13 Clues Game Rules

Hey there! Are you ready to dive into the world of detective mysteries and put your detective skills to the test? Well, you’re in luck because today I’m going to walk you through the rules of the exciting game called 13 Clues.

Now, let’s get down to business. 13 Clues is a game that challenges your deductive reasoning and problem-solving abilities. The goal of the game is to uncover the identity of the culprit, the location of the crime, and the weapon used.

To begin, the game board consists of 13 different locations, each with their own unique symbol. There are also 13 suspect cards and 13 weapon cards, all face-down. The first thing you need to do is randomly select one card from each category and place them in the secret envelope without looking at them.

Next, each player receives a detective notebook and pencil. The notebook has space for them to write down their deductions, which will come in handy later.

Now, it’s time to start unraveling the mystery! The youngest player goes first, and the game proceeds clockwise. On your turn, you get to ask a question to the player on your left. The question must be about a specific card in their hand. For example, you could ask, “Do you have any location cards with animals?”

The player may only respond with “yes” or “no.” If they answer “yes,” you can then narrow down your suspect list by crossing off all suspects who don’t have a location card with animals. If they answer “no,” you can make a note that none of the suspects have a location card with animals.

In addition to asking questions, you can also make an accusation at any time during your turn. However, be careful! If your accusation is incorrect, you are out of the game. But if you’re right, you win!

As the game progresses, your detective notebook will fill up with crossed-off suspects, locations, and weapons. By process of elimination, you’ll be able to deduce the correct combination of culprit, crime location, and weapon. When you think you’ve cracked the case, you can make a final accusation.

And that’s the gist of 13 Clues! As you play, remember to pay close attention to the questions asked by other players and use your deductive reasoning to piece together the puzzle. Good luck, detective!

In the year 1899, something mysterious is happening in the great city of London. Crimes are being committed, and the police are struggling to solve them. That’s where you come in. Scotland Yard has called upon the best detectives, which includes me, to help crack these puzzling cases. Each of us will be given a different mystery to solve, and we’ll need to trust our instincts to find the 13 Clues that match our case before anyone else does!

What’s Inside the Box

• 30 Clue cards
• 6 hiding screens with transparent cardholders
• 6 pencils
• A pad of Casebook Pages
• 8 Magnifying Glass tokens
• 8 Letter tiles (A to H)
• 6 Top Secret tokens (only used with the game variant)
• Instructions

How to Win the Game

Your goal is simple: be the first player to solve your own mystery. You’ll need to correctly identify the Person, Location, and Weapon involved in the crime. It’s a race against the clock and your fellow detectives!

Getting Started

Before you play your first game, make sure to carefully remove the pieces from their frames.

Remember: These rules are for three or more players. If you’re playing with just two players, you’ll find additional rules at the end of this section.

It’s a good idea to start your first few games with fewer than 6 players.

Each of you will need 1 hiding screen, 1 Magnifying Glass token, 1 pencil, and 1 Casebook Page. Put any extra Magnifying Glasses in the middle of the table as a general supply. Any screens or pencils you don’t use should be put back in the box.

Put your hiding screen in front of you with the “13” facing the center of the table. Keep your Casebook Page hidden behind the screen so the other players can’t see it. Place your Magnifying Glass in front of the screen – everyone should know how many Magnifying Glasses each player has.

Got your Clue cards? Great! Now let’s take a closer look at how many cards we need based on the number of players. We can follow this handy table to figure it out:

When we play this game, we need to organize the cards. We have three different types of cards: Persons, Locations, and Weapons. To start, we need to shuffle each type of card separately. Then, each player will receive one card from each pile, face down.

After that, we shuffle the remaining cards together and deal two more cards to each player, face down. This means that every player will have a total of five cards: one from each pile and two random cards.

Any cards that are left are placed face down in a row in the middle of the table. These cards are called the Secret Informant cards. We assign a letter tile to each of these cards, starting with A (we put the unused tiles back in the box).

