Chronicles of Crime: 2400 Rulebook

Table of Contents

Table of Contents

• Game Contents
• Game Objective
• Setup
• How to Play
• Discovering Locations, Characters, Special Items or Cyber-Implants
  • Example
• Searching for Clues
• Time Passing and Events
• Energy Use
• Cyberspace
• History
• Game End
• Credits

Game Contents

• 40 Character cards
• 15 Special Item cards
• 38 Evidence Category cards
• 1 Raven card
• 1 Rulebook
• 7 Double-sided Location Boards
• 1 Evidence Board
• 1 Implant Board
• 4 Implant cards
• 1 Home Location Board

Each Location board has 4 Character slots, while the Evidence Board has 4 Unlocated Character slots and 20 Evidence slots (15 red and 5 blue ones).

Chronicles of Crime requires a free app, which you can download from Apple's App Store or Google Play (currently requires Android 5 or newer, iOS 10.0 or newer, may change in the future). You only need the app installed on one phone or tablet to play. It's impossible to play without the app. Once downloaded, the app doesn't require any internet connection during gameplay. The language can be changed within the app.

Game Objective

Each of the 4 scenarios offers a unique criminal investigation. The game is fully cooperative, and all players are working together to solve the mystery. The story will develop as you collect evidence and interrogate characters. When you feel you are ready to close the case, go to the location specified in the scenario, press the Count the Case button, and answer a series of questions that will determine your score as a team.

Setup

1. Place the Evidence Board in the middle of the table.
2. Place the Implant Board close to the Evidence Board. You will usually start the game with one Cyber-Implant Card and acquire more during your investigation.
3. Place the Home Location Board on the table and keep the other Location Boards in a pile. Reveal them and place them face up as you discover them during your investigations. Notice that each Location Board has 4 Character slots. Some Location boards have a distinctive golden border - those are Cyberspace Locations (see Cyberspace section on page 7).
4. Place Character cards and Special Items cards face down to the side of the Evidence Board.
5. Place Evidence Category cards face up on the table in reach of the players. During the game you may search through these cards freely and sort them face up to find the one you need at the moment.
6. Place Cyber-Impant cards in a face-down pile.
7. Place the Raven card face up on the table close to the board. It will remind you that your cyber-raven companion is present with you (except when you are in a Cyberspace Location), and you may ask him about Characters and Evidence to receive basic information.

How to Play

Once the game is set up, launch the app, choose 2400 in the main menu, and select the scenario you want to play.

Note: Try the short tutorial investigation to get familiar with the game. Instructions are explained in this scenario to understand how the game works.

You start each scenario with one Cyber-Implant at your disposal. At the beginning of the investigation the app will instruct you to take one Cyber-Implant card and put it on the Implant Board. During the game you may acquire more of those cards.

You progress in Chronicles of Crime by scanning Location boards, along with Character and Evidence Category cards. When the scan window is displayed, point your device at any QR code on a card or a board. Then tap anywhere to trigger the scan. Be advised that you can switch to the "auto-scan" feature in the menu in the app.

The group should discuss together which card should be scanned.

• Scan a Location board: allows you to move to this location.
• Scan a Character card: allows you to interrogate the character. Once scanned, the Character can answer questions about any other Characters or Evidence. To do so, simply scan these cards and the Character will speak about them.

Important! Keep in mind that Characters may never be asked about locations. Scanning a location during interrogation mode will finish the interrogation and move the team to the indicated location instead.

You can exit interrogation mode by pressing the Finish button.

• Scan an Evidence Category card: allows you to pick up a clue that you have spotted. Extra details become available and, if it's relevant to your case, the app will indicate that you should put it on the Evidence Board.

WARNING! In some rare cases, scanning may not work because of:

• the light in the room (e.g. sharp shadows)
• sleeved cards (causing reflection)
• the camera of the phone (e.g. if it is dirty)

Make sure the QR code is inside the indicated square and hold the phone still so that the camera can focus. If the camera still can't focus, try passing your hand in front of it to reset the focus.

