INTRODUCTION
Are you a big fan of whodunits? Escape rooms? Ever dream of slipping on the deerskin cap and solving a mystery or maybe switching side and pulling off the heist of the century? If, like me, any or all of those things get your blood pumping, it might be time to check out Masters of Crime: Incognito . Masters of Crime is a card driven mystery game, one of five with varying themes, published by Kosmos. The sets are appropriate for solo play or up to six players, with an advertised playtime of two to four hours.
COMPONENTS
Despite the small box size (each one is about the size of a thick hardcover novel), Incognito contains a respectable amount of components…72 roughly tarot sized cards, 13 envelopes, one detective board/playmat and one note sheet. The cards are the meat and potatoes of the game, the bulk of which are organized into locations ad placed around the detective board at certain times throughout the game. Likewise, the envelopes are only opened at certain points in the game when a card instructs the players to do so. The detective board helps organize the cards when they are revealed and allows you to keep score, indicated by the number of stars you receive when instructed by the cards. The note pad is one sheet of paper on which to jot down notes, including a pre-printed timeline to organize the events that occurred before the start of the game (revealed through play), but we found using scratch paper to be more effective simply because we could each have our own sheet, and could repackage the set for use by friends (more on the replayability later). Importantly, you will also need a device with internet access because sprinkled throughout Incognito are times when you will need to do a bit of internet sleuthing, including going to websites specifically designed for the game. We prefer a laptop for a larger view but a mobile phone would work for those players with better eyesight than my group has.
THE SETUP
The setup, rules and symbol reference sheets are contained on the first four cards of the 72 card deck, along with istructions to set out Location A’s cards. The first card lays out the introduction – in Masters of Crime: Incognito players assume the role of an FBI agent on an undercover assignment in a prison in order to investigate the goings on of a New York gang. The symbols directing players to draw cards, discard cards, search the internet and open envelopes are pretty easy to remember even without the cheat sheet, and will instruct players to draw certain cards (often in the form of a group of cards stacked at a location), remove cards from the game, open certain envelopes, go to the mission website to solve riddles, enter security codes etc., or search the internet for useful information on a given topic. Once you follow the setup instructions and read a couple of paragraphs, you are thrust into the game and have decisions to make that will unlock new locations, people, etc., and possible discards others…so choose wisely!
GAMEPLAY
As previously noted, the majority of gameplay is card driven. Players of the Masters Of Crime series are typically given one or two locations during setup, and more are revealed throughout the game. Locations are typically a stack of three to five cards, with the top card having a picture on the back…study the pictures when they are revealed, some of them contain important clues or hints to complete a task! Players usually won’t see every card in a location stack, as many are discarded unseen depending on the choices they make which are presented on the cards. For example, a card may contain three courses of action, referring to cards 10, 11 and twelve. If the players choose the option on card 10, typically cards 11 and 12 will be removed from the game. The flip side of the cards contain text describing the location or situation, any choices to be made and the aforementioned symbols instructing players to open envelopes, reveal a new location, etc. Sometimes you will meet people over the course of your mission (again remember to examine the illustrations carefully as sometimes the character pictures themselves will contain information pertinent to advancing the mission. Cards are laid out on the detective mat for easy reference later and players can go to any location they have revealed at any time and in any order. For example, Location A, available at the start of the game, might give players three choices…the players choose the first one which might reveal Location B. If there are still cards left in Location A, players can finish that location then move to Location B, go right to Location B, or go to Location B, do one card then back to Location A. You get the idea…you wouldn’t have been picked for this assignment if you weren’t a sharp investigator!
At certain points throughout the game cards instruct players to open envelopes, each of which contains some new piece of information. Envelopes could contain newspaper articles, maps, closeup views of locations, paperwork, or any number of things that will help players crack the case. Again, study them carefully, if Masters of Crime: Incognito went through the trouble to give you an envelope, it’s probably a pretty important piece of information!
Each Masters of Crime has its own unique twist on the above general rules for gameplay and Incognito is no exception. Incognito is more straightforward than the last Masters of Crime game I reviewed, Shadows, in that you’re sent undercover, try to solve the mystery by sneaking around and poking your nose where it doesn’t belong. Unlike Shadows, Incognito doesn’t have two distinct phases, you just work the case until it’s time for the Finale. Although we played Shadows first, Incognito is probably a good introduction to the Masters of Crime series as gameplay is a bit more direct than Shadows.
OVERALL IMPRESSION
Masters of Crime: Incognito continued my enjoyment of the Masters of Crime series. Although as I said I think it might be a better introduction to the series than Shadows (the first one we played), the mystery is no less baffling, gameplay just proceeds more linearly, but not in a way that makes the game any less enjoyable or easier to solve. While it plays like a souped up version of the old Choose Your Own Adventure books, Kosmos does a great job loosening up the framework just enough by allowing players multiple options of places to visit which makes it less of a story you’re reading and feel more like you’re actually in charge of things.
They also do a great job of incorporating technology into Incognito and all the games in the series…without revealing too much you’ll feel like you’re hacking your way into computer systems, databases and the like. My group prefers to use a laptop but some players may do perfectly fine on or even prefer their phone or tablet. There is some degree of replayability, in that you could do the case again and try to get a higher score by choosing different paths and earning more stars, but honestly much of the fun comes from those “Aha!” moments when your figure something out…much like an escape room, you might be able to replay it if you hold on to it for awhile, or like us you can pass them along to your other mystery loving friends. If so, I recommend just keeping track of your stars and alarms and taking notes on scratch paper instead of the included sheets and envelopes so as not to ruin the surprise for the next set of dedicated investigators to tackle the case. The advertised playtime seems accurate, although we’ve only ever played with two or three players…more may increase playtime as discussions/debates could take longer, but it could potentially cut time because, as we’ve found out, different people notice different things or are better at certain kinds of puzzles. Incognito is actually great for solo play as well. My guess is, like escape rooms I’ve done, three to four is the sweet spot, but try it yourself and let us know!
