by Alexander Seier & Joakim Seier Poulsen.

Welcome to Spy Noir. A game of dodgy decisions and crooked criminals. The annual meeting about to start, when troubling news arrive: Someone has been compromised. This “problem” must be “taken care of” for the sake of the organization…

Presentation

  • Time: 45-60 min (incl. rules)
  • Players: 3 – 5
  • Language: English

Spy Noir Spy Noir is a tense and fast-playing deduction game for 3-5 players. In each round, players assume a rank in a secretive and shadowy organization. However, the agent with the highest rank has unknowingly been compromised and must be eliminated!

Due to the secretive nature of the organization, the players’ ranks are hidden from one another and must be deduced throughout each round for a successful elimination. The hidden information also means that even the compromised agent cannot be certain that they hold the highest rank.

To deduce the ranks of your fellow agents, you must pay close attention to the cards they play or discard, as each card can only be played by certain ranks. Once you have a clue to the hierarchy of the table, you can grab the gun and shoot the highest ranking member.
Time is of the essence, though, because if the draw deck runs out of cards, the compromised agent lives to see another day and is rewarded points for the round. If the agent is shot, however, the shooter gets a point.

The core gameplay is fast and simple and consists of playing or discarding a card from your hand. As the round progresses and more cards are played/discarded, it will become clearer what rank each player holds. A round stops when a player is eliminated or when the draw deck runs out of cards.

The experience of playing Spy Noir is quick but brutal and will test your skills of observation and deduction on the fly. The game can end at any moment, and it is up to you to make things go your way.

Do you have the sharpest mind? …Or maybe just an itching trigger-finger?

About the designers

Joakim Seier Poulsen is attending for a second time as a designer at Fastaval. Joakim enjoys all sorts of board games, but favors the lighter games with simple rules, short setup time and fast playthrough as these are far more likely to hit the table in hectic periods with a fully booked calendar. These boxes are all checked for Spy Noir.

Alexander Seier is a passionate fan of board games and is participating for the second time as a designer at Fastaval. Traditionally, Alexander has had a lot of love for “big board games”, but as he has had more kids, his focus and joy has been turned increasingly towards lighter and faster games, that are easier for a tired parent to find the time and energy for. His contribution this year, Spy Noir, is very much a testament to this.