• Scan the Raven card: allows you to use your cyber-raven companion to ask him about characters and items. He is represented by the Raven Card that you can use at any location except a Cyberspace Location. As a technologically advanced animal cyborg, he is able to speak with you, analyze data, and search the web for information. To do so, scan the Raven card and then:
  • scan a Character card to hear information about them,
  • scan a Special Item or Evidence Category card to hear information about it. You may also scan an object that you do not physically possess (i.e. on the blue area of the Evidence Board), as the Raven might be able to find some intel available on the web.

The Raven won't react to a Location board.

• Scan a Cyber-Implant card: allows you to use the implant in the location you are currently in or during a conversation with a character. The way the implant might be used is explained in the app, when you first acquire the new implant. Each scanning of the implant requires use of Energy. (see: "Energy use" on page 6)

Discovering Locations, Characters, Special Items or Cyber-Implants

Locations, Characters, Special Items and Cyber-Implants should stay face down until explicitly named by the app. During the game, some of these cards will be revealed. These cards have the following symbols and a number or a letter.

• person icon — CHARACTER CARDS

• pin icon — LOCATION BOARDS

• star icon — SPECIAL ITEM CARDS

• magnifying glass icon — EVIDENCE CATEGORY CARDS

• gear icon — CYBER-IMPLANT CARDS

• New Locations should be placed face-up on the table.

• New Characters should be placed on one of the 4 Character slots on the Location board indicated.

If you are unsure where a Character is located, place it on an Unlocated Character slot on the Evidence Board. Don't forget to move it if you find where this Character is!

• Evidence Category cards are found while searching the scene for clues. Only cards that correspond to an actual clue for your case are moved to the Evidence Board. See page 6 for how to find Evidence Category cards.

Any Evidence you find on the crime scene or get from Characters should be put in the red area on the Evidence Board. Sometimes, however, a Character may just tell you about Evidence without giving you the actual object. In such a situation the app will instruct you to put the corresponding Evidence Category card or Special Item card in the blue area on the Evidence Board to indicate that you know about this object, but haven't found it yet. If later in the game you happen to obtain this object, the app will ask you to move the Evidence Category card from the blue area to the red area.

• Special Item cards immediately go on the Evidence Board when revealed. The app will notify you if and when these come into play. Search the face-down stack and place them face-up on the Evidence Board.
• One Cyber-Implant card is granted to you at the beginning of each scenario. Put it on the Implant Board. You can find more of them during your investigation, the app will notify you when this happens and that you may add a new Cyber-Implant card to the Implant Board.

Example

You scan Location E and read this screen.

You arrive on the scene and you meet a woman (Character 18). She tells you about a man (Character 14) with a bloody knife (Evidence Category 12) who was here an hour ago.

Based on this text, you should:

• look for Character 18 and place it on one of the Character slots on Location E,
• look for Character 14 and put it on an Unlocated Character slot on the Evidence Board,
• look for Evidence Category card 12 "Melee Weapons" and put it on a blue slot on the Evidence Board.

Searching for Clues

Some Locations (like crime scenes) allow you to search for Evidence. Press the Search the Scene button to enter the search mode.

You can either search for Evidence:

• In panoramic view – Select this to experience the crime scene without extra devices.
• In 3D – To do so, place the glasses (sold separately) in the middle of the screen over the yellow line on the phone.

You have 40 seconds to look at the scene and describe what you see to other players. Physically turn around to check the Location in 360°. If you are not using the glasses, you can also observe the scene by swiping left, right, up or down. Other players need to pick matching Evidence Category cards that seem to correspond to what you describe. Make sure these cards are face-up and available to all players who are not using the app to search.

When the time runs out, you or another player can search for clues again. Note that this extra search will take more in-game time.

Finally, scan all the Evidence Category Cards picked. The app will tell you which of the cards are useful clues to place on the Evidence Board. Put cards which are not useful now back into the pile. They may or may not be useful later.

