Courtroom Preview - Prove Your Case!
Transcript
Hey there gamers, welcome back to the Board Gameco channel and today we have a preview of courtroom. Hey there gamers, it's Professor Mag here and welcome back to the Board Game Co channel. Today we have a preview of Courtroom by Mine Clash. Now this is a current pre-order, so you can check out the link down below and this is a sponsored preview. Now in courtroom, players are going to take different sides within two teams. So no matter how many players you have, you're going to have two different sides, which is going to be the defense and the prosecutors. So, you're all going to be working with a particular defendant and you're trying to either have them be acquitted by the defense or prosecute them and have them do jail time and prove that they are guilty if you are the prosecutors. So, this sounds a little ambiguous because you are going to be working with these different court cases, but you're going to be working with specific evidence.
So, you are going to have your different pieces of evidence where some of it is going to be secret to just you and your team. And that's going to help you form your closing argument. But before that, players are going to have the opportunity to interview witnesses and see what they're able to get them to say as well. So, you are able to interview them, but you also have the rare instances where you may object to certain questioning of certain witnesses to protect information that your team has. So whether you are playing as the defense or the prosecutors, overall you're trying to make sure that you have the outcome that you want by proving what you were able to determine. So, different teams are going to be able to present their closing arguments, and that's all going to be based on a specific point system. So, where this may sound a little bit ambiguous, you're going to have certain key points that you will need to reach by the end of the game that you'll have to hit in your closing arguments to score victory points for yourself and win the court case. So, with that, let's take a look at courtroom. Now, in front of me is a demo version. So, just note that these pieces here are all part of the demo copy that are unique to that. And over here, we have actual cases that are inside the game. So, any cases that you would be playing in the future are not going to be spoiled by what you're going to see here in front of you. So, just note that. But another thing to note is that due to this being a demo sized copy, it's a bit smaller. So, here we have seven pieces of evidence. And in a full game, players would be working with 15 pieces of evidence. Now, you're not
going to see all of those pieces of evidence, but you'll have 15 at the beginning of each of these cases. Now, in a little bit, we're going to also get to witnesses, and in the full court cases, you will have more witnesses that you are able to interview, but we're only going to have three for this demo version. So again, just note these are the big boxes that are going to have envelopes inside of them for players to go through, but I'm going to leave it all sealed so that if you do play this in the future, you won't have anything spoiled for you. But at the beginning of each of the cases, players are going to have the reason why it happens. So you'll have this, which will start you off, and then you're going to have your pieces of evidence that you're going to work with. Now, you're going to determine which side you are. So here we have the defense, and here we have the prosecution. and they're each going to have these cards as well around the uncertain jury. So, you are going to be scoring points in your closing argument for swaying your particular case, but you're also going to be able to score points for swaying the uncertain jury members as well. So, we'll get into that in a little bit, but during setup, you will have these as well as your different objection tokens. So, these players will be able to use when they're going through the testimony phase, and that's when these dials are going to be used as well. Now, you are going to have a notepad just to take notes throughout the game on the different pieces of evidence and the witness testimony that you're going to hear, and you're going to use this to form your different notes for your closing argument. But just note, this isn't necessary, but highly encouraged, and players will definitely
be taking notes on the different things that they are learning as they start piecing together all of the different pieces of information they're able to find. Now, before we dive into the gameplay of a case, also note that there is a companion app. So, you don't have to use it at all, but it just adds a lot of flavor to the game. So, when we do go over the witness testimony, it actually reads those pieces aloud for you. And it also has a recorder. So, when you are doing your closing arguments, you're actually able to record them and play it back later to argue whether you met certain points or not. So, there is a companion app that adds those different pieces for you if you want to use it, but you don't have to. So to start us off, I will read this introduction card. So you can see it is a news piece here where this is going to set up who the defendant is. Musician shot in the crescent room. A talented saxoponist was found bleeding in the changing room of the club. Vincent Lewis, 37, a saxoponist, was shot on Saturday, July 18th, at the Crescent Room Club, where he and his bandmates performed earlier that evening. Police were called by the bartender shortly after 900 p.m. He stated that he had not heard any shots fired, but found Mr. Lewis bleeding in the dressing room. Police and ambulance attendants arrived shortly thereafter, but unfortunately they were unable to save Mr. Lewis. According to our source within the police department, the band's pianist, Raymond Green, was arrested for the murder on Sunday. According to our music journalist, the two were rumored to have a stormer relationship over the years, though the motive for the crime remains unknown. Our reporters will
follow the criminal case closely. The prosecution wants Green jailed for life and the defense will have to prove that there was a substantial doubt regarding his guilt in order for him to be acquitted. And here you have our photo of the suspect, Raymond Green. So you can see that is going to be the defendant that both of these players are going to be investigating. So once that is read, you're going to be going through these different pieces of evidence starting with the defense. So you have seven here, but again in a full game you will have 15. And the defense is going to choose one of these to take over to their team. So for example, if they want to take the police report because they want to see what that is before the uh prosecution might they'll collect that piece of evidence. But now it would be on the prosecution's team to be able to select one as well. So the next thing that they might think is very useful would be something like Raymond Green's desk. So they may choose to take his evidence card for the desk. And as you can see, teams are starting to collect these different pieces of evidence. Now once they do so, they are going to look at these in private. So again, the other teams would not see these, but they would review both of these and then as a team decide what piece of evidence to draft next. So they have these two pieces here. you would continue drafting until there is only one piece left which is returned to the box. So both teams are going to have divvied out the evidence between them leaving one behind and then after they
are all reviewed in a full game players are going to be able to set two aside before all evidence is shared among both teams. meaning that each team is going to have drafted seven pieces of evidence and be able to keep two of them private before all 10 pieces of evidence are in play. Now, this can be a very important way for you to bury certain evidence because if you're able to draft it first and have it be one of the ones that you chose to hide, when witnesses bring it up later, you might choose to object and further bury that piece of evidence. So, while the other team might know that that's something that might have something that might help their case, they're not going to know what it is because it was blocked from them being able to be seen. And now, just to give you a closer up example of a piece of evidence, here is that police report.
