
- BGG rank
- BGG #939
- BGG rating
- 7.2
Paris: La Cité de la Lumière
- 2 players
- 30 min
- Complexity 2.0/5
- 2019

2016
Rules assistance for Checkpoint Charlie
Plain-language explanations of turns, card effects and disputed situations, with official source references and saved question history.
For 3 players

What would you like to know?
Answers come from the official rulebook, with the page to check.
Checkpoint Charlie is a board game released in 2016 for 3–5 players, 20–30 minutes per game, and ages 10 and up. It was designed by José Antonio Abascal Acebo and its main mechanics are Memory and Pattern Recognition.
Description from the publisher: Checkpoint Charlie is a game of observation, deduction, and mental agility. Watch all the suspects carefully and find out which of them is the chief of spies using the clues that you and the other investigators uncover. Be the first to find the chief of spies and become the best hound dog! In the game, each player receives a clue that reveals one out of five possible traits of the chief of spies. Each player keeps revealing cards, indicating whether each character is a suspect or not. As the game progresses, players gather more and more clues to lead them towards the chief of spies. This chief of spies will coincide with five out of five possible clues, and his aides will match four out of those five. Whoever accuses the chief of spies on time gets the most points. Players who accuse the aides will also earn some points, while the other players might not receive any points at all — or even negative rewards. The game includes two optional rules that add more strategy to the gameplay. Checkpoint Charlie is set during the cold war, and the subject of detectives and spies is applied using cartoon-stylized dogs and cats.
Checkpoint Charlie supports 3–5 players according to the catalogue. This range comes from the publisher’s listed player count, so the game can be set up for any group size within it. Some setups, rules and scoring details may still vary by player count, so check your edition’s rulebook for the exact configuration.
The listed playing time for Checkpoint Charlie is 20–30 minutes. This is the publisher’s estimate for a full game. The actual duration depends on the group, the player count and familiarity with the rules: first sessions usually run longer, while experienced groups often finish faster. Setup and teaching time are not included in this estimate.
The catalogue lists Checkpoint Charlie for ages 10 and up. This is the publisher’s recommendation and reflects reading demands, rule complexity and small components rather than theme alone. Younger players can often join with help from an adult, so check the age guidance on your edition and consider your group’s experience with board games.
Checkpoint Charlie has a complexity rating of 1.2 out of 5 from BoardGameGeek players, which makes it a light game. The rating reflects how much rules knowledge, planning and decision-making a typical game demands. Expect a longer first teach for heavier games, and use a preparation guide before game night.
Checkpoint Charlie belongs to these categories: Card Game, Deduction, and Spies / Secret Agents. Its main mechanics are Memory and Pattern Recognition. Categories describe the theme and setting of a game, while mechanics describe what players actually do on their turns. Each mechanic links to a catalogue hub with similar games, which helps when you want something comparable.
The credited designers of Checkpoint Charlie are: José Antonio Abascal Acebo. These credits come from the published game data and name the people responsible for the game’s design, not its illustrators or publishers. Designer pages on MeepleRules collect other titles by the same designers, which helps when you enjoy a game and want to find similar ones.
The catalogue lists Checkpoint Charlie as a base game. It can be played on its own with the components in the box and does not require any other title. Expansions, if any exist, add new content or rules on top of it and are listed separately in the catalogue with a link back to this base game.