Clue: Liars Edition

Setting up Clue: Liars Edition involves placing the game board in the center, assigning player pawns to their designated starting rooms, and distributing all six miniature weapons randomly across different rooms on the board. Each player receives a reference card and a detective notepad with a pencil. The twenty-one investigation cards are shuffled and dealt evenly among all participants, with any leftover cards placed face down on the board. The remaining twenty-one proof cards are separated into three categories—characters, weapons, and rooms—shuffled independently, and one card from each category is secretly placed inside the central envelope beneath the liar button to determine the solution. The remaining proof cards are shuffled and dealt out to the players, ensuring each receives a balanced number of clues. Finally, the liar button is placed in the center of the board with the question-mark card deck beneath it.

The main goal of Clue: Liars Edition is identical to the classic mystery game: players act as detectives attempting to solve a murder by identifying the correct combination of murderer, weapon, and crime scene. However, this edition introduces a deception mechanic where players can deliberately lie using investigation cards, forcing opponents to catch their bluffs or risk falling into false deductions while trying to solve the central mystery hidden within the secret envelope.

During a player's turn, they begin by moving their pawn across the board either by rolling the die to traverse hallways or by utilizing secret passages between rooms. Once inside a room, the player makes a suggestion by naming a suspect, a weapon, and the room they currently occupy. The player to their left then checks their hand for any matching proof cards and reveals one in secret if they have it. Afterward, the active player must draw and read an investigation card aloud, which may require them to tell the truth or bluff about their movement or knowledge. Opponents can press the liar button if they suspect the active player is lying about their card instruction.

Scoring and tracking information is handled entirely through the detective notepad and pencil provided to each player. As players make suggestions, receive secret card reveals from opponents, and test accusations during the game, they cross off eliminated suspects, weapons, and rooms on their grid to narrow down the remaining possibilities until the true solution becomes clear.

The game concludes when a player makes a formal accusation by stating their final deduction of the murderer, weapon, and room, and then secretly checking the cards inside the central envelope. If their accusation is correct, they win the game immediately. If incorrect, they reveal their cards in secret, lose their ability to make further suggestions or press the liar button, and must remain in the game solely to answer other players' questions honestly until the true criminal is eventually uncovered.