Razorhurst is a mystery game

for 1 or more mature players, aged 16+.

Warning: Cases may contain references to violence,

swearing, prostitution and drug use.

The 1920s in Sydney Australia are a golden age. The Great War is
over (though its horrors still live on in many of the returned soldiers
and nurses) and there is no hint yet of the Great Depression yet to
come. Young women are throwing off the yoke of social subjugation
and helping to populate the new motorcars, movie theatres and
dance halls that are blossoming all over the city. This is the time of
the flapper, art deco, the Jazz Age.
Even the poorest quarters of Sydney are caught up in the excitement
of the Age. After-hours alcohol ("sly grog"), morphine, cocaine,
prostitution and illicit gambling flourish in the inner east suburbs of
Darlinghurst, Surry Hills and Woolloomooloo. Crime is rampant and
a handful of crime lords flourish in this area, which the Press label
Razorhurst.
The police respond with new strategies: the first policewomen and
undercover agents, a dedicated Drugs Squad, police dogs, mug shots,
a Fingerprint Division, and new forensic investigation methods. You
are a hardworking police detective in the Darlinghurst station,
dedicated to cleaning up local crime. It is a daunting prospect, one
that has demanded you ransom your life to. But each day brings new
adventure, a new move in a complex game of chess against your
criminal foes. Truth is your goal, the Law your god. But truth is not
enough - you must also have proof. And the shadows of Razorhurst
sneer at your ideals.

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The characters and events depicted in this game are real, with few
exceptions. Virtually everything is based on documented records
from the time: newspaper reports, prison records, police
photographs, contemporary maps, and street directories. Even the
dialogue is often taken and lightly edited from verbatim testimony
given at courtroom inquests.
As the designer, my job has been to research and understand the
facts, arrange the historical material into a compelling narrative for
the player, and add a few key details that propel the story to a
resolution. I have added a couple of purely fictional characters for
dramatic effect, notably Springleaf, but these are always peripheral
to the crimes. Where critical details are missing, I have borrowed
from contemporary records and note the main substitutions at the
end of the case book.
Though I have done my best, I am sure to have made many
historical errors. Please forgive my blunders, which are unintentional
and made in spirit of bringing these fascinating times to life after a
century of upheaval and change. While designing this game I have
lived in 1920s Razorhurst, at least in my head. I hope that playing it
transports you there too.

Solve the case and collect enough evidence to convict the culprit.
If there is more than one player, then work together, pooling your
deductive skills.
You will need to follow leads, collect clues, link suspects to each
other, consider alibis and piece together the details of each case. You
will need to take lots of notes.
Good luck, Detectives!

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General components:
• 4 detective cards. Each detective has different strengths and
weaknesses in observation, persuasion and force, as indicated by
the ability trackers on their card.
• 3 small tracker cubes, for tracking your abilities.
• 1 d6 six-sided die, for testing your abilities.
• 1 player pawn or meeple, to mark your location.
• 3 tip tokens for counting informant tips.
• 1 detective's handbook (this document), outlining the game rules
(can be read online or printed).
• 1 forensic methods booklet (can be read online or printed).
• Pencil and paper for taking notes.

Components specific to each case:

• Up to 20 'person of interest' POI cards.
• Up to 10 location cards, each showing several addresses you may
visit.
• 1 calendar sheet. You will write on this to track the date and time,
and to record when you find important clues that will contribute
to your score. It also shows which casebook entries to read when
you start and end each day.
• 1 casebook containing the story text divided into many sections
(can be read online or printed).

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1. Select one detective to play as. If there is more than one player
then you all work together as a single detective regardless.
2. Place a tracker cube on the maximum value of each ability track.
Place the d6 die and tip tokens nearby.
3. Lay the calendar sheet next to the detective card.
4. Spread out the location cards and place your pawn nearby. The
casebook will instruct you at which address to begin.
5. Place the POI cards in a pile. As you encounter people in the
story, you may refer to their cards for more information.
6. Ready your paper and pencil - you will need to take notes as you
play.
7. Have the casebook ready. It is suggested you read this from a
phone or tablet to utilise the built-in hyperlinks. Check it for any
special set up instructions.
8. You are now ready to play, starting with your first day.

