Designer: Larry Levy (Agricola X-Deck, Deduce or Die)

Artist: Anca Gavril (Bites, On Tour, Q.E.)

Publisher: BoardGameTables.com (Bites, On Tour, Q.E.)

Genre/Mechanisms: deduction, once-per-game abilities, paper-and-pencil, roles with asymmetric information, sudden death ending

Funding Status: At the time of this posting, Loot of Lima is already fully-funded. In fact, pledges currently total more than 5x the initial funding goal with 7 days left to go on the campaign.

Player Count: 1-5

Solo Mode: yes

Complexity: medium-light

Risk: medium-high

What It’s About: A multi-player deduction puzzle with hidden player information; also a re-implementation of the publisher’s Deduce or Die.

How It Works: “All players are competing to deduce the 2 locations of the missing treasures of Lima. The first player to correctly guess both locations wins.”

“The game is played in a series of turns beginning with the starting player and continuing clockwise around the table until the game ends. The active player rolls all 3 dice in the center of the table. They then construct a question to ask another player about where they have already searched for the treasure.”

When constructing a question, the active player 1) chooses an opponent to question; 2) chooses 1 die to start the query range, and sets the central map dial with the clockwise pointing arrow to that coordinate; 3) chooses another 1 die to end the query range and sets the central map dial with the counter-clockwise pointing arrow to that coordinate; 4) if both dice chosen show the same terrain color, the active player may ask for only that terrain in the question. The player responding must truthfully answer out loud for all players to hear how many Location Tokens they have in the query range. Play then proceeds to the next player in clockwise order; rinse and repeat until the game ends.

Each player also begins the game with 3 Special Ability Tokens. Each is a once-per-game ability they can use when constructing a question, and the player removes the token from their player board after using it. The Barrel allows the player to re-roll any number of dice. The Shovel allows the player to treat a rolled die as if it’s the terrain color of their choice. And the Pistol allows the player to ask a secret question to another player without using the dice, instead choosing their query range; the player can not, however, limit the question to a specific terrain type.

Each player also receives their own notation sheet, much like logic puzzles, or the player sheets in Clue. Players should record everything on these sheets, including the answers given to other players’ questions, because recorded negative answers will eventually yield positive answers by process of elimination. Players also use Deduction Tokens on their player map screens to mark when a particular location is in play, and more specifically, when they know that a specific player has that location.

At any point in the game, even if it’s not their turn, a player may announce they know the locations of the 2 Treasures. The player places both of their Treasure Tokens into the locations on their player screen map where they believe the treasures are located, then looks at the 2 set aside Location Tokens. If they are correct and the tokens match their chosen locations, the game is over and the player has won. If they are incorrect, the player is eliminated from asking questions and from being able to win the game, but remains in the game to answer other players’ questions. If all but 1 player is eliminated, that player wins the game by default.

Comparisons: Other pencil-and-paper deduction games include Awkward Guests, Clue, and the game that Loot of Lima was derived from, Deduce or Die.

What Should I Pledge?:
$29 Loot of Lima: a copy of the game.
$149 All Our Games: includes Loot of Lima, as well as On Tour with 12 player maps. Q.E., and Bites with the Double Bites expansion.

Add-Ons:
None.

KS Exclusives:
The whole game is a KS-Exclusive. The publisher does not plan on the game going to retail, apart from retailers who order wholesale cases directly from the publisher.

All-In Total: Assuming you’re only looking to purchase Loot of Lima and not the bundle with the publisher’s other games, then in the continental U.S. you’re looking at $29 for Loot of Lima and $4 shipping for a total of $33.

Loot of Lima completes its Kickstarter on Thursday, December 12th and tentatively ships in July 2020.