Game Review

Concept:

Players must deduce the details and solution to a mysterious event -- by asking "Yes/No" questions only. Fast solutions get more points.

Gameplay:

One player is chosen to be a moderator. The moderator draws a case card -- (there are three difficulties, easy, medim, and difficult). The moderator reads the case to the other players, then silently reads the solution. The moderator then starts a timer and accepts questions from the other players.

A sample case is (as pictured): " A man lies bleeding on the pavement. Near his body are a mint, a plate and a spent .45 caliber shell. Why was the man shot?"

The players may only ask "Yes/No" questions. The moderator may only respond 7 ways: Yes; No; Yes and No; Irrelevant; I Don't Know; Rephrase the question; and Define what you mean by...

If players are playing as teams, only one team may ask questions. Scores are totalled after each team has solved three cases.

Scoring is based upon how fast a case is solved.

Winning Conditions:

• The player/team who has the most points at the end of the game wins.

Our Opinion:

As long as you don't try to play this game competitively, i.e. versus another team, this is a wonderful game.

We really enjoyed playing this game. It is an incredible mental workout. It takes a long time to play, but it keeps the players attention for a long time. There really isn't a strategy involved other than asking very specific questions.

This game is identical to the black diamond questions in Mindtrap. If you have a copy of Mindtrap, you don't need this game. If you have Mindtrap -- and you enjoy a lot of these mystery questions, try to find a copy of this game, you won't be disappointed.

It suffers from one problem -- a limited card set. There are about 110 cases to play. If you play it often, you'll know the answers without asking questions. However, if you like mysteries and logic problems, this game is for you.

Due to the nature of the cases... murder mysteries and exposed love affiars, the game is not good for children.

Where to buy:

This game is out of print. Check e-bay or a used game store.