Case Closed Trading Card Game
 | This article needs additional citations for verification. (March 2008) |
|
Sample card from Case Closed | |
| Designers | Gregory Marques and Garrett Wilkinson |
|---|---|
| Publishers | Score Entertainment |
| Players | 2-6 |
| Playing time | Approx 15 min |
| Chance | Some |
| Age range | 8+ |
| Skills | Card playing Arithmetic Basic Reading Ability |
The Case Closed Trading Card Game is a collectible trading card game based on the Case Closed (aka Detective Conan) anime and manga. It was released in June 2005 by Score Entertainment.
Game summary
Players compete to be the first to successfully solve three cases using their detectives and appropriate clues, while simultaneously attempting to stop their opponent from doing so. Rather than taking alternating turns, each player plays through each of the five steps of a full turn at the same time.
The game is played using three decks per player, as follows:
- Draw Deck - A deck made up of detectives, events and gadgets, which are drawn into the hand.
- Problem Deck - A deck consisting of clues and criminals. Cards are drawn to a problem row and stored face-down.
- Case Deck - A deck which stores potential unsolved cases. Three cases are drawn to make up the case row.
Turn sequence
Turns are made up of the following steps:
- Ready Step - Each player readies expended criminals, detectives, gadgets, and problem cards. Players then replace any missing cards in the problem row or case row, and finally draw two cards from their draw deck.
- Main Step - Players receive 3 job points and 3 crime points. In this step, players play detectives and attach clues and gadgets to them. Any leftover points carry over to the next turn.
- Movement Step - Players move their face-down problem cards to their cases and the cases of their opponent. Each player can have a maximum of 2 problem cards assigned to any given case.
- Sleuth Step - Players assign detectives to cases and attempt to solve these cases. Players also use their characters' talents to challenge other characters, in order to force the loser to be discarded.
- End Step - Players can discard any single case, if and only if it has no problem cards assigned to it. Players may also discard any number of cards from their problem row.
All of the steps are done more or less simultaneously by players, except the Sleuth Step, which requires that one player act as the lead player while the other acts as the follower (since case resolution requires further player interaction).
Card types
- Characters - Criminals and detectives. Detectives can be played from the hand to their owner's headquarters during the Main Step by paying the appropriate number of job points. Criminals are played as problem cards, and can be flipped face-up by paying their crime point cost during the Sleuth Step.
- Gadgets - Weapons and useful equipment which can be attached to characters during the Main Step. Doing so requires that the indicated job point cost be paid, and each character can only have one gadget attached at a time.
- Cases - The mysteries and crimes which detectives attempt to solve. Cases can only be solved by having enough detectives with the right talents at the case. Additionally, in order to solve a case, the detectives must have either the correct clues attached, or must have a certain (higher) number of total clues attached.
- Clues - Pieces of evidence needed to solve cases. Clues are problem cards which can attached to detectives during the Main Step by paying the indicated crime point cost. Detectives may not have more clues attached to them than their total intelligence talent value. Clues can also be used face-down as bluffs (in place of criminals).
- Events - Events which take place. These cards can be played during different steps, as indicated by the text on the card.
Sleuthing
The Sleuth Step is further broken down into the 3 sub-steps. Each player goes through all of these sub-steps in order before the next player. In each of the first 2 sub-steps, players can pay the crime point cost to flip a criminal face-up at any time (although there is a limit of 1 face-up criminal per case). Choosing to reveal a clue card which is being used as a bluff has no effect other than discarding the card. The sub-steps are as follows:
- Assignment Sub-step - For each detective the lead player controls, he or she may chose to assign that detective to one of the cases (or leave the detective unassigned at the headquarters). Multiple detectives can be assigned to a single case, but each detective may only be assigned to one case at a time.
- Conflict Sub-step - Characters can challenge the characters of other players who are at the same case. This challenge typically takes the form of a detective challenging a criminal or vice versa. However, challenges can only be initiated through an event or a card effect. The challenge is executed by comparing one of the talents on the two cards; the card with the lower number is the loser and is discarded.
- Solve Sub-step - In this step, the lead player can expend detectives to use their talents to temporarily reduce the required talent values at the case. The other player can expend criminals to increase the required talent values. If all 3 of the talent values are at or below 0, the next step portion of the Solve Sub-step can proceed (otherwise, the case cannot be solved at the moment). After the talent check, the clue requirements are checked, and if these are met, the case is solved. If the case is solved, all problem cards, criminal cards at the case, as well as any clues used to solve it, are discarded.
Regardless of the outcome of the Solve Sub-step, all of the detectives at the case automatically return to that player's headquarters. After all cases of the lead player have been processed, the role of the lead player passes to the next player, until each player has had a chance to be a lead for that turn.
Deck composition
As noted above, each player must provide three separate decks. The requirements for each deck are as follows:
| Deck name | Card types in deck | Min/max cards | Max. copies of a card |
|---|---|---|---|
| Case Deck | Cases | 5 / 20 | 1 (each must be unique) |
| Main Deck | Events, Detective, Gadgets | 40 / 60 | 4 of each card |
| Problem Deck | Criminals, Clues | 20 / 20 | 4 of each card |
Hence, players need at least 65 cards (of various types) to play, with a number of restrictions on both the minimum and maximum number of these cards. Because of these, a single starter deck does not yield a fully legal play deck.
Products and sets
Case Closed: One Truth Prevails base set starter decks contain 40 randomized draw cards, 20 randomized problem cards, and 12 fixed cards (including 4 cases). The package, which has an MSRP of US $10.99, also includes a demo poster, and a rulebook.
The expansion set, Case Closed: Crime & Punishment, introduces 129 new cards, as well as a new card type, obstacles. Booster packs for both sets contain 10 cards (6 commons, 3 uncommons, and 1 foil rare).
