Detective – A Modern Crime Board Game

Introduction: Players take the role of Investigators working for Antares (part of the FBI). The Investigators must work co-
operatively to collect clues, follow leads and solve a case. The game is played in a series of cases (campaign) connected by
an overall narrative thread.

Game End and Goal: The investigation ends after time has run out on the final day of investigation. The players answer
questions to gain Victory Points, and the group win or lose depending on how many questions they answer correctly.

Setup:

1. Place the Game Board in the middle of the table

2. Place the Investigation Team (IT) marker (white car) on the Headquarters Location.
3. Place the Time Marker (blue stop-watch) on the 8 am space of the Time Track
4. Place the Day Marker (red square) on Day 1 of the Day Track
5. Each player chooses an Investigator Tile, and places it face up in front of themselves. They then collect the depicted
Skill Tokens and place them in a common pool for the group.
6. Flip all unused Investigator Tiles to their Consultant side, and collect the Skill Tokens depicted and add them to
the common pool.
7. Log into the Antares Database (www.antaresdatabase.com), creating an account as requires, and choose the
desired campaign and case.
8. Find the Case Deck for the case being played and place it next to the board. Do not shuffle it!!!
9. Open the Case Book and read aloud the introduction for the case. This information will include any special rules,
and setup changes.
10. Make sure all players have pen and paper to make case notes (or a communal white board).
11. Make sure that an Internet Browser window is available for information to be looked up.

Course of Play

Players have a limited number of Game Days in which to learn as much as possible about the case (and meet its goal). When
players run out of time they navigate to the Case’s Final Report on the Antares Website and attempt to answer the questions.
The team’s answers determine their final score and ultimately whether or not they Pass or Fail the case.

The Three Rules: Time Management, Clues, and Locations

Rule 1: Time Management

Each day is divided into 8 working hours (8am-4pm). This time can be spent doing actions. Players may also work overtime
to do additional actions, but this causes stress (which could end the case early).

During a day, there are no individual player turns or phases – the group act as one team and do the chosen actions together.
Therefore, the team must discuss and agree the best course of action throughout each day (also see Actions).

Each action will require time to perform it, (usually indicated in its top right corner of its card), (or will indicate it doesn’t
need time). When a player Follows a Lead, they must advance the Time Marker on the time track the indicated
amount of time.

At the end of the day, when the marker reaches 4pm, players agree whether to work overtime, or End the Day. Investigators
can end the day earlier than 4pm if they choose to, but its always better to investigate as much as possible.

Working Overtime and Stress

The investigators may choose to use the overtime spaces on the time track to continue working after 4pm, and may continue
to work until 7am! Add 1 stress token to the to the pool for every hour worked in overtime. If the number of stress tokens
in the poll equals or exceeds the stress limit, the investigation ends immediately, and investigators proceed to the
Final Report. After the day has ended, play moves to the End of Day procedure.

End of Day Procedure

• Move the Day Marker to the next Day on the Day tracker
• Reset the Time Tracker to 8 am
• Move the IT marker back to Headquarters
• Remove all used ability tokens from Investigator Cards
• Review their notes and discuss what they learned that day
• Make a note of leads to pursue for the next day
• If it is the last day of the investigation, proceed to the Final Report
Rule 2: Clues

The game has three types of Clues: Leads, the Antares Database, and General Knowledge.

Lead Cards

Each case consists of 35 Lead Cards. They represent Crime Scenes, Witnesses, Evidence and information obtained during
the investigation. Each lead is represented by 1 card (e.g. #103). When you gain a card, you may only look at the front
side. You may look at the back (B) side, when instructed to do so. Each Lead Card has an hour value (top right), and the
Location at which it can be obtained.

