13 Dead End Drive

13 Dead End Drive is a murder-themed board game from Milton Bradley. Released in 1993, it was followed in 2002 by a sequel, 1313 Dead End Drive.

The story behind the game indicates the death of a wealthy old woman triggers feuding over her will. The players utilize traps located on the game board, which represents a mansion, to kill characters controlled by other players in order to claim the estate for themselves.

Gameplay

At the start of gameplay, players are passed out "Character cards" which correspond to matching pawns on the board. Since there are 12 characters, it is often the case that players control more than one character. However, which player controls which character is not revealed. Along with the character cards, there are also Portrait Cards, which determine who the current favorite for the inheritance is, and Trap Cards, which are used to spring traps and knock off other players.

During each turn, a player would roll two dice and move two pawns, one pawn for each die. It is legal for players to move a pawn that is not theirs in order to bring it closer to or onto a Trap Space. All pawns must be moved off the red chair spaces before any pawns can be moved a second time or onto a trap space. If a pawn is moved onto a trap space by exact roll only, the player must have the corresponding trap card in his or her possession in order to spring the trap. Springing traps is not mandatory, however. After that, play would move on to the next player. Two pawns cannot occupy the same space on the board. You can not pass through or land on the same space during the same turn.

During the game, a Portrait Card is displayed in the picture frame above the fireplace. That character is now the current favorite to inherit the fortune. At that moment, for all intents and purposes, that character is now marked for death and must try to escape the mansion before he or she is either knocked off or the portrait changes (see "Special Spaces and Rules" below).

Also, during the game, a Detective is waiting outside, slowly advancing toward the front door. His arrival signifies the reading of the will and the announcement of the winner. The Detective can only move one space at a time, and only when a Detective Card (hidden inside the Trap Card pile) is drawn. There are 13 steps to the front door. If the Detective makes it to the front door before all other characters have been eliminated, the game is over.

Ways to win

There are three ways to win 13 Dead End Drive:

• Be the last character alive.
• Escape the Mansion while your character's picture is displayed in the Picture Frame.
• Have your character's picture displayed in the Picture Frame when the Detective reaches the front door.

Traps

13 Dead End Drive has five different booby traps that are used to dispose of other characters, all the while seeming like an accident. They are the Chandelier, the Bookcase, the Stairs, a Statue in a suit of armor, and, to make matters worse, the Fireplace: if a pawn has the misfortune to land on the trap space in front of or under one of these traps, the Trap card is played and the traps is sprung in the fallowing ways:

• To activate the Chandelier, flip a switch that drops the chandelier onto the pawn, eliminating it from play.
• To activate the Bookcase, move that pawn up onto the top of the ladder and rest that pawn on top of the bookcase, and flip a switch that will send the pawn flying back onto the board and eliminating it from play.
• In order to activate the Stairs, a player can move it up onto the top of the stairs and flip a switch that will violently toss the pawn back down the stairs and onto the board, resulting in its elimination.
• To activate the Statue, a player can flip a switch that will send a statue in a full suit of armor crashing down onto the pawn.
• The Fireplaceis activated when a player flip a switch that will send the pawn flying backwards and into the figurative fire, though the box recommends it to be a Trap Door.

When a player moves a pawn onto a Trap Space, they must draw a card from the Trap Card pile (if they don't already have the matching trap card in their possession). If they draw the matching Trap Card, they can either play it immediately, or hold the card for future use. If, however, they draw a Detective card, the Detective is moved one space forward and another card is drawn.

Once a trap is sprung, that pawn and the matching Character Card are laid down on the "Discard" pile on the board (the couch). If, during the course of play, a Portrait Card comes up for a character that has been knocked off, that card is immediately taken down and placed on the "Discard" pile, revealing a new Portrait.

Characters

• Aunt Agatha: The dowager heiress whose fortune everyone is competing for
• The Detective: Gradually gets closer to the mansion with every detective card. When he enters the front door, the game is over.

The players take the roles of the twelve suspects who compete for the will. They are:

• Poopsie: Aunt Agatha's beloved but sadistic persian cat.
• Beauregard III: Agatha's flirtatious lover.
• Smothers: the butler who served Agatha's family for over thirty years.
• Dusty: the conniving maid.
• Charity: Agatha's personal physician who only makes 'mansion' calls.
• Lulu: Agatha's gossip of a best friend (in 1313 Dead End Drive that she is described as Agatha's sister).
• Parker: the Chauffeur.
• Clay: Agatha's tennis coach.
• Spritzy: Agatha's favourite hair stylist.
• Pierre: the inept chef.
• Madame Astra: Agatha's personal faux fortune-teller.
• Hickory: the mansion's gardener (apparently he ends up with the money in the real ending).

Special spaces and rules

• Rolling Doubles: If a player rolls doubles that player has a choice of:

• Moving the current Portrait card to the back of the pack and revealing a new Portrait
• Moving one pawn the total number of spaces shown on the dice, or
• Moving two pawns, one pawn for each die.

Changing the portrait is not a required action for rolling doubles.

• Secret Passages: On the board are special spaces that represent "Secret Passages." Any character can enter any secret passage at any time, regardless of whether or not it is by exact roll. Moving from one secret passage to another counts as one space move for a character. Secret passages are often used to bring opponent's pawns closer to traps or to bring your own pawn closer to the door.

• Bluffing: Bluffing is permitted in "13 Dead End Drive." In terms of strategy, a player may move their own pieces towards or even onto trap spaces in an attempt to fool opponents. Even if that player has the matching trap card for the space their own character is on, they do not have to play it. Instead, they can pretend that they do not have the correct card and draw another one. If they happen to draw the right trap card, they can pretend that the card is the wrong one, and play continues as normal.

• Two-Player Gameplay: In case of a two player game, four character cards are dealt to each player, as well as two additional "Secret Cards." These cards must be kept face down throughout the entire game; their owners are not allowed to peek at them or even know which character they correspond to. Gameplay continues as normal, even if one player loses all four "known" character cards until one of the above "Win" scenarios occurs. In the case that neither player has the winning character in their "known" hand, they are permitted to look at the unknown cards. The player with the card that matches the winning character is declared the victor.

International versions

• Danish – Tante Agathes Testamente.
• Finnish – Kalmankuja 13.
• French – La Course à l'Héritage.
• German – Agathas letzter Wille.
• Italian – L'erede misterioso.
• Dutch – Ongelukslaan 13.
• Spanish – La Herencia de Tía Agata.
• Swedish – Faster Agathas Testamente.
• Greek – Κληρονόμων 13.
• Quebecois – 13 rue Dead End Drive

Spinoffs

1313 Dead End Drive

1313 Dead End Drive is an updated version with 16 heirs in a mansion who are going to kill each other. The players can steal moneybags by killing rivals. There are slightly different booby traps such as the chandelier being replaced by a large boar head, the bookcase being replaced by a safe that releases a big steel piggy bank that slams into the heir's face and instead of falling into the fire you're spun into it. The game can be suddenly over if the card: "Clock Strikes Midnight" is drawn from the deck.

External links

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