The Plot Thickens: Detective Edition
The Plot Thickens: Detective Edition Rulebook
Table of Contents
Table of Contents
Components
- 150 Story Cards (50 of each of 3 types: Person, Place, Thing)
- 120 Plot Point tokens (30 in each of 4 colors)
Setup
- Separate all the cards by type. Shuffle each type separately to form 3 face-down decks: Person, Place, and Thing cards. Place the 3 decks in the center of the play area.
- Each player chooses a color and places all of the Plot Point tokens of that color into their personal supply.
- Decide how many "chapters" or turns you would like to play. A short story is 3 chapters (about 20 mins), a novel is 6 (about 60 mins), or anywhere in between. A short story is a great way to start if it's your first time playing, or if you have a large group of 5 or 6 players. (More than 4 players is possible with multiple editions of the game, see Playing with More Than 4 Players.)
- Deal 3 Person cards to each player. Each player chooses 1 Person card to play as their character for the game.
- Place your chosen card face down in front of you, you will reveal it during your first turn. Shuffle the unchosen cards back into the Person deck.
- Deal 1 Person card, 2 Place cards, and 2 Thing cards to each player. Keep these hidden and in your hand, but you may look at them. These are separate from the Person card you chose to be your character, which is face down in front of you.
The player who most recently finished reading a book goes first. Now you're ready to start!
How to Play
The main goal of the game is to create a well-crafted interconnected story as a group. You will use the cards in your hand as words in your story, and use Plot Points you earn to connect to other players' stories.
In each turn or "chapter" you will use your hand of 5 Person, Place, and Thing cards to tell a story. You may use the words literally or figuratively, and use any number of the cards in your hand. Add as much flair and description as you'd like.
Using your cards, start telling your story in the first person. When you use one of the words on your cards in a sentence, place the card face up in front of you. The cards in front of you are all part of your character's tale, and will be used by other players to connect ideas with their own stories.
At some point during your first chapter, introduce and name your character, flipping your person card face up directly in front of you. Remember to keep it separate from your other story cards.
As you tell your tale, place cards down as you say them, in the order they come up in the story. Arrange them in chronological order to make it easy for other players to follow along and eventually connect to your story in later chapters. Similar colors and types don't need to be grouped together in any particular way.
TIP: When incorporating words into your story, try to use one or two cards per sentence and have them flow naturally into what you're saying.
Once you are out of cards or ideas, say "meanwhile..." to pass the turn on to the next player, clockwise.
Take 1 Plot Point token from your supply for each card you played and put them next to your character card. Be sure to keep your earned tokens separate from your supply so you know how many you have to use! Plot Point tokens are used in following chapters to connect to other player's stories.
Do not draw any new cards just yet! You will do this at the start of your next turn.
There is some incentive to use more cards in a turn so you have more Plot Point tokens to work with, but the goal of the game is to tell a well-crafted story, not to use all your cards. If you try to use words that don't really make sense or use too many words per sentence, other players may call "Writer's Block." (See Writer's Block below.)
The goal of this first turn is to lay the groundwork for the story, so you don't need to worry about connecting to one another or using Plot Points until later chapters. Make sure you keep the points you earned separate from your main supply of tokens!
Example (First Chapter)
"Johnny Lakes, the local BARTENDER, mixed a mean drink... but now he was deep in the drink, dead, at the ol' DOCKS. My name's DETECTIVE Tom Torrent, and I was hired into this INVESTIGATION because the cops were desperate. Johnny's wallet and rings were missing, so my next stop was the nearest PAWN SHOP. Meanwhile..."
4 words used in your first chapter; 4 Plot Points earned.
Writer's Block
If you try to create something nonsensical or contradict a previous statement, other players may call "Writer's Block". If you get Writer's Blocked, put the words in question back in your hand. Your turn is over, and play moves on to the next player. Any player can call this out, but the group's majority is needed for it to take effect. Be as strict or as forgiving as you like!
Example: "I had a dream about a PAWN SHOP, a SHOW GIRL, BLOOD, and a BASEMENT." "WRITER'S BLOCK!"
Using Plot Points
Plot Points can be used for 3 different things in the game: Thicken the Plot, Switch out cards, and Edit.
Thicken the Plot!
This is the main goal of the game: Use other players' cards by incorporating that person, place, or thing into your story. When you use a word played by another player, put one of your earned Plot Points on the white area of their card. Plot Points placed on other players' cards are what determines the winners at the end of the game.
A few rules for placing Plot Points:
- You may only put one Plot Point of your color on a card, even if you mention the word again. (You only get credit for the first time!)
- You may not put Plot Points on your own cards.
To use another player's word, you must reference it in the specific context the player used it. For example, if a player put down "file" and explained it had evidence to a murder, in order to use that "file" card, you must be referencing the same file. You may connect to other player's character cards as well as the story cards they've played in their chapters.
Edit
If you get Writer's Blocked on your turn, you can spend one Plot Point to edit what you just said and continue your turn, instead of ending your turn. (The earned Plot Point is returned to your supply.)
Example: "EDIT. I went to the PAWN SHOP, and saw BLOOD on the floor."
Switch
Don't like any of the words in your hand? At the beginning of your turn, spend one Plot Point (by placing it back into your supply) to discard as many cards as you'd like and replace them with the same number of cards of any type (drawn from the decks). You may continue your turn as normal after switching out your cards.
Next Chapters
At the beginning of your next turn, draw cards until you have a hand of 5 cards again, choosing any combination of card types. (For example, if you have 2 left over from last turn, you would draw 3.) IMPORTANT: Make sure to wait until the start of your next turn to draw new cards, so you can focus on what's happening in other players' stories!
