Death Note: Confrontation Rulebook

Table of Contents

Table of Contents

• Overview
  • Kira's Goal
  • L's Goal
  • Notebooks
• Chapter 1 Rules Setup
  • General Setup
  • Kira's Setup
  • L's Setup
• The Days (Gameplay Rounds)
  • Daytime Phase: The Chase
  • Nighttime Phase: The Nightly News
  • Kira's Notebook Killing Rules
• Eliminating Suspects
• Chapter One Game End
• Chapter 2 Rules (Advanced)
  • Key Differences in Chapter 2 Gameplay
  • Chapter 2 Setup
  • Chapter 2 Daytime Phase
  • Kira Bribes Ryuk with Apples
  • Kira's Special Abilities from Bribing Ryuk
  • L Gathers Intel
  • L's Special Abilities from Collecting Intel
  • Chapter 2 Nighttime Phase
• Chapter Two Game End

Overview

Death Note is a 2-player asymmetrical game. One player will take the role of Kira, who has come into possession of the Death Note and is using it to kill criminals while attempting to remain unidentified by the police. The other player will take the role of L, whose mission is to identify Kira by narrowing down the suspects and out-smarting the killer before too many lives are taken.

In this game, you take on the role of either Kira or L. As Kira, you try to kill as many criminals as you can while attempting to remain unidentified by the police. As L, you must narrow down the suspect list and out-smart the killer before too many lives are taken...

Each Round of the game represents one day, divided into a "Daytime Phase" and a "Nighttime Phase":

Daytime Phase: The Chase. Kira visits crime scenes around town and discovers criminals deserving of capital punishment. Meanwhile, L follows leads, trying to show up where Kira is and get one step closer to confirming his identity.

Nighttime Phase: The Nightly News. L manipulates the news by releasing information about crimes around town in hopes of making Kira reveal too much about himself. Kira kills criminals he sees on the local and regional news while trying to remain under the radar.

Kira's Goal

Kill enough criminals to earn 15 points before L identifies him.

L's Goal

Eliminate all suspects but one in order to correctly identify Kira before he scores 15 points.

Notebooks

Players use individual notebooks to secretly track their work during the game. The notebooks include a Quick Guide, which serves as a reminder of the rules, a Map which represents the crime scene of criminals and suspects, and a section to track their notes and points throughout the game.

Chapter 1 Rules Setup

General Setup

1. Choose a Map: a. The Chapter 1 Map is recommended for first-time players. Use the Chapter 1 Lead cards and Suspect cards when playing with this Map. b. See the Chapter 2 rules below for special rules when playing with the Chapter 2 Map.
2. Choose Player Roles: a. One player will take the role of Kira, the other will take the role of L. b. It is recommended that the younger player be Kira for their first game.

Kira's Setup

3. Take Kira's Notebook (black notebook) and find the first available page with the Chapter 1 Map.
4. Take the black A/B Token.
5. Take one Search Grid.
6. Shuffle the Chapter 1 Suspect cards and draw one at random, keeping it secret. The selected card indicates your secret identity and Home crime scene on the Map. Set the rest of the Suspect cards in a face down deck on the table.
7. Using the Search Grid as a template, mark your Home crime scene and your Local Area boundaries on your Map.

Example: Kira's secret identity is Suspect G. He outlines Suspect G's Home on the Map as well as his Local Area boundary (the 5x5 grid surrounding his Home).

Tip: Center the Search Grid over your Home and trace a box around it to mark your Local Area.

L's Setup

8. Take L's Notebook (white notebook) and find the first available page with the Chapter 1 Map.
9. Take the white A/B Token.
10. Take one Search Grid.
11. Take the 3 Crime Type dice.
12. Shuffle the Chapter 1 Lead cards and place them face down on the table.

The Days (Gameplay Rounds)

Each round of the game represents one day, consisting of a Daytime Phase and a Nighttime Phase. Kira has two chances to kill criminals and earn points each day: The Daytime Phase offers Kira the opportunity to investigate a crime scene and kill the criminals he suspects; The Nighttime Phase consists of Kira watching the local and regional news and killing criminals based on their proximity to his Home. L has the chance to eliminate suspects and narrow in on Kira in both the Daytime and Nighttime Phases.