So, it's a New York City Police Department police report made by a Buchanan. Name and offense charged Raymond Green, firstderee murder, 71836. And then down here it says, "Officers were called to the Crescent Room Club at 9:10 p.m. Upon arrival, we found the victim in the dressing room identified as Vincent Lewis. The case, the cause of death was a single gunshot wound to the chest. The murder weapon was found close to the body on top of a pillow that was most likely used to muffle the sound of the shot. According to the witnesses, the gun belonged to Raymond Green, a bandmate of the victim. Paul Merik, an employee of the club, stated that the two had several fights previously. The gun was sent for fingerprint analysis. Raymond Green is being held for questioning. Fingerprint analysis done.
Readable prints belong to Raymond Green and Bertha Lewis R. Green arrested. So, you can see where each piece of evidence is going to give players more and more information that's all going to corroborate and go back to that main story. So you have your main story introduction that gives you your defendant and all of these different things are going to start putting the story together so that players are able to present their cases. Now within each of these case boxes is going to have these pieces of evidence which players are going to go through first during the discovery phase. So eventually you'll have all of the pieces of evidence available besides the ones that players chose to keep hidden. But then within here is going to be a smaller envelope that is going to have your different witness cards. So that is going to be these cards here. And once players are ready after the discovery phase is over and they've reviewed the evidence, you're going to move on to the testimony phase. So during this phase, players are going to have the opportunity to interview these different witnesses based on the evidence that they've already seen or perhaps even the pieces of evidence that they haven't seen, including the one that was returned to the box. So, you are still able to ask the different witnesses about those different things. Uh, you just won't have the extra piece of context of having seen that piece of evidence. So, for example, with Jack Smith over here, he is the owner of the Crescent Room. So, he is not the employee that said he didn't hear the gunshot. He is actually the owner of the Crescent Room. And you are able to
interview him about these four different things. So over here you have his testimony cards and players are able to ask him about the dressing room, the crescent room bar, Louiswis's home or the music journalist. Now ultimately players are also able to choose something that is not one of those options. So those are pieces of evidence 1, four, five, and six. But if you do choose to ask him about, for example, piece of evidence 2, that would represent no answer from him that round. So if for example players did not want that particular witness to answer anything because what they could say is too valuable, you might choose to not ask them about anything and then you might choose to use your objection token for whatever the other team asked. So in this example, if you did not want Jack Smith to talk at all, you might choose option two. And if other players chose, for example, option four, the crescent room bar, you might object to that and then players would not be able to have that answer read out loud. But in the example where you did want some of this evidence read, players are going to simultaneously on their teams choose what piece you want to know. So if the defense did want to know more about Louiswis's home, they might set their dial to five and have it ready to go.
And then the uh prosecution might choose to ask about the dressing room. Now, they may simultaneously ask about the same thing. So, if they both ask about uh number five, then you'll only hear that answer. But if you have two unique answers, you're going to have the opportunity to hear that answer as long as it is not objected. So, uh we're going to have players choose one and five and then simultaneously reveal these and then we will go through the different testimonials. So, for example, for number one, the dressing room, Jacksmith is going to say this, which again, this is something that could be read for you in the companion app. I did know about Vince's debts, but I had no idea how serious the situation was. That was quite a sum he borrowed from Rey. No wonder their relationship was strained.
If one were to believe the rumors, there was even a nasty letter involved threatening Vince that his affair would be revealed to his wife. So again, that kind of gives you a lot more context about an affair and the wife and a letter. So there are more things that players are now able to connect together based on this testimonial. Now, each team is going to have two motion tokens. And I've already described how you're able to use it as an objection when you want to object before a certain testimony is revealed. But players are also able to spend these motion tokens to pressure the different witnesses as well. So if you want to spend this to pressure instead, you're able to select another number on the dial. And here even more about a different piece of evidence. So in the example you just saw, we decided to choose one and five.
