{"id":14250,"date":"2023-12-03T15:00:01","date_gmt":"2023-12-03T13:00:01","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.tuni.fi\/playlab\/?p=14250"},"modified":"2023-12-01T00:09:42","modified_gmt":"2023-11-30T22:09:42","slug":"a-killer-party-game-deception-murder-in-hong-kong-board-game-review","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.tuni.fi\/playlab\/a-killer-party-game-deception-murder-in-hong-kong-board-game-review\/","title":{"rendered":"A killer party game – Deception: Murder in Hong Kong board game review"},"content":{"rendered":"

Another cold night in Hong Kong, another cold-blooded murder. A forensics scientist lays out a report on the investigators\u2019 table. The victim was the boss of a local company. The state of the crime scene was\u2026 tidy. The crime happened in the evening, while the victim was still dining in his vacation home. Cause of death? Poisoning.<\/em><\/p>\n

The forensics scientist observes silently as detectives discuss possible theories: after all, one of them IS the killer. \u201cWhat\u2019s the murder weapon? Drugs? Arsenic?\u201d, one asks. \u201cWe need a connected clue too\u2026\u201d, another one adds. One investigator exclaims: \u201cLet me solve the crime. It was Mr. A! He released a venomous scorpion into the victim\u2019s apartment and left behind a rose as a clue; it was a crime of passion.\u201d. Everyone turns to the forensics scientist. \u201cNo\u201d, the scientist replies. The investigator has to give up his badge: he can no longer solve the crime. \u201cJust a few more wrong guesses and I\u2019m free\u2026\u201d, the murderer thinks to himself. <\/em><\/p>\n

After feverish discussions, the scientist takes out an hourglass. \u201c30 seconds, who is your main suspect?\u201d, he asks the investigators, one by one. All share a different combination of weapon and clue. The scientist nods and removes the tile titled \u2018Time of crime\u2019. Then, a new tile appears: \u2018Motive of crime\u2019. The scientist places his token on the last option: \u2018Justice\u2019. Was time just a red herring? What could \u2018Justice\u2019 mean?<\/em><\/p>\n

\u201cLet me solve this one\u201d, says one detective. \u201cWhat if one of the victim\u2019s employees died in an accident, perhaps a poisoning? What if the boss tried to silence the suffering employee with an \u2018I-owe-you\u2019 note, found in Mr. B\u2019s clue cards? Mr. B also holds \u2018Mercury\u2019, a potent poison. That\u2019s what I call \u2018Justice\u2019!\u201d. The players turn to the forensics scientist once again. Has the case been solved?<\/em><\/p>\n

\"A<\/a>
Setup for a game of five: four players and a game master.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Deception: Murder in Hong Kong is a mystery\/social deduction board game for 4 to 12 players. It\u2019s a game about solving a murder by piecing together a story: the silent game master creates a narrative from randomized elements, and the players must connect these dots to form leads. Contexts like location of crime and cause of death are always given, but some aspects can change depending on how useful they are. For the detectives to win, one player must guess both the correct murder weapon and clue from another player, the hidden murderer. Every role requires luck, logic, social deduction, and some imagination, whether you’re cracking the case or finding a scapegoat. To me, Deception is more about the journey than the destination: it can be won with a lucky guess, but at its best, it\u2019s about crafting those wild true crime theories among friends.<\/p>\n

\"Cardboard<\/a>
Story tiles are used to create a narrative, offering context and leads for the detectives.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Gameplay in Deception is more often about reading the room than reading the rules. If the detectives are confused and frustrated, the scientist must react and simplify things if needed. However, the game elements can be quite ambiguous at times, too: what kind of murder weapon is \u201cLocked room\u201d or \u201cWine\u201d? Does it matter if a murder happened on a weekday or in autumn? This is where I think the game\u2019s greatest strength can also be its weakness: it\u2019s very open to interpretation and imagination. It can quickly turn into debates about who\u2019s right or wrong and what’s possible, so my recommendation is to suspend some disbelief when playing.<\/p>\n

\"A<\/a>
Each player holds four murder weapons (blue cards), four clues (red cards), a hidden role card and a badge.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

What I love about this game is its\u2019 endless possibilities in storytelling: every game master can have a different vision for a specific murder. The random elements keep the stories fresh, but the game master still has great creative freedom to add their own twists. It\u2019s a fun party game to get people talking but is also lighthearted enough to not feel like demanding brainwork. When played in the right company and mindset, it\u2019s a game that really lets you feel like you\u2019re in an episode of True Detective<\/em>, cracking that impossible case.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Basic information:<\/strong><\/p>\n

Designer:<\/strong> Tobey Ho
\nPublisher:<\/strong> Grey Fox Games
\nNumber of players:<\/strong> 4-12
\nReleased:<\/strong> 2014
\nPlaying time:<\/strong> 20 min+
\nAges:<\/strong> 14+<\/p>\n

