Detective: A Modern Crime Board Game

Objective and players: Investigate five linked cases by following Leads, recording signature evidence, matching it to people, and answering the Final Report. The publisher lists 1–5 players, 120–180 minutes, and age 16+. Solo uses the same cooperative team rules and has no AI. The Casebook sets each case’s number of days and Stress limit; a full campaign can take considerably longer than the listed play time.

Case setup: Set out the map board with the team’s IT marker at Headquarters, set the time to 8 a.m. and the date to Day 1, and choose investigator roles. Unselected characters are flipped to their Consultant side and provide additional Skill tokens. Read the case’s Casebook introduction and special rules, log into the Antares Database, and prepare notes. Under the current retail rules, play the five base cases in order; clues, Plot cards, and notes can carry into later cases.

Team actions: The team discusses actions together during a day; players do not take separate turns. Options include Follow a Lead, Dig Deeper, search the Antares Database, use the internet when a Wi-Fi icon permits, use investigator abilities, Write a Report, and any actions a case or card specifically allows. Time costs depend on the card, location, and instructions. The team shares Skills, Authority, Stress, and the schedule.

Following Leads and locations: Check the visible Lead number and location before reading it. If the IT marker is elsewhere, move it to the location and spend an additional hour, then advance time by the number printed on the card. After following a Lead, continue as its instructions require; do not read it and then freely stop. If a card allows Dig Deeper, pay the required Skill token to read its back. Not every clue can be explored for free.

Time and online research: The regular workday runs from 8 a.m. to 4 p.m. Actions may take one or more hours. The team may work overtime, but each extra hour adds one Stress. Antares Database searches do not consume game time; internet searches marked by a Wi-Fi clue are also free, but require that access clue. At the end of the day, reset the time to 8 a.m., advance the date, return the IT marker to Headquarters, and clear used investigator ability markers.

Abilities and reports: Each investigator ability may be used once per day. The team may spend one work hour to Write a Report and gain one Authority token. Authority and Skill tokens pay for or enable actions and card effects. Unselected investigators provide their Consultant Skills. If a Lead requires a certain Skill, Authority, or team resource, the team must have it available before resolving the action. Writing a report is limited to once per day for the team and must use a regular working hour; it cannot be done during Overtime.

Evidence and Antares: Signatures on Lead cards are evidence that must be entered in the Antares Database according to the rules. The database matches evidence to people and reveals relationships that affect the Final Report score. Keep notes on times, people, locations, and clues to support discussion, but the team must still select an answer accepted by the case database; narrative guesses alone do not complete the investigation.

Ending a day and Stress: At day’s end, reset time to 8 a.m., advance the date, return the IT marker to Headquarters, and clear used ability markers. If the team uses the case’s final day or reaches its Stress limit, the case ends immediately and proceeds to the Final Report. Each overtime hour adds one Stress, which also reduces the final score; once the limit is reached, the team cannot use remaining time to continue investigating.

Final Report and scoring: When a case ends, answer its main, bonus, and campaign-story questions in the Antares Database. Portal’s 2019 update sets scoring at 6 points for the main question, 2 for bonus questions, and 3 for matched evidence; “unknown” scores 0, a wrong answer costs 1, and each Stress subtracts 1. Passing thresholds vary by case, so use the current case database rather than applying one case’s threshold to all five.

Campaign and edition boundaries: The current retail rules require playing the five base cases in order, with some clues and Plot cards carried forward. If the team fails, the rules allow resetting and replaying that case; a one-time narrative experience is a design feel, not a replay prohibition. The Game of the Year Edition remains the base game with character portrait cards. Season One, L.A. Crimes, Dig Deeper, and Petty Officers are separate products or expansions, not the five base cases.