Murder at Devil Pines

Murder at Devil Pines is 90's era federal agent vs. the supernatural inspired board game, with a twist! It comes from the mind of Zzarchov Kowolski (Pioneers of Mars, NeoClassical Geek Revival).

Players take a number of actions, ordering gear, managing their investigation, or collecting clues but only have a limited number of turns to do so. The Heat is on! There's a monster on the loose, the press is closing in, and your bureau chief is demanding answers.

When we first sat down to play the prototype of Murder at Devil Pines, we need we had something unique. It's a semi-cooperative game, where agents need to race around investigating who killed the local politician, how the sacrifice was made, and ultimately, stopping whichever monster has been let loose on this poor unsuspecting town.

Murder at Devil Pines is a unique cooperative social deduction game with a combination of engaging mechanics unlike anything you've ever seen. While working with your fellow agents to solve a murder may be nothing new, the introduction of a conspiracy card means that you have a chance to be part of the summoning of a monster. While investigating, if you figure that out, it is your solemn duty to aid the monster. Will the Fallen Angel call on you for redemption, or are you already a pawn of the Vampire? Each player has six turns, shown by the heat die, to figure this out.

Gameplay is straightforward. You take an action and then move, or move and then take an action. Actions consist of investigating, meaning picking up a green, red or blue skill die, rolling however many you've collected of that color, and then checking the reference card. "Calling it in" where you help or hinder your fellow agents by announcing how, who, or what, or making a raid on a cult compound, or monster lair.

Because of how easy setup is, and how quick gameplay is, this is the perfect game to share with friends. Its an excellent game to introduce non-board game players to. The rules are simple and clean. Action move, move action. You pick!

With the twist, there's nothing more satisfying than looking around at the other players at the board, watching their stunned faces as they realize you've pulled the wool over their eyes. "Josh, you mean, the monster was the Wendigo, and you just let it eat you so we wouldn't figure it out?" Self-Sacrifice!