Pictures: <\/strong>photos from Deception: Murder in Hong Kong (2014), taken by the author.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Deception is a board game bordering creativity and logic, set in a murder mystery. Whether you\u2019re a detective, a silent scientist, or a murderer, there\u2019s always a different story to strike up mind-boggling theories. <\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":227,"featured_media":14304,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"ocean_post_layout":"","ocean_both_sidebars_style":"","ocean_both_sidebars_content_width":0,"ocean_both_sidebars_sidebars_width":0,"ocean_sidebar":"","ocean_second_sidebar":"","ocean_disable_margins":"enable","ocean_add_body_class":"","ocean_shortcode_before_top_bar":"","ocean_shortcode_after_top_bar":"","ocean_shortcode_before_header":"","ocean_shortcode_after_header":"","ocean_has_shortcode":"","ocean_shortcode_after_title":"","ocean_shortcode_before_footer_widgets":"","ocean_shortcode_after_footer_widgets":"","ocean_shortcode_before_footer_bottom":"","ocean_shortcode_after_footer_bottom":"","ocean_display_top_bar":"default","ocean_display_header":"default","ocean_header_style":"","ocean_center_header_left_menu":"","ocean_custom_header_template":"","ocean_custom_logo":0,"ocean_custom_retina_logo":0,"ocean_custom_logo_max_width":0,"ocean_custom_logo_tablet_max_width":0,"ocean_custom_logo_mobile_max_width":0,"ocean_custom_logo_max_height":0,"ocean_custom_logo_tablet_max_height":0,"ocean_custom_logo_mobile_max_height":0,"ocean_header_custom_menu":"","ocean_menu_typo_font_family":"","ocean_menu_typo_font_subset":"","ocean_menu_typo_font_size":0,"ocean_menu_typo_font_size_tablet":0,"ocean_menu_typo_font_size_mobile":0,"ocean_menu_typo_font_size_unit":"px","ocean_menu_typo_font_weight":"","ocean_menu_typo_font_weight_tablet":"","ocean_menu_typo_font_weight_mobile":"","ocean_menu_typo_transform":"","ocean_menu_typo_transform_tablet":"","ocean_menu_typo_transform_mobile":"","ocean_menu_typo_line_height":0,"ocean_menu_typo_line_height_tablet":0,"ocean_menu_typo_line_height_mobile":0,"ocean_menu_typo_line_height_unit":"","ocean_menu_typo_spacing":0,"ocean_menu_typo_spacing_tablet":0,"ocean_menu_typo_spacing_mobile":0,"ocean_menu_typo_spacing_unit":"","ocean_menu_link_color":"","ocean_menu_link_color_hover":"","ocean_menu_link_color_active":"","ocean_menu_link_background":"","ocean_menu_link_hover_background":"","ocean_menu_link_active_background":"","ocean_menu_social_links_bg":"","ocean_menu_social_hover_links_bg":"","ocean_menu_social_links_color":"","ocean_menu_social_hover_links_color":"","ocean_disable_title":"default","ocean_disable_heading":"default","ocean_post_title":"","ocean_post_subheading":"","ocean_post_title_style":"","ocean_post_title_background_color":"","ocean_post_title_background":0,"ocean_post_title_bg_image_position":"","ocean_post_title_bg_image_attachment":"","ocean_post_title_bg_image_repeat":"","ocean_post_title_bg_image_size":"","ocean_post_title_height":0,"ocean_post_title_bg_overlay":0.5,"ocean_post_title_bg_overlay_color":"","ocean_disable_breadcrumbs":"default","ocean_breadcrumbs_color":"","ocean_breadcrumbs_separator_color":"","ocean_breadcrumbs_links_color":"","ocean_breadcrumbs_links_hover_color":"","ocean_display_footer_widgets":"default","ocean_display_footer_bottom":"default","ocean_custom_footer_template":"","ocean_post_oembed":"","ocean_post_self_hosted_media":"","ocean_post_video_embed":"","ocean_link_format":"","ocean_link_format_target":"self","ocean_quote_format":"","ocean_quote_format_link":"post","ocean_gallery_link_images":"on","ocean_gallery_id":[],"footnotes":""},"categories":[8],"tags":[373,1258,1113,1177,194,557],"class_list":["post-14250","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-game-reviews","tag-board-games","tag-crime","tag-detective","tag-mystery","tag-review","tag-social-deduction","entry","has-media"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.tuni.fi\/playlab\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/14250","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.tuni.fi\/playlab\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.tuni.fi\/playlab\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.tuni.fi\/playlab\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/227"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.tuni.fi\/playlab\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=14250"}],"version-history":[{"count":12,"href":"https:\/\/www.tuni.fi\/playlab\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/14250\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":14327,"href":"https:\/\/www.tuni.fi\/playlab\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/14250\/revisions\/14327"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.tuni.fi\/playlab\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/14304"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.tuni.fi\/playlab\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=14250"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.tuni.fi\/playlab\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=14250"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.tuni.fi\/playlab\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=14250"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}