Tips and Tricks

[Starkaddr]

Here's our strategy guide on making the best use of the Clue Sheet:

https://steamcommunity.com/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=1388570978

Do you have any other tips and tricks for cracking the case? Let us know!

[Kitsune Zeta]

Just had a game where I won it on a turn I rolled snake eyes on (which probably caught everyone else off-guard).

https://steamcommunity.com/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=1400183971

So early on in the game, Orchid made the suggestion of Peacock with the Pickaxe in the Bank. Nobody disproved it, and I ended up with two rows full of X's and the Bank only having one spot left (which I marked with the "!" point, since it's significant that Orchid suggested it). Orchid did NOT follow this up with an accusation, which strongly implied she had that card.

Cue many, many, many turns later where I was whittling down the list of locations and had three locations not marked off as decisively wrong (Sheriff's Office, the Bank, and the Courthouse). Peacock made a suggestion involving the courthouse and two cards I knew Orchid did not have (and that I myself did not have), which Orchid disproved. I then ran simple logic on that and Orchid's previous Peacock-Pickaxe-Bank suggestion, leading me to the conclusion that Orchid must have the Bank card (since she did not accuse on that suggestion). My next turn, I rolled snake eyes, moved, and then dropped the accusation. The results, well, you can see above.

Of note is that the Sheriff's Office was never part of any suggestion - the sole X tick in my clue sheet is the result of deducing all three of White's cards.

[Taiyo]

If you're trying to narrow things down, do not hestiate to use clues that has been confirmed to be correct - odds are the other players already know those cards are correct anyway and they are trying to figure out the other parts of the case.

For example, I confirmed the murderer (Green) and weapon (Whip) issues but I still need to pin down the location (for example, Saloon or Graveyard). I roll just enough to be able to reach the Saloon where I am, so I go there and suggest it was Green with the Whip in the Saloon. Since I already know that Green and Whip is confirmed, I can pin down the location and make my accusation right off (if Saloon was a clue, then I know the Graveyard is the murder scene. If I didn't get the Saloon clue, then I know it's in the Saloon instead).

[BobSmun]

The notebook is currently very much 'what others have'. It would be nice to extend notation - if only a little bit - towards also tracking 'what others know', which is something you can do with the board game. It's not so much about finding the solution, as it is about reducing the information you leak that would help others find the solution.

Along with being able to mark which of my cards I have shown to someone, it would be nice to track what was asked for - both when I couldn't show any (i.e. when everyone else knows that I don't have them) and when I did have to show something (i.e. everyone knows that I have at least one of those cards)

It would also be nice to be able to differentiate between what everyone knows and what I have deduced - e.g. have proven crosses be different from deduced / manual crosses.

[Rabid Urko]

Ursprungligen skrivet av BobSmun:

The notebook is currently very much 'what others have'. It would be nice to extend notation - if only a little bit - towards also tracking 'what others know', which is something you can do with the board game. It's not so much about finding the solution, as it is about reducing the information you leak that would help others find the solution.

Along with being able to mark which of my cards I have shown to someone, it would be nice to track what was asked for - both when I couldn't show any (i.e. when everyone else knows that I don't have them) and when I did have to show something (i.e. everyone knows that I have at least one of those cards)

It would also be nice to be able to differentiate between what everyone knows and what I have deduced - e.g. have proven crosses be different from deduced / manual crosses.

There are multi symbols to use already.

[Starkaddr]

Ursprungligen skrivet av BobSmun:

Along with being able to mark which of my cards I have shown to someone, it would be nice to track what was asked for - both when I couldn't show any (i.e. when everyone else knows that I don't have them) and when I did have to show something (i.e. everyone knows that I have at least one of those cards)

It would also be nice to be able to differentiate between what everyone knows and what I have deduced - e.g. have proven crosses be different from deduced / manual crosses.

All good suggestions, thanks! Being able to track who you have shown specific cards to, and a visual distinction between auto/manual crosses are already on our list of potential features.

The other one is a little trickier to do cleanly. Potentially we could have a new column that represents you, and what others know about you, but that could be confusing for new users. If we implement a "free notes" feature, that might be useful for this purpose.

