Black Stories: Das Verhör Rulebook

Table of Contents

Table of Contents

• Components
• Setup (Spielvorbereitung)
• Game Flow (... und los geht's)
• Step 1: The Interrogation and the Team Discussion (Ermittlungsschritt 1)
• Step 2: The Investigation (Ermittlungsschritt 2)
• Step 3: Closing the Case (Ermittlungsschritt 3)
• Scoring (Punktewertung)
• End of Game (Spielende)
• Component Examples

Components

• 1 red overlay sheet (Rotfolie)
• 1 investigator pad (Ermittler-Block), one sheet per player, each with a scoring field
• 4 case cards (Fallkarten), each marked with one symbol: skull, explosion, spiral, or heart
• 12 suspect cards (Verdächtige)
• 60 interrogation cards (Verhörkarten)
• Pencils (Stifte), not included in the box; each player needs one

Setup (Spielvorbereitung)

Sort the suspect cards, the case cards and the interrogation cards into three face-down stacks. Place the red overlay sheet in the middle of the table. You will not need it until the case is solved.

Suspects. Shuffle the suspect cards. Each player draws one suspect face down and places it face up in front of them. Return the remaining suspect cards to the box.

Investigator pad. Each player takes one sheet of the investigator pad and places it in front of them together with a pencil.

Case. Choose the case you want to play. Return the remaining case cards to the box. Each case is marked with one symbol (skull, explosion, spiral, or heart). Each case has 30 matching interrogation cards.

Interrogation cards. Look through the interrogation cards and keep only those whose front side shows the same symbol as the case card. A card stays in the game if its symbol matches the case card. It does not matter whether the interrogation card shows other symbols as well. Return all other interrogation cards to the box.

Shuffle the remaining interrogation cards well. Each player then takes a set number of them into hand, depending on the number of players:

• 3 players: 8 interrogation cards each
• 4 players: 7 interrogation cards each
• 5 players: 6 interrogation cards each
• 6 players: 5 interrogation cards each

Any interrogation cards left over are returned to the box.

Paperwork. Before you start the investigation, write the name of your suspect in the matching field on your investigator sheet. Also note the numbers of your interrogation cards in the boxes provided. You will need them at the end of the game to expose the culprit. Tip: write the numbers in ascending order.

Example: You have the suspect Detlef Schulze. Your interrogation card numbers are 9, 10, 26, 39, 43, 51 and 56. Write the numbers into the boxes in ascending order.

Game Flow (... und los geht's)

Each of you looks at your suspect. Each suspect is assigned one letter (a, b, c or d). This letter refers to the text blocks on the interrogation cards. It tells you which text blocks you must use on your interrogation cards.

Example: You have the suspect Detlef Schulze. He has the letter c. You must use all text blocks from line c on your interrogation cards.

The investigation has three steps.

Step 1: The Interrogation and the Team Discussion (Ermittlungsschritt 1)

The oldest detective begins. If you are the oldest detective, you first read out the case aloud. Then report to your colleagues what you found out about your suspect. Take your interrogation cards for this. Use the text blocks that match the letter of your suspect, and deliver your report. The text blocks on the interrogation cards must appear in your report.

Not word for word, but in such a way that your colleagues can remember it later. Your creativity is naturally unlimited. You may use the interrogation cards in any order you like. Keep the time in mind. Do not give your report in epic detail; 1 to 2 minutes is plenty. Your colleagues may not take any notes while you report.

How could a report sound?

"My dear colleagues, I looked into Detlef Schulze and interrogated him. In doing so I found out the following: He is 52 years old and his friends call him Elektro-Schulze. I visited him in his shop, and the neighbour told me that he recently repotted his houseplant. In front of his shop lay the latest issue of the Blitz-Zeitung. He has probably subscribed to it. When I finally interrogated him, I caught an unpleasant smell: he is a heavy smoker. And somehow Detlef Schulze behaved strangely that day: he kept stumbling over his words, stuttered, and could barely read my ID card. Very suspicious, this Mr Schulze! My research has also shown that he attended evening school and recently received a fine for speeding."

Step 2: The Investigation (Ermittlungsschritt 2)

Once you have delivered your reports in turn, you go deeper into the investigation. Meanwhile you have received the autopsy report, a psychological assessment, and the results of the forensic evidence collection. You can now narrow down the circle of suspects further.

Place your suspect cards visibly in front of you. Shuffle all the interrogation cards that were used, face down. Then choose 7 interrogation cards at random, face down, and lay them with the red side facing up in a line in the middle of the table. Make sure the order is not changed afterwards! Return the remaining interrogation cards to the box.