• Lead Card Locations: Before Following a Lead, the investigators will be informed of its Location, and its card
number, but they will not know its exact hour value before deciding to follow that lead. Here are some guideline
values:
o Headquarters – 1-2 Hours, but interrogations may take longer
o Richmond PD and Courthouse – 2-3 Hours
o The Lab – Up to 4 Hours
o Fieldwork – At least 2 hours

Antares Database (Clues with an ‘@’ symbol)

When a Clue has an ‘@’ symbol, it means there is information about it in the Antares Database. Go to the database and use
the dropdown to select Name, File, Questioning, Other, and then input the clue, i.e. @JoeBloggs

General Knowledge (Clues with a Wifi Symbol)

The investigators have access to anything on the internet to help the investigation, such as Google Maps, Wikipedia etc.
Investigators can always Browse the Internet for more information.

Rule 3: Locations

The game has 5 locations:

• Headquarters (HQ) – The centre of the investigation

• Richmond Police Department (PD) – Where you examine files and evidence from old cases
• The Lab – Examine evidence from Crime Scenes
• The Courthouse – Access the archives from old trials and speak to consultants
• Fieldwork – Visiting any other location in the city, e.g. restaurants, suspects’ houses etc

If you follow a lead and you are not in the same location as the lead you must spend 1 hour to get there (and move
your IT marker to represent that you moved to the new location).

If a Lead Card does not identify a location, it means it can be investigated from any location without moving the IT marker
or spending time.

Actions
Action 1: Follow a Lead

After reading the casebook at the beginning of the adventure, a list of Further Leads is presented. Leads can be followed in
any order and you can ignore the ones you don’t wish to follow. Once a Lead Card is drawn, it must be resolved. The hour
value or skills needed to Dig Deeper may not be checked before the Lead Card is drawn. When Following a Lead you:

• Search the current case’s deck for the Lead Card with the appropriate number
• Check the card’s Location, and move the IT marker, spending 1 hour if necessary using the Time Marker
• Check the card’s hour value, and advance the Time Marker the corresponding number of hours
• Read the card aloud to the other players. Do not look at or reveal the back unless prompted to do so.
• Follow all of the card’s direct instructions
• Where a signature (i.e. a DNA sample) is encountered, enter it into the Antares Database in the Signatures section.
• Decide whether or not to Dig Deeper (spending tokens and more time if required).
• Note any Further Leads – You may decide to follow them later in the game, but you must complete one lead before
following the next one.
• Place the card to one side to indicate it is now resolved, depending on the outcome of your actions:
o If the card doesn’t have the flip (->) symbol or you didn’t Dig Deeper, put it to the right of the game board
o If the card has the flip (->) symbol and you did Dig Deeper, put it to the left of the board
• Other card effects include:
 o Read: Immediately read the specified card, or Antares Database entry. If there are multiple Read items, they
can be resolved in any order.
o Choose: Decide which action to take from those available (which may be following other leads or reading
clues). Once the choice is made it cannot be changed.
o Add Plot Card: Plot cards are special cards that represent leads in future cases.
• Some clues / instructions may require a certain number of Authority Tokens to be discarded.

Action 2: Dig Deeper

Many Lead cards are double sided. The Dig Deeper Action allows a player to reveal additional information about the case by
reading the back of the Lead Card. To Dig Deeper, spend the required token, and then flip the card over, read it, and note
Further Leads. Players must decide immediately when given the option to Dig Deeper whether they will do so (there will not
be enough time or tokens to investigate every lead, so choose carefully).

Action 3: Browse Antares Database

During the game, you will be instructed to Read information from Antares. Log into the database, and input the name of a
person for personal files, or an indicated number for all other data. E.g Read NAME@JoeBloggs means go into the personal
files and input Joe in the first name bos, and Bloggs in the surname box. Antares will show you their entry, which can be read
to the group. If you are told to Talk with Joe Bloggs with the code: QUESTIONNING@032, a transcript of the conversation
will be shown if you input the number into the QUESTIONNING section of the database.

Never search Antares for information unless prompted to do so by an ‘@’ icon in the lead.

Accessing the Database is always free (no hours used).

You can access the Database as many times as you want during the investigation (e.g. to refresh your memory).

Questioning and Stress

When a witness or suspect is being questioned, they may have an associated stress level (low, medium, high). Antares will
add LSL, MSL, HSL to the transcript. The higher a stress level, the more likely the witness is lying.