[jmbullet]

I use a custom google spreadsheet that I made whenever I play clue. It is very similar to this game's note sheet, but it also features an eye symbol, which I use on my cards in the column of any player I have shown it to. When playing in real life, it isn't unusual that some players will forget they have seen a card or simply don't realize they shouldn't suggest it again, so if I have more than a card in their suggestion and have to show one, I can keep on showing the same card instead of leaking information about a new card. I guess adding the eye symbol to this game could be good. I also think a lot of players would purchase the game on android or ios if one of its features was to be able to use your awesome note sheet with the physical game. Like just add a section in the menu that takes you right to a sheet, with the possibility to edit characters, weapons or rooms to suit any version of the game people might be playing. I would even pay for it if you made it an in-app purchase, since in my opinion, it would be more convenient and faster than the google spreadsheet I currently use.

[WeltenKatze]

Hello thanks for the tips

[Salem Graves]

Can you explain more about lessons 5 and 6? It's an interesting tip but that particular situation never happens, there's always overlap. So instead of a nice
1
2
3 three times to show their 3 potential cards, there's always overlap with the guessing so it would end up looking like..
1
24
3
4
12
13
23
4
Or something like that.. Does that make sense? It's a bit confusing and I'm never sure what to do in these situations.

[Rocketeer Raccoon]

Ursprungligen skrivet av Vera:

Can you explain more about lessons 5 and 6? It's an interesting tip but that particular situation never happens, there's always overlap. So instead of a nice
1
2
3 three times to show their 3 potential cards, there's always overlap with the guessing so it would end up looking like..
1
24
3
4
12
13
23
4
Or something like that.. Does that make sense? It's a bit confusing and I'm never sure what to do in these situations.

Good question, I've actually been having trouble with overlaps as well, I often lose Online matches because of this.

[Starkaddr]

You're right, overlaps like that are much more common, and there often isn't an easy way to deal with them, other than waiting for options to be eliminated by suggestions. Unless someone else has more logic tricks that we're unaware of, in which case please do let us know!

[Narri L]

Tip for gaining the die-roll achievements faster: play frequent 3-player Easy matches and not use advanced notation.

Or is that just me?

[Barking Sands]

If a player is looking for the room where the murder might have taken place, they may well go out of their way in order to get to it. Keeping an eye open for players not searching for clues in a given nearby room during their turn when the crime scene is the only question on the table is good practice as it can aid in spotting which room cards other players are almost certainly holding in their hands.

It might also be useful to keep track of which person asked which question in past turns. If they ask the same question a second time (barring human error), it seems likely that they were not shown that card the previous turn, which may help narrow down which card that they actually were shown. Use with caution as this method can lead to incorrect conclusions.

Finally, there is the permutation problem.It seems Rocketeer Raccoon was already developing the same concept; something like:

1
15
23
25
34
4

As far as I can tell, it would be impossible to single out a solitary permutation that fits all of the clues when there are multiples of each ordinal. If there aren't multiples of each ordinal, then clearly one of the cards will have already been deduced. In the above case, if the card marked "34" turns out to be revealed, the other "4" becomes eliminated and no additional information is gained.

Now suppose the card marked "1" is eliminated because the player can't reveal the card when asked. That probably doesn't change anything. In that case, "15" "23" and "4" fits the bill, as does "15" "23" and "34", and "15" "25" and "34" ... so we can only safely eliminate "1" ... which we literally just did.

However, if the card marked "15" is eliminated for any reason, we know exactly all three cards in their hand instantly ... which is quite a lucky break. It has to be "1" "25" and "34" as no other permutation matches all of our careful observations simultaneously.

If we manage to eliminate "34", we return with the solution: "15", "23", and "4" as our only possible conclusion. If we eliminate "25", we get "15", "23", and either "34" or simply "4", so we can only cross off "1" and of course "25."

