Chronicles of Crime: 1400
Chronicles of Crime: 1400 Rulebook
Table of Contents
Table of Contents
Game Contents
- 30 Character Cards
- 15 Special Item Cards
- 38 Evidence Category Cards
- 1 Dog Card
- 1 Rulebook
- 7 Double-sided Location Boards
- 1 Evidence Board
- 1 Home Location Board
- 20 Vision Cards
Chronicles of Crime requires a free app, which you can download from Apple's App Store or Google Play (currently requires Android 5 or newer, iOS 10.0 or newer, may change in the future). You only need the app installed on one phone or tablet to play. It's impossible to play without the app. Once downloaded, the app doesn't require any internet connection during gameplay. The language can be changed within the app.
Game Objective
Each of the 4 scenarios offers a unique criminal investigation. The game is fully cooperative, and all players are working together to solve the mystery. The story will develop as you collect evidence and interrogate characters. When you feel you are ready to close the case, go to the location specified in the scenario, press the "Solve the Case" button, and answer a series of questions that will determine your score as a team.
Setup
- Place the Evidence Board in the middle of the table. It has 4 Unlocated Character slots and 20 Evidence slots (15 red and 5 blue ones).
- Place the Home Location Board on the table and keep the other Location Boards in a pile. Reveal them and place them face up as you discover them during your investigations. Notice that each Location Board has 4 Character slots.
- Place Character cards and Special Items cards face down to the side of the Evidence Board.
- Place Evidence Category cards face up on the table in reach of the players. During the game you may search through these cards freely and sort them face up to find the one you need at the moment. (Evidence Category cards are named things such as "food", "parchments and papers", "blood and organs", "bottles", "decorative items", "jewelry".)
- Place the Dog card face up on the table close to the Evidence Board. It will remind you that your dog companion is always present with you and you may use him to track scents.
- Place the deck of Vision Cards face down on the table in reach of the players. They shouldn't be revealed until the app tells you to do so.
Each Location Board has 4 Character slots, while the Evidence Board has 4 Unlocated Character slots and 20 Evidence slots (15 red and 5 blue ones).
How to Play
Once the game is set up, launch the app, choose the 1400 in the main menu, and select the scenario you want to play.
NOTE: Try the short tutorial investigation to get familiar with the game. Instructions are explained in this scenario to understand how the game works.
Each scenario starts with you having a prophetic dream about the case you will be solving. The app instructs you to take a number of scenario-specific vision cards (usually 4-5 for a scenario) and to put them face up on the table, so all the players can see the scenes depicted. The scenes can be either from the near future or from the past, and they usually involve characters and objects you will meet later during the scenario, giving you an additional context that may help to solve the case. Vision cards do not have QR codes so you can not interrogate characters about them directly.
You progress in Chronicles of Crime by scanning Location Boards, along with Character and Evidence Category cards. When the scan window is displayed, point your device at any QR Code on a card or board. Then tap anywhere to trigger the scan. You can switch to the "auto-scan" feature in the menu (the three-line menu icon) in the app.
The group should discuss together which card should be scanned.
- Scan a Location Board: allows you to move to this location.
- Scan a Character card: allows you to interrogate the character. Once scanned, the Character can answer questions about any other Characters or Evidence. To do so, simply scan these cards and the Character will speak about them.
Important! Characters may never be asked about locations. Scanning a location during interrogation mode will finish the interrogation and move the team to the indicated location instead.
You can exit interrogation mode by pressing the "Goodbye" button.
- Scan an Evidence Category card: allows you to pick up a clue that you have spotted. Extra details become available and, if it's relevant to your case, the app will indicate that you should put it on the Evidence Board.
WARNING: In some rare cases, scanning may not work because of:
- the light in the room (e.g. sharp shadows)
- sleeved cards (causing reflection)
- the camera of the phone (e.g. if it is dirty)
Make sure the QR Code is inside the indicated square and hold the phone still so that the camera can focus. If the camera still can't focus, try passing your hand in front of it to reset the focus.
Scan a Family Member on the Home Location Board
Allows you to seek help from your Family Members, who are willing to share their knowledge whenever it may help you with your investigation. They are always at Home and you need to be there to talk to them.
- Your uncle is a MONK who works in a monastery library. You can count on him whenever you need to refer to any written resources or have a question concerning religion or clergy. (expert on written materials)
- Your sister is a wealthy MERCHANT and crafted goods collector. She can examine any item for you and may help to track its origins or determine its value. (expert on items)
- Your brother is the king's SPY. His job is to know everything about the people of Paris, so you can ask him about the characters you meet. He obviously wouldn't know every commoner, though. (expert on people)
Scan the Dog Card
Allows you to use Perceval, your dog and faithful companion, to sniff objects and track the scent they might bear. Perceval follows you all the time. He's represented by the Dog Card that you can use at any location. He's a tracking dog, and you may show him any Evidence in your physical possession (i.e. lying in a red area on the Evidence Board) to check how he reacts to any human scent on it. To do so, scan the Dog card and then the Evidence card. The dog will do one of the following:
- lead you to a location where the person in question is or was present,
- point to the person in question, if they're present in your current location,
- get agitated by the smell, indicating that there's a strong human scent on the object, but he's unable to track the person at the moment,
- ignore the object, as there's no single, recognizable human scent on it.