Using the calendar sheet

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Overview
Razorhurst is a narrative game; much of the game comprises
following links through the casebook to collect clues and piece
together events to solve the crime.
Your detective has abilities in observation, persuasion and force,
which will be tested by various events in the story and which may
affect how much information you can gather. These abilities decline
during each working day as you fatigue, but may be restored by rest
and sleep during the night. A key part of the game is managing the
balance between work and rest. You need to decide what times to
start and finish your investigation each day. Some information is
only available when you are in the right place at the right time, so
you will need to plan ahead.
At the end of the game you will earn points for answering key
questions, for correctly solving the mystery, and for the current
value of your abilities.

Starting Your Day

The casebook will instruct you how to start the first day. On
subsequent days you may choose what time to start work, but it
must be during the daytime (6 am to 5 pm).
1. Cross off successive icons on the calendar sheet until you reach
the time you wish to start work. For each icon you cross off, you
may increase your corresponding ability, up to the maximum
shown on the Detective card.
2. Now read the casebook section indicated by a sun on the current
date of the calendar sheet. Follow the links in the casebook to
experience your day.

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Advancing the Story
The story is advanced by following links from section to section
through the casebook. Note that the end of each section is indicated
by a horizontal line; you should read up to, but not beyond the line.
At the end of each section you will be given an action to do or a set
of choices to make.
* Asterisks indicate an action you must do next, such as leaving the
current address or testing an ability.
» Chevrons indicate possible choices you may face. In some cases,
your abilities will determine which actions or choices are available to
you (see below). Some choices are only available if you have
previously obtained a particular clue or piece of information – the
casebook will make sure you record these as you go.
You do not need to record every section you have read but might
choose to if you wish to re-read sections later. You may refer back to
previously read entries as needed, so it is suggested that you at least
note the numbers for entries that you think may be particularly
important.

Using Your Abilities

Sometimes the story will instruct you to test one of your abilities. To
do so, calculate your aptitude score and compare it to the target
value given in the casebook.
Your aptitude score starts as your current score for the required
ability, as tracked on the detective card. You then roll the d6 die and
add this to your aptitude score.
You may optionally increase your aptitude further by decreasing
your other abilities on the detective card (as long as they are not
already at their minimum value), adding one point to your aptitude
for each ability point sacrificed.
Alternatively, you may cross off one luck point on your calendar
sheet (if available) to re-roll the die. This will cost you points at the
end of the game.
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If your aptitude total equals the target value then re-roll the die.
For example, the casebook might say "Test your persuasion: if > 5
then read 55, otherwise read 66". Say your current persuasion value
is 2. You roll the die and get a 3, making your aptitude total 2 + 3 =
5. This is the same as the target so you can either:
• re-roll the die and hope for a better result,
• or increase your aptitude by sacrificing one point from your
observation or force (assuming they are not already at their
minimum values).
Say you opted to re-roll and got a 2, giving a total of 2 + 2 = 4. Now
you could choose to either:
• sacrifice an ability point to match the target and re-roll again,
• sacrifice two ability points to exceed the target and therefore
read section 55,
• sacrifice one luck point to re-roll,
• or accept that you failed this test and read section 66.
When your abilities are getting low you can increase them by
clocking off to rest and sleep. You may be able to return and re-try
failed ability tests the next day.

