Detetive — How to Play

Game Objective

You are a detective investigating a crime that took place in the mansion of the wealthy industrialist Dr. Pessoa. The goal is to uncover the solution to the mystery: who is the culprit, what weapon was used, and in which room the crime occurred. To win, you must make a correct accusation based on the clues you've gathered throughout the game.

Setup

Follow the steps below to set up the game:

1. Tokens: Separate the 6 colored tokens (representing the suspects) and place them on the board in the spaces corresponding to their names and colors. Even if there are fewer than 6 players, all tokens must be on the board, as any of them could be the culprit. Each player chooses a token for themselves.
2. Weapons: Choose 6 of the 9 weapons (wrench, revolver, dagger, rope, pipe, and candlestick) and place each one in a different room of the mansion.
3. Crime Solution: Separate the 21 cards into three groups: rooms, weapons, and suspects. Shuffle each group separately. Without anyone seeing, take the top card from each group and place them inside the confidential envelope. The confidential envelope should be placed in the center of the board.
4. Card Distribution: Shuffle all the remaining cards from the three groups together. Deal all the cards, one at a time, to each player clockwise. Note: Depending on the number of players, someone may end up with one extra card.
5. Notes: Give each player a sheet from the notepad.

Game Flow

The player with the Miss Scarlet token starts the game, followed by the players to the left.

The game follows a turn-based structure, where each player performs the following actions on their turn:

1. Movement: The player rolls the die and moves their token the number of spaces rolled toward the room of their choice.
2. Suggestion: Upon entering a room, the player must make a suggestion.

Movement Rules:

• You must start with the token on the space in front of the suspect's portrait.
• You may move forward, backward, or sideways, but you cannot return to the space you came from in the same move.
• If another token is in your path, you must go around it. Two tokens cannot occupy the same space.
• You cannot stay in the same room for two consecutive turns; you must leave and return on the next turn.
• You may use the secret passages (in the corners of the board) to move from one room to another without rolling the die.

Actions and How to Play

Making a Suggestion

Upon entering a room, you must state who you think is the culprit, which weapon was used, and the room you are currently in. Example: "I think it was Colonel Mustard, with the wrench, in the kitchen." When making a suggestion, place the suspect token and the weapon in the indicated room.

Responding to a Suggestion: The player to your left checks if they have one or more cards from your suggestion. If they do, they must show you only one of them. If they don't, the first player to the left who has one of the cards must show it to you. If a card is shown, it means that element is not part of the crime solution.

Important: If you have a card that disproves a suggestion, you must show it when it's your turn. Otherwise, you will be disqualified.

Taking Notes

Use the notepad to keep track of which suspects, weapons, and rooms have been eliminated as cards are revealed.

Making an Accusation

When you are certain of the solution, you can make your accusation on your turn. Note: Each player can only make one accusation per game. You can be in any room to do this. Declare that you are making an accusation and name the suspect, weapon, and room.

End of Game and Scoring

The game ends when a player makes an accusation. The player must open the confidential envelope and check the 3 secret cards.

• Correct Accusation: If the player correctly identifies the culprit, weapon, and room, they win the game.
• Incorrect Accusation: If the player is wrong, they are eliminated from the game. They can no longer move their token, make suggestions, or make new accusations, but they must continue showing their cards to other players during their suggestions.

Tips to Win

• Use bluffing: You can try to mislead other detectives by suggesting cards that are in your own hand.
• Strategic distancing: If you suspect an opponent is close to discovering the solution, you can try to move them away from the crime scene by making a suggestion that forces their token to go to the room where you are.