cards represent the fundamental elements for the success of your mission. Each card depicts an object and has a Priority Index (from 1 to 7). Resource cards are divided into three types, each identified by a color.
Partners support agents during the operation, infiltrating the mission and strategically intervening to alter the outcome of exchanges. Partner cards have the same back as Resource
cards. Their use is explained at the end of the rulebook.
Objectives. They represent the primary resource for each agent, an essential element for the success of the operation. However, each agent also has a weakness – a type of resource that could compromise or endanger them, indicated by a colored skull (red, blue, or green). This color marks the type of resource that should be discarded before the end of the game.
Cover Cards represent the level of secrecy of each agent. Each has two sides:

  • Undercover: the agent is safe, acting in the shadows, and their identity does not arouse suspicion.
  • Compromised: the agent has attracted attention, risking blowing their cover.

PREPARATION

Deck Composition
Before starting the game, it is necessary to adapt the composition of the Operation deck and the Objectives deck following this table, which summarizes the type of cards to be removed from both decks:

n° of Players Cards to eliminate
3 Tape recorder, Poison, Coat, Four Partners of each type (total 12)
4 Tape recorder, Poison, Coat, Two Partners of each type (total 6)
5 o 6 Two Partners of each type (total 6)


Dealing Objective Cards
Each player draws an Objective card and keeps it secret. The remaining Objective cards are not needed and can be put back in the box.

Dealing Initial Cards
Based on the number of players, deal the following number of cards from the Operation deck to each player:

n° of Players 3 4 5 6 7
Cards to deal 13 11 9 11 10

The remaining cards are placed in the center of the table to form the draw pile.

Choosing the First Player
The first person to successfully imitate a spy pose starts the game, and play then proceeds clockwise.

GAMEPLAY

The game is played in turns. The goal of the active player is to make a favorable card exchange with another player. Each turn consists of two phases:

  • Declaration Phase
  • Resolution Phase

Declaration Phase
The active player selects 1, 2, or 3 cards from their hand and slides them face down in front of them, declaring (optionally) truthful and objective information about the contents of one or more of those cards. In this phase, it is not allowed to lie, but it is also not necessary to reveal the whole truth.

  • Valid declaration examples: “One of these is Poison”, “At least one is green”, “All are worth more than 6.”
  • Invalid declaration examples: “They are high cards”, “I have offered something that Mark surely needs.”

In addition to the declaration regarding the cards played, the active player can ask for something in return, choosing between two modes:

  • Binding mode: If they use the formula “I demand,” other players can only offer cards corresponding to that request (exception: Partner cards described later). This mode is risky for the active player, as others may not have the necessary cards, making it impossible to satisfy the request and therefore the exchange.
  • Free mode: If they use other formulas (“I would like,” “I would like to receive,” etc.), opponents are free to offer anything, but have an idea of what could favor the exchange.
Counter-offer

The other players, without a fixed order, prepare their counter-offers, following these rules:

  • They must offer the same number of cards offered by the active player (1, 2, or 3).
  • They slide the cards face down in front of them, and while doing so, they can make a declaration (truthful andobjective as well) about their content.
  • There is no obligation to make a counter-offer.

 

DECLARATION AND COUNTER-OFFER EXAMPLES

Example 1: James puts down 3 cards face down and declares, “These are 2 red cards (indicating which ones), I won’t say anything about the third. I would like to have cards with a Priority Index lower than 3 in return (or more simply ‘lower than 3’).” Since it’s a free request, others can offer any set of 3 cards.

  • Jack: “One of these is lower than 3, as you wanted, the other two are 4.”
  • Sarah: “Two are blue, the other is green.”
Example 2: Mark puts down 2 cards and declares, “One of these cards is a 7, in
return, I demand at least one blue card.” Since it’s a binding request, only those who have blue cards can make offers.

  • Tony has no blue cards, so he cannot offer anything.
  • Sarah, despite having blue cards, chooses not to offer anything.
  • Jack puts down 2 cards and declares, “One of these is blue, as requested, the other is a green card, specifically the Coat.”

