Dying Message Rulebook

Table of Contents

Table of Contents

• Components
• Joint Investigation
  • 1. Set-up
  • 2. The Crime Scene
  • 3. Deduction Time
  • 4. The Reveal
  • 5. Epilogue
• Competitive Investigation
  • 1. Set-up
  • 2. The Crime Scene
  • 3. Deduction Time
  • 4. The Reveal
  • 5. Epilogue
• Speedy Death Showdown
  • 1. Set-up
  • 2. The Crime Scene
  • 3. Deduction Time
  • 4. The Reveal
  • 5. Epilogue
• Dying Message Exclusive Timer

Components

• 30 Suspect Cards
• 50 Message Cards (symbols are on both sides; 2 cards are blank on both sides)
• Game Manual
• Wooden Dice and Dice Cover
• Alphabet Chips (A-F), with a back side
• Judgement Card (Found Peace on the front, Lost Hope on the back)
• 32 Score Chips (front: 1 point; back: 2 points)
• Felt Sheet (100% polyester, hand washable)

Joint Investigation

3 or more players. Who murdered the victim? Work together to decipher the dying message and find the killer.

1. Set-up

1. Choose 1 player to be the first victim by playing rock, paper, scissors or by some other method. The remaining players are detectives.
2. The victim takes the felt sheet, box without the sleeve, and the judgement card and places them to their side.
3. Shuffle the suspect cards thoroughly, draw 6 cards face down and then flip them over face up in a line. The remaining suspect cards will not be used for this crime scene. Place them to the side of the play area.
4. Place an alphabet chip over each of the 6 "current suspects".
5. Shuffle the message cards thoroughly, including the orientation of the front and back, draw the top 15 cards and spread them out on the table. The remaining message cards will not be used for this crime scene. Place them to the side of the play area.
6. Place all of the score chips together to the side of the play area.
7. The victim rolls the dice under the dice cover and checks the outcome of the roll making sure the detectives cannot see it. The suspect with the alphabet chip that matches the letter on the dice is this crime scene's murderer. Without changing the letter on the dice, move the dice with the cover still on top to the side of the play area.
8. If you want to set a time limit, you might want to prepare a timer. Please check page 13 to find out more about the exclusive Dying Message timer website.

2. The Crime Scene

1. If you will use a timer, set the time to 1 minute and start the timer. (Beginners might choose to set it to 2 minutes.)
2. The victim will now create their dying message which points out the "murderer". They can only use the 15 message cards and their body. At this time, the message cards cannot be flipped over and only the side that is currently visible can be used. In addition, they are not required to use all 15 cards. Hinting at the murderer's "location", "alphabet chip", or any other meta-information that is not included on the suspect's card is not allowed.
3. The detectives must step away from the table for a chat and spend this time away without looking at the victim while they are creating their dying message.
4. Once their message has been created (or the timer has reached the time limit), the victim should scream or moan, place their head down on the felt sheet, place the murder weapon (box) down beside them, and set the crime scene. It is ok to hide and/or point at some part of the dying message.
5. The detectives discover the gruesome body and the dying message they left behind.

3. Deduction Time

1. The detectives take a photo of the murder scene (and the 6 suspect cards too).
2. Once the detectives have taken their photo of the murder scene, the victim is allowed to move (their soul left their body and became a ghost). However, while the detectives are busy deducing, the victim cannot speak.
3. The detectives, while using the photo they took, the crime scene, and the cards that the victim didn't use as clues, discuss who they think is the murderer. If using a timer, a roughly 3 minute time limit works well, however, if the discussion gets heated, ignoring the time limit during deduction is recommended.
4. When all of the detectives have decided on 1 murderer, proceed to the reveal.

4. The Reveal

1. On "Ready, GO!", all of the detectives say "It was you!" and point at the suspect they have just agreed upon.
2. The victim picks up the judgement card. If that suspect is the murderer, they show the Found Peace side and if that suspect is not the murderer, they show the Lost Hope side.
3. The victim lifts up the dice cover and reveals the dice. They reveal the current murderer and explain their message.
4. After the reveal, the next player to the left will become the victim and play begins again from step (2) of Set-up.

