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- BGG rating
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Detective: City of Angels
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Witness
2014
Rules assistance for Witness
Plain-language explanations of turns, card effects and disputed situations, with official source references and saved question history.
- 4 players
- 15 min
- 13+
- Complexity 1.5/5
For 4 players
Rules assistant for Witness
What would you like to know?
Answers come from the official rulebook, with the page to check.
Witness is a board game released in 2014 for 4 players, 15 minutes per game, and ages 13 and up. It was designed by Dominique Bodin and its main mechanics are Memory, Storytelling, and Cooperative Game.
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About the game
Witness is set in the world of Blake and Mortimer, a Belgian comic series started in the 1940s by writer/artist Edgar P. Jacobs. In the game, which is playable strictly by four players, you each represent one of four characters and your goal is to solve mysteries or crimes by sharing information with one another — but you are quite restricted in how you can share information! Witness includes 64 cases for you to solve, and each case starts with an explanatory scene or image or both that someone reads or shows to the group. Each player then looks in their personal casebook to find information available only to their character. Players randomly decide who shares information first and in which direction, e.g., player A might whisper information to player B while player C talks to player D. Next, B will share both their information and A's information to C while D talks to A. After two more rounds of the most inefficient crime-solving system ever created, players read the conclusion of the case, which might offer additional information or another visual, then they each individually answer three questions about the case, with the group scoring one point for each correct answer for a final score ranging from 0 to 12.
Designers
Publishers
- Ystari Games
Questions and answers
Witness supports 4 players according to the catalogue. This is the publisher’s listed player count, so the game is designed for exactly that number of participants. Variants for other group sizes, if any, are described in the rulebook of your edition, so check it before setting up a different configuration.
The listed playing time for Witness is 15 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 Witness for ages 13 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.
Witness has a complexity rating of 1.5 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.
Witness belongs to these categories: Comic Book / Strip, Deduction, and Murder / Mystery. Its main mechanics are Memory, Storytelling, and Cooperative Game. 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 Witness are: Dominique Bodin. 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 Witness 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.