©2017
SAMPLE SETUP
PULP b w 1P|14+
20-30m 36¢
DETECTIVE
BY TODD SANDERS
To Solve the Case: Find four clues and confront the
Criminal to win. If Time or your Stamina runs out, the Case
is unsolved and you lose the game.
Needed to Play: The deck of 36 cards, which includes:
27 Investigate Cards (Informant, Cliffhanger, Follow a Lead)
1 Time Card
2 Detective Cards
1 Stamina/Clues Card 4 YELLOW Investigate Dice
1 Items Card 1 RED Paperboy Die
1 Criminal Card 1 GRAY Underworld Connection Die
3 Rules Cards 8 wooden cubes
Setup:
1. Choose one of the detectives and place him/her in front If Time reaches N you have lost the game.
of you. Each detective has a different Special Ability.
2. Place the Time card above your detective. Choose a
Difficulty Level on the Time card: Beginner B , Normal N Nightime
or Advanced A . The Difficulty determines your starting Hours
Time and Stamina. Mark the starting Time with a cube.
3. Place the Stamina/Clues and Items Cards in front of you.
Mark your starting Stamina with a cube. Clues start at 0.
You begin without any Items.
4. Place the Criminal card beneath your detective. You will
not know the Criminal at this time, so either side of the Connect the dots
card may be face up. Place 4 cubes next to the Twist
section of the card.
5. Shuffle the 27 Investigate cards and place them in
front of you, face down, as a draw deck.
6. Place the 4 YELLOW Investigate dice in front of you
and the RED and GRAY dice next to the Item card.
1 2
During the game you will draw cards from the top of the
Investigate draw deck. Note: If the deck is ever empty, pick
up the discard deck and shuffle all the cards to form a new
draw deck.
There are 3 types of Investigate cards. Each can cause you
to gain or lose Clues, Stamina, Items or lose Time:
Informants - give you a better chance of finding Clues
Cliffhangers - give you a better chance of gaining Stamina
Following a Lead - gives you a better chance of getting Items
Game Phases:
1. Storyline - Move the cube on the Time card down one
hour and draw the top 3 cards of the Investigate deck. Do
not look at their front sides. Choose 1 and place it face up
in front of you (this is the current Storyline card); a 2nd
card is placed on the discard pile face down; the last card
is randomly placed back in the draw deck. Each Investigate
card will display a letter designating the type of card -
I for Informants, C for Cliffhangers and F for Follow a Lead.
2. Investigate - Check the time remaining in the game and
locate the 3 numbered circles at the bottom left of the
Storyline card. On the Storyline card, look at the circle
in a row with a number closest to, but greater than, the
hour marked currently on the Time card. This is the row of
icons you must match by rolling your Investigate dice. You
may only use the YELLOW Investigate dice to match the
Storyline icons, unless you have certain Items that allow
you to use the RED and GRAY dice, Twist icons, or your
detective’s Special Action.
There are 11 hours of time left. You will need to
match the icons shown on the Storyline row with a 12.
3 4
TIME REMAINING
STAMINA
CLUES
DETECTIVE
ITEMS
TWIST
CRIMINAL
Normal Difficulty Level
shown in sample setup
The cube on the Time card will be moved as the game
progresses, counting down the hours. Black numbered circles
denote nighttime hours. Yellow numbered circles are daytime
hours. These numbers are also important when determining
which set of icons on a Storyline card need to be matched.
Daytime
Hours
ICON GLOSSARY
Word on the street
Make the rounds Persuasion
Items Stamina Time ? Clues
The Hunch - Roll each YELLOW Investigate die, one at a
time, as dictated by your Stamina. You may also roll the RED
and/or GRAY dice, if you have them. You may choose any of
the dice to roll next and/or when to apply any rerolls. Each die
shows four icons and each repeats two pairs of those icons,
as designated by a *. Choosing which dice to roll and when
depends on your detective instincts. Each die is different. If
you need to roll a 5th or 6th YELLOW die, choose one of
your current dice, noting its current face, and roll it again.
You may subtract an hour of time if your Stamina level is at
1 or 2 to roll an additional YELLOW die. This die may be
rolled during the Investigate phase and is lost once the phase
has ended.
You may use matching Twist icons, if you have them, in
addition to the dice, by removing their marking cubes on the
Criminal card.
If you can match the Storyline icons, you gain the reward
shown in the white area in that row. If you cannot match
the icons, you must lose Stamina, Time or your currently
held Item, as shown in the brown area in that row.
If you have failed in your investigation, you may choose one
icon from the YELLOW die faces shown and mark this
in the Twist section on the Criminal card with a cube. You
may save a maximum of 4 Twist icons in this manner. They
can be the same icon. There is no cost to keep 1 or 2 Twist
icons. Keeping 3 will cost you a one time-loss of time,
keeping 4 will cost you a one-time loss of time.-1
-2
Turn the Tables - If you have failed in the investigation, but
have managed to roll 3 matching icons on the YELLOW
die faces, you may ignore the loss of Stamina or an Item.
Loss of Time may never be ignored. The clock is always
ticking down. Additionally, Twist icons can never be used to
Turn the Tables.
Storyline Row
Icons to be matched
Loss
Gain
 Gain/Loss Icons on a Storyline card
Gain/Lose Item - If an item is gained, look at the
die icon on the top Investigate Card on the discard
pile and place a cube on the matching die icon on your
Items Card (draw the next card on the discard deck if
the previously drawn card shows a icon). This is
Rules of Note:
Stamina determines your current health and how many
YELLOW Investigate dice you will roll during the Investigate
Phase (as shown by the # icon). If your Stamina drops below
1, you do not solve the Case and the game is lost immediately.
Stamina can never go above 8. The higher your Stamina,
the greater your chances of investigating a Storyline card.

