How to Play the Lie Detector Board Game
The "Lie Detector" board game was released by Mattel in the 1960s. This vintage game involves questioning suspects and discovering which one is the guilty party. A unique aspect of the board game is the plastic lie detector device that accompanies it, which allows you to question the suspects and find out if you are getting an honest answer.
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Instructions
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1
Select a "Guilty" card randomly from the pile and place it into the back of the plastic lie detector device. Do not look at the back of the "Guilty" card, as this is where the guilty party's name is displayed. Distribute the 24 "Suspect" cards evenly to all players in the game. Distribute two "Summons" cards and one "Arrest" card to each player in the game.
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2
Start your turn by placing a suspect card from your hand face-up into the allotted slot on the lie detector device. Insert the metal wand that accompanies the device into the hole in the suspect card.
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3
Watch the needle on the lie detector: It will either go left toward true or jump right to false, and a bell will ring. Each card has one clue written on it about the guilty party; for example, "They have a mustache." If the clue you have is true, hold on to your card, and if it is false you can place your card face down in front of you.
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4
Play one of your "Summons" cards on your turn to take another player's card and find out if her clue is true or false, then return the card to that player.
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5
Repeat the questioning process for each player, moving around the table and eliminating suspects until one player is ready to make an accusation.
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6
Narrow down the suspects using the game board, which displays all 24 suspects and their distinguishing traits. For example, if you've learned that the suspect has a mustache, wears a hat and has blue eyes, you know that any suspect who doesn't have these traits can be eliminated from this list of possible suspects.
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Play your "Arrest" card on your turn when you think you have discovered the guilty party. State your accusation and remove the "Guilty" card from the back of the lie detector device, looking at the back of the card to see the guilty party's name without showing the other players. If you are correct, you have won the game, and if not, you're out of the game, and play continues until another player makes a correct accusation.
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Tips & Warnings
Some "Lie Detector" games also came with a scorekeeping pegboard. For this you would simply play one game after another, moving the winner of each game up one slot on the pegboard until someone reaches the top "Chief" spot.