The Dog won't react to a Character card or a Location Board.
Discovering Locations, Characters, Special Items or Visions
Locations, Characters, Special Items and Visions should stay face down until explicitly named by the app. During the game, some of these cards will be revealed. These cards have the following symbols and a number or a letter.
| Symbol | Card type |
|---|---|
| Person silhouette | CHARACTER CARDS |
| Map pin | LOCATION CARDS |
| Star | SPECIAL ITEM CARDS |
| Magnifying glass | EVIDENCE CATEGORY CARDS |
| Eye | VISION CARDS |
- New Locations should be placed on the table.
- New Characters should be placed on one of the 4 Character slots on the Location Board indicated.
If you are unsure where a Character is located, place it on an Unlocated Character slot on the Evidence Board. Don't forget to move it if you find where this Character is!
- Evidence Category cards are found while searching the scene for clues. Only cards that correspond to an actual clue for your case are moved to the Evidence Board. See "Searching for clues" for how to find Evidence Category cards.
In the red area, you place all the Evidence Category and Special Item cards that you've found on the crime scene or have received from a Character. Sometimes, however, a Character may just tell you about an item without giving you the actual object. In this case, the app will instruct you to put the corresponding Evidence Category card or Special Item card in the blue area on the Evidence Board to indicate that you know about this object, but haven't found it yet. If later in the game you happen to obtain this object, the app will ask you to move the Evidence Category card from the blue area to the red area.
- Special Item cards immediately go on the Evidence Board when revealed. The app will notify you if and when these come into play. Search the face-down stack and place them face-up on the Evidence Board.
EXAMPLE: You scan Location E and read this screen: "You arrive on the scene and you meet a woman (Character 18). She tells you about a man (Character 14) with a bloody knife (Evidence 12) who was here an hour ago."
Based on this text, you should:
- look for Character 18 and place it on one of the Character slots on Location E,
- look for Character 14 and put it on an Unlocated Character slot on the Evidence Board,
- look for Evidence Category card 12 "Melee weapons" and put it on a blue slot on the Evidence Board.
Searching for Clues
Some Locations (like crime scenes) allow you to search for Evidence. Press the "Search the Scene" button to enter the search mode. You can either search for Evidence:
- In panoramic view – Select this to experience the crime scene without extra devices.
- In 3D – To do so, place the glasses (sold separately) in the middle of the screen over the yellow line on the phone.
You have 40 seconds to look at the scene and describe what you see to other players. Physically turn around to check the Location in 360°. If you are not using the glasses, you can also observe the scene by swiping left, right, up or down. Other players need to pick matching Evidence Category cards that seem to correspond to what you describe. Make sure these cards are face-up and available to all players who are not using the app to search.
When the time runs out, you or another player can search for clues again. Note that this extra search will take more in-game time.
Finally, scan all the Evidence Category Cards picked. The app will tell you which of the cards are useful clues to place on the Evidence Board. Put cards which are not useful now back into the pile. They may or may not be useful later.
Time Passing and Events
In the world of Chronicles of Crime, time is very important. You can see the current time on the top right of the screen.
Each time you scan an Evidence, ask a Character a question or observe a crime scene, 5 minutes of in-game time passes.
Each time you travel from one Location to another, 20 minutes of in-game time passes.
The in-game time that passes has an influence on the final scoring. The quicker you solve the case, the better score you will get.
In some scenarios, time passing in-game also means some situations can change, e.g characters can move, or be available only at specific times.
History
If you ever miss something, change the screen too fast, or simply need to check what was discovered before, use the "History" feature.
Click the menu icon (three lines) in the lower left of your screen and then the clock icon to browse through all interactions and effects of scans you acquired during your investigation.
Game End
When you believe you have solved the case, you can give your report. Go to the location specified in the scenario and press the "Solve the Case" button. Your team will be asked a series of questions. To answer them, scan the cards that support your deductions. Your score will depend on your answers. After checking the score, you may press "Solution" to read the story or play the scenario again.
Credits
- Game Design: David Cicurel, Wojciech Grajkowski
- Writing: Pierre Buty, Grzegorz A. Nowak
- Illustration: Barbara Gołębiewska, Mateusz Michalski, DaYu, Mateusz Komada, Katarzyna Kosobucka
- Art Direction: Mateusz Komada
- Graphic Design: Katarzyna Kosobucka
- Development: Wojciech Grajkowski, Grzegorz A. Nowak
- Creative Director: Filip Miłuński
- Producer: Vincent Vergonjeanne
- Production Manager: Przemek Dołęgowski
- Programming: Marcin Musiał
- Playtesting Manager: Tomasz Napierała
- Playtesting: Wojciech Giżyński
- Proofreading: Russ Williams, Morgan Finley