Action 4: Browse the Internet

Some phrases on game cards will be underline and have the wifi icons. Whilst the game can be completed without looking
this information up, it does provide context for the case. Such phrases can be searched in a search engine without time
penalty.

Action 5: Use an Ability

Each investigator has a special ability that can be used once per day. After using the ability place an X token on that
investigator to show their ability is used. Investigators can use their ability irrespective of their location.

Action 6: Write a Report

Once per day, the investigators may spend one working hour at any location to Write a Report, and receive 1 Authority
Token (star) for doing so. The investigators cannot Write a Report in Overtime.

Other Rules
Skill Tokens

At the start of a case, the Skill Tokens of each Investigator and Consultant are added to the Token Pool. Skill Tokens do not
refresh at the end of the day, so the pool is what is available for the whole case. The number of skill tokens are limited to
those in the box – if a game effect awards a token that is not available, it is not received. There are 5 Skill Tokens:

• Research (file) – Represents reading archives, speaking with library staff, and thoroughness
• Technology (screen) – Represents using tech to gather information e.g. hacking, search algorithms
• Questioning (speech bubble) – Represents ability to talk to witnesses, interrogate suspects, read body language
• Perception (magnifier) – Represents spotting details at the crime scene, linking evidence, find missing details
• Wild (jester) – Can be substituted for any of the other four types

Authority Tokens (star)

Represent how well the team is regarded at Antares. Investigators may spend authority to activate certain abilities, or follow
certain leads. The team may gain authority from writing reports or other in-game events. Usually being rewarded authority
indicates the team are on the right track. Authority tokens can be critical for some parts of the case, so spend them wisely!
Matching Evidence (Signatures)

There are three kinds of signature in the game (the S stands for signature):

• SD – Dactyloscopic (Finger Prints)

• SDNA – DNA (Hair, Skin, Blood etc)
• SM – Material (Dirt, fabric etc)

When you encounter a signature, go to Antares to the Signature section, where you will input a 12-character into the form
e.g. SDNA: KPUHVS-UDVZCB. The system will recognise the signature type and add a short description (you can add your
own notes too). Antares can also cross reference evidence with people to help you solve the crime.

Very often, a signature may be incomplete, and any unknown character in the signature will be displayed as an ‘x’. Antares
will try to help you find the signature from an incomplete one.

Signatures must be input into Antares if they are found.

Saving the Game

When a case is completed, note which cards were gained during the investigation (including which were flipped and which
were not). There is a dedicated spot for in-use cards in the insert. These cards can be accessed during future cases, but only
as note (they are no longer interactable). Keep all written notes between cases, as there could be information pertaining to
the overarching crime.

Investigators

Each player takes the role of one investigator. That investigator’s Skill Tokens are added to the shared pool at the start of
the case (and are not refreshed). Each investigator has an ability, which can be used once per day (cover with an X when
used).

Consultants

Add the Consultant’s Skill tokens to the pool at the start of the Case.

Plot Cards

Plot cards relate to the overarching plot of the game, rather than the specific case you are playing. When you discover leads
relating to the main plot line, you add Plot Card XXX to Case Y. When the plot card is added to a future case, do not read it
before adding it to that deck – wait til the beginning of the appropriate case.

Game End and Scoring

The case ends at 4 pm on the final day of the case (unless you work overtime, in which case it ends after overtime). At the
end of the final day, stop work, and perform the End of Day process. Then open Antares and choose “Final Report”. Antares
will ask a series of questions, the first relating to the specific case, and the second set relating to the overarching plot.
Investigators discuss between themselves answers and select or type in the correct solutions. Often answers are not
specifically given by the game and must be deduced. Each case has a predetermined score needed to win it.

• The main questions about the current case are worth the most points
• Additional questions fewer points.
• Points will also be awarded for each piece of matched Evidence in Antares.
• Each stress token is worth -1 points.
• ‘I don’t know’ is worth 0 points.
• A wrong answer is worth -1 points.

Once the report is completed, Antares will calculate your score and determine if you win or lose. If you lose, you can play the
case again, by resetting the Leads deck to its pre-case state, and returning any gained cards to their original positions. Then
perform setup as normal to make a second attempt.