Now it’s time to look at the five cards you have. You have to choose one Person card, one Location card, and one Weapon card. Put these three cards face down in front of you.

Here’s a hint for playing: You can choose any combination of cards, but it’s more fun if you try to avoid having three cards of the same type.

Hey there! Let’s get started by following these simple steps:

First, carefully slide your two remaining cards into the card holder behind your hiding screen. This way, only you will be able to see them. Cool, right?

Once everyone has done that, it’s time to add the three cards you previously picked to the external card holder on the screen of the player to your left. Make sure they can’t see which cards you inserted! Position the screen so that everyone, except that player, can see them.

Keep in mind that you have also received a set of cards from the player to your right. These cards include a Person, a Location, and a Weapon. They are attached to the outside of your screen, so you can’t peek at them just yet.

Your mission, should you choose to accept it, is to guess the identity of these cards. Exciting, huh? Let’s dive in!

Let’s Play the Game!

First, we need to choose who goes first. It could be anyone, so let’s pick a person at random. Once we’ve decided, the game will be played in turns, going around in a circle. It’s important to remember that the turns always go clockwise.

Now, let’s talk about what happens at the beginning of your turn. If you don’t have any Magnifying Glasses, don’t worry! You can take one from the general supply. However, if the supply is all out, you can choose to take one from another player instead. It’s up to you!

Once you have your Magnifying Glass, it’s time to put it to use. Each Magnifying Glass lets you do something special. You can choose from these actions and do them in any order that you like. And don’t worry, if you want to do the same action more than once, that’s perfectly fine. The only exception is when you make an Accusation, but we’ll talk about that later.

When you’re done using all your Magnifying Glasses, it’s the end of your turn. Now it’s time for the next player to take their turn. But before we move on, here’s a hint: use your Casebook Page and pencil to keep track of the cards you’ve already ruled out. And feel free to take notes! Your hiding screen will keep your notes a secret.

Let’s Take Action!

1. Talk to a Witness

So, here’s what you gotta do: hand that fancy Magnifying Glass over to someone in the game. Then, ask them to count how many cards they can find that belong to the same suit or category. Easy enough, right?

• Now, the number of suits you’re dealing with depends on how many players are in the game. You can check the “Setup” section to get the lowdown on that.
• As for categories, you’ve always got six of ’em to work with: Persons (Male or Female), Locations (Indoor or Outdoor), and Weapons (Up close or Ranged). That gives you plenty of options!

When you’re questioning a Witness, remember this: you can only ask about suits or categories. No other questions allowed, sorry. But hey, you can ask different players the same question if you want.

Here are a few examples of good questions: “How many red cards do you see?” (suit); “How many Indoor Locations do you see?” (category).

Invalid questions that cannot be asked: “Tell me how many earrings you can see.” “What is the number of weapons without a barrel?” “Please count the chairs for me.” “How many Persons are there?” (not a valid category).

When you ask a player a question, they must give you an honest answer – no lying! They should consider all the cards they can see: the ones in front of the other players and the two cards they have behind their screen.

2. Get Help from the Secret Informant

If you don’t have a Magnifying Glass, give it to the player who doesn’t have one either. If there are multiple players without a Magnifying Glass, choose the player closest to you in a clockwise direction.

If every player already has at least one Magnifying Glass, return yours to the general supply. Then, select one of the face-down Secret Informant cards, look at it secretly, and place it back where it was, face-down.

Note: You can’t use this option in a game with six players.

Step 3: Accuse!

Give your Magnifying Glass to the player who doesn’t have one. If there’s more than one player without a Magnifying Glass, give it to the player closest to you in a clockwise direction. If all players already have a Magnifying Glass, discard it instead of giving it away. Now, it’s time to solve your mystery!

Choose one Person, one Location, and one Weapon to make your accusation. For example, you could say, “I believe it was the Butcher in the Park with the Sword!” However, you can’t accuse someone with cards that you have already seen, whether they are behind your screen or on other players’ screens.

