Issue #28/53, December 3 - 16, 1998 
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| Jean Unplugged |
| "Bla-X-ploitation" page |
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OBJECT
Galina Starovoitova--the victim of an apparent contract murder--is found in her podyezd, riddled with bullets. To win, you must determine the answers to these three questions: Who was the hit man? Who ordered the killing? And where was the order placed?
EQUIPMENT
You'll need the following items to play:
*Not A Clue game board (included).
| PLAYING PIECES |  |
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* 6 playing pieces, each representing one of the suspected hitmen (included)
* 21 playing cards (included), one for each location, suspect, and potential contractor. Each contractor card contains the name of a person who may have ordered the hit, as well as his possible motive for doing so
* 1 Alexander Minkin card
* Xeroxable "Detective Sheet" to aid in your investigation, eXile brothers has provided one such sheet, but in actual game play each player should have one
* Confidential "case file" envelope (not included). Use any household envelope to hold the contents of the case file
* 1 die (not included)
* 50 rubles per player (not included)
SETUP
1. Select a game piece and place it in the Location nearest you. If fewer than six are playing, be sure to place the remaining token(s) into other vacant location(s)--remember, in Russia, you can never have too few suspects!
2. Place the empty envelope marked "Confidential Case File" on the "Canary Islands" space at the center of the board.
3. Sort the pack of cards into three groups: Suspects, Contractors, and Locations. Shuffle each group separately and place each face down on the table. Then--so no one can see them--take the top card from each group and place it into the envelope. The Case File now contains the answers to the questions: Who? For Whom? Beginning Where?
4. Shuffle together the three piles of remaining cards. Then deal them face down clockwise around the table. (It doesn't matter if some players receive more cards than others). Secretly look at your own cards: Because they're in your hand, they can't be in the case file--which means none of your cards was involved in the crime!
5. Sasha "Makedon"--that is, the player with the "Sasha Makedon" token--always moves first.
Game Play
Moving Your Token
On each turn, try to reach a different Location. To start your turn, move your token either by rolling the die, or, if you're in a corner location, by paying a customs official a bribe of ten rubles to move to the Canary Islands.
Rolling
Roll the die and move your token the number of squares you rolled. You may move horizontally or vertically, forward or backward, but not diagonally. You may change directions as many times as your roll will allow. You may not, however, enter the same square twice on the same turn. You may not enter or land on a square that's already occupied by another suspect.
The Canary Islands
The locations in the opposite corners of the board are each home to a customs official who is in the pocket of criminal structures. If you're at one of those locations at the start of your turn, you may, if you wish, bribe this official for a pass to the Canary Islands, at the center of the board. From the Canary Islands, you may move in any direction as your roll allows. Escape to the Canary Islands may be useful if the other players block the exits to your location in an attempt to trap you inside. The 10 ruble bribe is placed at the center of the board.
Entering and Leaving a Location
You may enter and leave a Location by rolling the die and moving through a door.
* You may not pass through a door that is blocked by an opponent's token.
* As soon as you enter a location, stop moving. It doesn't matter if you roll a number that's higher than you need to enter.
* You may not re-enter the same location on a single turn.
* It is possible that your opponents might block any doors and trap you in a location. Once you are trapped, your opponents may confer and decide to expose your criminal activites by passing kompromat about you to Alexander Minkin, who subsequently will expose you in his newspaper. If they so decide, the ALEXANDER MINKIN CARD should be placed on top of your game token, rendering you motionless until it is removed, or until the exits of your location are unblocked. The cost of removing the Alexander Minkin card is 60 rubles. Since each player is only allotted 50 rubles at the start of the game, you must acquire extra money through the sale of information to one of your opponents. This procedure works as follows:
Selling Information
* At any time during the game, you may attempt to sell information to one of your opponents. To do so, simply show one of your cards to an inquiring player for a fee of 20 rubles.
* Once you have sold enough information to pay for the removal of the Alexander Minkin card, the card is taken off your game token, taking you out of the public eye once again and allowing you to operate unmolested in Russian society. Once the card is lifted, you may move your piece as usual on the board during your next turn.
Put Forward A Conspiracy Theory
As soon as you enter a location, put forward a Conspiracy Theory. By airing Conspiracy Theories throughout the game, you try to determine--by process of elimination--which three cards are in the confidential Case File envelope. To put forward a Conspiracy Theory, simply suggest a suspect, contractor (along with his motive), and location.
Example: Let's say that you're Alyosha "The Poddle" and you enter the Kremlin. You say, "I think that Dima 'Four Toes' was hired in Geneva to kill Galina Starovoitova by Gennady Seleznyov because Starovoitova had instigated an investigation into possible racketeering activities of Selenyov's Academy For National Security."
Remember two things:
* You must be at the location you suggest in your Conspiracy Theory.
* Be sure to consider all suspects--including yourself--as falling under equal suspicion. Remember, in Russia, if you're not guilty, it's only because someone beat you to it!
Proving a Conspiracy Theory True or False
As soon as you put forward a Conspiracy Theory, your opponents, in turn, try to prove it false. The first to try is the player to your immediate left. This player looks at his or her cards to see if one of the three cards you just named is there. If the player does have one of the cards named, he or she selects JUST ONE to show you. If that opponent has none of the cards that you named, then the chance to prove your Conspiracy Theory wrong passes, in turn, to the next player on the left.
Using the example above, if the player to your left has the "Gennady Seleznyov" card, he must show it to you and no one else. If he has "Gennady Seleznyov" and "Smolny", he may show you either card to you.
As soon as your opponent shows you one of the cards that you named, it is proof that it cannot be contained in the envelope. End your turn by checking off this card in your notebook. If no one is able to prove your suggestion false, you may either end your turn or Close the Case now.
Closing the Case
When you think you've figured out which three cards are in the envelope, you may, on your turn, try to Close the Case by naming any three elements you wish. First say, "I now know (Suspect) was hired by (Contractor) at the (Location)."
In the traditional "Clue" game, the player making the accusation would then look in the envelope. In the Russian "Not a Clue" game, NO ONE EVER GETS TO LOOK IN THE ENVELOPE, even when someone attempts to Close the Case.
In order to Close the Case, simply make your Accusation and then poll the remaining players as to the merits of your Accusation. If they are tired and do not want to play anymore, the game ends and your "versiya" of the case stands, with the case considered Closed. If their own curiosity is not statisfied, play continues until the next person attempts to Close the Case. When enough players have attempted to Close the Case, the true contents of the envelope will become obvious to everybody, even though no action is taken.
Once you attempt to Close the Case, you may not move again. However, if the other players do not yet wish to Close the Case, you must remain in the game in order to disprove subsequent Conspiracy Theories.
Winning
In "Not a Clue", everybody wins except the victim. The game is only played for the purely abstract pleasure of guessing the nature of the crime. When the game is over, the three cards are removed from the Case File envelope and reshuffled in with the remaining cards.
