Murder in Canterbury: A Social Deduction Game based on The Canterbury Tales
To Canterbury the Pilgrims ride and commit some nasty homicides...
The Knight, the Miller, the Wife of Bath, the Pardoner—all the classic characters of The Canterbury Tales are here—mixed up in a medieval murder mystery. But who is a true pilgrim and who is a bandit planning to ambush the rest of the party? In this social deduction game based on The Canterbury Tales for 8-25 players, Chaucer must use his keen powers of observation to determine who is righteous and who is rotten.
The Story: It all started at the Tabard Inn, where a group of Pilgrims were feasting and discussing their mutual destination: the shrine of Saint Thomas Becket at Canterbury Cathedral. Then someone made the obvious suggestion: They should all travel together! After all, safety in numbers protects pilgrims from bandits…or does it? The innkeeper, one Harry Bailey, decided to ride along with the pilgrims and suggested that they tell stories along the way—to keep their minds off the dangers of the road. But one by one the pilgrims are disappearing, whisked away in the night by bandits. The pilgrims begin to suspect that there are traitors among them, and the Canterbury convoy was simply a ruse to murder the pilgrims one at a time and steal their ample provisions. But who are the bandits and who are the faithful pilgrims? Tales abound, and there are alibis aplenty. But who is telling the truth and who is telling a falsehood? It falls to Chaucer, the shrewd observer of these pilgrims, to judge who is righteous and who is rotten.
Gameplay: This is a game of conspiracy and paranoia. Chaucer and the honest pilgrims must try to determine which group members are secretly bandits. Chaucer executes players whom he believes to be bandits. Meanwhile, the bandits pick off the pilgrims one by one. Gameplay is based on Mafia (also known as Werewolf), where a group of murderous conspirators have infiltrated an unsuspecting group of innocents.
Special character roles: 25 unique character roles represent the characters of The Canterbury Tales
Recommended Number of Players: 8-25
Game Duration: 15-30 minutes
With this 20-page digital download you will receive:
- Detailed game rules, which include a script to walk you through the process of moderating gameplay
- Reproducible cards with 25 different characters
- A reproducible game guide with a list of character roles
- Printable "Living/Deceased" sheets for each player
