2017Tobey Ho
- Videos
- 1
- Creators
- 1
4 - 14 players20 - 0 minLight weight

2014Tobey Ho
Mainly reviews. Deception: Murder in Hong Kong is covered on BoardGameVideo.com by 29 reviews, 10 how-to-play guides, 11 recorded sessions, 1 unboxings, and 2 other videos.
From BoardGameGeek
Deception: Murder in Hong Kong is a game of deduction and deception for 4-12 players that plays in about 20 minutes. In the game, players take on the roles of investigators attempting to solve a murder case – but there's a twist. The killer is one of the investigators! Each player's role and team are randomly assigned at the start of play and include the unique roles of Forensic Scientist, Witness, Investigator, Murderer, and Accomplice. While the Investigators attempt to deduce the truth, the murderer's team must deceive and mislead. This is a battle of wits! The Forensic Scientist has the solution but can express the clues only using special scene tiles while the investigators (and the murderer) attempt to interpret the evidence. In order to succeed, the investigators must not only deduce the truth from the clues of the Forensic Scientist, they must also see through the misdirection being injected into the equation by the Murderer and Accomplice! Find out who among you can cut through deception to find the truth and who is capable of getting away with murder! Roles Forensic Scientist x1 As the game master, the Forensic Scientist holds the solution to the crime. They are responsible for assisting the Investigators in identifying the “Key Evidence” and “Means of Murder.” When an Investigator does that successfully, the crime is solved and the Forensic Scientist and the Investigators win the game. During the game, the Forensic Scientist is NOT allowed to hint to the solution with words, gestures, or eyes. Murderer x1 When the crime takes place, the Murderer chooses 1 Clue card and 1 Means card as the solution to the crime. These will be the “Key Evidence” and “Means of Murder” respectively. The Murderer tries to hide their role and look for a scapegoat. Even if they are identified, the Murderer still wins the game if no one correctly identifies both the “Key Evidence” and the “Means of Murder”. Investigators x8 To solve the crime, the Investigators must analyze the hints given by the Forensic Scientist. As long as one of the Investigators correctly identifies both the “Key Evidence” and “Means of Murder,” the Murderer is arrested and the Investigators win the game (as does the Forensic Scientist). Bear in mind that the Murderer (and sometimes Accomplice) is among the Investigators! The innocent Investigators must make a vigorous effort to defend themselves from false accusation. Accomplice x1 The Accomplice is an optional role for games with six or more players. The Accomplice knows who the Murderer is, as well as the solution to the crime. The Accomplice and Murderer both win if the Murderer gets away with his crime. Witness x1 The Witness is an optional role when playing with six or more players.* The Witness is an Investigator who has witnessed the culprits leaving the crime scene. They have no way of knowing which is the Murderer and which is the Accomplice and they do not know how the crime was committed. If the Murderer is arrested but can identify the Witness, the Witness is considered to be killed, allowing the Murderer and the Accomplice to get away with murder and win the game.
Deception: Murder in Hong Kong has 53 videos from 45 creators: 29 reviews, 10 how-to-play guides, 11 playthroughs, 1 unboxing and 2 other videos. They date from 2014 to January 2026.
To learn the rules, start with "How to Play: Deception: Murder in Hong Kong" by Board Game Blitz, which runs 4 min.
For an opinion before you buy, start with "Deception: Murder in Hong Kong Review - with Tom Vasel" by The Dice Tower. 26 creators have reviewed it. To see it played, watch "Deception:Murder in Hong Kong Play Through with the Game Boy Geek" by Game Boy Geek, one of 11 playthroughs.
If you like it, try Deception: Undercover Allies, also by Tobey Ho, or Hollywood 1947, Mysterium Park and Phantom Ink, which share several of its mechanics. It appears in convention videos from Spiel Essen 2017.
8 of 45
2017Tobey Ho
4 - 14 players20 - 0 minLight weight
2023Travis Hancock
1 - 9 players20 - 40 minLight weight
2020Oleksandr Nevskiy, Oleg Sidorenko
2 - 6 players30 - 45 minLight weight
2022Mary Flanagan, Max Seidman
2 - 8 players10 - 15 minLight weight
From BoardGameGeek:
Deception: Murder in Hong Kong is a game of deduction and deception for 4-12 players that plays in about 20 minutes. In the game, players take on the roles of investigators attempting to solve a murder case – but there's a twist. The killer is one of the investigators! Each player's role and team are randomly assigned at the start of play and include the unique roles of Forensic Scientist, Witness, Investigator, Murderer, and Accomplice. While the Investigators attempt to deduce the truth, the murderer's team must deceive and mislead. This is a battle of wits! The Forensic Scientist has the solution but can express the clues only using special scene tiles while the investigators (and the murderer) attempt to interpret the evidence. In order to succeed, the investigators must not only deduce the truth from the clues of the Forensic Scientist, they must also see through the misdirection being injected into the equation by the Murderer and Accomplice! Find out who among you can cut through deception to find the truth and who is capable of getting away with murder! Roles Forensic Scientist x1 As the game master, the Forensic Scientist holds the solution to the crime. They are responsible for assisting the Investigators in identifying the “Key Evidence” and “Means of Murder.” When an Investigator does that successfully, the crime is solved and the Forensic Scientist and the Investigators win the game. During the game, the Forensic Scientist is NOT allowed to hint to the solution with words, gestures, or eyes. Murderer x1 When the crime takes place, the Murderer chooses 1 Clue card and 1 Means card as the solution to the crime. These will be the “Key Evidence” and “Means of Murder” respectively. The Murderer tries to hide their role and look for a scapegoat. Even if they are identified, the Murderer still wins the game if no one correctly identifies both the “Key Evidence” and the “Means of Murder”. Investigators x8 To solve the crime, the Investigators must analyze the hints given by the Forensic Scientist. As long as one of the Investigators correctly identifies both the “Key Evidence” and “Means of Murder,” the Murderer is arrested and the Investigators win the game (as does the Forensic Scientist). Bear in mind that the Murderer (and sometimes Accomplice) is among the Investigators! The innocent Investigators must make a vigorous effort to defend themselves from false accusation. Accomplice x1 The Accomplice is an optional role for games with six or more players. The Accomplice knows who the Murderer is, as well as the solution to the crime. The Accomplice and Murderer both win if the Murderer gets away with his crime. Witness x1 The Witness is an optional role when playing with six or more players.* The Witness is an Investigator who has witnessed the culprits leaving the crime scene. They have no way of knowing which is the Murderer and which is the Accomplice and they do not know how the crime was committed. If the Murderer is arrested but can identify the Witness, the Witness is considered to be killed, allowing the Murderer and the Accomplice to get away with murder and win the game.
Designer
Tobey Ho
Artists
Marcin Adamski, Ben Carre, Tommy Ng, Ari Wong
Publisher
Jolly Thinkers
Categories
Mechanics