P.I. (Second Edition) Rulebook

Table of Contents

Table of Contents

• Components
• Game Modes
• Game Setup
• Playing the Game
  • Select a Clue Card
  • Place an Investigator
  • Solve the Case
  • End of the Round
  • End of the Game
• Variants
• Solo Time Attack
• Duel Game (2 Players Only)
  • Preparing the Next Round
  • End of the Game (Duel)

Components

• Player Components (5 sets, each distinguished by color): 5 Investigator Tiles, 3 Spot Markers, 10 Trace Markers, 1 Score Marker
• 1 Game Board (double sided)
• 1 First Player Marker
• 1 Round Marker
• 14 Location Cards
• 10 Evidence Cards
• 12 Suspect Cards
• 36 Clue Cards
• 14 Suspect Tiles
• 14 Evidence Tiles

Game Modes

This game features two modes: the Standard Mode for 2 to 5 players and the Duel Mode specifically for 2 players. The gameplay is the same for both modes, differing only in the scoring and the victory conditions. The following sections first explain the Standard Mode. For details regarding the Duel Mode, see the Duel Game section below.

Game Setup

1. Place the Game Board on the table with the Standard Mode side facing up (Daytime background).
2. Each player chooses a color and takes 5 Investigator Tiles, 3 Spot Markers, 10 Trace Markers, and 1 Score Marker of their color.
3. Place each player's Score Marker on the "0" space of the Score Track.
4. Take all Suspect, Evidence, and Location Cards, and shuffle them separately by type (each type has a different back). Then, deal a card from each deck to every player. So, each player receives 3 cards: a Suspect, Evidence, and Location Card. Keep your cards private. These cards represent the target that the player to your left must find. Set aside the rest without looking.
5. Shuffle all Suspect Tiles and place them face-up, one in each district on the board. Do the same with the Evidence Tiles. When placing tiles, line them up so they do not cover the printed Locations. (Some tiles are marked with an "X" instead of an image.)
6. Shuffle all Clue Cards (large cards) into a face-down deck and draw 9 cards, placing them face-up next to the board.
7. Place the Round Marker on the leftmost place of Round 1 (score 7 space).
8. Give the First Player Marker to the player who was most recently suspected of something.

Playing the Game

A game consists of 3 rounds. Starting with the first player, players take turns in clockwise order. If a player chooses to Solve the Case, they will gain or lose points according to the result and flip the score marker to the unprinted side. If one or fewer score tokens remain face up, the round ends when everyone has finished their turn.

Your goal is to identify the three cards held by the player to your right (referred to as your "opponent")! However, the deductions of other players may also help you.

On your turn, perform one of 3 actions. Your turn ends after the action. The 3 possible actions are:

• Select a Clue Card
• Place an Investigator
• Solve the Case

Select a Clue Card

Select one Clue Card from those on display (it would also be helpful to indicate where the selected clue card is located on the board). Your opponent must let you know how close the Clue Card is to the correct answer:

• If the Clue Card is correct, place one of your Spot Markers on the same tile as that Clue Card.
• If the Clue Card is in an adjacent district to the correct answer, place one of your Trace Markers on the same tile as that Clue Card.

If your Investigator Tile was already in a district where a Spot/Trace marker should be placed, move the marker from the Investigator Tile onto the corresponding tile instead of adding a new one.

A marker must be placed on the tile. Then, place the selected card into the discard pile.

If your opponent cannot place any marker — meaning the card is neither a match nor in an adjacent district — do not discard the card. Instead, take it and place it in front of you. This indicates that no information could be gathered from that card.

After finishing your action, fill the empty space by drawing a new Clue Card from the deck so that 9 cards are displayed again. If the deck runs out, shuffle the discard pile to form a new deck.

Place an Investigator

Place your Investigator Tile on any district of your choice. Ensure it does not cover any other tiles already on the board. In the district where you placed the tile, your opponent must let you know how close the clues in that district are to the correct answers. At this time, the opponent must check all clue types (Suspect/Evidence/Location).

• For each correct answer in that district, place your Spot Marker on the Investigator Tile.
• For each correct answer in any adjacent district, place your Trace Marker on the Investigator Tile.

Note: Multiple Spot/Trace markers can be placed on a single Investigator Tile.

If your marker is already placed on a clue in that district, the opponent does not place a marker for that clue (only markers for newly identified clues are added). Also, do not move any markers already on the board onto the newly placed Investigator Tile. If you become certain about a specific clue during the game, you may move a marker from an Investigator Tile onto the corresponding specific tile.

Important: Each Investigator Tile is for one-time use only. You can use a maximum of 5 tiles over the 3 rounds.

