Detective: City of Angels FAQ
71 questions players ask · Updated Nov 13, 2026 · Full rulebook
Overview and Modes of Play
- Is a Chisel required to play Detective: City of Angels?
- Can detectives share information with each other in a competitive game?
- Can you play Detective: City of Angels with five or six players?
- Do the cases have to be played in order?
- How many players does the English edition support, and is there a team mode?
Setup
- Can you punch out the Suspect standees before a game?
- Is the fourth player's starting Scratch of $9 a typo?
- How many Leverage markers does each detective start with, and how many go to the Chisel?
- Does the Chisel start the game with leverage over each detective?
- Does the Chisel need to have played a case before running it?
- Can you run a case as the Chisel after you have already played it as a detective?
- If you run a case as the Chisel, can you still play it as a detective later?
- Can someone else take over as Chisel partway through the base game?
Key Terms and Gameplay
Actions and Searching
- How many actions does each detective get, and can they repeat the same action?
- Are search results read aloud when a detective searches a location?
- When a detective searches a location and the Search card is not archived, where does the card go?
- Does pocketed evidence become public after three days?
- What happens when a location has more than one Search card, such as the L.A. Harbor Lighthouse in Heist to Nowhere?
- When a search reveals a new suspect, is their Case card turned face up?
- How do you question a suspect who is not on the board yet?
- Are the statements on Case cards always true?
- If a character is already public, does a card that reveals them still give a free question?
Bribes
- Can you bribe a detective to see a Mystery card?
- Can you bribe a detective to see a Case card that another detective took or removed?
- Can you bribe a snitch to hear a question about a card you don't know yet?
- If you bribed a snitch, can you also take the free question a suspect's response grants?
- When a suspect's answer grants a free question, do bribers pay again to hear the follow-up answer?
- When a detective challenges a response, what do bribing snitches get to see?
- Can a detective run up other players' costs with repeated, unchallenged questions before a key challenge?
- When does the Chisel block a snitch, before or after snitch tokens are placed?
- Can you make several bribes in the same turn?
- Can a detective who has not had their first turn yet bribe a snitch on another detective's question?
Questioning a Suspect
- Can a detective look at a response's Case card before deciding whether to challenge?
- If you did not challenge an answer, can you ask that question again later and challenge it then?
- In El Fantasma, what happens after you identify the fingerprint owner?
- How does the Chisel choose which response to show a detective?
Using Leverage
- If you spend leverage to force a suspect's most useful response, how many leverage markers do you use?
- Is there a limit on leverage markers?
- After a successful challenge, does the detective get the most useful response and leverage, and can they use that leverage on a later question?
- Do detectives start with leverage over suspects, and can they spend markers before earning them?
- Can a detective use leverage on a suspect after already getting the useful answer from them?
- What happens when a detective challenges an answer that was the most useful response?
- Can detectives gain leverage over Damien Christmas in Bloody Christmas or Christmas in July?
- If a detective uses leverage on a question, can the Chisel also use leverage on it?
Mystery Cards
- Can detectives see whether Mystery cards remain in a case, and how many there are?
- In Heist to Nowhere, must the Chisel tell detectives they can go to a location the overlay reveals?
- Does the Chisel have to explain how Mystery Card 1 works once a detective finds it?
- How is Mystery Card 1 in Heist to Nowhere revealed, and when must it be placed on the map?
- When a Mystery card replaces a face-up Case card, is it placed face up?
Solving the Case
- How does a detective make a final guess to solve the case?
- Can you bribe or use your Detective ability before using your Solve token on your turn?
- Do suspects ever directly confess to the murder in the Chisel's responses?
- If several detectives solve the case at the same time, who wins?
- In Sleuth mode, can you make your final guess before the Day marker reaches the Final Guess space?
- If every detective guesses wrong, can the case be replayed as a detective?
- Are all evidence cards revealed to everyone at the Final Guess?
Favor and Grift Cards (Optional)
- Can the Katie Lane favor card give leverage over Damien Christmas in Bloody Christmas?
- Do the Joe Hallenbeck and Wicked Sue favor cards let you act anywhere without spending an action cube?
- Does the Cult Leader favor card give you knowledge of the card you look at?
- How does the Fortune Teller favor card choose the case card the Chisel shows?
Alternative Modes
- In multiplayer Sleuth mode, is there one Detective or one per player?
- In Sleuth co-op with more than two detectives, are the three Stress markers shared?
- In Sleuth mode, if the final guess is wrong, does the case go cold or is there an Overtime?
- What is the double-sided Sleuth card used in Sleuth mode setup?
- Is co-op mode different from Sleuth mode?
- In Sleuth mode, how do you know which number an undiscovered suspect has on the grid?