Hidden Persuasion: In preparing counter-offers, all players can provide details to influence opponents and obtain advantageous exchanges. This information is not subject to the obligation of truthfulness (unlike the Declaration phase). Promises, insinuations, and bluffs can make a difference, but excessive lies can arouse suspicion, forcing others to refuse the exchange. It is therefore essential to balance advantages and risks without attracting too much attention.

RESOLUTION PHASE

The active player is free to choose one of the counter-offers and finalize the card exchange. These two players exchange the cards without revealing the content to the others. The other players take back their counter-offers without revealing their content.
If the player whose turn it is refuses all offers or no one proposes a counter-offer, the player takes back the offered cards without revealing them, draws 2 cards from the Operation deck, takes 1 Cover card on the Compromised side, and then the turn passes to the next player.

PARTNERS

A Partner hidden among the offered cards can alter the rules described so far. Since Partner cards have the same back as Operation cards, they remain indistinguishable until the offer is accepted and the exchange takes place.

The Double Agent

  • Can be used by everyone
  • Allows you to lie shamelessly about the content of the offered cards during the Declaration phase.
  • It does not have to be revealed to take action and changes hands as part of the exchange.
The Assassin

  • Can only be activated by the active player (other players can play it, but not activate its effect).
  • It is activated at the time of the exchange.
  • Once revealed, the opponent takes a Cover card on the Compromised side. Moreover, the active player can make a demand (e.g., “I demand at least 2 cards with a value of 6”). If the opponent has the requested cards, they must adjust their offer by replacing some of the previously proposed cards to meet the demand. However, if they cannot fully satisfy the
    request (for example, if 3 documents are demanded but the opponent only has 2), they can ignore it entirely, and the original exchange proceeds, which the active player can no longer refuse. The Assassin card remains part of the exchange and is passed to the other player. Be careful: making excessive demands might result in nothing at all!
Mata Hari

  • Can only be played by the active player.
  • It can be activated if none of the other players make a counter-offer.
  • Instead of drawing 2 cards and receiving a Cover card from the Compromised side, the active player can flip all their (eventual) Cover cards to the Uncercover side, and then, in addition, look at the Operation deck and take up to two cards of their choice!

COUNTER-ESPIONAGE

At any time before the Resolution phase, a player can accuse another of hiding a specific Partner among the cards offered for the exchange:

  • Founded accusation: The accused player must reveal the Partner, remove it from the game, and receive 1 Cover card on the Compromised side. In addition, they must withdraw their offer. The accuser can then take the Operation deck, observe its contents, and take a card of their choice.
  • Unfounded accusation: The accused player secretly shows their cards to the accuser (who checks for the absence of the Partner). The accuser receives 1 Cover card on the Compromised side. The accused and the accuser cannot exchange cards during this turn

END OF THE GAME
AND SCORING

The game ends when one of the following conditions occurs:

  1. A player collects all the cards of the same Priority Index (e.g., all 5s) and reveals them, immediately winning as a VISIONARY AGENT, without needing to proceed to the point count.
  2. The last card is drawn from the Operation deck.
  3. The last Cover card is taken from the center of the table.

SCORING

  1. Whoever has the most Cover cards on the Compromised side is identified as a spy and eliminated from the final count. If multiple players have the same number of Compromised cards, they are all eliminated.
  2. The remaining players score based on these rules: · Each card that corresponds to the resource indicated on their Objective card is worth its Priority Index in points.
    · Each Cover card on the Undercover side is worth 2 points.
    · From the total, they substract the value of each card whose color corresponds to that of the skull on their Objective card

Whoever has the highest score is proclaimed
Master of Deception and wins the game.

In case of a tie between two or more players, the victory is shared.

Credits

Made and distributed by:
Tambù s.r.l.
via Tortona 37
20144 Milan
Italy		 Rules

Dario Massa

Illustrations e graphics

Quaglia Games

First Edition
march 20025
.