5. Epilogue

The game ends once each player has been the victim. Each of the players decides what they think was the best dying message of the day and gives the creator a 2 point score chip. Also give 1 point to the creator of the dying message that wasn't the best, but was your personal favorite. Congratulate the players that earned a lot of points!

When playing with close friends, it's also fun not using the suspect cards, and instead assigning the players or common acquaintances to suspects A~F while playing.

The best part for the detectives is discussing how to solve the message, while the victim enjoys the excellent (and sometimes completely wrong) deduction. So if things get exciting, don't worry about the time and just have fun.

If you took any photos of interesting dying messages, please share them on social media. #dyingmessage

We're looking forward to everyone's elegant dying messages.

Competitive Investigation

3 or more players. Compete in a battle of deduction to be the only one that gets the credit. Who will decipher the dying message and become the greatest detective?

In the manual, the text printed in red marks the differences from "Joint Investigation". Those passages are marked here as (Competitive difference).

1. Set-up

1. Choose 1 player to be the first victim by playing rock, paper, scissors or by some other method. The remaining players are detectives.
2. The victim takes the felt sheet, box without the sleeve, and the judgement card and places them to their side.
3. Shuffle the suspect cards thoroughly, draw 6 cards face down and then flip them over face up in a line. The remaining suspect cards will not be used for this crime scene. Place them to the side of the play area.
4. Place an alphabet chip over each of the 6 "current suspects".
5. Shuffle the message cards thoroughly, including the orientation of the front and back, draw the top 15 cards and spread them out on the table. The remaining message cards will not be used for this crime scene. Place them to the side of the play area.
6. Place all of the score chips together to the side of the play area.
7. The victim rolls the dice under the dice cover and checks the outcome of the roll making sure the detectives cannot see it. The suspect with the alphabet chip that matches the letter on the dice is this crime scene's murderer. Without changing the letter on the dice, move the dice with the cover still on top to the side of the play area.
8. If you want to set a time limit, you might want to prepare a timer. Please check page 13 to find out more about the exclusive Dying Message timer website.

2. The Crime Scene

1. If you will use a timer, set the time to 1 minute and start the timer. (Beginners might choose to set it to 2 minutes.)
2. The victim will now create their dying message which points out the "murderer". They can only use the 15 message cards and their body. At this time, the message cards cannot be flipped over and only the side that is currently visible can be used. In addition, they are not required to use all 15 cards. Hinting at the murderer's "location", "alphabet chip", or any other meta-information that is not included on the suspect's card is not allowed.
3. The detectives must step away from the table for a chat and spend this time away without looking at the victim while they are creating their dying message.
4. Once their message has been created (or the timer has reached the time limit), the victim should scream or moan, place their head down on the felt sheet, place the murder weapon (box) down beside them, and set the crime scene. It is ok to hide and/or point at some part of the dying message.
5. The detectives discover the gruesome body and the dying message they left behind.

3. Deduction Time

1. The detectives take a photo of the murder scene (and the 6 suspect cards too).
2. Once the detectives have taken their photo of the murder scene, the victim is allowed to move (their soul left their body and became a ghost). However, while the detectives are busy deducing, the victim cannot speak.
3. The detectives, while using the photo they took, the crime scene, and the cards that the victim didn't use as clues, each think about who is the murderer. If using a timer, a 2 minute time limit works well. (Competitive difference)
4. When all of the detectives have decided on 1 murderer, proceed to the reveal. (Competitive difference)

4. The Reveal

1. On "Ready, GO!", all of the detectives say "It was you!" and each detective points at the suspect they think is the murderer. (Competitive difference)
2. The victim picks up the judgement card. If that suspect is the murderer, they show the Found Peace side and if that suspect is not the murderer, they show the Lost Hope side.
3. The victim lifts up the dice cover and reveals the dice. They reveal the current murderer and explain their message.
4. Depending on how many players were correct, earn points according to the chart below. (Competitive difference)

	Victim	Detective that was correct
Everyone was correct	No points are earned	No points are earned
Everyone was incorrect	No points are earned	No points are earned
Other than the above	Earn a point for each detective that was correct	Earn a point for each detective that was incorrect

* Any clues that would be too easily understood, would be discovered by the murderer and destroyed, thus no points are earned!

Score chips: Front: 1 Point. Back: 2 Points.

