Last Message is a party/deduction game where a crime has been committed and the Victim must help Detectives identify the Criminal hidden in a crowded crime scene illustration. The Victim draws clues on erasable boards, but the Criminal erases portions of those clues each round to cover their tracks. The game plays over 4 rounds – if the Detectives identify the Criminal, they and the Victim win; otherwise the Criminal wins.
Choose one player to be the Victim and another to be the Criminal. Both sit on the same side of the table, behind the screen.
All other players are Detectives and sit on the opposite side of the table.
Choose 1 of the 6 crime scenes; place the 4 illustration sheets in front of the Detectives.
The Criminal places the folded illustration for that crime scene in front of themselves and the Victim (hidden from Detectives).
The Criminal secretly chooses any character in the illustration and places the transparent token on it.
The Victim takes the 4 erasable boards and one marker. The Criminal takes the sand timer and the other marker.
Turn Structure
The game plays over 4 rounds. Each round has 3 steps:
Step 1: The Victim Leaves Clues
The Criminal flips the sand timer (30 seconds).
The Victim draws clues on one erasable board (within its 9 squares) to help the Detectives identify the Criminal’s chosen character.
Clues can be text and/or drawings.
The Victim cannot draw the same element of the crime scene multiple times in different spaces on the same board, but can draw AND write the same element. They can redraw/rewrite elements in future rounds.
When time runs out, the Criminal tells the Victim to stop.
Step 2: The Criminal Covers Their Tracks
The Criminal takes the board from the Victim and erases a number of spaces (anywhere on the board):
Round 1: Erase 5 spaces
Round 2: Erase 4 spaces
Round 3: Erase 3 spaces
Round 4: Erase 2 spaces
Step 3: The Detectives Choose a Suspect
The Criminal gives the partially-erased board to the Detectives (who add it to boards from previous rounds).
The Victim must also be able to see the boards given to Detectives (to know which clues remain).
The Detectives collectively choose exactly one character from the illustration as their suspect.
The Criminal confirms whether or not this is the correct character but provides no other information.
Actions
Victim: Draw clues (text and/or illustrations) on the erasable board within 30 seconds.
Criminal: Choose which spaces to erase from the Victim’s clue board.
Detectives: Discuss clues from all available boards and collectively nominate one suspect.
Scoring / Victory Conditions
If the Detectives correctly identify the Criminal at the end of any round, the Detectives and Victim win.
If the Detectives fail to identify the Criminal after the 4th round, the Criminal wins.
Special Rules & Edge Cases
Difficulty Adjustments (if Detectives find it too easy)
Apply these obstacles in order:
Level 1: The Victim can no longer use text for clues – only drawings are allowed.
Level 2: The Criminal erases one additional space per round.
Level 3 – Find the Weapon: The Criminal chooses an object instead of a character.
Tips
The Victim should draw and/or write on as many different spaces of the board as possible, even placing elements across multiple spaces (to make it harder for the Criminal to erase all evidence).
Each crime scene illustration has many small details that can serve as positional clues.