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- BGG rank
- BGG #17,352
- BGG rating
- 7.2
Length x Wit
- 2–6 players
- 60 min
- Complexity 1.8/5
- 2014
- BGG rank
- BGG #8,258
- BGG rating
- 6.7
Costume Party Detective
2018
Rules assistance for Costume Party Detective
Plain-language explanations of turns, card effects and disputed situations, with official source references and saved question history.
- 2–6 players
- 30 min
- 8+
- Complexity 1.2/5
For 2 players
Rules assistant for Costume Party Detective
What would you like to know?
Answers come from the official rulebook, with the page to check.
Costume Party Detective is a board game released in 2018 for 2–6 players, 30 minutes per game, and ages 8 and up. It was designed by Dave Myers and its main mechanics are Player Elimination, Roll / Spin and Move, and Secret Unit Deployment.
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About the game
In Costume Party Detective, you have been invited to a costume party. Because of the elaborate costumes, you do not know anyone's identity except your own. Roam the party, mingle, have some punch, and try to identify all of the guests. Be the last guest partying, and you win! Players are secretly assigned one of twenty unique meeple characters at the beginning of the game using character cards. On your turn, you roll the die and move any character on the board according to simple movement rules. If you roll black, however, you must act! You may either remove one meeple from the room your secret character is in (thus revealing vital information about your identity), or you may draw the top card off the character deck. The character on the card "leaves the party" and is removed from the game. You may draw a character card at most three times, after which you must remove a character in the same room as your secret character. If you are the only character in a room and you have already drawn three character cards, you are dishonored and must unmask yourself! If your character is removed, you reveal your character card and are eliminated from the game. The last player to have a character in the game wins!
Categories
Designers
Publishers
- Playroom Entertainment
- Ultra PRO
Questions and answers
Costume Party Detective supports 2–6 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 Costume Party Detective is 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 Costume Party Detective for ages 8 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.
Costume Party Detective 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.
Costume Party Detective belongs to these categories: Deduction and Murder / Mystery. Its main mechanics are Player Elimination, Roll / Spin and Move, and Secret Unit Deployment. 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 Costume Party Detective are: Dave Myers. 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 Costume Party Detective 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.