Smoking Gun

Welcome to Smoking Gun, a storytelling deduction game where every clue you reveal, every theory you share, and every legendary bluff you pull shapes how this case unfolds around the table.

The Investigation Begins

You’re not here to just solve the murder. You’re here to leave your mark on it.

This is a game of timing, tension, and telling.

• When do you dig for clues?
• When do you put evidence on the Shared Case Board?
• And how do you spin what you know to sway the room?

Winning isn’t about being first— it’s about being convincing over time.

Making Your Case

Every turn, you decide what to push forward… and what to hold back.

• Search for Clues - Explore the manor. Question suspects. Uncover motives, locations, and weapons. What you find is yours—until you choose to share it.
• Craft Your Theory - Every card fuels suspicion, redirects focus, or reframes the story—truthfully or not.
• Choose the Moment - Add evidence to the Shared Case Board when it helps you most. Too early helps others. Too late costs you influence.
• Convince the Room - Credibility comes from how you contribute—advancing the case, guiding the talk, and outplaying rivals through deduction and storytelling.

Winning

This isn’t about who blurts out the killer first. It’s about who contributed the most to solving the mystery.

• You earn Credibility as you build your case and share evidence.
• Proper timing and strong narratives earn more points.
• When the case closes, the detective with the most Credibility wins.

Bragging rights included. Promotion to full Detective earned.

As a junior detective on this high-profile case, you’re competing with rival peers to solve it. Search the manor, question suspects, study the victim, and piece together clues to reveal the weapon, scene, motive, and killer.

It’s a contest of logic and misdirection, where every claim is a gamble and any clue could be bait. Follow the leads. Build your case. Reveal the Smoking Gun!

Here’s what you know about the suspects—and the victim.

From First Clue to Smoking Gun

Every game of Smoking Gun follows the emotional rhythm of a real investigation. Scattered clues and quiet suspicion give way to bold theories, public accusations, and high-stakes reveals. Each phase escalates the tension—forcing players to choose when to gather proof, when to bluff with confidence, and when to risk everything on a final theory.

As a junior detective you'll progress through these excalating phases:

• Crime Scene Phase: Collect clues and feel the anticipation of discovery.
• Investigative Phase: Deepen your theory while watching others’ actions.
• Accusation Phase: Tension peaks — who will make the first compelling case? Who will challenge it and sharpen the investigation.
• Smoking Gun Phase: Dramatic resolution — every suspicion confirmed or denied.

The deeper the case goes, the more dangerous every move becomes. By the time the Smoking Gun is revealed, every clue, lie, and accusation has shaped the outcome—and the table knows exactly who outplayed whom.

A Shared Case Board

The Shared Case Board is Smoking Gun’s spotlight—where players reveal theories, bluff boldly, and push the investigation in their favor. Each card builds suspense as rivals wonder: evidence or deception?

Prompts help every player become a confident storyteller, and tension spikes as verified evidence stack up. Then comes the final twist—someone unveils all four truths (who, how, where, and why) revealing the Smoking Gun, ending the case in dramatic fashion.

Blending deduction, misdirection, and narrative flair, Smoking Gun lets players feel the thrill, pressure, and satisfaction of cracking a realistic murder case.

Cards Guide. You Decide.

In Smoking Gun, stating your case isn't just an action—it is a performance. Inspired by the storytelling mechanics of the highly acclaimed Smalltown Tales, Smoking Gun gives players the tools to craft bold, dramatic stories with just the right mix of logic and flair.

Knowing that Mrs. Gelp was murdered in the Greenhouse by electrocution, how would you use the cards above to cast suspicion on Mr. Gelp?

Built for sleuthful storytelling, Smoking Gun lets you craft bold accusations through deduction, creativity, and smart use of Suspect and Plot cards—each offering guidance for clever theories, twists, and memorable reveals.

Red Herrings: Strategic Misdirection

Red herrings aren’t just traps — they’re storytelling tools. Planting one can shift suspicion at the table, turning the tide of debate and sparking memorable interactions as players second-guess every clue.

Special Abilities

Each player gets a one-time Special Ability with two narrative ways to activate it, adding strategic choice, replayability, and thematic storytelling to your case.

• Story-Driven Power — Trigger your ability through one of two murder narrative prompts.
• Meaningful Decisions — Choose the option that best supports your theory.
• Story + Deduction — Abilities strengthen the core experience of weaving evidence into a compelling case.

Every Game Tells a New Tale

With over 1,200 unique murder plot combinations — and thousands of ways clues, suspects, motives, and narrative twists can interact — no two games will feel the same. You’ll uncover new connections, develop different strategies, and tell new stories with every playthrough, keeping each session fresh and unpredictable.

Elegant Solo Mode

In Smoking Gun’s solo mode, you step into Gelp Manor as the only junior detective on the case—and you’re not working alone. The Lead Detective is already on the scene, pulling strings, stirring doubt, and pushing the investigation forward on their own terms.

Driven by the Plot Deck and a single Lead Detective Rule Card, your rival muddies clues, accelerates leads, and threatens to lock in their version of the truth. Every turn tightens the clock.

Can you assemble a rock-solid case before the Lead Detective calls it—and leaves you holding the wrong story?

This solo variatant:

• Reuses all existing components and rules.
• Requires only one additional component: the Lead Detective Rule Card (included).
• Offers Rookie (more forgiving) and Experienced (standard) difficulty levels.
• Preserves the full investigative experience—movement, clue discovery, misdirection, and narrative case-building.

The case keeps building until someone drops a Smoking Gun—a full, rock-solid story that makes the table go quiet. If no one gets there first and the narrative cards run out, everyone gets one last chance to stand up, make their case, and see how much influence they’ve built by contributing to the Shared Case Board.

When it’s over, the winner isn’t just who named the killer—it’s the detective who told the strongest stories. You earn Credibility from the cases you made and picking up bonus points for pulling off a Special Ability narrative. If there’s a tie, the detective with the most narrative cards used in their case contributions takes the win.

In the end, the winner earns bragging rights for outplaying the table and that promotion to full-detective.

From Crime Scene to Final Reveal

Step into the boots of an investigator as you explore Gelp Manor:

• Examine the Scene — Uncover partial clues that tease the truth but don’t give it away.
• Interview & Interrogate — Question suspects and probe motives, watching expressions and stories shift.
• Connect the Dots — Piece together multiple clues to build corroborated evidence.
• Update the Case — Craft a theory that not only fits the facts — but tells a compelling story.
• Smoking Gun Moment — When all four truths align, the case clicks — and the culprit is revealed.

Smoking Gun delivers the tension of a tightening, real-world investigation—bluffs, surprises, and shifting suspicion at every turn. Players feel the thrill of uncovering clues, the satisfaction of catching someone in a lie, and the joy of crafting a clever story that just might fool the table, and ultimately deliver the Smoking Gun that solves the case.

How closely does Smoking Gun match real investigative work?

Flipbook Rules To Smoking Gun