Daytime Phase: The Chase

Kira visits crime scenes around town and discovers criminals deserving of capital punishment. L follows leads, trying to show up where Kira is and get one step closer to confirming his identity.

L Reveals a Lead Card: Each Lead Card shows two leads L has received about Kira's whereabouts: Lead A and Lead B. Each is the scene of a crime that provides Kira with an opportunity to kill a criminal he discovers that day.

Kira and L go Head-to-Head in "The Chase"

• Kira secretly chooses which crime scene to visit (using his A or B Token) in hopes of killing the criminal there and earning the points shown for that crime scene.
• L secretly chooses which Lead he will follow (using his A or B Token) in hopes of going to the same crime scene as Kira and closing in on his true identity.
• The players reveal their selection simultaneously by showing which side of their Token they have chosen.

Earn Rewards

• If the players select DIFFERENT crime scenes, Kira wins "The Chase" and successfully kills the criminal at the crime scene he selected. Kira adds the points from his kill to his Points Tracker by filling in a bubble under the matching Crime Type (He does not mark these kills on his Map). L went to the wrong crime scene and didn't learn any new information, so he does not earn a Suspect Card.

  Example: Kira selected A while L selected B. Kira earns 3 points and marks a bubble in the "Bombers Killed" section of his Points Tracker. He does not mark off a criminal on his map.

• If both players select the SAME crime scene, L wins "The Chase". Kira senses L's presence, and decides not to make a kill (and no points are earned). L draws the top Suspect Card from the deck, allowing him to eliminate that Suspect from his search. L should shade in the Suspect he has eliminated to make it easy to see who is still remaining.

  Example: Kira and L both selected A. L draws the Suspect E card and fills in that spot on his Map.

Kira's Selection	L's Selection	Outcome
A	A	L draws the top Suspect Card and eliminates them from his search.
B	B	L draws the top Suspect Card and eliminates them from his search.
A	B	Kira kills the criminal at crime scene A and earns the points shown.
B	A	Kira kills the criminal at crime scene B and earns the points shown.

Nighttime Phase: The Nightly News

L manipulates the news by releasing information about crimes around town in hopes of making Kira reveal too much about himself. Kira kills criminals he sees on the local and regional news while trying to remain under the radar.

L Announces the Nightly News: L rolls the three Crime Type dice and chooses three criminals on the map with matching Crime Types to be featured on the Nightly News. He announces the three criminals' numbers to Kira and writes them in his notes next to the current Round number.

Example: L rolls one Bomb, one Gun, and one Knife on the dice. He selects criminals 7, 27, and 19 to feature on the news.

Kira Kills a Criminal: Kira must select one of the three criminals on the news to kill that night. He announces the criminal's number and both Kira and L mark the kill on their Maps with an "X." Kira then adds the points he earned from the kill, based on the Crime Type of the criminal (Bombers are 3 points, Shooters are 2 points, and Stabbers are 1 point).

Example: Kira kills criminal 27, a Shooter. He marks 27 with an "X" and fills in a bubble under "Shooters Killed" in his Points Tracker for 2 points. L may also want to track Kira's total points with tally marks.

Kira's Notebook Killing Rules

Kira is limited to 2 kills outside of his Local Area.

During the entire game, Kira can only kill two criminals that are not within the Local Area around his Home. These are called "Regional Kills." Any criminal he kills that is inside his Local Area are called "Local Kills."

Example: Kira's Local Area is shaded in Green, and his Regional Area is shaded in Blue.

Local Kills: Kira's primary source of information about criminals is from his local news. His Local Area is defined as the 5x5 grid around his Home. There is no limit to number of kills he can make within his Local Area.

Regional Kills: Kira occasionally gains access to regional news sources and learns about criminals outside of his Local Area. Kira is limited to killing only two criminals outside of his Local Area (Regional Kills).

Quiet Nights: If Kira has already made two Regional Kills, and all three criminals on the Nightly News are outside of his Local Area, he may NOT make a kill. He must declare it a "Quiet Night." No kills are made and no points are earned. However, L can still use that information to eliminate Suspects. But, L can afford only two Quiet Nights: if there is ever a third Quiet Night in the game, L's case has gone cold and Kira wins the game.