But if you wanted to pressure the witness, you could ask them about a third thing instead. Now, you aren't able to ask about something that has been objected, but otherwise you're able to hear more from those different witnesses, but that means you won't be able to use it as an objection in the future. Now, players are going to go through the entire testimony phase with each of the witnesses. So, you'll go witness by witness with each team selecting a piece they want to hear more about, perhaps selecting the same number and using your different motion tokens to either object or apply pressure to those witnesses. So, you are going to go through each one. And again, in a full game, it will be six witnesses, not just the three. So, they will still have only four pieces of evidence that you are able to discuss with them, but you'll have six different witnesses to go through, adding even more complexity to the different pieces of evidence that players are working with and piecing together. Now, after this testimony phase is complete, players are going to form their closing arguments and then present them. So, you are going to be forming these arguments based on the evidence and what you can prove happened. So, you are going to have your different uncertain jury cards that you're able to go through those to form your basis depending on the side that you're on. But, you're going to use this time to form your closing arguments and then present it to the other team where there's going to be a structured point value for each of the different things that you were able to accomplish and say throughout your closing statement. And if you're not comfortable presenting your closing statement, you are able to
write it down as well. So there is an option where players are able to write it down and submit it to the other team because ultimately what you're trying to do is complete the logic of what happened and what you are able to prove. So there are going to be these different envelopes here that you won't open until this time. But at the time that the different teams are presenting their different arguments, you're going to be checking these and seeing how many points they were able to accomplish. Now, when forming their closing argument, players are going to be able to use their uncertain jury cards, not only for the different specifics for additional victory points, but it's going to walk you through how to win the case and what different points you're trying to make within your closing argument. So, down here you can see a breakdown that concepts are worth two victory points and there are six different concepts that players are trying to hit within their closing argument. And then while uncertain jurors are only worth one point. So you're going to get one for each of these that you were able to convince as well. And the things that you do know about them. For example, diplomatic secretary pays special attention to the preparations preceding any event or action. So that's something that you're going to want to note when you are forming your closing argument. Now, each team is going to have an inspector as well as the speaker. So the speaker is going to be the one presenting the closing argument, but the inspector is going to be just as important because they're going to be the ones opening these different envelopes. So the inspector for the prosecution would be opening this envelope for the defense to
see the different points that they had to meet. So as you can see, do not open before the closing argument phase. But I am now going to open this so you can see an example. So here you have the different concepts such as Mr. Lewis's identity, Mrs. Lewis knew about the gun and Mrs. Lewis's canceled performance. So, those are specific things that the defense would have had to mention when they were making their closing argument. And then down here for those jury points, as you can see with the secretary, if you mention that Mr. Lewis was shot through a pillow, which shows that the murder was premeditated. So that's a specific piece of evidence that the secretary would have been looking to forward to hearing to give you that extra victory point. So not only are you trying to put the different pieces together of what happened with the case, but you are trying to also gain the extra victory points based on what these different jurors need to hear in order to be swayed toward your side. In this case, the defense. And again, this is just the demo version, but to show you for the prosecution what they would need to be reading instead, um, they would have to know that Mr. Lewis was leaving the band, that Mr. Green was threatening Mr. Lewis, and about Mr. Lewis's death.
So, if they bring up those particular points, they'll get two points each for each of them. And then with their uncertain jurors, if they were able to bring up specific points, such as mentioning that Mr. Green blackmailed Mr. Lewis threatening to reveal his affair to his wife. You would get extra points for that as well. Now, you may have noticed that both teams have equal opportunity of getting victory points. So, you have your different concepts that you are trying to mention during your closing argument. And if you do, you're going to get two victory points for each of them. And again, in a full game, it is six different concepts. So, there are quite a lot of things that you're trying to piece together and be sure that it is part of the current case. But if you're also able to sway those uncertain jurors, you're able to get an extra victory point for each of them as well. So, you're trying to include all of these details that you're able to remember in your closing argument to gain those different victory points. And if players ever do completely tie between each other, the defense will win because of course, the defendant is innocent until proven guilty. But in this game, you may have noticed you are not having a cutand dry case where a certain defendant is always guilty or not guilty. And there's not always a right and wrong between the defense and the prosecution. Instead, it's all between the different pieces of evidence and whoever was able to present the strongest case to presume either innocence or guilt. So, you can have all of these cases play out in different ways depending on the evidence that you use, what you were able to ask the witnesses about and when you were able to block them answering or pressure them into additional information. But this is
all going to play out differently just based on what you are able to piece together and present as your particular argument. So this is going to be one of those games where it is very interactive and thematic where you feel like you are going through a courtroom case but as a logic puzzle you are working with fixed information where everything is very specific and if you are able to uncover it and piece those different things together you can see the entire thing working together to provide the case for you and hopefully a really strong closing argument. So with that you can check out link down below for the pre-order for everything that B Clash has planned. Thank you all for watching the Board Game Code channel. I've been Professor Meg and I'll see you all next time.