A downloadable game

Download NowName your own price

Suspects and Culprits is a one-page game where players attempt to identify the culprit of a mystery. Players take turns posing questions, leveling accusations, explaining themselves, and, eventually, trying to solve the case. This game is most fun with 6 players and is suitable for players of all ages.

The expansion module--simply titled "n1"--has recently been released and is available to anyone paying at least $1. We appreciate all of the support and hope to continue providing valuable products!

 

It is possible that throughout the text you will find errors, oversights, and omissions. If something is so problematic that it affects your ability to play and enjoy the game, then change it or ignore it, but please leave us feedback. If you have questions, comments, or gripes, we’d love to hear about them. Maybe you have a suggestion or a solution to a problem. We’d like to hear about that, too.

Don’t like to write “meta” as you play? That is fine. We would also appreciate a recap of your feelings after you finish playing. And if you’d rather not, we’re still happy to have you play. But the only way we can improve is if you let us know what we are doing right, what we are doing wrong, and what you would like us to remove, include, or change. How can you do that? Send us an email at EmbattledTabletopGames@gmail.com with an appropriate subject description. Please include a note about what version of the game document you used.

Occasionally, this game document will be updated to include new or altered text. You don’t need to play with the newest document, but you can’t see the current state of the game without it. The text has gone through--and will be going through--multiple revisions and artifacts from previous versions stubbornly persist for several generations until they are amended, updated, or removed. That means you must read each version document anew and with the current version in mind. This task squarely lands on the game master or a group’s “rule lawyer.” In either case, try to run the game as the current version dictates and not as past documents instructed. If there is a reason you’d rather run things as outlined in previous versions, please let us know what and why. This helps us identify when we make an incorrect “correction."

StatusReleased
CategoryPhysical game
Rating
Rated 5.0 out of 5 stars
(1 total ratings)
AuthorEmbattledTabletopGames
TagsGM-Less, Minimalist, Multiplayer, Narrative, One-page, pnp, print, Print & Play, Short, Tabletop
Average sessionA few minutes
LanguagesEnglish
AccessibilityColor-blind friendly

Download

Download NowName your own price

Click download now to get access to the following files:

Suspects_and_Culprits_Changelog.pdf 28 kB
Suspects_and_Culprits_V1-01.pdf 130 kB
Suspects_and_Culprits_Expansion_n1_V1-01.pdf 126 kB
if you pay $1 USD or more

Development log

Comments

Log in with itch.io to leave a comment.

(2 edits)

Hi! Asking for feedback you could put an email on the game. Some notes:

  • 10D6 of one colour per player is a high barrier for entry. Maybe an alternative file for coin flipping, and another for a card deck could make it lower. But that’s another barrier (reading and downloading all the variants). I think they need a file anyway because you can’t transpose sixes with coins, and are limited to 4 players with cards: the 10xD6 are deep inside the game DNA.
  • you can name and instruct more than you explain. eg: it’s not a Symbol. It’s a Relic of Sherlock Holmes. And whoever has it is infused with the Spirit of Holmes. And they can say stuff. It’s probably a bad implementation idea, I just pulled it from my nose. But I hope it’s clear. Sugar instructions.
  • also known as“sus”” is unnecessary. Pushing unnecessary rules on your players is an act of domination. Refrain from it. Don’t strawman this advice: jokes are not unnecessary when they communicate the tone of the game. unnecessary is when it communicates nothing useful.
  • the rules are not complicated, but it’s hard to make them seem simple. What I need to understand them is a guide. That’s well done in the game. I know what it means to put a die or nothing in my hand. But if there’s a good strategic option, I’d like to know it from the get go. I don’t want to have to lose a game to learn it. I mean, I’ll probably lose my first game, but I need to understand why. All in all, as a player, I feel a bit deprived ot orientation going in your game. Of course it’s due to the 1 page constraint. But why tell me about the nickname you use at your table if you lack space, right? I think the game is GREAT but it’s like redaction phase is still underway. Editing is about making the game player facing, and it’s not finished. I don’t mean materially, I mean “in your creator’s head”. Illustration with player dice and center dice, then hands with or without dice could probably help fix the concepts in some person’s mind’s eyes. I hope you can receive this feedback in peace. It’s very strange to give it in public and I’d rather you delete it and give me a way of interacting, maybe in a community space, maybe via email. I’m heavily influenced in my critique by Murder of Mr Crow, a gae by Rickard Elimaa with similarities to yours.