The Big Fix is a strategic and psychological card game that puts each player in the shoes of one of Film Noir’s most iconic roles. As the Private Investigator, the Femme Fatale (or Homme Fatale), the Politician and more, players uncover clues and trick their friends, all while searching for their enemies’ true intentions. Six roles, five agendas, three vices, and twelve character cards combine randomly so that a new story is told every time you play.
From top to bottom, The Big Fix is designed to play and feel like a Film Noir. Our goal was to create a game which is not only fun and strategically deep, but makes its players think and act like they were a character in a Film Noir. The game emphasizes individual agendas, simultaneous and interconnected player story lines, and temporary alliances driven by mutual benefit – all of which are key themes and motives in Film Noir. Winning at The Big Fix requires strategy, cunning, and a hard-boiled attitude.
Players score points by accomplishing the goals on their Role and Agenda cards, getting away with their Vice, and by trading their points with other players (by trading, we of course mean bribing and extorting). The player with the most points at the end of the game is the winner.
The most common way that players interact with the game and other players is with Moxie cards. Modeled after playing cards, Moxie cards are what make up a player’s hand.
Depending on the number of players in the game, each game will take between 6 and 8 turns, or days. Each day has a dawn, day, and night, which comprise the three phases of a turn. Watch our gameplay demo for a demonstration of each of the phases.
After dawn comes the day, the biggest and most important phase of the game. In the day, players take turns bidding and battling over clues by playing larger and largerMoxie cards. The winner of a Clue can elect to reveal it for all to use, keep it for themselves, or bury it. At the end of the game, players score about half of their total points by ensuring that the right clues are going into play and the wrong ones end up buried.
After day comes the night, the most deceptive phase of the game. Like in the dawn, each player places a card from their hand face down on the table. Players who played a Savvy card flip their cards up first and chose a target from the players who played either Gumption or Duplicity, attempting to catch players who spent the night satisfying their vice and revealing players hidden traits.
If there are no more cards in the clue deck at the beginning of a turn, the Detectivereveals him/herself and attempts to convict the Murderer. After the conviction, players reveal their Hidden Agendas, tally up their points, and declare a winner!
