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A murder has shaken the city, and detectives are under pressure to catch the killer before they strike again. But this isn’t a straightforward case. The killer isn’t hiding in the shadows. They’re sitting right across from you, planning their next move. Each victim fits a specific profile, and the longer it goes unsolved, the more unsettling it becomes. You’ll be questioning civilians, gathering clues, and second-guessing everything. The real question is: can you figure out what’s driving the killer before more blood is spilled?
👥 2-4 players, ages 16+
⌛ Playing time: 60 minutes
📝 Designer: Arthur Hodzhikov
🎨 Artwork: Owl Agency
🏢 Publisher: Hobby World (Review copy provided)
Gameplay Overview
Intent to Kill plays out over five or six rounds, depending on how things unfold. One player becomes the murderer, the other takes on the role of the detective, who must solve the mystery of the motive and uncover which civilian on the board is secretly the killer.
Each round begins with the murderer’s phase. They start by intimidating two civilians, flipping their cards to show they can’t be questioned this round. Then they carry out a murder, selecting a victim who fits the motive they received at the beginning of the game. The victim must be in a different block from the detective, and their traits, like gender, height, build, or age, must match the secret motive. Sometimes it’s obvious. Other times it takes a few rounds before a clear pattern starts to show.
After the murder, the detective gets to work. Their token moves to the crime scene, and the investigation begins. Each round, the detective can take two actions and move twice. They might question civilians in the same block, as long as they’re not intimidated, or use the ability of a building in their block.
The murderer answers all questions on behalf of civilians. When the character is just a regular civilian, they have to answer truthfully. But if the civilian is the murderer, a supporter, or the person of interest, then lying is allowed. And that’s where the tension comes in. The detective never quite knows which answers can be trusted.
Buildings give the detective useful tools. The hospital lets them comfort an intimidated civilian, flipping their card back so they can be questioned again. The police station allows the detective to place a surveillance token on a civilian. This unlocks one powerful question: can this person be murdered right now, based on the motive? It’s one of the few moments where the detective can directly test the logic behind the murders. The diner and fire station provide other helpful effects, such as letting you question someone in a neighbouring block or move a civilian to a different one.
Clues are tracked with a small notepad. This is where the real thinking happens. By comparing traits and responses, the detective slowly eliminates suspects, matches patterns, and tries to pinpoint which civilian is hiding something.
At the end of each round, the city shifts. Any intimidated civilians in the same block as the detective are automatically comforted. Then a social group token is drawn, which moves all civilians in that group. This also reveals something important: the group shown is not the one supporting the murderer. Over time, this helps the detective eliminate possibilities and close in on the truth.
Then the next round begins. The board changes, suspects move, and the investigation continues.
The game ends immediately after the fifth murder. The detective must then name which civilian is secretly the murderer, and which motive they were following. If both guesses are correct, justice is served. If either one is wrong, the murderer walks free. There’s also an option to end the game earlier if the detective thinks they’ve solved the case. But if they’re wrong, the game ends in an instant loss.
Game Info
Intent to Kill is a deduction game designed by Artur Khodzhikov and published by Hobby World in 2024. It’s his first published design, and it shows a lot of confidence right out of the gate. The game blends a tight, structured duel with an atmospheric crime story that feels like it could’ve come straight from a rainy noir film. The visuals come courtesy of Owl Agency, who manage to give the game a clean, understated aesthetic while still supporting the theme.
It’s officially listed as a 2 to 4 player game, but make no mistake, it’s clearly built around the two-player format. When playing with more than two, the game shifts into a team setup. One or more players act as the murderer, and the others share the role of the detective. In the three-player version, it’s recommended that two players work together as the detective to keep things balanced. The team mode works, but it’s a very different feel, with more discussion and less pressure. Still good fun, but the tension changes.
Expect to spend about an hour on a full game, a bit more if it’s your first few plays or if one of you is particularly careful about taking notes.
Components and Artwork
The production is thoughtful, clean, and clearly designed with usability in mind. The board is divided into named city districts, giving each session a strong sense of place and structure. Everything is easy to read at a glance. Colours are muted, layout is functional, and the board gives off a quiet, slightly bleak city-map vibe that fits the game’s tone.
The buildings are represented by standees and are instantly recognisable thanks to bold, consistent icons. They pop out from the board just enough without becoming distracting.
The real heart of the game is the set of civilian cards. Each one comes with a portrait and a set of traits: gender, build, height, age, and social group. These are clearly marked with icons and colour coding, which makes it much easier to compare details during the deduction process. When a civilian is intimidated, their card flips to a greyed-out version, which fits both mechanically and thematically.
The illustrations go for realism without being too dry. You’ll see characters like judges, mechanics, waitresses, beggars, and baristas. All grounded enough to feel believable, but stylised just enough to keep the art cohesive. The motive cards, on the other hand, are more dramatic, often showing weapons or dramatic moments in bold, cinematic visuals. They bring just the right amount of flair without distracting from the logic puzzle underneath.
