The family has been on a bluffing kick lately, so to add to that assortment we found Simply Suspects from Spy Alley Partners and tried it out over the weekend. It does not disappoint! Perfect for 2 to 6 players and easy to pick-up and learn in under 5 minutes, this game already has a ton of children's and parenting awards for logical reasoning.
Simply Suspects is a great bluffing game. Each player has a secret "suspect" card the other players cannot see. The centerpiece of the game is the Evidence Board: a peg board with 7 columns and 6 rows, one row for each suspect. As players roll the die and move around the game track, they are directed to take actions either with opponent game pieces or on the peg board. Pegs can move vertically freely, but each column can only have one peg (regardless of what row that peg is on). Each row can have up to 7 pegs. The key is the "Grand Jury" space. If you land on this space AND your suspect row has 2 or more pegs on it, then you are out of the game. If your row has only 1 peg, or none, you may choose to guess another player's identity. If you're right, they're out of the game and you gain their Get-Away cards. If you're wrong, then you're out and they get all of your Get-Away cards.
Each player is dealt one Get-Away card at the beginning of the game and collects more throughout the game. Each card has a number on it and a player may choose to play that card and move that number of spaces instead of rolling the die.
The bluffing aspect of Simply Suspects works really well, since most moves cause at least one peg to change positions, it's easy and advantageous to move it to your identity row. Plus, since the player game pieces can also be swapped, or opponent pieces moved forward or backward a space, everyone has to think ahead in order to force a strategic outcome.
This game is beautiful, with great art that really complements the overall design. Even the suspect cards are full of fun play-on-words. Take a closer look at these:
What's In the Box
- Game Board
- Evidence Board
- 7 Evidence Pegs
- 6 Game Pieces
- 6 Suspect Cards
- 42 Get-Away Cards
- 1 Game Die
- Rule Book
- Helpful Hints Advice Sheet
- Variations Rule Sheet
Variants
Depending on how everyone is feeling, you can also incorporate secret partners. Each suspect has an automatic partner (detailed in the Variations Rule Sheet), but neither player knows who in the game has that identity. So you're working together using only the peg board. Or, for four-person groups standard teams can be used. Each teammate has access to the other's Get-Away cards and knows the other's identity, but the other team does not.
Where to Buy
Simply Suspects is available directly from Spy Alley Partners at their online store and at your local game and hobby shop!
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Disclaimer: The products in this post were provided by Spy Alley Partners, LLC. As always, our posts are our own, honest opinions.