Deductio
Deductio Rulebook
Table of Contents
Table of Contents
Contents
- 20 Secret Number cards (from 1 to 20)
- 35 Clue cards
- 7 "Reveal a Secret Number" Clue cards
Game Overview
To win, you must correctly guess a certain number of Secret Number cards based on the number of players: 3 in a two player game and 2 in a three and four player game.
On your turn, you will either play a Clue card or try and guess another player's Secret Number. If you choose to play a Clue card, place it in front of you as it will provide information to help the other player(s) determine your Secret Number. Otherwise, you may choose to try and guess one player's Secret Number. If you guess correctly, you do not have to play a Clue card this round, but if you are wrong, you must immediately play 2 Clue cards.
Setup
- Shuffle the Secret Number cards, forming the Secret Number deck, and give each player 1 card face down. The players can look at their Secret Number card anytime, but should not show it to the other players.
- Then place the Secret Number deck face down in the center of the table, draw 3 Secret Number cards, and place them face up next to the deck. These 3 cards show numbers that cannot be any player's secret number.
- Set aside all 7 "Reveal a Secret Number" cards. Shuffle the 35 Clue cards, forming the Clue deck. Draw 3 Clue cards and place them face up.
- In a four player game, place 2 "Reveal a Secret Number" Clue cards back in the box. In a two or three player game, all 7 "Reveal a Secret Number" Clue cards are used.
- Shuffle the set aside "Reveal a Secret Number" Clue cards into the Clue deck and place it face down next to the revealed Clue cards.
- Randomly determine the first player.
How to Play
Starting with the first player, players take turns in clockwise order until someone wins the game.
On your turn, you must take one of the following two actions:
- Play a Clue card
- Guess another player's Secret Number
1. Play a Clue Card
You must choose 1 of the 3 face up Clue cards that truthfully describes your Secret Number and place it in front of you vertically.
Note: We recommend placing cards facing other players.
Example: Elena's Secret Number is 19. (Note: The "19" Secret Number card is shown face up in the example but the card would normally be hidden from other players, face down.) On her turn, she places the card in front of her that says "Is greater than or equal to 7", because that is true.
If none of the 3 Clue cards describe your Secret Number, you must take all 3 Clue cards and place them horizontally in front of you, indicating that none of them is true.
Some cards have an ability displayed at the bottom of the card that may be triggered immediately after the card is placed vertically in front of the player. Abilities on cards placed horizontally do not trigger.
Important: Players can only trigger abilities of cards they play that truthfully describe their Secret Number (placed vertically) in front of them.
Example: Elena is not able to play the cards "Is an even number," "Is a single digit," or "Is not 9 or 19" because these cards do not truthfully describe her Secret Number "19". She takes all 3 Clue cards and places them horizontally in front of her, not triggering any ability.
After playing 1 or all Clue cards in front of you, replenish the row of face up Clue cards to replace the played cards.
Important: At the end of your turn, the row of Clue cards must always have exactly 3 face up cards.
If the Clue deck runs out, reshuffle the discard pile to form a new Clue deck. Do not shuffle any "Reveal A Secret Number" cards back into the deck!
"Reveal a Secret Number" Clue Card
Whenever a "Reveal a Secret Number" card is revealed from the Clue deck, immediately return it to the box and draw a card from the Secret Number deck. Place it face up next to the other face up Secret Number cards. These cards show numbers that cannot be the Secret Number of any player.
Any player with a horizontally placed "The Secret Number is 1 greater (or 1 lower) than any face-up Secret Number" Clue card in front of them discards it to the discard pile beside the Clue deck.
After a Secret Number card is added to the Secret Number row, replenish the row of face up Clue cards.
Example: At the end of Elena's turn, she replenishes the Clue card row, revealing a "Reveal a Secret Number" card. This card is immediately returned to the box, and she draws a card from the Secret Number deck, placing it alongside the other face up Secret Number cards. The revealed Secret Number is "11", which means that all players now know "11" cannot be the Secret Number that other players are attempting to hide.
2. Guess Another Player's Secret Number
Instead of playing a Clue card, you may guess a number you think someone has. You name the number and the player you think holds it.
The player must answer truthfully as to whether the guess is correct or incorrect.
Important: You do not reveal your Secret Number card if another player guessed it incorrectly.
Correct guess reward: You receive the guessed Secret Number card and place it face up in front of you as a reminder that you have guessed this Secret Number. Then check the "End of the Game" section to see if you have won.
The player whose Secret Number was guessed discards all Clue cards in front of them to the discard pile beside the Clue deck and draws a new Secret Number card from the Secret Number deck.
Example: During Albert's turn, he examines Elena's Clue cards and becomes convinced that her Secret Number is "19". He makes his guess, which turns out to be correct. As a result, he acquires Elena's Secret Number card. Elena discards all the Clue cards in front of her and draws a new Secret Number from the Secret Number deck.
Note: Only the player whose Secret Number was guessed reveals the Secret Number card and discards their Clue cards. The rest of the players continue to play with the numbers and clues they have in front of them.
Incorrect guess penalty: You must immediately take 2 consecutive "Play a Clue card" actions. You replenish the cards after each action. During these penalty actions you cannot use any abilities on Clue cards.
Abilities
Some Clue cards have abilities at the bottom of the card that will give you an extra benefit; however, the Clue cards with these abilities usually reveal more information about your Secret Number.
Abilities may only trigger immediately after the card has been played in front of you vertically. Abilities do not trigger on cards played horizontally or played as a penalty for guessing incorrectly.
Ability Overview
Free Guess: You may take a free guess without receiving a penalty if you guess incorrectly.
Look at 1 Card: You may look at the top card of the Secret Number deck without showing it to the other players. You then place it at the bottom of the Secret Number deck. This gives you additional information on what numbers the other players cannot have as their Secret Number.
Look at 2 Cards: You may look at the top 2 cards of the Secret Number deck without showing them to the other players. You then place them at the bottom of the Secret Number deck in any order.
Icon Descriptions
- The Secret Number is within the range of numbers shown on the card.
- The Secret Number is even.
- The Secret Number is odd.
- The Secret Number is not equal to any numbers shown on the card, or the Secret Number is not within the range of numbers shown on the card.
- The Secret Number is single digit (1-9).
- The Secret Number is double digit (10-20).
- The Secret Number is greater than or equal to the number on the card.
- The Secret Number is 1 greater than any face-up Secret Number card displayed in the center of the table.
- The Secret Number is less than or equal to the number on the card.
- The Secret Number is 1 lower than any face-up Secret Number card displayed in the center of the table.
End of the Game
When you have collected the necessary amount of correctly guessed Secret Number cards in front of you, the game ends immediately and you win!
In a two player game, you must collect 3 Secret Number cards to win. In a three and four player game, you must collect 2 Secret Number cards to win.