Chronicles of Crime: Noir
Chronicles of Crime: Noir Rulebook
Table of Contents
Table of Contents
Components
- 15 Location boards
- 30 Character cards
- 10 Special Item cards
- 4 Action cards
Chronicles of Crime requires a free application, which you can download from the App Store or Google Play (for Android 4.4 or newer, iOS 8.0 or newer; this may change in the future). You only need to have the app installed on a phone or tablet to play. It is impossible to play without the app. Once downloaded, the app does not require any internet connection during play. The language can be changed in the app.
Setup
Noir is an expansion of Chronicles of Crime. You will need the base game to play it.
Set up the game as for the base game, with the following changes:
- Take the Noir Location boards, Special Item cards, Character cards and Action cards. Noir components are easily recognisable by the hat icon. You also need the Evidence Category cards, the Special Item cards and the Evidence board from the base game to play.
- Distribute the Action cards among the players.
Allies and Office
You play a private detective. You are not part of the Police.
With a bit of luck, you will have allies or informants who can help you solve the cases: a journalist, a friendly medical examiner, or your devoted secretary. These allies depend on each scenario. You can call them from your detective office (house icon). But be warned: as in noir literature and crime films, allies and friends may lose their nerve, betray you, or even be killed.
Action Cards: New Process
There are 4 new ways to gather information in the Noir expansion. When you want to use an Action card, scan its code. Remember that if you use Action cards in the wrong situations, it may have a negative outcome!
Intimidation: When you interrogate a suspect, you can play it tough and apply pressure to obtain information (scan the Intimidation card during interrogation mode).
Drawback: Some suspects react very badly to intimidation. They may take revenge or even attack you!
Break-in (Effraction): Sometimes you do not want to, or cannot, enter through the main entrance. You may choose to break in (scan the Break-in card from the location you cannot enter).
Drawback: If you stay in a location illegally, you may be caught, thrown in jail, or even killed.
Tailing (Filature): Suspects often lie, but their actions never do! You can spy on a suspect and find out what they do when you are not interrogating them. Scan the Tailing card; if you are in the same location as a suspect, the app will ask you to confirm which Character you want to follow.
Drawback: Tailing takes time. A lot of time...
Corruption: You can bribe a Character, give them jugs of wine to make them talk, or get them to hand over an item (scan the Corruption card during interrogation mode).
Drawback: Money is scarce. Each time you use the Corruption card, you lose $20. The app keeps track of the money you have. When you have none left, you cannot corrupt anyone until you have earned some money back.
Time Passes
In the world of Noir, time is crucial. Shops, bars and public places have opening and closing hours. Witnesses have their own schedules. Police officers or criminals may come to the crime scene and arrest or kill you.
In most scenarios, you are limited in time to solve the case. If you have not fully uncovered the mystery, it is best not to solve the case and to try the game again from the beginning.
Special Events
Your actions in the game are not illusions. Your behaviour can have consequences. A criminal who knows you have evidence against them. A witness who is no longer afraid to talk and cooperates with you. A suspect who becomes an ally because you offer them the item they want.
Whatever action you take in Noir, and whatever item or clue you show (or give) to a Character, it can affect the Characters' reactions and change the course of events in the game. When you lose a card or give one to a Character, you may keep that card as a clue. For example: if you give an important item to someone, you can still question another Character about this clue.
End
In Noir, you may have a client, but you have no boss. Cases are usually closed when you meet your client in your office to close the case and answer some questions. Press the button labelled RÉSOUDRE L'ENQUÊTE ("Solve the Case").
Stories reward you for every plot you uncover. Earning money is a bonus. If you have enough time left, and you need it to understand a secondary plot or to earn some money, you should use all the time available to you.