0
the Item gained. You may only hold 1 Item at a time.
Place any cards drawn on the bottom of the discard
pile afterwards.
If an item is lost, place the cube back on “Dead End” at
the top of the card.
Gain/Lose Stamina - Gain or lose 1 Stamina level
depending on whether you succeed or fail at your
Investigation.
Lose Time - Lose 1 hour of Time if you fail at your
Investigation.
Gain a Clue - Gain 1 Clue and record it on the
? Clue track.
Discard the current Storyline card and repeat Phases 1 and 2
until the 4th clue is found.
3. Confront the Criminal - When the 4th clue is found, draw
the top card on the Investigate deck and match the die icon
shown to those of the 4 criminals on the Criminal card to
discover who you must confront to save the heiress. The row
of icons shown for this Criminal must be matched by rolling
Investigate dice as listed by your current Stamina. You may
only use the icons on the YELLOW Investigate dice to match
the Criminal icons, unless you have certain Items which allow
you to roll the RED and GRAY dice, saved Twist icons, or
your detective’s Special Action. You may reroll a YELLOW
Investigate die of your choice for every 2 hours of Time
remaining in the game, rounding down. Match the icons,
solve the Case, and win the game!
Clues determine your success as a detective. Once you find
the 4th clue, you can confront the Criminal and end the game.
Items are saved by marking a die icon on the Item card with
a cube. Items with dice icons 1 to 4 are for one-time use 1
and may be used at any time. When you use or lose one of
these Items, place the cube back on “Dead End” at the top of
the card. When gaining a new item, you may choose to keep
the new item or your current item.
The Paperboy and the Underworld Connection may be kept
as long as you can pay a Twist icon each time they are used or
until that Item is lost. If you do not have any Twist icons, the
Item (5 or 6) can be used one last time during the current
Investigate phase and then is lost along with the die. If you
have found another Item you wish to keep instead, you must
lose the Paperboy or the Underworld Connection and its die.
Investigate Draw Deck - If the Investigate draw deck is
ever empty, pick up the discard deck and shuffle all the cards
to form a new draw deck.
Twist Icons - You may use matching Twist icons, if you
have them, in addition to the dice, by removing their marking
cubes on the Criminal card.
If you have failed in your investigation, you may choose one
icon from the YELLOW die faces shown and mark this in
the Twist section on the Criminal card with a cube. You may
save a maximum of 4 Twist icons in this manner. They can be
the same icon. There is no cost to keep 1 or 2 Twist icons.
Keeping 3 will cost you a one time loss of time, keeping
4 will cost you a one time loss of time. -1
-2
Twist icons can never be used to Turn the Tables.

5 6

Investigation Dice Paperboy Die

* * * * * * * *
Die 1

1 2 3 4 5 6 1 2 3 4 5 6
Underworld Connection Die
* * * *
Die 2 * * * *

1 2 3 4 5 6 1 2 3 4 5 6
Die 3 * * * * Sidekicks Die

+2 -1
1 2 3 4 5 6
1 2 3 4 5 6
Die 4
* * * *
For mapping Pulp Detective dice to standard dice, use:
4 Yellow dice, 1 Red, 1 Black or Grey, and 1 Green Die,
and consult this chart for the proper Storyline icons.

1 2 3 4 5 6 When rolling Yellow Investigation dice during Phases 2 and 3

it is important to designate each die by its number: 1-4.

Pulp Detective is ©2017 Todd Sanders/

Air and Nothingness Press.
Effort has been made to make sure all original images used

Chart of Icons for Standard Dice are in the public domain. My thanks to the talented, and in
many cases, forgotten artists of the Pulp Era.