#play to find out why Col Mustard has to die

[theinstagrahame]

Red Herrings: A Game of Planting Clues

Hot off the presses at Understory Games (which is what I'm calling my games now): my reverse Clue game.

I had the idea initially after watching Clue with some friends and my partner last year. I started writing, got it like 90% of the way done, and then just ADHD-ed onto something else (I also wanted to do some playtesting, but never got around to it, and that could also be related).

I wanted to create a game that used the original Clue board and cards, and some of the pieces if possible. The game I came up with has players moving from room to room to try and get their Victim, Weapon, and Opportunity (or the Room).

But, because I've made a lot of story games, I also wanted to add some RPG-flavor, and that's where the Motive questions come in. Each time you enter a room, you narrate, play out, and attempt to answer a question. There's a bank of questions for each room, plus a bank of extra questions if none of the room ones grab you.

As you play, you figure out why exactly you want to kill the person you've set out to kill.

Because it's multiplayer, you also want to do this before your opponents. Last player standing takes the fall.

The design is built to be a little solitary, because players are discussing their motive but also trying to keep the identity of their target a secret (so that people can't sabotage their plans), but I think the PVP angle adds a lot.

The PDF version also includes two (untested) play modes. One for solo play, and one where a player is a detective, trying to prevent the murders.

The Print-and-play version includes a foldable zine, which you can open to view all the questions. I wanted the small form factor so that it could slip into your existing Clue set. Perhaps next time you play, someone will ask what Red Herrings is, and you'll give it a whirl instead?