The year is 1793. France cowers under the Reign of Terror, and not even the innocent are safe from the Committee of Public Safety and their precious guillotine. In the midst of this turmoil, one man uses courage and cunning to fight the brutality: The Scarlet Pimpernel. Along with his League of followers, The Scarlet Pimpernel rescues the innocent from under the very noses of the Committee, leaving behind only a card showing a small pimpernel flower. The man behind the rescues, Englishman Sir Percy Blakeney, must keep his identity a secret from all but his closest associates.

In The Scarlet Pimpernel, you play as members of the league helping the Scarlet Pimpernel accomplish seven missions, rescuing the innocent from the guillotine. No mission will be as important as the last, for you save the young Dauphin, heir to the French throne, by whisking him away to Vienna. As a member of the League of the Scarlet Pimpernel, you help carry out missions by securing the route and location, obtaining the required number of supporters and resources (horses, carts, papers, and disguises), and filling the five mission spaces. This task is done by placing your cubes in various locations on the board to score points. Although players work together to accomplish missions, only the player with the highest score at the end of the game will become the Scarlet Pimpernel’s most trusted advisor.

Gameplay starts with the player who has the first player marker and proceeds clockwise. On your turn, you must either TAKE AN ACTION or PASS. You may additionally USE A REST CUBE after your initial action. The round ends when each of the five mission spaces has a cube on it, OR all players have passed in succession. You then move on to completing the mission.

On your turn, you must take an action or pass. Actions available to you on your turn include the basic action on your player tile OR actions listed on any ONE Special Favor tile you have collected. The basic action on your player tile allows a choice between two actions: Move Your Pawn or Place a Cube. Special favor tiles give you two actions denoted by the “+” symbol.

Play continues until each of the five mission spaces has a cube on it OR all players have passed in succession. When this happens you immediately complete the current mission. After the seventh mission is completed, the player with the most points wins!