Continue telling your story in the same way, except now you have plot points that you can use to connect to other players' stories, in addition to the words in your hand. You can start where you left off in your last turn, or start interconnecting with what other players have created so far.
When laying down cards for each chapter, lay them in a line below the previous chapter so you can still see the words of every card and other players can place Plot Points on them. Overlapping the cards so that only the words show can help keep things organized and take up less space.
Example (Later Chapters)
Other examples of how later chapters can reference earlier words: "Johnny's rings were missing, so my next stop was the local PAWN SHOP." "I've been working at the PAWN SHOP for a few years now, I've seen it all." "I heard a Detective was snooping at the PAWN SHOP, so I went down there."
"When I got to the pawnshop, I caught Phyllis cleaning BLOOD off of Johnny's favorite watch. She knew I saw it, but played it cool. I asked her about Johnny's girlfriend, Jennie, a real DAMSEL IN DISTRESS, and if she had come in lately, even though I knew she might just LIE. Phyllis said she pawned the watch along with a REVOLVER she'd found. Said she came across it at the CITY DUMP. Meanwhile..."
In this example:
- You started off with 4 Plot Points, because you played 4 cards in the first chapter (your first turn).
- You used three cards in your second chapter (BLOOD, LIE, and CITY DUMP).
- You also used another player's cards (REVOLVER and DAMSEL IN DISTRESS, the latter being another player's character, Jennie) in your story. You put one of your Plot Points on each of the cards, including the other player's character.
- After you finished telling your chapter, you said "Meanwhile..." again to pass it on to the next player. You played 3 cards this turn, so you earned 3 Plot Points to use in the next chapter.
REMEMBER: You don't need to use any particular combination of card types or colors, or stack them together by type. Each line of cards is meant to keep the chapters organized and easy to reference by other players.
At the start of your next turn, you will draw 3 cards to bring your hand back up to 5 cards, from any combination of decks you would like.
The Last Chapter and Scoring
Continue taking turns until you have reached the chosen number of chapters. In your last chapter, try to use as many of your earned Plot Points as you can, as the Plot Points out on other players' cards are what will determine the winners of the game. Don't worry about earning plot points, since you won't be able to use them.
Don't try to wrap up the story too much in your last chapter, that will be the Main Character's job. When the final chapter is completed, count the Plot Points:
- The player with the most Plot Points on other players' cards is the Main Character, and gets to end the story! Try to connect the loose ends and wrap up the narrative in a few sentences.
- The player with the most Plot Points on their own cards is the Author, and gets to choose the title of the story after the ending is told. If you're stumped for a name, poll the rest of the group and choose the best suggestion!
In the case of any tie, the group votes to break the tie. If the Main Character would also be the Author, the second highest scoring player becomes the Author instead.
In this example: The Purple Player has 6 of their Plot Points out on the other players' cards, and 12 on their own cards. Red has 10 points on others' cards, and 7 points on their own. Blue has 9 points on others' cards, and 6 on their own. (Remember, the ones earned but not played don't count.) For this game, the Red Player is the Main Character, and the Purple Player is the Author!
Hints, Tips, and Frequently Asked Questions
Someone's card was not specific, do I have to use it in context? No - for example, someone could play the "key" card by saying "You know, the key to success is knowing when to lie, and when to tell the truth." "Key" in this instance isn't a specific key, so you can use the word however you like. You can be as strict or as loose with those rules however you like - it all depends on the group.
Uh oh... I didn't name my character! Anyone who puts a Plot Point on your character card and links their story with yours can name your character whatever they like - and it's set in stone! This is how you end up with a detective named "Bubbles"...
Do I really have to speak in first person? Not necessarily, but speaking in first person and giving that person a particular voice can really add to the fun.
How many cards can I lay down per sentence? We suggest trying to lay down no more than 1-2 cards per sentence. Draw out your story and make it complex enough that other players will want to connect with it. But there are no hard and fast rules - it's your story, after all!
Two Character Cards Variant
Having a tough time giving your character a bit of background? No problem! At the beginning of the game, instead of drawing 3 People cards, draw 6 and choose a combination of two that could make a complete character. Here are just a few examples: Drunk Detective, Black Widow Showgirl, and Rich Old Man Inventor.
2 Player Variant: Ghost Writer
Add more variety to a 2 player game by playing with a "Ghost Writer." After the second player's first chapter, turn over 1 of each card type (Person, Place, and Thing) to randomly generate a chapter, as if from a third player. You can connect to these words as normal in following chapters when you use them in your story. Since there isn't specific storytelling associated with these words, you can use them however you like! You can also spend 1 earned Plot Point to choose a ghost-written card with no Plot Points on it and swap it with a new card from a deck of your choice.
Continue adding this row of 3 cards until the last chapter you play, after which the Ghost Writer does not have a final turn. Count the plot points as normal to figure out which player is the Author and which is the Main Character!
If the Ghost Writer would be the Author, have the player who is not the Main Character decide the title for your story. Or, for an extra unexpected twist, have that player shuffle the cards from the Ghost Writer's chapters and choose two cards at random - they must use these words in the title they come up with!
Combining Editions
The Plot Thickens comes in a number of stand-alone editions that can be combined in any way you want. Do you want to take your detectives to space in a Noir Sci-Fi tale? Or maybe tell a Sci-fi Romance? Detective Romance? Or all of them together? All editions use these same rules and the cards can easily be separated again by their unique backs.
Playing with More Than 4 Players
Do you want to bring more storytellers into the mix? If you have multiple editions of The Plot Thickens use the tokens from more than one game to bring the player count up to 5 or 6. More players means longer and more complex stories, but give it a shot if you're up for the challenge!