The other players will then compare your accusation to the three cards on the outside of your screen:

• If your accusation is correct, congratulations! You have successfully solved your mystery and won the game!

Let’s play Detective! Today, I want to talk to you about the fascinating game we all know and love called Detective. It’s a game that challenges your deduction skills and puts your detective instincts to the test. Are you ready to take on the role of a super sleuth?

The rules of Detective are simple. You start with a certain number of magnifying glasses, which act as your guesses. With each guess, you try to deduce the mystery cards. When it’s your turn, you’ll make a guess by stating the three cards you believe are the solution to the mystery. Then, it’s time for the big reveal. If you’re correct, congratulations! You’re one step closer to solving the case. But, if you’re wrong, no worries. The game will let you know, and it’s on to the next player.

But here’s the catch: When you respond to an accusation, you can only say if the player is right or wrong. No hints or clues are allowed! This adds an extra layer of challenge to the game and keeps everyone on their toes. With only a limited number of magnifying glasses, you’ll need to use them wisely and think strategically. It’s all about logic and deduction!

For example, let’s say it’s Mary’s turn. She’s got two magnifying glasses left, and she’s feeling pretty confident about her deduction skills. She carefully considers the clues and makes her guess. Holding her breath, she waits for the game to reveal if she’s right or wrong. It’s a nerve-wracking moment, but that’s what makes Detective so exciting!

So, are you ready to put your detective skills to the test? Join the world of Detective and see if you have what it takes to crack the case. Remember, it’s all about deduction, logic, and a little bit of luck. Good luck and happy sleuthing!

So here’s the scene: I pick up my trusty Magnifying Glass and I’m ready to solve the mystery. I announce confidently, “I’ve got it! It was the Officer, at the Market, with the Gun!” I wait eagerly for the others to check the cards on my screen. I can practically hear my heart pounding as they scrutinize the evidence. And then, the verdict comes in: “Wrong!” Well, that’s the end of my turn. I reluctantly give up my Magnifying Glass and it goes back to the general supply.

So, it’s my turn, and I decide to use the Magnifying Glass for another guess. I say, “I think it was the Officer, at the Market, with the Rifle!”

The other players check the cards again, and they all say, “Yes, you’re right!” I win the game!

Special Rules for Two Players

• In a two-player game, we don’t use Magnifying Glasses. Each of us can take only one action on our turn.
• When we ask our opponent how many cards they see, we need to specify if we’re asking about the card on their left or their right. They only take into account the card behind their screen on that side.

For example: I ask, “How many females do you see, including the card on your left?” My opponent replies, “I see two females, including the card on my left.”

Another Way to Play with 3-6 Experienced Players

Hey there! Let me walk you through a cool variation of the game. Once you know the basics, you can try this out. Each player gets a special token called a Top Secret token. Place it in front of your screen.

Now, when you’re questioning a witness, you can use your Top Secret token along with the Magnifying Glass token. This adds an extra layer of secrecy. Just remember to return the Top Secret token to the box afterwards.

Here’s how it works: write down your question on a piece of paper and pass it to the player you’re asking. They’ll write their answer on the same page and pass it back to you.

The beauty of this is that neither the question nor the answer can be seen by the other players. Only you know what you asked and what the answer was! It’s like having your own little secret.

Some Tips for Your First Games

When you set up the game and look at all the visible cards, you’re left with 13 empty spaces. That’s where the solution to the mystery lies, among those 13 Clues.

If someone answers “Zero!” to a question, you can eliminate all the cards mentioned in that question, regardless of who asked it. Now you know those cards can’t be on your screen.

If a player gets extra Magnifying Glasses, they don’t gain any new information. But they do get more turns to act. Just be careful not to give a player too many Magnifying Glasses!

Think twice before making an accusation. Each wrong accusation can give away clues to the other players!