I've considered two options for this challenge and I haven't been able to fully decide between them. At this stage I'm seeing both options to have merit, and both warrant further investigation. They both take the meta-game in different directions though, so I'm presenting them as two separate threads.

This is the second thread.

The first thread considered the notion of building up clues through the metaphor of a jigsaw puzzle. This thread considers the other option of removing false lead until the truth is revealed. Naturally the first thing that came to mind here was the game referred to as Clue (or "Cluedo" in certain parts of the world like Australia).

The first part of this mechanic would be to develop a system of what clues are available to the characters (and players), and how well they are known (by either group).

Fixed Set of Clues
In the standard board-game, there are a set number of clues depicting people, places and murder weapons. Depending on the type of investigation being undertaken, these categories could easily change. Inquisitors in the renaissance could find "murder weapons" changed to "forms of heresy", places could change to "methods of spread...eg. word of mouth, leaflets, exchange of money, etc."

Derive a set of possible options based on the setting. But keep the three distinct types of clues as this works well in the board game (you might consider expanding the types of clues later when you want things to get more complicated).

In this version of the system, everyone knows the possible list of suspects, everyone knows the possible weapons (or forms of heresy), and everyone knows the places (or methods of spread). It just becomes a case of determining how they combine together to match the truth.

If there is a GM, they could determine the exact nature of the combination before-hand and insert the appropriate clues into the hidden envelope. If there is no GM, then a random insertion may be made.

Player Derived Clues
As an advancement to this, a group could decide that they are investigating a specific circumstance at the start of play, and offer their own suggestions for the factors that make up the truth.

Each player could offer a suggestion secretly(the GM included, if there is one). If there is a GM, they write their clues twice (once for the table and once for the secret envelope), if there is no GM then everyone writes a random clue from each category (and copies it). One copy for the table, and one copy has a random chance of being included in the secret envelope.

The advantage to this system is that the truth could be anything and isn't limited to the options immediately presented by the known variables.

The investigation process takes two steps.

The first stage of successes reveal the possibilities, the second stage of successes allow players to make guesses at the combination in the envelope.

I'm still considering the further logistics of this concept, but I thought I'd better write down what I had so far before I'd forgotten about it.

V

Hi, Michael.

I've got only one question for you at this stage: is this mechanic to be intended for antagonistic play, like in Clue? This is, should every player try to uncover the mistery before the other players do?

I think this sort of investigation would be better suited to a game concept where everyone has something on the line.

Perhaps the character who solves the puzzle gains some kind of prestige (eg. a step toward a job promotion), while those who don't solve the puzzle get chastised by their superiors (eg. How did you let the criminal escape? Why did Detective Sergeant Johnson solve the case when you could have easily done so?)

The superiors don't care who solves the case, they just want cases solved for their books...but they like to put down the investigators who aren't meeting their job expectations.

It probably needs a bit more of a time-limit element thrown in though. Perhaps pieces get lost over time, making the puzzle impossible to solve eventually.

The more I think about it, the more I'm tending back toward my jigsaw puzzle idea.

V