Can you be the first Detective to locate the stolen briefcase in the 1950 Milton Bradley board game of Intrigue?  It is a players’ mission to search through an ocean liner and discover where the secret papers inside a murdered diplomat’s briefcase have been hidden.  It’s a case of Murder, Mystery, and INTRIGUE!

One of the reasons that intrigued me about this game the most was the unique game pieces.  Within my collection of board games is a smaller collection of games with distinctive pieces.  Clue with its ‘murder weapons’, El Dorado with its ‘Lanterns’, or a Knight’s Journey with its Knights made of lead, are a few examples.  To me, part of what makes a game interesting are its pieces. 

Intrigue, instead of having Keys or Briefcases being just ‘images on cards’, are objects. The Keys are of metal and the Briefcases are of wood.  These add to the appeal of playing the game.

To begin play, 5 of the 6 ‘Clue Cards’, are placed inside a Stateroom.  The 6th Clue Card is secretly set aside and in its position inside a Stateroom is the ‘Murder Victim’.  Next, a Briefcase (with a hidden number) is placed inside each of the Staterooms, The Keys are set in the ‘Purser’s Office’ on the board, and A Players’ Pawn stands, ready to go on ship. (shown below).

Each player takes turns rolling the dice and moving accordingly.  They first need to move to the ‘Purser’s Office’ to pick up a Key.  Each Key has a ‘Letter’ engraved on it. This letter matches a Stateroom.  Players will choose a Key (with its Letter Hidden (faced down), and move towards that Stateroom. With this Key, a player will be able to enter and search that particular Key’s Stateroom.

A player will record the Number of Briefcase and the Number on the Clue Card once in the Stateroom on his ‘record sheet’ (shown below).  He then returns to the Purser’s Office to exchange Keys and search another Stateroom.  There are also opportunities to exchange or steal Keys and ‘Secret Information’ of other players through the ‘hallways’ too.

Once a player has completed his ‘Record Sheet’, he will know which Briefcase holds the Secret Papers and will be able to go retrieve it.  The first Detective to retrieve it, while possessing the correct Key to enter the Stateroom, is the winner!

But be careful, it must be done without it being stolen by another player?!

Can it be done?!

Enjoy a game today!

.