Example: Kira has already made two Regional Kills (#'s 5 and 21) and has already had one Quiet Night in a previous Round. L announces three criminals on the Nightly News that are all outside of Kira's Local Area (#'s 20, 15, and 12). Kira declares it a "Quiet Night". One more Quiet Night would end the game.

Eliminating Suspects

L has already identified several possible suspects who could be Kira, and he's marked them on a Map and labeled them as Suspect A through Suspect T.

L uses 3 methods to eliminate suspects:

1. Drawing Suspect Cards: During the Daytime Phase, if L wins "The Chase," he is rewarded by drawing a Suspect card. He can immediately eliminate the Suspect drawn, as he knows it is not the Suspect card Kira is holding.

2. Monitoring Regional Kills: L is familiar with Kira's limit of only two Regional Kills. Each time Kira makes a kill during the Nighttime Phase, L uses that information to eliminate all suspects with three or more kills outside of their Local Area. Players can use the Search Grid by placing the center over each Suspect space and determining if that suspect has broken the Regional Kills rule. Those that break the rule (with more than two kills outside the Search Grid) can be shaded in to indicate that they are no longer a suspect.

   Example: When the Search Grid is centered over Suspect I, L can see that there are 3 X's outside of the grid. This means that Kira cannot be Suspect I or he would have exceeded the Regional Kills limit. L can shade in the Suspect I space and move on to check other Suspects.

3. Capitalizing on Quiet Nights: During the Nighttime Phase, there will be times when Kira cannot make a kill. He will declare it a Quiet Night, revealing important information to L. In the case of a Quiet Night, L can eliminate all suspects with at least one of the criminals from the Nightly News in their Local Area. This is because Kira can only declare a Quiet Night if all the criminals on the news were outside of his Local Area (and he has already used his two Regional Kills).

Chapter One Game End

The game ends when Kira reaches 15 points or when L is able to correctly identify Kira.

After each kill, Kira should add his points to his Points Tracker and check his running total. If he has a total of 15 or more points, he wins immediately.

If Kira has not yet earned 15 points, and L has been able to eliminate all but one suspect, he may choose to end the game by announcing Kira's identity. If L is correct, he wins the game. If he is incorrect, Kira wins the game. For this reason, L should not just guess Kira's identity, but rather eliminate all but one suspect so he is positive of Kira's identity when he makes his accusation.

If Kira reaches 15 points at the same time that L identifies him, Kira still wins the game. Kira's points should always be checked prior to L making an accusation.

Chapter 2 Rules (Advanced)

It is recommended that players play with the Chapter 1 Map and rules first before attempting Chapter 2. Chapter 2 is a more advanced game experience, and there are some important differences in how Chapter 2 is played.

Key Differences in Chapter 2 Gameplay

• SETUP: The game is played on a Chapter 2 Map, which includes significantly more Criminal spaces.
• DAYTIME PHASE: Kira can collect Apples and use them to bribe Ryuk for special abilities. L can collect Intel from eliminated Suspects and use it for special abilities.
• NIGHTTIME PHASE: Kira's Killing Rules now allow 3 Regional Kills (i.e. 3 kills outside of his Local Area), and L is only allowed 1 Quiet Night before his case goes cold (he has an opportunity to earn a second Quiet Night).
• GAME END: Kira's win condition is now 20 points.

Chapter 2 Setup

• Chapter 2 is played in the same Kira Notebook and L Notebook. The players need to turn to the second half to find the first available Chapter 2 Map page.
• The Chapter 2 Suspect Cards replace the Chapter 1 Suspect Cards.
• The Chapter 2 Lead Cards replace the Chapter 1 Lead Cards.
• All other Setup is the same as Chapter 1.

Chapter 2 Daytime Phase

"The Chase" is played the same way as in Chapter 1; however each player will have the opportunity to earn special abilities during this phase.

Kira Bribes Ryuk with Apples

If Kira wins "the Chase," the Lead A or Lead B crime scene he selected may include one or more Apples. He must mark the same number of Apples in his Ryuk Bribery Tracker as soon as they are earned. He may fill in Apples in any row he chooses. Once an entire row is filled, he has earned the special ability (or points) indicated. He may use the ability in any future round. Each special ability may be used only once: after he uses a row's ability, he must fill in the Apple Core to indicate that it may not be used again.