Solve the Case

Name the suspect, evidence, and location that you believe are correct. If this is your first attempt this round, flip your Score Marker face down regardless of whether you succeed.

Your opponent must tell you if you have correctly identified all 3 clues. If even one or more are incorrect, you lose 2 points (move your Score Marker back 2 spaces on the score track; your score cannot go below -5 points).

If you correctly identify all 3 clues, your investigation is successful and you earn points:

• 1st to succeed in this round (for 2 or more players): 7 points (1st Round), 8 (2nd Round), 9 (3rd Round)
• 2nd to succeed (for 3 or more players): 5 pt (1R), 6 (2R), 7 (3R)
• 3rd to succeed (for 4 or more players): 3 pt (1R), 4 (2R), 5 (3R)
• 4th to succeed (for 5 players): 1 pt (1R), 2 (2R), 3 (3R)

If two or more players successfully solve their cases within the same round of turns (before the turn returns to the player with the Start Player Marker), they receive the same points.

Whenever someone earns points during a turn, move the Round Marker on the score chart to the next space at the beginning of the Start Player's next turn. This allows you to check how many points you will receive for a successful investigation. The score does not increase beyond 21 points.

If a player successfully earns points after attempting to Solve the Case, they return all of their used Investigator Tiles to the box, except for their Spot Markers, and take all of their Trace Markers back in front of them.

If a player fails to solve the case, they lose points and pass their turn.

A player who succeeds to Solve the Case does not take any further turns for the remainder of the round. However, if the player to their left is still investigating, they must continue to provide information in response to that player's actions as usual.

Important: If an opponent accidentally provides incorrect information to you, that opponent is eliminated from the round and loses any points earned from a correct solve. In addition, you automatically receive the highest score for this round (7, 8, or 9). Neither player takes any further turns during this round. (However, they must still provide information if the player to their left is still investigating.)

End of the Round

Once everyone has finished their turn, if one or fewer players have never attempted Solve the Case, the round ends. Remove all components from the board except for each player's Score Marker and the Round Marker, flip all Score Markers to the printed side up, and set up the game again as if starting a new game. However, all Investigator Tiles used during this round are removed from the game. Move the Round Marker to the first space of the next round and pass the First Player Marker to the player on the left. The next round begins with the new First Player.

End of the Game

After three rounds, the player with the highest score wins the game.

If there is a tie, the tied player with the most unused Investigator Tiles wins. If there is still a tie, the tied players share the victory.

Variants

If desired, the following optional rules may be used.

• Fast Game: By mutual agreement, the game is played over 2 rounds (not 3).
• Beginner Friendly Rule: Experienced players start the game with 1–2 fewer Investigator Tiles than beginner players.
• Nick of Time: If a player is the first to solve their case, the round marker advances one space at the end of each full rotation of turns (that is, when the player to the right of the starting player finishes their turn), regardless of whether the other players have solved their cases or not. When the round marker reaches the rightmost space, continue play until the player to the right of the starting player completes their turn, then end the current round.

Solo Time Attack

Challenge the Solo Time Attack mode with the official P.I. app! Using only the board, tiles, and markers from the P.I. game, the app will generate a Suspect, Location, and Evidence for you to investigate. Solve the case in the shortest time possible and with the fewest Investigator Tiles to earn a high score, and see your name climb the worldwide rankings, updated every month.

Duel Game (2 Players Only)

This mode is played by 2 players using the back side of the board (Night). Except for the rules described below, all rules are the same as in the base game.

Setup: Each player receives only 2 Investigator Tiles. Place the Round Marker on the space for Round 1 (1R).

Round Winner: Instead of using score points as in the base game, determine the winner of the round using the method below.

If the player who first attempts to Solve the Case succeeds:

• If that player has the First Player Marker: the opponent is given one last chance. If the opponent also successfully Solves the Case, it is a tie. Otherwise, the First Player wins.
• If that player does not have the First Player Marker: that player wins immediately.

If the player who first attempts to Solve the Case fails: the opponent automatically wins.

Preparing the Next Round

After resolving the round, both players receive 2 new Investigator Tiles. The winner of the round places 1 of the received Investigator Tiles onto the corresponding Round Winner space on the game board. If the round is a draw, no Investigator Tile is placed on the Round Winner space. A player may hold a maximum of 5 Investigator Tiles at any time. If a player would receive more than this, ignore the excess tiles. Pass the First Player Marker to the opponent, move the Round Marker to the next round space, and begin the next round.

End of the Game (Duel)

After the end of the third round, the player who has won more rounds wins the game. If the game is tied, play additional rounds until a winner is determined.