Time Passing
The calendar sheet keeps track of the current date and time of day.
The current time corresponds to the first icon that has not been
crossed off on the calendar sheet. Time advances:
1. whenever you encounter a clock icon in the casebook;
2. each time you move your pawn from one location card to another
(but not if you move to another address on the same card);
3. if you choose to simply wait in your current address;
4. or if you are specifically instructed by the casebook.
Any time you advance the time, cross off the next icon on the
calendar sheet and decrease your matching ability by 1, down to a
minimum value of zero. This represents the effects of fatigue. Your

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abilities will increase again when you rest and sleep (see Ending
Your Day).

Travel
If the casebook entry indicates it, you may leave your current
location and travel to a new address of your choice by moving your
pawn. Travelling to a different address on the same location card is
free, just move your pawn there. However, travelling from one
location card to another will cost you an hour (see Time Passing).
Once you have moved your pawn, pick up the story at the casebook
entry indicated by your new address on the location card. Most of
the time the casebook will provide a direct link to the relevant
section.
Sometimes you may wish to re-visit places that you have already
been, especially if you know you missed some information there.
This is allowed as long as it is within the frame of passing time in
the game. So, if something occurs at a particular day and hour, you
cannot repeat that at a different time.

Knowledge
Sometimes, to make sense, the game needs to know if you have
already read some specific information. For example, you might spot
a suspect in a bar, but only if you had already obtained a description
of that suspect. For these situations the game uses a simple system
to track what you do or don’t know.
At times you may be instructed to “Add X to your knowledge”
(where X can be any letter of the alphabet). To do this, simply circle
X in the alphabetic list on the case calendar sheet. If it is already
circled then that just means you already knew that piece of
information from somewhere else.
Then in the story you may be instructed “If you know X then…” To
determine what to do just check whether X has been circled or not.

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Ending Your Day
You may choose what time to end the day, but if all of your abilities
reach zero then you must immediately end the day.
Travel back to your home police station (incurring any travel cost
associated with this) and read the section indicated by a moon on the
current date of the calendar sheet.

Sleeping
While off duty your abilities will restore during sleep. Cross off
successive icons on the calendar sheet, increasing the corresponding
ability up to the maximum value shown on the Detective card. Stop
crossing off icons when you reach the time the following day that
you wish to start work again.

As you play through, you will probably need to take notes about the
new information that you obtain. When you learn of an upcoming
event you should record it on the calendar sheet to make sure you
don’t miss it. When you read useful information it is also suggested
that you record the section number, so that you can return to re-read
it later. Useful information may include:
• interactions between characters (who are allies? who are
enemies?) and their motives for the crime;
• information about places and times that suspects are present, and
their potential alibis;
• what weapons each suspect might use;
• any specific details or descriptions you can get from
eyewitnesses; etc.
It will be useful to refer to the POI cards, and maybe to group them
by their allegiances or characteristics.

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Cases may take several hours to complete, so you may wish to pack
up the game partway through, then begin again from where you left
off. To do so, simply record which Detective card you are using, the
current values of your abilities, and your map location. You can then
restore your current game state at any later time.

The casebook will guide the game to a natural end on the last day
and will provide detailed instructions on how to determine your
success and your score. Generally, you will need to reconstruct the
events leading up to the crime, and obtain sufficient clues to
determine the culprit. You may be asked to answer specific
questions about the case, to prove that you know what happened.
Your performance will be scored depending on your abilities
remaining, how much knowledge you acquired, how much luck (re-
rolls) you used, how well you understand the case, and of course
whether you solve it correctly.

Razorhurst version 20220526

Game design: John Kean
All photographs are in the public domain, sourced from Sydney Living
Museums, New South Wales State Archives, City of Sydney Archives, and
Public Record Office Victoria.
Icons are from thenounproject.com, by Alice Design, Adrien Coquet, and
Corpus Delicti.
For playtesting, feedback and suggestions I am grateful to Annamaria
Kovacs, Brian Garthwaite, Cheryl Leon, Drew Bowling, Jelena Rajcevic,
Jesse Reichler, Jonathan Warner, Kevin Privalle, Livi from Solo Adventures,
Margie Lester, and Seraphine.

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