5. The next player to the left will become the victim and play begins again from step (2) of Set-up.

5. Epilogue

Once each player has been the victim, the player that has earned the most points at that time is the winner.

If you took any photos of interesting dying messages, please share them on social media. #dyingmessage

We're looking forward to everyone's elegant dying messages.

Speedy Death Showdown

2-3 players. Who can create their dying message the fastest and be the first to die? The player that creates the most elegant clue the quickest is the winner.

In the manual, the text printed in red marks the differences from "Joint Investigation". Those passages are marked here as (Speedy difference).

1. Set-up

1. Take the felt sheet, box without the sleeve, and the judgement card and place them somewhere that all players can reach. (Speedy difference)
2. Shuffle the suspect cards thoroughly, draw 6 cards face down and then flip them over face up in a line somewhere that is equally visible to all players. (Speedy difference) The remaining suspect cards will not be used for this crime scene. Place them to the side of the play area.
3. Shuffle the message cards thoroughly, including the orientation of the front and back. Each player draws 15 cards and spreads them out on the table in front of them. (Speedy difference) The remaining message cards will not be used for this crime scene. Place them to the side of the play area.
4. The score chips will not be used with these rules. Return them to the box. (Speedy difference)
5. This dice cover and dice will not be used with these rules. Return them to the box. (Speedy difference)

2. The Crime Scene

1. Players choose 1 of the suspect cards to be the murderer. Anyone can be the chosen as the murderer, but it cannot be changed later. (Speedy difference)
2. After starting at the same time, each player creates their dying message which points out the "murderer". They can only use the 15 message cards and their body. At this time, the message cards cannot be flipped over and only the side that is currently visible can be used. In addition, they are not required to use all 15 cards. Hinting at the murderer's "location", "alphabet chip", or any other meta-information that is not included on the suspect's card is not allowed. (Speedy difference: "After starting at the same time, each player")
3. The first player to finish their dying message, grabs the felt sheet and earns the right to be the victim. The victim should scream or moan, place their head down on the felt sheet, place the murder weapon (box) down beside them, and set the crime scene. It is ok to hide and/or point at some part of the dying message. (Speedy difference)
4. The players that could not grab the felt sheet become the detectives, and discover dying message they left behind. (Speedy difference)

3. Deduction Time

1. The detectives take a photo of the murder scene (and the 6 suspect cards too).
2. Once the detectives have taken their photo of the murder scene, the victim is allowed to move (their soul left their body and became a ghost). However, while the detectives are busy deducing, the victim cannot speak.
3. The detectives, while using the photo they took, the crime scene, and the cards that the victim didn't use as clues, discuss who they think is the murderer. If using a timer, a roughly 3 minute time limit works well, however, if the discussion gets heated, ignoring the time limit during deduction is recommended.
4. When all of the detectives have decided on 1 murderer, proceed to the reveal.

4. The Reveal

1. On "Ready, GO!", all of the detectives say "It was you!" and point at the suspect they have just agreed upon.
2. The victim picks up the judgement card. If that suspect is the murderer, they show the Found Peace side and if that suspect is not the murderer, they show the Lost Hope side.
3. The victim lifts up the dice cover and reveals the dice. They reveal the current murderer and explain their message.
4. After the reveal, the next player to the left will become the victim and play begins again from step (2) of Set-up.

Editor's note: step (3) above is printed as it appears in the manual, but this mode does not use the dice or dice cover (Set-up step 5). The current murderer is the suspect chosen in Crime Scene step 1.

5. Epilogue

The game ends once each player has been the victim. Each of the players decides what they think was the best dying message of the day and gives the creator a 2 point score chip. Also give 1 point to the creator of the dying message that wasn't the best, but was your personal favorite. Congratulate the players that earned a lot of points!

Editor's note: this epilogue is printed as it appears in the manual, but this mode does not use the score chips (Set-up step 4). The manual does not say how points are tracked in this mode.

If you took any photos of interesting dying messages, please share them on social media. #dyingmessage

We're looking forward to everyone's elegant dying messages.

Dying Message Exclusive Timer

An exclusive timer for playing this game. To access, scan the QR code on the right with your smartphone or other device or head to the URL below in your browser.

https://dyingmsg.com/timer/