Example: In Round 1, Kira earns 2 Apples, he uses both in Row 3. In Round 3, Kira earns 3 more Apples. He fills in one in Row 2 and the other two in Row 3. As a result, he completes Row 3 and can now use the Last Minute A/B Switch ability. In Round 4, Kira earns another 2 Apples. This time, he fills in both Apples in Row 2, completing that row. He earns the 2 points immediately, and he fills in the Apple Core to show that the points have been counted. Note that the Apple Core for Row 3 is still empty, as Kira hasn't used that ability yet.

Kira's Special Abilities from Bribing Ryuk

• Change up to 3 Dice [Cost = 3 Apples]: Before L announces the Nightly News (but after he's rolled the Crime Type dice), Kira can change up to three of the dice rolled to the faces of his choosing. L must use the resulting dice for the news that night.
• 2 Points [Cost = 3 Apples]: As soon as this row is filled, he gets 2 points toward his final goal of 20 points.
• Last Minute A/B Switch [Cost = 4 Apples]: During the Daytime Phase, after both players have revealed their chosen crime scene (either A or B), Kira may switch his own token to the other side. For example, if both Kira and L chose side B, Kira can use this special ability to change his token to A, thus winning "the Chase" and the rewards for crime scene A.
• 3 Points [Cost = 4 Apples]: As soon as this row is filled, he gets 3 points toward his final goal of 20 points.

L Gathers Intel

If L wins "the Chase," the Suspect Card he draws will include one or more Stars, representing Intel he gains from that Suspect. He must mark the same number of Stars in his Intel Tracker as soon they are earned. He may fill in Stars in any row he chooses. Once an entire row is filled, he has earned the special ability indicated. He may use the ability in any future round. Once the row's ability has been used, he must fill in the circle to indicate that it may not be used again.

Example: In Round 2, L earns two Stars, using both in Row 2. In Round 5, he earns two more Stars. He uses them to complete Row 2, earning another Suspect Card. He immediately draws the newly earned Suspect Card, which gives him another 3 Stars. He fills in the three Stars in Row 4, as well as the circle in Row 2 to show that he has used that ability.

L's Special Abilities from Collecting Intel

• Change up to 3 Dice [Cost = 4 Stars]: Before L announces the Nightly News (but after he's rolled the Crime Type dice), he can change up to three of the dice rolled to the faces of his choosing. He must then use the resulting dice for the news that night.
• Draw +1 Suspect Card [Cost = 4 Stars]: As soon as L earns this special ability he may draw one Suspect card.
• Last Minute A/B Switch [Cost = 5 Stars]: During the Daytime Phase, after both players have revealed their chosen crime scene (either A or B), L may switch his own token to the other side. For example, if Kira selected A and L selected B, L can use this special ability to change his token to A, thus winning "the Chase" and earning a Suspect card.
• +1 Quiet Night [Cost = 5 Stars]: L can earn a second Quiet Night to use in the game before his case goes cold. Once earned, he outlines the +1 Quiet Night box to indicate that it is now active, and informs Kira that he is now allowed 2 Quiet Nights.

Chapter 2 Nighttime Phase

The Nightly News phase is played the same way as in Chapter 1 with these two changes:

• Kira's Killing Rules now allow 3 Regional Kills (i.e. kills outside his Local Area).
• L is only allowed 1 Quiet Night before his case goes cold (he has an opportunity to earn a second Quiet Night with his special abilities).

Example: When the Search Grid is centered over Suspect H, L can see that there are 4 X's outside of the grid. This means that Kira cannot be Suspect H or he would have exceeded the Regional Kills limit. L can shade in the Suspect H space and move on to check other Suspects.

Chapter Two Game End

A Chapter 2 game ends when Kira reaches 20 points or when L is able to correctly identify Kira.

After each kill, Kira adds his points to the Points Tracker on his page and checks his running total. If he has a total of 20 or more points between his Points Tracker and his Ryuk Bribery Tracker, he immediately wins the game.

If Kira has not yet earned 20 points, and L has been able to eliminate all but one suspect, he may choose to end the game by announcing Kira's identity. If L is correct, he wins the game. If he is incorrect, Kira wins the game.

If Kira reaches 20 points at the same time that L identifies him, Kira wins the game. Kira's points should always be checked prior to L making an accusation.