Are you sick and tired of your Game Master handing out clues that only drag you by their leash to the end of their mystery? Are you tired of creating intricate mysteries for your Players only to have them yawn every time you give them a new hint? Detective Points remove the leash from the mystery while still leaving the details in the Game Master’s seat. Every player at the table gets a chance to help create the mystery, even the Game Master.

The backbone of Detective Points uses tokens, chips, coins, or some way to tracking the points. At the start of the game the Game Master sets aside a bag of tokens to dole out to the players during the course of the game. When the Game Master introduces the first clue they may offer any Player who defines its Leads a Detective Point. A Lead is a detail of the clue; why it’s there, what it means, who left it, or any number of things. The Game Master might offer points for specific Leads (Who’s shoe is this? Why is this knife in the bathroom?) or they may open the floor up for anything the Players may come up with. If the Game Master doesn’t want the Players to define Leads then they simply don’t offer a Detective Point. If the Game Master has a specific idea in mind for the Clue then they shouldn’t offer a Detective Point for Leads, they should simply use their basic system for relaying that information.

Players collect Detective Points whenever the Game Master lets them define Leads. Then they spend them to create new Clues. Whenever a Player has a chance to find a new clue that Player simply holds up a Detective Point and declares what they found. The Game Master has first swing at giving a Lead or denying the Clue. This lets the Game Master keep their game on course or lets them turn control over to the other Players. If the Game Master defines the Lead then they get the Detective Point. If the Game Master shoots down the clue that Player gets to keep their Detective Point and that Clue can not become a False Lead. If the Game Master declines his right to create the first Lead then any other Player may accept the Detective Point and give the Clue a Lead. After the first Lead is given the Player or Game Master who defined the first Lead may offer another Detective Point to define more Leads. Again, the next Lead goes to the Game Master first and if the Game Master passes then it opens up to the other Players. This process continues until someone chooses to stop creating new Leads.

If a Player creates a Clue that no one can come up with the first Lead for then the Detective Point returns to the Player who suggested the Clue and the Game Master is now allowed to file that Clue away as a False Lead. False Leads can be used later in the case to throw off the Players (But what about that Blonde Hair, how does that fit into this mess?). Eventually the Players may discover that Lead is a False Lead but those mechanics are dependant on the system you’re using.

Detective Points require a level of discussion. These mechanics can turn wacky quickly and it is always within the Game Master’s right to turn down anything that breaks the game, just doesn’t make sense, or harms another player’s fun in the game. Defining Leads that point to other Players may be acceptable in some games but in others it turns a fun game into an argument.