Hobbies And Interests
Set Up
After inserting six AA batteries, place the four bumper "feet" on the console's underside. In the console's storage compartment, separate and place 20 suspect cards; always keep these cards in numerical order.
Distribute case fact sheets to each player. Your fact sheet has four sections: "The Murder Facts" (record sex, weapons caliber, where the killer fled to and fingerprints information); "Who Was Where?" (record suspects' location at the time of the murder); "Who Said What" (cross reference suspects' alibis and answers to private questions here); and "Who Did It" (record your solution here before accusing anyone). You will not find pertinent information where police discovered the body, so draw an "X" through that section.
Choose someone to go first, with play proceeding to the left. After selecting the number of players, gun shots indicate that the crime has occurred. Read aloud the victim's number and location of the body on the display screen. Record the information on your fact sheet and remove the victim's suspect card from play.
Choose from among three levels of difficulty, from hardest to easiest: master detective (level one), sleuth (level two) or gumshoe (level three).
Alibis and Private Questions
Use the computer to question suspects. You may question the same suspect multiple times in subsequent turns. To learn a suspect's alibi, press "Suspect" key, the suspect's number (which you obtain from her card) and "Enter." Match the code numbers on the display window with the colored sections below the display window (numbers and letters indicate suspect name, where she was and who he was with). Read the alibi aloud and have another player verify the information.
Once you know the suspect's alibi, ask private questions to discover key information such as the murderer's sex, weapon caliber (.38 or .45) and whether the fingerprints on the weapon belonged to an odd or even-numbered suspect. Only suspects of the same sex as the murderer and who took off to the location of the murder weapon can provide you with the fingerprints information.
Suspects at the weapon location, who are of the opposite sex of the murderer, may or may not lie about the fingerprints (this is the only instance in which a suspect can lie).
The number of private questions you may ask depends on the game's difficulty level; one question for level one, two for level two and three for level three. Press "Private Question," the question's number and then enter. Match the answer that appears in the display window to the question and answers on the suspect card (you do not have to refer to the colored chart).
Only you see the answers to private questions that you ask. Press "End Turn" when you have finished asking questions and recording information.
Accusations
You can make one accusation per game, at the beginning of a turn, before choosing a suspect for questioning. Press "I Accuse," the suspect number and then enter. If you enter a false accusation, you exit the game. If you enter the correct accusation, police sirens sound and you win.
If each of your opponents finishes the game with a wrong accusation, you must make an accusation at the start of your next turn. If all players make wrong accusations, the computer automatically gives the correct answer and all detectives lose the game.