Deduction board games are a genre of

board game Board games are tabletop games that typically use . These pieces are moved or placed on a pre-marked board (playing surface) and often include elements of table, card, role-playing, and miniatures games as well. Many board games feature a comp ...

in which the players must use

deductive reasoning Deductive reasoning is the mental process of drawing deductive inferences. An inference is deductively valid if its conclusion follows logically from its premises, i.e. if it is impossible for the premises to be true and the conclusion to be fals ...

and

logic Logic is the study of correct reasoning. It includes both formal and informal logic. Formal logic is the science of deductively valid inferences or of logical truths. It is a formal science investigating how conclusions follow from premises ...

in order to win the game. While many games, such as

bridge A bridge is a structure built to span a physical obstacle (such as a body of water, valley, road, or rail) without blocking the way underneath. It is constructed for the purpose of providing passage over the obstacle, which is usually somethi ...

poker Poker is a family of comparing card games in which players wager over which hand is best according to that specific game's rules. It is played worldwide, however in some places the rules may vary. While the earliest known form of the game w ...

require the use of deductive reasoning to some degree, deduction board games feature deductive reasoning as their central mechanic. Deduction board games typically fall into two broad categories; abstract and investigation games.

Abstract

Abstract deduction games have no theme and focus on pure abstract reasoning. Though abstract, some introduce random elements. For example, in the game ''Code 777'', the question cards used to gather information are drawn at random. Notable members of this category include '' Black Box'' and '' Master Mind''.

Investigation games

Investigation games are

s in which the players generally play as police, detectives or other investigators. The best known game of this type is '' Cluedo''. In fact, many of games in this category utilize a

mechanic A mechanic is an artisan, skilled tradesperson, or technician who uses tools to build, maintain, or repair machinery, especially cars. Duties Most mechanics specialize in a particular field, such as auto body mechanics, air conditioning and r ...

known as "The Missing Card," which was developed by

Anthony E. Pratt Anthony Ernest Pratt (10 August 1903 – 9 April 1994) was the inventor of the English detective-themed board game Cluedo, currently owned and marketed by American entertainment company Hasbro. In the lead-up to the 150 millionth sale of Cluedo ...

for ''Cluedo'' (''Clue'' in the United States). "The Missing Card" takes a known set of cards (or other token) and removes one or more of them. By gathering information and using deduction and logic, the players can determine which cards were removed to win the game. Other mechanics used in investigation games include the "one against all" mechanic, as seen in ''

Scotland Yard Scotland Yard (officially New Scotland Yard) is the headquarters of the Metropolitan Police, the territorial police force responsible for policing Greater London's 32 boroughs, but not the City of London, the square mile that forms London's ...

'', ''

The Fury of Dracula ''The Fury of Dracula'' is a board game for 2-4 players designed by Stephen Hand and published by Games Workshop in 1987 in games, 1987. Fantasy Flight Games released an updated version in 2006 in games, 2006 as ''Fury of Dracula'', and a third e ...

'' and similar games. In these games, one player attempts to stay hidden as the others attempt to discover his location. There are some games, such as ''

Lie Detector A polygraph, often incorrectly referred to as a lie detector test, is a device or procedure that measures and records several physiological indicators such as blood pressure, pulse, respiration, and skin conductivity while a person is asked and ...

'', published by

Mattel Mattel, Inc. ( ) is an American multinational toy manufacturing and entertainment company founded in January 1945 and headquartered in El Segundo, California. The company has presence in 35 countries and territories and sells products in more ...

in 1960, that use unique mechanics. This game used punch cards and plastic

lie-detector A polygraph, often incorrectly referred to as a lie detector test, is a device or procedure that measures and records several physiological indicators such as blood pressure, pulse, respiration, and skin conductivity while a person is asked and ...

machine that players could use to determine if statements were true or false. While popular, this game did not produce imitators akin to those from ''Cluedo'' or ''Scotland Yard''.

Notes

{{Tabletop games by type Deduction board game

Abstract

Investigation games

See also

Notes