MicroMacro: Crime City – Full House Rulebook

Table of Contents

Table of Contents

• Components
• Game Setup
• Setup
• Off We Go!
• Symbols
• The Cases
• Tips
• Advanced Version
• Solved All the Cases?
• Dear Parents!
• Trigger Warning
• Credits

Components

• 1 City map
• 120 Case cards
• 16 Envelopes
• 1 Magnifying glass (+Sticker)

Game Setup

• Put the included sticker onto the magnifying glass.

• There are 16 different criminal cases. Each case consists of a deck of case cards. Each of these cards is marked in the top right corner with the case icon along with the card number. Sort the cards of each case into an envelope in the correct order.

If possible, try to avoid looking too closely at the cards.

Setup

Spread the city map open in a suitable place. A large table is best. You can also play on the floor or hang the city map on the wall. The following should be noted:

• All players should have a good view of the city map. The table should be in a position so that all players can move around it freely and view the map from all sides.

• Make sure to have good lighting! You will need a bright lamp or daylight. The game is often about noticing small details which is made more difficult in poor lighting!

• The entire city map should always be completely visible. It may be best to keep drinks etc. off to the side. The case cards should always be next to the map and not on top of it. Otherwise you may inadvertently cover the exact scene you are searching for.

• Again: bright light is extremely important! If it seems that the details on the map are too small and the characters are too difficult to differentiate, most often it is because it is too dark.

Switch lights on!

Off We Go!

To understand the principle of the game, we recommend starting with the introductory case, "The sombrero". You can start the case right now while reading the rules!

• Designate a player to take on the role of Lead Investigator. He or she leads the investigation and is responsible for reading the text on the cards.

• Take the deck of case cards named "The sombrero" from its envelope and place the deck next to the map.

• The top card is always the start card of a case. It gives an overview of the crime to be solved and shows a picture of the main character. The Lead Investigator now reveals the start card and reads the text on the back aloud.

All text on cards must always be read out loud and clear, because they often contain important information! Likewise, the illustrations on cards should be looked at by all players.

• The front of the second card, now the top card of the deck, describes the first task that you must solve on a black background. The lead investigator now reads this task aloud without turning over the card and without taking it off the deck.

• The solution to a task is always a specific scene on the city map. Now find the matching scene. If you think you have found the solution, the Lead Investigator turns the card over and checks whether the coordinates and the scene shown on the back of the card match your findings.

You can't just take a guess! You must always find a scene on the city map that confirms your solution.

• If your solution is correct, the Lead Investigator reads the text on the back of the card aloud and shows the other players the illustration.

• If your solution is wrong, the Lead Investigator immediately puts the card back without reading the card text. They tell the other players that they are incorrect and need to investigate further. Now that the Lead Investigator knows the answer, they are no longer allowed to work on solving this task (unless of course, the group is on the wrong track then they can give a little hint).

• When a card is resolved, it is put aside. A new card is now on top of the deck – this is your next task!

• Now solve all four tasks of the introductory case one after the other.

• Now you have learned how to play the game and can solve more complicated cases!

Symbols

Clue icon (light bulb): This icon found in the text of a card indicates that this is a clue that may prove useful in solving a future task in this case.

Parallel task icon (two cards): (Move this card next to the deck so that the question below can also be seen!)

If you read this instruction on the front of a case card, it should be followed. You now have two tasks that you can work on simultaneously. If the same prompt appears on the next card, do the same again – sometimes three or four questions may be visible at the same time.

If you want to look at individual scenes in detail, use the enclosed magnifying glass!

The Cases

We recommend playing the cases in the order provided, however this is not absolutely necessary. The stars give an approximation of the difficulty and duration of the game.

Each case is also marked with one of the three content symbols explained in "Dear Parents!" — a smiling face (no depictions of murder, physical violence, or sexuality), a face with glasses (accidents, murders and corpses), or a face with an eye patch (explicit themes and representations).

