Foul Play: Once Upon A Crime

• Player Count: 2-5
• Play Time: 20-30 Minutes
• Age: 8+
• Genre: Murder Mystery
• Play Style: Family
• Key Mechanic: Deduction

Carabosse the Bad Fairy is dead, and her Big Book of Villainy has been stolen…

In a shocking revelation, the magic mirror has revealed that all the suspects are goodies, but who had a motive to go bad? You’ll need to swap, steal and search for the evidence in order to scupper the other detectives and sleuth your way to victory!

Let’s just hope your case doesn’t go cold before revealing your solution (dramatically, of course) and catching the culprit! Case closed!

There’s more than one way to catch a killer though.  So what’s it gonna be? Good Cop or Bad Cop? If you’re playing Good Cop you’re chasing down a specific killer, whereas Bad Cop you’ll have to successfully frame any one of the eight suspects in order to win. Each way to play comes with its own set of rules and tactics, but will you use fair play or foul play?

With these two game modes and every playthrough different, this little game of murder packs quite the mystery, just as fun and confounding as the last.

Foul Play – is published by a company that specialise in Murder Mystery events as a way to negotiate the lockdowns put in place during the Covid-19 pandemic. This is an easy to learn, set up and play, card deduction game for the whole family with the playing age being 8 and up (First Edition boxes advise 14+ though this has been corrected on later editions).  The artwork is great fun and has a comical, noir feel to it adding some great atmosphere. The different set up options provide good replayability and adds depth to a well designed, family game. Quick to play, you won’t want to stop at just one game. If you have a demonstration area ensure that ‘Foul Play’ is always to hand for families or as a perfect filler game alternative.

More info on BGG here (note: BGG erroneously lists this game as an expansion, it is a standalone game).