Honor System

The Perry Mason Game

TSR 1987

Object of the Game

The object of the PERRY MASON™ Game is to be the first player to discover the real criminal from among the four suspects in a puzzling crime. Players do this by moving about the board, calling and recalling witnesses, asking questions, and making notes. Gradually the different suspects will reveal incriminating bits of evidence until you discover who is guilty, call that suspect to the Witness Stand and successfully confront him with his crime, ending the game.

Equipment

1 Game Board
2 Decks of Cards
8 Suspects
4 Card Envelopes
6 Pawns
1 Question Sheet Booklet
8 Plastic Bases
2 Case Cards
1 Die

Setting Up the Game

Each player chooses a pawn and places it on any corner of the board. More than one pawn can begin in the same square.

There are two different cases in the game&emdash; The Case of the Tandem Target and The Case of the Stuttering Bishop. Choose which case you will play. Since the killer can be someone different in every game, each case can be used many times.

Select the four suspect pieces that go with the case you chose and place them in the plastic holders. Set the suspects in the Witness Gallery in the center of the game board. Each suspect has a name and an identifying letter.

NOTE: Remove and discard the blank cards from both decks (7 total). They are not used in game play.

If you are playing a two, three or four player game, remove one Evidence Excluded! card from the deck. It is not used in play. If you are playing a five or six player game, use all the Evidence Excluded! cards.

Go through the card deck and remove the Answer cards that do not apply to the case you are playing. Put these back in the box.

Take the remaining Answer cards and sort out the five starred * cards for each of the suspects. Place all five cards for a single suspect in a card envelope. Place the cards of the next suspect in another envelope. Do this for all the suspects. When you are done, each card envelope should contain five cards for a single suspect.

Shuffle the envelopes so that no one knows which suspect's cards are in each envelope. Being careful to keep the cards face down, draw one card from three of the envelopes and set these cards aside. Do not look at these cards! Remove the remaining cards from all the envelopes and shuffle them into the rest of the deck. Take the three cards you set aside and place them in one of the envelopes. These cards remain hidden in the envelope until someone solves the case.

You have just determined which suspect is the guilty party. One of the suspects has five starred * answers in the deck. All the other suspects have four. The suspect with the fifth starred answer is the killer.

Deal the entire deck to the players. It does not matter if some players receive one more card than others. Sort your cards by type and suspect and keep them hidden from the other players.

Give each player a question sheet that matches the case you are playing. Players can secretly note on this sheet any answers they are holding in their hand.

Each player rolls the die and the player with the highest die roll moves first.

Play

Each player's turn is divided into three steps:

1. Ask a question of the suspect in the Witness Stand, if you want.

2. Roll the die and move your pawn clockwise that number of spaces, following any instructions in the space where you stop.

3. Ask a question of the suspect in the Witness Stand, if allowed and you want to.

Questioning a Suspect

During your turn, you can ask one or more questions of a suspect in the Witness Stand or Chambers (the door). When the suspect is on the Stand, you must ask public questions. When the suspect is in Chambers, you can ask confidential questions. You can only ask questions of the suspect on the Stand or in Chambers.

To ask a public question, choose a question for that suspect from those listed on your question pad. Then pick one of the other players to answer the question. Read the question aloud (in your best courtroom voice). Be sure to give the number of the question and the suspect of whom it is asked (e.g., "Question number one for Irma Hodge. 'Didn't you have a fight with the deceased on the night before he died?'").

When someone asks you a public question, check to see if you have a matching Answer card (there are two answers to every card). If you do, read the answer aloud, showing the card to the other players. The card is then taken by the player who asked the question. If you do not have a matching Answer card, you must tell the other players this.

Asking a confidential question is similar to a public question. Choose the question from your question pad and the player who will answer it. Read the question aloud (like you would for a public question). However, the other player does not read his Answer card aloud (if he has one). Instead, he must pass you the card face down so the other players cannot see it. You then add the card to your hand. You are the only player who knows what his answer was and you should note this on your pad.

