Исторический детектив: Ведьма (Historical Mystery: The Witch)
Исторический детектив: Ведьма (Historical Mystery: The Witch) Rulebook
Table of Contents
Table of Contents
Game Overview
Important: do not look at or shuffle the cards until you have read the rules.
- Players: 1–4
- Age: 18+
- Playing time: 60–90 minutes
- Contents: 56 cards, rules.
About the Game
In the cities of Europe people are persecuted on suspicion of witchcraft, and Erfurt was no exception. The young widow Anna is called a witch and is about to be executed. You adhere to the teaching that opposes the witch hunts, and the pastor charges you with untangling Anna's case as quickly as possible, before she is burned at the stake.
Setup
-
Every card in the game has two numbers in its upper left corner: the deck number and the card number. There are 13 numbered decks in the game, with different numbers of cards. Each deck starts with card 1.
- Deck number (the upper number)
- Card number (the lower number)
Without shuffling and without turning cards over, separate the decks from one another and place them in front of you face down. You should end up with 13 decks, each with card 1 on top:
- The top card of each deck is card 1. Card 1 of deck 1 is the instruction card: "This is the top of the deck. Do not shuffle or look at the cards. Read the rules, and when you are ready to play, turn this card over."
-
Prepare a phone with a QR-code reader, or install any photo app that can read QR codes. You will need it at the end of the game. You may download in advance, without reading them, the files on both sides of card 13-1, so that you do not need an internet connection.
-
Everything is ready. Finish reading the rules before you start playing.
Start of the Game
Take card 1-1, turn it over and read the introduction aloud. Then follow the instructions on the cards.
Card texts will contain deck-number icons, for example: Anna Wirtz 2. This means you may lay out the deck with that number: turn the top card of the deck face up, and lay out the remaining cards of that deck in a row, without turning them over.
Example of a laid-out deck 2: the top card is turned face up, and the remaining cards lie in a row face down.
After you lay out a deck, study the pictures on the cards and read the captions (but you may not yet turn the cards over).
Tip: pay attention to the illustrations; they may contain clues.
Then discuss together which cards are worth turning over to get information for the investigation. Many cards cost 1 action to study, and you have only 24 actions for the whole game.
Starting with the youngest player, each player in turn chooses which card to turn over. Discussing the course of the investigation and putting forward theories may be done out of turn.
Read the "Actions" section and start the investigation! If you come across symbols on the cards that you do not understand, consult the "Card Symbols" section.
Actions
Face-down cards in the laid-out decks contain information on their reverse side: it may be useful or useless for the investigation. To study it, you must turn the card over; however, many cards are "paid" — you will spend 1 action if you turn them over.
You have 24 actions in total for the whole game. As soon as they run out, stop the game and go to the "End of the Game" section.
- A free action (an arrow without a candle) means you may turn the card over and obtain information for the investigation without spending an action.
- An action with a candle (a candle next to the arrow) means you will spend an action if you turn the card over.
Example icons: "Question the townsfolk about what happened to Hans" (arrow, free); "Question the townsfolk about the past night" (arrow with candle, costs an action).
If you turned a card over for an action, the spent action is marked with a candle icon in the upper right corner of that card. After each card you turn over, count how many actions you have spent. As soon as you reach 24, stop the game and go to the "End of the Game" section.
Example: if you have 3 cards turned over with candles, you have spent 3 actions.
Tip: for convenience you may take 24 chips or coins, divide them among all players, and place one coin on each card turned over for an action. When the coins run out, stop the game. You may also make marks on paper. This is optional, but it can make counting spent actions easier.
Each player, on their turn, decides for themselves which card to study now. You are not obliged to turn over every card. If you have turned a card over, you may at any time look at the information on its other side, but count that card when you tally your actions.
Tip: when questioning characters, pay attention to their emotions. They hint at how the character reacts to your question.
Card Symbols
- Deck icon (a flag with a number): this means you may lay out the indicated deck, that is, turn over its top card and lay out its remaining cards in a row without turning them over. Example: "Anna Wirtz" with the flag 2 — you may lay out deck 2, which belongs to Anna Wirtz. Decks are best laid out as soon as you receive the instruction.
- At the bottom of a card there is an additional list of all the decks you may lay out, and of the cards from already laid-out decks that you may now refer to.
- Free action arrow: you may turn the card over and obtain information for the investigation without spending an action. Example: you may question people about Hans at no action cost.
- Candle arrow: you will spend an action if you turn the card over. Example: for one action you may question townsfolk about the past night. Discuss together whether it is worth spending an action on this card.
- Warning sign (an exclamation mark): if a card has a warning sign next to its action, you may turn it over only under certain circumstances, which the game will tell you about. You may first need to obtain additional information from other decks. Pay attention to the candle icon: in such cases the cards may also cost an action or not cost one.
- Reference to a specific card: written as 8-3, where 8 is the deck number and 3 is the card number. This means you may refer to card 3 of deck 8, if that deck has been laid out.
- Candle in the upper right corner of a turned card: means you have spent 1 action. As soon as you spend 24 actions, the game ends.
End of the Game
Take card 13-1 and scan the QR code with the questions.
Read the questions aloud. Then each player offers their own answers to each question. You may have different versions.
At this stage you may no longer open decks or turn over new cards — you must answer based only on the cards that have already been turned over.
When you are ready, scan the QR code with the answers on the reverse side of the same card and read them aloud. Score points for your correct answers and see your result:
- 5–6 points. You managed to find and punish the guilty. The townsfolk have gained trust and respect for the Church and have begun to think about the truths that Meyfart preaches.
- 4 points. You were close to the truth, but you did not manage to establish all the circumstances of the case.
- 3 points. You did not gather enough evidence to restore justice and convince the townsfolk.
- 0–2 points. Unfortunately, you found out nothing worthwhile, and the hunt for witches flared up anew in the town.