Game Setup
Stack the reference boards next to the play area. Place the Meet the Suspects board at the top of the play area. Shuffle the playing cards and place them in the indicated spot on the reference board. Remember, the deck is 20 cards (A-5 in four suits)
Set the answer pad, answer tokens, and peril tokens aside, as they won’t be needed until the investigation begins. Make sure everyone has access to a way to write on cards.
Create the journal by laying down the clue and suspect cards into a 5x5 grid in the journal. Alternate clues and suspects in a checkerboard pattern with clues in the center and corner spots.
Choose a Case File
There are four case files included in the game. More will be available later, or you can write your own! You can find the four included case files in the sidebar after the rules. The four included on the website are:
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Murder on a Train
Everyone loves a good train murder! Our suspects are all passengers aboard some long distance train, and unfortunately one of them is going to end up dead.
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Huckleberry’s Art Lodge
“Pinky” Huckleberry has a world-renowned art collection that nobody in the world ever gets to see… until now! Our suspects are all invited to a lodge in the middle of the woods to view this prized gallery that some art critics have called “a collection you could truly die for.”
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Death at a Podcast Convention
The podcasters are meeting up in Latrobe, PA to discuss their craft, but tensions quickly begin to rise.
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That Wears a Crown
It’s a royal court scenario, and the king is going to be the suspect that gets murdered. But who will untangle the mystery and tame the chaos the king’s murder will surely inflict upon the realm?
Choose a case file and read the pitch out loud. Make sure everyone has access to it; they should display well enough on your phones!
Choose A Detective
The full game will have illustrated detective cards for you to choose from, but until then just have a conversation about who your detective is! Pull up some reference images until you get a feel for who’s going to be solving this case.