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Deception: Undercover Allies (Expansion for Deception: Murder in Hong Kong)

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Category: Age: 14+ 20 Min 4 - 14 Players 2018
Designers: Artists: Publishers: ,

This is a Kickstarter Overview for the expansion of “Deception: Murder in Hong Kong”. If you are not familiar with the base game (you MUST be) you can check out my review here!

Deception is one of my favorite and most played games of all time! This is due to its quick and easy to grasp rules, well-designed gameplay and interesting theme combined with mysterious aesthetics. So, I can say that I am super excited about this campaign!
The replay value offered in the base game is almost unlimited but why not to ask more if you can? That’s what happened and now here we have an expansion box with many extra goodies to use in our cases.

WHAT’S IN THE BOX?

As explained, more stuff!
The game comes with: 50 Mean Cards, 80 Clue Cards, 2 Roles, 5 Scene Tiles (1 Event), 2 Badge Tokens for an up to 14 players game and all unlocked Stretch Goals! Also, if you like, you may add up to three “Theme Packs” (North American, Western European, Southern European) that each includes 20 Themed Cards.

The first new Role is the “Inside Man” who sides with the “Murderer” Team. This role lets you steal 1 Badge at the 2nd Night Phase of the game, removing it from the game. That puts some pressure on the “Investigator” players, to use their Badge earlier but with less Clues as knowledge. Seems like an interesting role, boosting the Murderer’s side, as many say that it’s easy to solve the case. In my opinion, it really depends on the gaming group and the combination of “Mean”, “Key Evidence” and “Scene Tiles” available on each game.

The second Role is the “Lab Technician”, joining the “Forensic Scientist” Team. This one seems more interesting to me, as it gives you the ability to check if a specific “Mean” or “Key Evidence” card was used in the crime! That ability is a real game-changer as it will surely let you either exclude a card or find half the solution. It reminds me of the “Consulting Detective” Role from the base games KS campaign/promo, who can reveal himself instead of using his Badge and show that he is an Investigator. That can help the Team if many were suspicious of that player.

The four Scene Tiles, “Ambient Noise, “Murder Inspired by”, Victim’s Personality” and “Victim’s Hobbies” are some cool ones, adding to the replay value. But, the fifth Scene Tile, “The Perfect Crime”, is an Event which comes with an interesting twist! When you draw it, as Forensic Scientist, you must peek at the next tile and if that is an Event Tile you now win with the Murderer. You won`t reveal what you saw, so no one will know if you changed sides, bringing tension to the table as Investigators can`t completely trust the Forensic anymore.

Lastly, more than 130 cards are added to the mix, which is always a good thing as the possible combinations rise exponentially. You may also want to add up to three thematic packs for even more cards, with a focused flavor. As a fan of the game I want everything of course!

If you like the base game I believe that this is a must have expansion. Its KS campaign is funded and has already unlocked some Stretch Goals, adding more content to the game. In addition, for a more deluxe version of the game you can have the “Metal Badge Tokens”, “Plastic Microscope” (Instead of Bullets) and sleeve packs for the whole game.
To check out the campaign, click here.

 

 

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