Example row of seven evidence cards (as printed in the rulebook):

• Card 10: a: was a non-smoker but conspicuously carried matches; b: has a burn wound on the hand; c: is a heavy smoker; d: according to a neighbour, smelled of petrol. Symbols: explosion, spiral.
• Card 11: a: often flies gliders; b: has a "Carry-on Luggage" sticker stuck to the sole of the shoe; c: often picks up their goods directly from the airport; d: picked up a flight attendant friend from work. Symbols: explosion, heart.
• Card 27: a: bought electrical accessories at the hardware store; b: makes art from electrical accessories; c: had laid electrical cables; d: helped a friend lay electrical cable. Symbols: skull, spiral.
• Card 40: a: paid €2.70 for the subway with the card; b: is recognisable on the subway surveillance video; c: followed someone into the subway; d: had a subway ticket from the city centre to the stadium. Symbol: skull.
• Card 44: a: was seen with Larissa at a burlesque party; b: according to colleagues, wanted to become Larissa's best friend; c: had a brief affair with the victim; d: believed Larissa had cheated. Symbol: skull.
• Card 57: a: has sand in their shoes; b: has fresh calluses on their hands; c: bought a spade at the hardware store; d: has a shovel in the car. Symbols: explosion, heart. (The row as printed shows card 57 twice with identical text; it is transcribed as printed.)

On the red reverse side of the interrogation cards you find excerpts of the autopsy report and the forensic evidence collection. These are the incriminating pieces of evidence. If you are the oldest detective, you take the red overlay sheet and place it on the first interrogation card. Then read out one reverse side after another, from left to right from your point of view.

After each piece of evidence, take a short pause. Hint: leave the interrogation cards lying on the table and do not pick them up.

Each of you takes your pencil and investigator sheet and secretly notes on it the name of a suspect. Naturally you note the suspect to whom this piece of evidence could belong. To do this, remember the reports of your colleagues. One of them has surely mentioned it in one form or another. Write the names one under the other on the pad.

Example: "The blackmail letter to Diebke was made from letters of the Blitz-Zeitung." You remember: Detlef Schulze had subscribed to the Blitz-Zeitung. You would therefore write his name on your sheet.

Once you have read out the seven pieces of evidence and noted the names of the suspects on your sheet, each of you taps on one culprit for yourself. This is usually the suspect to whom, in your opinion, most of the incriminating pieces of evidence apply. Write his name in the last free field on your sheet. If several suspects are tied, you may also write down several culprits.

Step 3: Closing the Case (Ermittlungsschritt 3)

Now you can close the case and expose the culprit. To do this, turn all interrogation cards over to their text side. Make sure you do not change the order! On the front side of the interrogation cards you will now see the numbers that you noted at the start of the game on your investigator sheets. The oldest detective now reads out the numbers of the interrogation cards. If a number matches one on your investigator sheet, circle it. Now everyone knows that this interrogation card belonged to your suspect.

Who had the right nose? For each suspect that a player assigned correctly, that player receives 2 points. A wrong assignment gives 0 points. If an interrogation card belongs to your suspect but nobody but you recognised it, you receive 1 minus point, because you were evidently of no help to your colleagues with your investigation. And for each correct culprit you receive another 2 points. For each wrong culprit there is 1 minus point.

But who was the culprit? Take all the investigator sheets and count which suspect was circled most often. This means that most of the incriminating pieces of evidence point to him. He is therefore the culprit. In some cases there are also several culprits.

Scoring (Punktewertung)

The scoring is also printed on the investigator pad:

• +2 points for each correct suspect
• +2 points for each correct culprit
• -1 point for your own suspect that nobody else recognised correctly
• -1 point for each wrong culprit

End of Game (Spielende)

Add up the points on your investigator sheet. The player with the most points is the best detective. In case of a tie there are several congenial detectives.

Component Examples

Interrogation cards. Each interrogation card has a number and four text blocks, labelled a to d, and shows one or more symbols at the bottom. The letter of your suspect selects the text block you must use.

• Card 14: a: was photographed by someone at Club "25"; b: was seen with the victim on the dance floor; c: complains of tinnitus after visiting the club; d: is a bouncer at a hip-hop joint. Symbols: skull, explosion.
• Card 17: a: has the same slight cleft lip as the victim; b: is the illegitimate daughter of the victim; c: is the victim's cousin; d: comes from the same suburb as the victim. Symbols: spiral, heart.
• Card 26: a: planted new rose bushes in the garden; b: had tomato seedlings found at their place; c: according to witnesses, repotted the houseplant in front of the shop; d: recently helped the neighbour in the allotment garden. Symbols: spiral, heart.

Suspect cards. Each suspect card shows a name, an age and the letter a to d that determines which text blocks of the interrogation cards that player uses. Example: Detlef Schulze, 52, known as Elektro-Schulze, with the letter c.

Case cards. Each case card is marked with one symbol (skull, explosion, spiral, or heart). The interrogation cards with the same symbol belong to that case. The narrative text of the example case card is flavour text and is not transcribed here.