Ummm ... long story short, it's likely too time-consuming and not always profitable to apply the permutation problem to these instances. It's best practice to use "!" for a temporary guess-tick and "?" for a temporary assumption of "X" and leave the question open until more certain clues come along. I have been in at least one game where I made a wrong guess at the end because I completely spoiled my notepad from trying to whittle one of these down in haste.

[Rocketeer Raccoon]

Actually, about the numbering onto the pad, how come when playing a 3 player game you can only jot down 5 numbers even though everyone has 6 cards?

[Barking Sands]

Sometimes the advanced notation eliminates cards from being present in the evidence pile even when the card holder isn't known:

https://steamcommunity.com/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=1780407569

^^ In this example, I can eliminate a suspect from the evidence pile because of the "1" and "3" because there are only 4 of those blocks remaining and they're lined up both vertically and horizontally. If Brunette is holding the suspect White, then Orchid must be holding the Bedroom, and vice versa, so neither the suspect White or the Bedroom can possibly be in the evidence pile.

I think on some rare occasions, this theme of cancellation occurs even without advanced notation because there can only be (and there must be) one suspect, one weapon, and one room in the evidence pile.

It's a good idea in the late game (after the suspect and/or weapon is known by every observant player simultaneously) to keep track of who suggested each suspect or weapon that isn't already known to be in a player's possession and also isn't already deduced to be in the evidence file. It's almost certain to be in their hand and that information can help identify all of the cards they are holding and logically conclude that they are almost certainly not holding other more important clues in their hand. An example of what these deductions can produce:

https://steamcommunity.com/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=1777295934

^^ Here I had previously marked suspicious cards (I think they are holding them but can't verify conclusively) with an exclamation mark and filled in the blanks by elimination with question marks. To show off a bit, I made this accusation from the lobby without entering a room to make a suggestion that could have helped me solve the case the old-fashioned way. It helped me a lot that White had just accused Rusty with the Lead Pipe in the Billiard Room, which told me that she had previously been shown the Study and not Rusty, and that the Billiard Room card was in Rusty's hand. I was actually genuinely surprised that Scarlett didn't make an accusation and take her chances for a full win.

It's also commonly a good tactic when not sure what to ask for in the early game to piggyback or copycat other players. You will feel one step behind but you'll be gaining more information than what you're unintentionally giving away to other observant competitors. Those X's early on help in making quicker elimination steps in the subsequent turns (which is very beneficial because it leads to making more productive suggestions).

If you can put more emphasis on eliminating rooms from the roster by seeing more room cards in the early game or first two turns, you'll save yourself from having to participate in the rat race for the correct room that almost always happens in the end game. You likely won't gain anything, however, from using weapons and suspects you're holding because other players will notice after they find out your weapon and suspect cards that you were having those rooms revealed to you. Prudent suggestions involve going in rooms previously not visited (and that aren't in your hand obviously) and going with suspects or weapons your next opponent or two couldn't or likely wouldn't show.

https://steamcommunity.com/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=1777296650

^^ Here I started the 3-player game with only 1 room in my hand and by eliminating 4 rooms in my first 4 turns (a bit of luck), I managed to beat the game without having any player even enter the correct room at any time.

It follows logically that it's best to avoid showing other players a room card when there's another option available.

Ursprungligen skrivet av Rocketeer Raccoon:

Actually, about the numbering onto the pad, how come when playing a 3 player game you can only jot down 5 numbers even though everyone has 6 cards?

I think it's highly unlikely that you'll need more than 5 numbers in one game, although it is possible.

In a 3-player game, your two opponents can only show those 6 cards to either you or each other. In all likelihood they will only show 4-5 cards to each other and also 4-5 cards to you over the course of as many as 10 turns before it's inevitable that the solution presents itself.

In a 5-player game, a player holding 4 cards and showing them to 4 other players can potentially show cards several times over the course of a drawn-out slow hand. In those instances, you may need to use the exclam (!) and question mark in addition to the 5 digits. I don't think 5-player games happen online, so you can feel free to open a spreadsheet if you need one and take all the time you need in a solo vs. PC match.

[AcidShadowDragon]

Here's a tip!
Fix the app with the passcode issue.