Adventure Games: The Gloom City File

Rain, neon, a missing person, and a city that does not want the file reopened.

The noir entry in the Adventure Games line, and the one aimed squarely at adults. Gloom City is a corporate dystopia in permanent bad weather; you are looking into a disappearance that several well-funded people would prefer stayed disappeared. Same system as the rest of the series — locations on the board, objects you combine, a booklet of numbered entries that responds to what you try.

The writing is the reason to pick this one over the others: it commits to the tone rather than gesturing at it, and the entries have a dryness that the fantasy titles do not. Three chapters, played in order. Single use, like the whole line — once you have the answers it does not come back out.

Perfect for: anyone who has watched Blade Runner more than twice and owns at least one Raymond Chandler paperback.

1–4 players | 3 chapters | Single use