Jolly Thinkers PJOL01 Deception: Murder in Hong Kong, Mixed Colours

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Witness (1): The witness wins if they or the investigators correctly identify the murder and the evidence and means that prove their guilt. The witness knows which players are playing the murderer and accomplice are but not which role they have. The witness will try to lead the investigators towards these two subtly because if they are caught and killed at the end of the game the murder goes free. SETUP Deception: Murder in Hong Kong is a board game for 4 to 12 players designed by Tobey Ho and published by Grey Fox games in 2015. [1] [2] Set as a detective investigation scene, in Deception players find themselves in a scenario of intrigue and murder, deduction and deception. [3] [4] Players take on the roles of investigators attempting to solve a murder case, but one of the investigators is actually the killer. Different roles are randomly assigned at the start of play. As the investigators attempt to deduce the truth, the murderer's team must deceive and mislead. [5] Then the forensic scientist will tell the witness to open their eyes if there is one and will point to the murder and accomplice without revealing which player is which. Then the forensic scientist will tell the witness to close their eyes. A gruesome murder in Hong Kong has been committed, with the murderer being a member of the investigation. While the Forensic Scientist gives investigators clues about what to look for, the Murderer tries to make investigators believe they are not at all involved by presenting them with an ambiguous and seemingly contradictory set of clues. It is critical that the investigators vigorously defend themselves against false accusations. If a witness has seen the culprit flee the scene, the Witness is responsible for identifying them. He or she can identify the killer and come up with a solution to the crime. A Witness who is unable to identify a suspect is considered dead. Forensic scientists reveal their true identities while also acting as the game’s master.

To solve the crime, the Investigators must analyze the hints given by the Forensic Scientist. As long as one of the Investigators correctly identifies both the “Key Evidence” and “Means of Murder,” the Murderer is arrested and the Investigators win the game (as does the Forensic Scientist). For 5 to four player games, you will have one forensic scientist, one murderer and 2 to 3 investigators. For 6 to 12 player games, you will have one forensic scientist, one murderer, an optional Accomplice, and optional witness, and the rest will be investigators. It should be noted you can only play the witness if there is an accomplice, but the accomplice can be played without the witness. Then, secretly deal out the role cards to each player. It is vital that, other than the Forensic Scientist, who runs the game, players’ identities remain known only to the person holding them. If any investigator has not used their accusation by the end of the third round of the investigation phase it is forfeited. ENDING THE GAME It’s important, therefore, to have a very frank discussion beforehand, making it super clear that there is a social contract involved in these games. And, if you do even the tiniest thing to reveal your identity in a way not in keeping with the spirit of the game, the whole thing becomes a waste of time.

Deception In Hong Kong

They continue to participate as normal and may still present during all Presentation phases but may not make another attempt to solve the crime. There were seven cases of homicide in Hong Kong in the first four months of 2022, which marked three cases – or 75 per cent – more than the same period last year. A recent notable case involved a man who allegedly murdered his girlfriend and was caught pushing her quilt-wrapped body on a wheel board along the street. Hong Kong Society for the Protection of Children. Photo: Kelly Ho/HKFP. To begin, everyone draws a role card, looks at it, and places it face down in front of them. The different role cards in Deception. This continues for three rounds. If the crime has not been solved by the end (see next section), the Murderer wins. Solving The Crime But the formula itself is solid and Deception is genuinely fun. This review seems harsh because Deception so easily draws comparisons to three of the best games ever made. But trying to decipher vague clues with a group of people is enjoyable. Seeing what choices the forensic scientist could have made with each clue card adds another layer of thought to the guesswork. If you group loves this style of game Deception is going to be a solid addition to your collection. Exploring some of the optional rules and variants in the rulebook might be necessary to make the game work best for you, but I’m glad the options are there. It’s not a Resistance killer or even a Mysterium killer, but I can’t deny it’s a good time.

She’s also not a fan of bluffing games. Games that involve any type of deceit don’t go over well in her book. Yet for a game called “Deception” there isn’t any lying involved. The person who is the murderer isn’t telling people that he’s not the murderer. Instead, he’s simply suggesting cards in front of the other players that may incriminate them. The possible combos are always so varied. This is the main part of the game and is divided into 3 rounds - each round consists of an Evidence Collection phase and a Presentation phase. The game may end prematurely when any one of the Investigators correctly identifies the "Key Evidence" and "Means of Murder". This places a big responsibility on the Forensic Scientist. So, at least for the first game, it’s worth putting someone in the role who has played social deduction games before – or, failing that, at least commands some kind of authority…

The Witness is an optional role when playing with six or more players.* The Witness is an Investigator who has witnessed the culprits leaving the crime scene. They have no way of knowing which is the Murderer and which is the Accomplice and they do not know how the crime was committed.