MindMaze: Verzwickte Rätsel – Kriminalfälle
MindMaze: Verzwickte Rätsel – Kriminalfälle Rulebook
Table of Contents
Table of Contents
General
The Game Master first reads a riddle aloud. They should make sure the other players cannot see the solution on the back of the card. Then the Game Master reads the solution on the back silently, for themselves only.
The players now try to work out what actually happened by asking questions. However, only questions the Game Master can answer with "Yes", "No" or "That is not important" are allowed.
An example of a simple riddle:
"A pilot jumped out of an aircraft and landed on the ground. However, he stayed alive. What happened?"
- "Did the pilot jump with a parachute?" – "No."
- "Was the aircraft travelling at high speed?" – "No."
- "Were there passengers on board?" – "That is not important."
- "Was the pilot in the air for a long period of time?" – "No."
- "Was the aircraft on the grounds of the airport?" – "Yes."
A note: the pictures on the cards usually do not help you find the solution. They can even be misleading!
Each riddle is assigned to one of three difficulty levels, recognisable by the large number in the top left corner:
- 10 – Easy (Leicht)
- 15 – Medium (Mittel)
- 20 – Hard (Schwer)
There are two different ways you can play: the classic version, in which you solve the riddles together, and the competitive version, in which you play against each other and collect points.
Classic Version
All players ask questions in any order. The goal is simply to work out the solution of the riddle together and to have fun doing so. The Game Master answers all questions until the true course of events has been uncovered. As soon as a riddle is solved, it is best for the next player in turn order to be appointed the new Game Master.
Competitive Version
Here the players compete to ask the most effective questions and to collect the most points. The first question is asked by the player to the left of the Game Master. After that, the other players each ask one question in turn, clockwise. For every question, the player asking it receives 1 minus point.
Below the solution, some particularly helpful questions are listed. If a player asks one of these questions, they do not receive a minus point. Instead, they receive the number of plus points stated before the question, depending on the difficulty of the riddle:
- Easy: 3 plus points
- Medium: 4 plus points
- Hard: 5 plus points
The question does not have to be asked word for word to earn the plus points. It is enough if it corresponds in meaning to the listed question. The Game Master should decide this at their own discretion, but should not be too pedantic.
Instead of asking a question, a player may also make an attempt to guess the solution. The guess should be well thought out and should correspond in meaning to the solution. If the guess is correct, the player receives plus points equal to the number stated in the top left corner of the card:
- Easy: 10 plus points
- Medium: 15 plus points
- Hard: 20 plus points
If the guess is not correct, the player receives 2 minus points for their guess.
The Game Master notes all minus and plus points and so keeps a written record of the score. As soon as a riddle is solved, it is best for the next player in turn order to be appointed the new Game Master.
Ending the Game
(Translator's heading: the German rulebook prints no heading for this passage, which follows the Competitive Version and applies to both versions.)
The game ends after a predetermined number of riddles. Ideally, every player should have been Game Master the same number of times. With 4 players, for example, the game would end after 4, 8 or 12 riddles.
It is important for the course of play that the Game Master always encourages the other players to ask new questions that bring them closer to the solution. A systematic approach to asking questions is useful and leads to insights that steer the search in a particular direction.