Kreuzverhör: Krimi-Kartenspiel für zwei "Ermittler" Rulebook

Table of Contents

Table of Contents

• Game Overview
• Components
• Setup
• Game Sequence
  • Sequence of a Questioning
  • Note on the Use of Investigation Cards
• End of the Game
• Card Types
  • Case Cards
  • Action Cards

Game Overview

1. Both players investigate at the same time, each solving a case that they must crack during an interrogation. Whoever fully solves their case first wins the game.
2. The interrogation consists of a maximum of 12 alternating questionings. In each questioning, the questioning player lays down the corresponding case cards to state a guess about the four details of the case (crime, scene of the crime, suspect, murder weapon). The answering player checks each of the individual guesses and informs the questioning player of the current state of the investigation, i.e. how many of the details were guessed correctly. However, the answering player does not reveal which details these are.
3. Afterwards, the questioning player has the option of additionally playing an action card (investigation card) that can help with the investigation. Then the answering player may also play an action card (defence card) to hinder the investigation of the questioning player. Only one action card may be used per questioning.
4. The guesses made during a questioning about the details of the case, the information about the state of the investigation, and the additional information gained through an investigation card are recorded in the Case File (Ermittlungsakte).
5. With the help of the data collected in the individual questionings, more and more details of the case can be gradually determined or ruled out. In this way, and with a little luck, it should ultimately be possible to solve the entire case. The player who manages this first is the winner.

Components

The game "Kreuzverhör" contains:

1. 90 playing cards, divided into:
   • 30 red case cards (6 "Crime" cards, 9 "Scene of the Crime" cards, 6 "Suspect" cards, 9 "Murder Weapon" cards)
   • 30 green case cards (6 "Crime" cards, 9 "Scene of the Crime" cards, 6 "Suspect" cards, 9 "Murder Weapon" cards)
   • 30 action cards (18 investigation cards, 12 defence cards)
2. A pad with a total of 28 Case Files (Ermittlungsakten). (Further case files can be printed from www.gmeiner-verlag.de.)

Setup

1. Each player takes the 30 case cards of one colour (green or red) and lays them out face up in front of themselves in 4 stacks side by side:

   • 6 "Crime" cards
   • 9 "Scene of the Crime" cards
   • 6 "Suspect" cards
   • 9 "Murder Weapon" cards

   The order of the cards within each stack is of no significance.

2. The 30 blue action cards (18 investigation and 12 defence cards) are shuffled and placed between the two players as a face-down draw pile. Each player takes 3 action cards from this pile, which they hold face down in their hand (hand cards).

3. Each player receives 1 Case File.

4. Now each player constructs a case for the opponent to solve. To do this, they choose from their case cards one Crime, one Scene of the Crime, one Suspect and one Murder Weapon, and enter these in their Case File in the row "Case of the Opponent" (Fall des Gegenspielers). The corresponding cards remain in their case card stacks.

   Note: any Scene of the Crime and any Suspect may be chosen. When choosing the Crime and the Murder Weapon, only one of the Crime–Murder Weapon combinations printed on the corresponding case cards may be taken into account.

   Afterwards, the "Case of the Opponent" section of the Case File is folded back, so that the opponent cannot see the case to be investigated during the game.

The layout of the card deck is as follows (make sure there is enough room between the case card stacks of both players to lay out the desired case and action cards during the questionings):

• The "Case Card Stacks of Player 1" lie in front of the first player, and the "Case Card Stacks of Player 2" in front of the second player.
• The "Stack of Face-Down Action Cards" lies between them.

The Case File is filled in as follows (example): the case of the opponent is entered in the Case File, together with the data collected during the questionings about one's own case.

Game Sequence

1. The players draw lots to decide who conducts the first interrogation questioning (1st questioning).
2. The players then alternate, carrying out a maximum of 12 questionings, to determine the details of their case through clever combining and ruling out.

Sequence of a Questioning

1. The player whose turn it is states their guess about the details of the case by laying out next to each other the corresponding 4 case cards (1 Crime, 1 Scene of the Crime, 1 Suspect and 1 Murder Weapon). At the same time, they enter the laid cards in their Case File in the corresponding columns (see also the example illustration on page 5).

2. The answering player tells the questioning player how many (but not which!) of the guessed details of the case are correct: none, one, two or three. (If all four details are correct, the case is solved!) The questioning player enters the number of correct details in their Case File in the column "Investigation Status" (Ermittlungsstand).

3. Afterwards, the questioning player may play 1 investigation card from their hand cards (not a defence card) to obtain further clues about the solution of the case from the opponent. The information obtained (unless this is prevented by the answering player playing a suitable defence card!) is entered by the questioning player in the Case File in the column "Additional Information" (Zusatzinformationen).

   Note: not every investigation card may always be played (see the explanations on pages 9 to 12). If the questioning player has no suitable investigation card in hand, or does not want to play an investigation card for tactical reasons, they may, if they wish, exchange one of their hand cards (1 investigation or 1 defence card) for 1 new card. To do so, they place the card face down back on the action card stack and draw a new card from the top, so that they again have 3 action cards in hand.

4. After that, the answering player has the option of playing 1 defence card from their hand cards (not an investigation card!) — either to react directly to the investigation card of the questioning player (e.g. refuse to testify), or to initiate a following defensive action (e.g. skip the next questioning). The answering player may play the defence card even if the questioning player did not play an investigation card beforehand.

   Note: not every defence card may always be played (see the explanations on pages 12 and 13). If the answering player has no defence card in hand, or no suitable one, or does not want to play a defence card for tactical reasons, the game simply continues. Unlike the questioning player, the answering player may not exchange a hand card for a new one.

