The group discussion and theorizing that underpins it can be extremely engaging, and especially rewarding for those that like to use their imagination. When I initially read about the deduction part, it sounded quite bland and straightforward. But, in reality, the evidence and scene cards are written in such a wonderful way that conversation and wild deductions can’t help but flow out. Special roles like the forensic scientist have access to the solution but can only communicate using special scene tiles while the rest of the group interpret the evidence. This continues for three rounds. If the crime has not been solved by the end (see next section), the Murderer wins. Solving The Crime Deception is a game of bluffing and deduction. At the beginning of the game, players are secretly given role cards to determine if they are an investigator, murderer, forensic scientist, accomplice (optional), or witness (optional). The goal of the investigators is to uncover the truth while the murderer must deceive and mislead the team.

The investigators probably get bumped onto traffic control. Versions & Expansions Deception: Undercover Allies Opposition shut out of Hong Kong’s ‘patriots-only’ District Council race; leader John Lee hails ‘fierce competition’The Murderer tries to hide their role and look for a scapegoat. Even if they are identified, the Murderer still wins the game if no one correctly identifies both the “Key Evidence” and the “Means of Murder”. Deception: Murder in Hong Kong ( designed by Tobey Ho) is a social deduction game for 4-12 players. The narrative involves investigators trying to solve a murder. One player acts as the forensic scientist giving clues using a series of scene tiles, and investigators must try to interpret them. Sounds simple enough, but hiding among this band of investigators is the murderer, who must manipulate the discussion to try to move the blame away from themselves. Roles are randomly assigned, and there are fun additions of the witness and the accomplice who can make things even more interesting in larger groups.

The Inside Man spreads rumors and is an optional role recommended for games with 8 or more players. She’s also not a fan of bluffing games. Games that involve any type of deceit don’t go over well in her book. Yet for a game called “Deception” there isn’t any lying involved. The person who is the murderer isn’t telling people that he’s not the murderer. Instead, he’s simply suggesting cards in front of the other players that may incriminate them. The possible combos are always so varied. When playing with the Protective Detail, the Forensic Scientist will need to inject the following into their setting up of "The Crime" after they have identified the Witness: "Protective Detail, open your eyes". If that weren’t enough to tell you how much they enjoyed it, over the weekend I got texts from 4 of the guys asking if they could borrow it. The only problem was that we had taken it with us on our long weekend away with extended family. The Forensic Scientist then has everyone close their eyes. He’ll ask the Murderer to open his eyes and point to two cards in front of him (1 Means and 1 Clue). These cards indicate how the murder was committed and what was left behind.

The first time I played Deception was with 12 players at SaltCon earlier this year. It was a blast. The amount of cards to consider goes up considerably with more players, but it makes for some fun discussions. Players should not reveal what their hidden roles are until the game is over. This includes claiming a role without revealing the card. Murder in Hong Kong is a deduction-and- deception game for 4-12 players that takes about 20 minutes to complete. Players must assume the role of investigators in the game, attempting to solve a murder case while avoiding danger. One of the detectives in this case is the murderer. When we played Deception with our extended family last weekend, the game play itself also didn’t go over well with some players. Even after playing for a little while, some players just weren’t as engaged as others. It was clear that they weren’t as taken by the game as the rest.

Deception in Hong Kong is a murder mystery game where one of the players is the murderer. Players will each have one secret roll from an investigator, witness, accomplice, or the murderer. Depending on what role you get changes your win condition. Bear in mind that the Murderer (and sometimes Accomplice) is among the Investigators! The innocent Investigators must make a vigorous effort to defend themselves from false accusation. Finally, each Investigator should take a Badge token and put it in front of them. This tells everyone that they have not yet tried to solve the crime. Committing The Crime During this portion of the game, the Murderer will select the solution to the crime by identifying the "Means of Murder" and "Key Evidence". The Forensic Scientist should run this portion of the game by following these steps: The Forensic Scientist then discards their Means and Clue cards, and instead takes out the Scene tiles, along with the six bullet markers. They place the Cause of Death and one Location Scene tile in front of them, then do the same with four other random Scene tiles.The only new information you gain related to the group hypotheses are the new clue cards swapped in. I really do like this dynamic as the forensic scientist player has to use the new card, and has to eliminate one from the table. Do you remove a clue that everyone has already gained as much information out of as they will, to prevent them from overthinking it? Or do you remove that clue that didn’t give them anything at all? Do you try to angle your strategy towards bringing them closer to the cause of death, or the clue? Maybe you eliminate one of the clues they spent a lot of time over in the previous round, indicating that they were misleading themselves by overthinking it. Everything about it is touchy and subtle, and when you draw a clue that can’t possibly give them any information it’s frustrating in the best kind of way. Forensic Scientist (1): The forensic scientist is the player that will lead the other players through the game and give out clues to catch the murder. The forensic scientist wins with the investigators but must be an unbiased character. They know who everyone else is and the means and clue for the murder, but the forensic scientist is not permitted to hint at or give away the answer to the investigator with any gesture, verbal clue, or eyes. The artwork suits the theme and the card design is simple an effective. My only criticism here is that if trying to play in low light the dark colours can be hard to distinguish between, and the palette can look a little bland. But the pieces are well made and the game has everything it needs.