Hints and Hijinx
On Quisicosas since 29 January 2023
Featured in the newsletter of
29 January 2023 (on Substack)
What it is about
HnH supports multiplayer! Hints and Hijinx has been given an update. The classic solo rules you know and love are untouched, but a new "Solo+" ruleset has been released, designed for making epic 1+ player mysteries. While the Solo rules are perfect for striking out as your favorite detective like Sherlock Holmes, the Solo+ rules allows players to form a mystery solving team like Scooby-Doo! The Hints and Hijinx system is a purpose-built solo mystery system that's easy to design mystery games for, and puts the power of deduction in the hands of the player! This is done by a clue gathering mechanic, where the player needs to overcome a challenge or complication with one of their skills at thirteen different locations. On failures, their skill’s dice rating can degrade, making finding future clues more difficult. After their investigation is complete, the clues they gathered are used to make a hypothesis. The more clues the player can string together to create their hypothesis, the larger the dice they roll to see if their character’s hypothesis is correct. On a 5+ die roll, their deductions are correct and the mystery solved! Like Choose Your Own Adventure books of yore, the goal of Hints and Hijinx is to provide a structure that players can be familiar with to go on a myriad of mystery adventures. When a player sees the Hints and Hijinx logo, they take comfort in knowing how to play, coupled with the excitement of new mysteries and the twists of each game. See the Collection of Hints and Hijinx Games for Inspiration As a designer of a Hints and Hijinx game, how you have players construct clues, complications, and locations is up to you and is how we recommend adding your own flavor and spice to the games! Included in the download is: PDF Creator's Guide for Solo and Solo+ rulesets PDF condensed Core Rules Alternative Formats: txt, html, epub, markdown, & gdoc High resolution png's of the Hints and Hijinx logo Affinity Publisher and PDF templates, prepopulated with the basic rules. In addition to the Creator's Guide, we have released two games that use Hints and Hijinx and have 2 more in development, as examples of what can be done with the system. Waffles for Esther - the game that started it all, a fun and silly mystery of trying to find your favorite regular to deliver her daily waffles. The Jester King's Dance - a dark mystery of remembering the evils the Jester King committed by gathering clues from demons in hell. The Hints and Hijinx Jam Page has additional resources and mysteries.
