In Sleuth, a classic deduction game from master designer Sid Sackson originally released as part of the 3M Gamette Series, players are searching for a hidden gem, one of 36 gem cards hidden before the start of the game. The remainder of this gem deck – with each card showing 1-3 diamonds, pearls or opals in one of four colors – is distributed evenly among the players, with any remaining cards laid face up. Thus, you and everyone else starts with some information about what's not missing.
A second deck contains 54 search cards, each showing one or two elements, such as diamonds, pairs, blue opals, red pearls, or an element of your choice. Each player receives four face-up search cards; on a turn, you choose one of those cards and ask an opponent how many gem cards they have of the type shown. If you ask for, say, pairs, the player must tell you how many pairs they hold but not which specific pairs; if you ask for something more specific, say, red diamonds, the player reveals to everyone how many such cards she holds while you get to look at them in secret.
Players track information on a score pad. You can guess the hidden gem at any time, or on your turn you can ask any one question regardless of which search cards you have, then immediately make a guess by marking your sheet and checking the hidden gem card. If you're wrong, you keep playing but can only answer questions; if you're correct, you win.
The simplicity of the rules and the cards belies the complexity of the game. In some cases you see cards, while in others you hear only the number of cards that an opponent holds, making it tough to deduce. Any notation system you devise must be both flexible and reliable, recording negative information as well as positive in order to tick off the possibilities one by one...
Reimplements:
The Case of the Elusive Assassin, with the core mechanisms of that game being used in Sleuth, minus the game board, movement and player proximity.
Zendo is a game of inductive logic in which one player, the Master, creates a rule that the rest of the players, as Students, try to figure out by building and studying configurations of the game pieces. The first student to correctly guess the rule wins.<br/><br/>Inspired by Eleusis, Zendo uses Looney Pyramids but was released as a standalone game in...
Starfighter is a two-player-only game of space combat in which each player tries to assemble card combinations that deliver effective attacks on the opponent.<br/><br/>The original feature of the game is the fact that an effect will be triggered every time it becomes visible, that is, either when a player plays the card or when the effect icon becomes...
Cat in the Box: Deluxe Edition is the quintessential quantum trick-taking card game for 2 - 5 cool cats, where your card’s color isn’t defined until you play it! Hypothesize how many tricks you will win, and record your bid. Place tokens on the community research board as you play your hand, and connect large groups of tokens to score even...
Unlock! Secret Adventures features three "escape room" scenarios that you can play on your tabletop.<br/><br/>Unlock! is a cooperative card game inspired by escape rooms that uses a simple system which allows you to search scenes, combine objects, and solve riddles. Play Unlock! to embark on great adventures, while seated at a table using only...
100 plastic zip-top bags, each of them 68mm x 105mm and of high quality, transparent plastic. These bags are GREAT for organizing your tokens and other items!
Description from the publisher:<br/><br/>The world is big and your kingdom gigantic. It's no longer a kingdom really; it's an empire — which makes you the emperor. This entitles you to a better chair, plus you can name a salad after yourself.<br/><br/>It's not easy being emperor. The day starts early, when you light the sacred flame; then it's...