5. Finally, the questioning player places the played case cards back on their corresponding case card stacks. The played action cards (the investigation and/or defence card) are set aside by the players, and 1 hand card is drawn from the action card stack, so that each player has 3 hand cards again at the end of the questioning.

Note on the Use of Investigation Cards

If the instruction on an investigation card requires the answering player to rule out a certain detail of the case, the answering player is also allowed to name a detail that they had already ruled out in an earlier questioning. (Even in a real interrogation, the interviewee repeats their statements in order to delay the investigation!) For the game, this means on the one hand that investigation cards should be played tactically (for example, an investigation card should only be played if at least one of the laid case cards is correct; or investigation cards that are meant to rule out the same details should not be played in close succession), and on the other hand that each player should remember as many as possible of the details they have already named to their opponent, in order to name them again and thereby hinder the opponent's investigation!

Note: if a faster game is preferred, the two players may agree that details which have already been ruled out may not be named again by the answering player.

End of the Game

1. The player who first determines all 4 details of their case, i.e. who lays down the four correct case cards in one questioning, is the winner of the game. The interrogation is then over.
2. In the unlikely event that after 12 questionings each of the two players has still not fully solved their case, it is, as so often in real life: the cases are placed "unsolved in the files" (ungelöst zu den Akten). The winner is then the player who, in the last questioning, was able to clarify the most details of their case.

Card Types

Case Cards

Basically, the case cards (green or red) are only laid by the questioning player.

There are 30 different case cards per player:

1. "Crime" (Verbrechen) There are 6 different "Crime" cards. Each card states with which 6 Murder Weapons the crime can be committed, i.e. with which 6 "Murder Weapon" cards the "Crime" card may be combined.

2. "Scene of the Crime" (Tatort) There are 9 different "Scene of the Crime" cards. Each card notes that — provided it is the sought scene of the crime — additional information can be obtained with the investigation card "Ermittler vor Ort" ("Investigators on Site").

3. "Suspect" (Tatverdächtiger) There are 6 different "Suspect" cards. Each card states which investigation card ("Witness", "Forensics" or "Informant") may not be used when that "Suspect" card has been laid.

4. "Murder Weapon" (Tatwerkzeug) There are 9 different "Murder Weapon" cards. Each card states for which 4 crimes the murder weapon can be used, i.e. with which 4 "Crime" cards the "Murder Weapon" card may be combined.

Action Cards

The action cards (blue) are divided into investigation cards and defence cards.

Investigation cards:

Basically, an investigation card may only be played by the questioning player — and only after they have laid their case cards. There are 9 different investigation cards, each in a twofold version:

1. "Single Interrogation" (Einzelverhör) When this investigation card is played, the answering player must name 1 crime that the questioning player may rule out in their investigation. The answering player does not have to give this information if they play the defence card "Refusal to Testify" (Aussageverweigerung).

2. "Investigators on Site" (Ermittler vor Ort) When this investigation card is played, the answering player must name 2 murder weapons that the questioning player may rule out in their investigation. However, the answering player only has to give this information if the correct scene of the crime has also been identified, i.e. if the correct "Scene of the Crime" card was laid earlier by the questioning player. If it is not the correct "Scene of the Crime" card, the answering player tells the questioning player so and gives no further information. By playing the card "Investigators on Site", the questioning player can in any case find out whether they have identified the correct scene of the crime.

3. "Confrontation" (Gegenüberstellung) When this investigation card is played, the answering player must state whether the correct suspect has been identified, i.e. whether the correct "Suspect" card was laid earlier by the questioning player. The answering player does not have to give this information if they play the defence card "Alibi" or "Refusal to Testify".

4. "Informant" (Informant) When this investigation card is played, the answering player must name 2 scenes of the crime that the questioning player may rule out in their investigation. The answering player does not have to give this information if they play the defence card "Refusal to Testify". The "Informant" card cannot be used if the "Suspect" card "Juri L." or "Elke V." was laid beforehand.

5. "Profiler" (Profiler) When this investigation card is played, the answering player must name 1 suspect that the questioning player may rule out in their investigation.

Defence cards:

Basically, a defence card may only be played by the answering player — and only after the questioning player has laid their case cards and possibly played an investigation card. There are 6 different defence cards: 2 cards ("Lawyer" and "Suspension") in single copies, 3 cards ("Alibi", "False Witness" and "Mole") in twofold copies, and 1 card ("Refusal to Testify") in fourfold copies.

1. "Alibi" When this defence card is played, the investigation card "Confrontation" has no effect, i.e. the answering player does not have to give any information. The "Alibi" card may only be played if the questioning player has previously laid the investigation card "Confrontation".

2. "Lawyer" (Anwalt) When this defence card is played, the opponent must skip the next questioning.

3. "Refusal to Testify" (Aussageverweigerung) When this defence card is played, the investigation cards "Single Interrogation", "Confrontation", "Informant", "Suspicion" or "Witness" have no effect, i.e. the answering player does not have to give any information. The "Refusal to Testify" card may only be played if the questioning player has previously laid one of these investigation cards.

4. "False Witness" (Falscher Zeuge) When this defence card is played, the investigation card "Witness" has no effect, i.e. the answering player does not have to give any information. The "False Witness" card may only be played if the questioning player has previously laid the investigation card "Witness".

5. "Mole" (Maulwurf) When this defence card is played, the answering player may exchange 1 of their own action cards (investigation or defence card) for 1 arbitrary action card of the questioning player. To do so, the answering player may look at the hand cards of the questioning player.

6. "Suspension" (Suspendierung) When this defence card is played, the opponent must skip the next questioning.