There are two Answer cards to every question. One is starred and the other is not. Sometimes you might have both answers to a question in your hand. You get to choose which Answer card you will play the first time you are asked a question. It is normally in your best interest to give the unstarred (non-incriminating answer) first.

All the players should make a note on their question sheet each time an Answer card is played. Remember that this sheet will also list the answers you were dealt at the start of the game, so you will obviously want to keep it hidden from the other players.

Action Cards

In addition to the Answer cards in your hand, you may also have Action cards. These cards are the ones marked I Object!, Objection Overruled!, Evidence Excluded!, and Witness Dismissed. These cards can only be played at certain times. Each is described below.

I Object!: This card can be played by any player when a question is asked. Playing the card prevents the question from being answered. The I Object! card is very useful to prevent other players from learning an important answer (especially one that could win the game!). The card is discarded after it is used.

Objection Overruled!: This card can be played by any player immediately after an I Object! card is played. It cannot be played at any other time. An Objection Overruled! card cancels an I Object! card. The questioning of the suspect is played normally, as if the I Object! card had never been played.

Another I Object! card cannot be played immediately following an Objection Overruled! card. The question stands and must be answered normally. This card is discarded after use.

Evidence Excluded!: This card can be used anytime you are asked a question. You can give this card, instead of an Answer card, to the player who asked the question. This card is best used for confidential questions, since you do not show the card to the other players. If you use a Evidence Excluded! card to answer a normal question, you must show it to everyone (thus the card will be less effective.)

Witness Dismissed: This card can be played at the end of your turn. When played, the suspect currently in the Witness Stand is moved to the Gallery. You can use this card when you do not want the other players asking questions of that suspect. The card is discarded after it is used.

Special Spaces

Each turn you move your pawn along the board, following the instructions of any space you land in. Some spaces&emdash;Paul Drake, Della Street, etc.&emdash;are special spaces. All the spaces are explained in detail below.

Call Witness A (B, C, or D): When you land on this space, place the suspect matching the letter of the space in the Witness Stand. If another suspect was on the Stand or in Chambers, place it in the Gallery.

If the space says "Confidential," do not place the suspect on the Stand. Instead, place the suspect at the door to the judge's Chambers. Any other suspect on the Stand or in Chambers is still moved to the Gallery. Suspects who are in Chambers can be asked confidential questions.

Della Street: When you land on Della's space, you can place any suspect you wish on the Stand (moving any there to the Gallery) and then ask a question.

Paul Drake: When you land on a Paul Drake space, you can ask another question of the suspect currently on the Stand.

Hamilton Burger: When you land on a Hamilton Burger space, you must give a card (without showing it) from your hand to the player on your right. You get to choose the card you give away.

Perry Mason: When you land on a Perry Mason space, you put any suspect on the Stand and can then ask a question.

Go to Any Corner: If you land on this space, you can move your pawn to the corner of your choice and follow the instructions there.

Take the Fifth: When a player's pawn is on this space, he cannot be asked questions by the other players.

Winning the Game

The object of the game is to identify which of the four suspects is the murderer. There is one suspect with five incriminating Answer cards. That suspect is the murderer for the game. All the other suspects have four cards.

To learn who the murderer is, you must find the incriminating answers you need. As you ask questions or hear the answers of other players, you should note these on your question pad. As play progresses, it will become clearer who the guilty party is likely to be. You can either wait until you know for sure who the guilty suspect is (by tracking down all the incriminating answers) or you can take a guess on any turn before you know all the answers. But be careful&emdash;if you guess wrong, you're out of the game!

To win the game, you must accuse the suspect you think is the murderer. You can only do this during your turn. The suspect must be on the Stand. Announce that you are making an accusation and which suspect you are accusing. Then look at the three cards in the envelope that was set aside at the beginning of the game. In the envelope will be one card for each of the three innocent suspects. If the suspect you accused is not among these, you are correct and have won the game!

However, if there is a card in the envelope for the suspect you accused, you are wrong. You cannot win the game. You no longer move your pawn or play cards. However, you can still answer questions that are asked of you (since you may be holding the incriminating Answer card!). Don't tell the other players who the guilty party really is. Enjoy your special knowledge as they struggle to find out.