How to Play

Deception: Murder in Hong Kong

4-12 players 20-20 min 7.4 Board Game Geek Rating

In this social deduction game for 4-12 players, investigators must solve a murder while the actual killer hides among them. A Forensic Scientist provides wordless clues using scene tiles, guiding investigators toward the correct evidence and murder method. The murderer wins by staying hidden or misleading others, while investigators win by identifying both key evidence and means of murder.

Published 2014

Get Ready

Setup the game with these step-by-step instructions before diving into your turn.

Deal player cards

Each player receives 4 Clue Cards, 4 Means Cards, and 1 Badge Token, displayed face-up facing other players

Prepare role cards

Use Role Cards equal to the number of players

Distribute roles

Deal 1 Role Card to each player secretly

Reveal Forensic Scientist

The Forensic Scientist reveals their role and returns their cards and badge; all others keep roles secret

Conduct the Crime Scene phase

The Forensic Scientist runs the night phase

Prepare scene tiles

Set aside Location and Cause tiles, shuffle remaining Scene tiles into a face-down deck

Reveal initial tiles

Place 1 Location tile, draw 4 random Scene tiles, and place 1 Cause tile on the table

On Your Turn

What you can do during your turn.

1st Round Evidence phase

Forensic Scientist places 6 bullet markers on tiles, one per tile, to provide clues about the murder

Discuss during placement

All players except Forensic Scientist discuss freely while bullets are being placed

Present your theory

Each player receives 30 seconds to talk about the Key Evidence and Means of Murder with no interruptions

Solve the Crime attempt

At any time, point to 1 Clue card and 1 Means card in front of another player to make your one accusation

2nd Round Evidence phase

Forensic Scientist draws a new tile, replaces one existing tile (except Location and Cause), and places a bullet marker

Group discussion

Discuss new evidence briefly, then each player is called on to present

Final Round Evidence phase

Forensic Scientist draws another new tile, replaces one (except Location and Cause), and places a bullet marker

Final presentations

Each player is called on for final theories; you must use your solve attempt before the last person presents

Event Tiles Variant

Shuffle event tiles into the deck after 1st round; read aloud if drawn

Winning

How to claim victory.

Investigators win condition

The game ends immediately if any player correctly identifies both the Key Evidence and Means of Murder; Forensic Scientist, Investigators, and Witness win

Murderer wins condition

If all players guess incorrectly or the 3rd round evidence presentation concludes without a correct answer, Murderer and Accomplice win

Witness identification

If Witness is in play and the crime was solved, the Murderer and Accomplice get one guess to identify the Witness