There’s also a custom notepad for witness testimony, which lines up neatly with the trait icons. It might not sound exciting, but it genuinely helps keep the detective role satisfying. Other items include tokens for evidence, social groups, surveillance, and a few memo aids to help during your first few plays. All of it is presented with a clean visual style that stays out of the way and supports the game’s logic.
Rulebook and Accessibility
The rulebook does a decent job of teaching the game and gives the theme some breathing room. It walks you through both core game modes, Logic and Intuition, and includes a bunch of scenarios and setup variations to explore later. Examples are included for most game actions, which helps, especially when it comes to things like how murder selection works or when lies are allowed.
On the flip side, the rulebook can be a bit of a wall of text. There’s no table of contents, and some key info is tucked away where you don’t expect it. New players might find terms like “supporter group” or “surveillance token” a bit abstract until they see them in action. Still, once you get past the first game, everything clicks.
Gameplay and Depth
Intent to Kill falls in the light-to-midweight category. The rules are easy enough to pick up, especially in Logic Mode, but the game itself rewards focus and attention to detail. It’s not the kind of deduction game you pull out after two other games and a bottle of wine. It’s slower, sharper, and designed to be played with a bit of quiet tension.
It’s all about narrowing things down. Ruling out civilians, identifying patterns in the murders, and trying to see through the lies. The detective has to juggle logic, social observation, and probability. Meanwhile, the murderer is trying to hide their civilian, mask their motive, and mislead the investigation just enough to get away with it.
This asymmetry is really what gives the game its personality. One player is peeling the layers back, the other is layering them on. And when it clicks, it’s great.
Interaction and Table Feel
Despite being a mostly non-verbal game, Intent to Kill is full of interaction. The detective is constantly watching what the murderer does, not just on the board but around it. Are they hovering near one character too often? Being a bit too quiet when asked a question? You end up reading more than just the cards. There’s a subtle psychological layer here that makes it surprisingly personal.
At the same time, there’s a bit of randomness built into the social group system. Each round, a token is drawn to reveal a group that isn’t supporting the killer. But if the same group is drawn multiple times, that progress stalls a bit. It doesn’t ruin the experience, but it does create moments where you feel like you’re waiting for the game to catch up to your deductions.
Still, that unpredictability works with the theme. No investigation is perfect. Sometimes your best lead turns out to be a dead end. You adapt.
Variability and Game Modes
Intent to Kill has more replayability than you might expect. Only 6 out of the 12 motive cards are used in a game, and just 20 civilians are drawn from a much larger deck. That means each game gives you a different combination of traits, social groups, and motives. It keeps players from relying on memory, which is essential for a deduction game.
Of course, that same variability means some games are more balanced than others. If one social group is heavily present on the board and that group turns out to be the supporters, the murderer has a slight edge. It’s not game-breaking, but it gives more uncertainty for the detective.
The two main modes, Logic and Intuition, let you shape the tone of your session. Logic is great for a first few plays. Clean, structured, and puzzle-focused. Intuition throws in extra tools, like special cards, evidence tokens, and more cinematic twists. There are also themed scenarios inspired by noir films, complete with roles like state attorney or undercover agent. Some are just there to set the mood, but a few really shake things up with extra strategy or new twists on hidden information.
You can also tweak difficulty or balance with optional rules, like limiting when you can use surveillance or adjusting motive combinations. There’s a lot of room here to tailor the game to your preferences.
Final Thoughts
Intent to Kill is a focused duel that knows exactly what it wants to be. It doesn’t shout for attention or rely on dramatic moments. Instead, it builds tension slowly and steadily, round by round, until someone finally connects the dots or slips up at the wrong moment. It’s all about that feeling of uncovering something just out of sight.
We’ve played our share of deduction games, and this one stood out for the right reasons. It feels more like working through a case file than playing a party game. There’s no bluffing for laughs or throwing out wild guesses. Instead, you’re piecing things together step by step, watching closely, following the logic, and occasionally talking yourself in circles. In a good way.
That said, the game does have its quirks. The social group tokens add a bit of luck that can sometimes slow things down, especially if the same ones turn up more than once. The rulebook isn’t always the easiest to navigate, and some parts only really click after a couple of plays. And this isn’t a game for every mood. If you’re after something breezy and light, this probably isn’t it.
But if you’re in the mood to dig in, to think things through, and to sit opposite someone for a proper match of misdirection and logic, then you’re in good hands. It’s a game that’s just as much about reading your opponent as it is about solving the puzzle on the table.
If you’ve enjoyed games like Mind MGMT, Cryptid, or Letters from Whitechapel, but prefer something tighter and more personal, Intent to Kill could be just the thing. We’ll definitely be playing more of it. Just maybe not late at night.
📝 We received a review copy from Hobby World.