Time Passing and Events

In the world of Chronicles of Crime, time is very important. You can see the current time on the top right of the screen.

Each time you scan an Evidence Category card, ask a Character a question or observe a crime scene, 5 minutes of in-game time passes.

Each time you travel from one Location to another, 20 minutes of in-game time passes.

The in-game time that passes has an influence on the final scoring. The quicker you solve the case, the better score you will get.

In some scenarios, time passing in-game also means some situations can change, e.g. characters can move, or be available only at specific times.

Energy Use

Kalia's cyborgized body is fitted to use Cyber-Implants and to easily plug in to Cyberspace. But using these enhancements requires Energy. The current percentage of Energy remaining in Kalia's batteries is displayed in the app, next to the current time. Energy is used when:

• scanning a Cyber-Implant card,
• scanning a Cyberspace Location board to enter the Cyberspace.

Visiting the home location allows Kalia to recharge her batteries to 100%. Each recharging takes 1 hour of in-game time.

Cyberspace

During your investigation you may plug in to Cyberspace to travel to virtual locations and meet avatars of people surfing virtual reality. Cyberspace Locations are represented by standard Location boards with distinct golden borders and their own QR codes.

There are a few differences between interacting with Physical Locations and Cyberspace Locations:

• If you scan a Cyberspace Location while you are in a Physical Location, the app will ask you if you want to enter Cyberspace.
• Entering Cyberspace costs Energy, but not time.
• Traveling between Cyberspace Locations doesn't cost time or Energy.
• Interrogating Avatars in Cyberspace takes standard time (5 minutes of in-game time).
• If you scan a physical Location while you are present in Cyberspace Location, the app will ask you if you want to exit Cyberspace. Exiting Cyberspace will bring you back to the physical Location from where you plugged in.
• You can also tap the Exit Cyberspace button to leave Cyberspace and return to the physical location from where you plugged in.
• Your Cyber-Implants and Raven are not available in Cyberspace.
• When you talk to Avatars in Cyberspace, you can never be sure who the person you're talking to is in reality.
• Avatars can log out at any moment while you're talking with them, so be careful how you talk to people in Cyberspace.

Not every physical Location will allow you to enter Cyberspace. In some places, using Cyberspace may be forbidden (e.g. in corporate buildings or private properties), or the area could be too dangerous. When you enter Cyberspace, your physical body stays in the real world, unaware of its surroundings. If you spend too much time in Cyberspace, you may find an unpleasant situation waiting for you when you leave Cyberspace and your consciousness returns to your body.

History

If you ever miss something, change the screen too fast, or simply need to check what was discovered before, use the "History" feature.

Click the menu icon in the lower left of your screen and then the history icon to browse through all interactions and effects of scans you acquired during your investigation.

Game End

When you believe you have solved the case, you can give your report. Go to the location specified in the scenario and press the Count the Case button. Your team will be asked a series of questions. To answer them, scan the cards that support your deductions. Your score will depend on your answers. After checking the score, you may choose to play the scenario again or you may press Solution to read the story.

Some scenarios have several episodes. You can experience each episode as a single game, though keep in mind some parts of the story and characters are connected with previous episodes. It may be a good idea to play all episodes of a single scenario with the same group of people.

Credits

• Game Design: David Cicurel, Wojciech Grajkowski
• Writing: Karol Górniak, Grzegorz A. Nowak
• Illustration: Zack Cy, Matijos Gebreselassie, Alexey Skorodumov, Mateusz Komada
• Art Direction: Mateusz Komada
• Graphic Design: Katarzyna Kosobucka
• Lead Development: Grzegorz A. Nowak
• Development: Wojciech Grajkowski
• Creative Director: Filip Miłuński
• Producer: Vincent Vergonjeanne
• Production Manager: Przemek Dołęgowski
• Programming: Marcin Musiał
• Playtesting Manager: Tomasz Napierała
• Playtesting: Wojciech Giżyński
• Proofreading: Russ Williams, Morgan Finley