• The sombrero (Introductory Case) — smiling face
• The watch thieves — 2 of 5 stars — smiling face
• The mugger — 2 of 5 stars — smiling face
• An everyday hero — 2 of 5 stars — smiling face
• Love is in the air — 2 of 5 stars — smiling face
• Who framed Harry Hawking — 3 of 5 stars — face with glasses
• The philistine — 3 of 5 stars — smiling face
• The Emerald of Kathmandu — 3 of 5 stars — smiling face
• Promoted to the afterlife — 3 of 5 stars — face with eye patch
• The relegation match — 4 of 5 stars — face with glasses
• Web of conspiracy — 4 of 5 stars — face with glasses
• The murdered gallery owner — 4 of 5 stars — face with eye patch
• Crooked things — 4 of 5 stars — face with glasses
• The mysterious disappearance of Lisa Lindt — 4 of 5 stars — face with eye patch
• Three cold corpses — 5 of 5 stars — face with glasses
• Full House — 5 of 5 stars — face with eye patch

If you do well in the investigations, then try your hand at the advanced version (see next page)!

Tips

• It can help to mark relevant scenes with coins, bottle caps, etc.

• As with all cooperative games: It can be very easy for some players to take charge and dominate discussion so be sure to allow everyone equal opportunity to get involved and participate in the investigation.

Advanced Version

If you have already played a few cases and are doing well, then we recommend the following variant: You look for the case cards of a case and read the start card. The starting card already contains all the necessary information to solve a case. Now you try to solve the entire case WITHOUT using the case cards. The solution texts and follow-up question cards often act as hints so without using them, the game becomes significantly more difficult. Only once you think you have seen everything; you can answer all the questions in the sequence in one try.

If you get stuck at one point or are unsure, you can uncover the questions that have been solved so far and perhaps get a hint or discover a mistake in your theory.

Solved All the Cases?

We recommend hanging the city map on the wall in your home as a poster. When you have guests visiting, you can play a quick case with them.

If you have a little patience and recommend our game to others, then we're sure more cases and new cities will be released soon!

While you are waiting, you can pass the time by finding and solving a few additional puzzles that are hidden in the city. For example:

• Who is stealing all the bikes in the city?

• What did the killer from "Web of Conspiracy" do after completing his assignment?

• Where is the spider mentioned in the trigger warning located?

www.micromacro-game.com

Dear Parents!

MicroMacro can also be greatly enjoyed by children. However, even though there are no direct depictions of violence in the game, many of the cases involve murders, relationship dramas and other "adult themes".

In our experience, most children over the age of 10 years old can handle these types of crime stories, but of course personality and emotional development of children can vary.

To quickly assess the individual cases for their content, we have marked them with symbols.

• Smiling face: In this case, there are no depictions of murder, physical violence, or sexuality.

• Face with glasses: This case contains depictions of accidents, murders, and corpses along with the circumstances surrounding the death.

• Face with eye patch: In this case, the themes and representations are explicit. Play through the case yourself before deciding whether you want to play it with your children.

Trigger Warning

Trigger warning: MicroMacro contains explicit depiction and mention of physical and emotional violence, eroticism, death, a spider, and other animals that can cause fear or disgust.

Credits

• Distribution: Pegasus Spiele GmbH, Am Straßbach 3, 61169 Friedberg, Germany — www.pegasus.de
• Publication: Edition Spielwiese © 2021, Simon-Dach-Straße 21, 10245 Berlin, Germany — www.edition-spielwiese.de
• Game Design, Artwork & Layout: HARD BOILED Games, Danziger Str. 13, 10435 Berlin, Germany — www.hardboiledgames.de — Johannes Sich, Daniel Goll, Tobias Jochinke
• Graphic support: Vero Endemann, Leon Peters
• Proofreading/Editing: Peter Sich, Michael Schmitt, Kaddy Arendt, Kerstin Fricke
• Translation: Vanessa & Jason Abel

Reprinting or publishing of the rulebook, game components, or illustrations is prohibited without prior permission.