Painter Detective (2015)

About this game

User summary: 似顔絵探偵 (Nigaoe Tantei) is Painter Detective. In the game of Painter Detective, one player takes the role of detective, and the others are the witnesses. Each suspect card depicts a face of a suspect, and a criminal is chosen randomly from 48 suspect cards. The witnesses looks at the face of the criminal and memorize its characteristics in five seconds. Then each witness is assigned one or two face parts they must explain, and describes the criminal's characteristics by verbal method only. The detective listens to the descriptions and draws a composite sketch, and tells the criminal from the suspect cards. In 2016, a female edition was published jointly with YACO, called Painter Detective Girl 似顔絵探偵ガール (Nigaoe Tantei Garu). Gameplay is the same, the artwork by 矢野 由布子 (Yuko Yano) shows only female characteristics. The publishers says on the box "The Painter Detective receives the request, it's a "Search of the Lost Girl"! Let's make the portrait from the unclear information by some witness. This game is the party game with the memory, the observation and the drawing.". Publisher's summary: まず、プレイヤーの中から１人の探偵役を決めます。その他は目撃者役です。 顔のイラストが描かれた、48枚の容疑者カードの中からランダムで、１枚の犯人を選びます。 目撃者役のプレイヤーのみ５秒間だけ見て、記憶します。その後、鼻、目、口・ひげ、輪郭などを示した、パーツカードが配られ、 各容疑者役のプレイヤーは自分の担当のパーツのみ、ジェスチャー無しで口だけで探偵役に伝えます。 探偵役は目撃者の話を聞いて、似顔絵を描き、その後、その絵を頼りに容疑者カードの中から犯人を捜し出します。

Does it fit your group?

• Group size. Works with 3 to 7.
• Rules load. No complexity score has been recorded for this one.
• Age. The publisher suggests 9 and up. That rates the rules rather than the artwork, so judge the box yourself for younger players.