Social deduction games are usually designed with multiple players in mind, but what if these games are stripped off any of the social play and retained the mechanics so that it can be played solo?
Dupery is one of such games, of at least two that is inspired by a specific social deduction tabletop game that’s making the rounds on YouTube and Twitch. Developed by Gilded Rune Games, Dupery has you uncover a town which a terrible syndicate has infiltrated society. Will you uncover the evil or be duped like the rest in this “clock-like” deduction game?
“Clock-like” in this context refers to Blood On The Clocktower, the specific social deduction tabletop game alluded to earlier, developed by The Pandemonium Institute. It’s a little bit like Werewolf, or something that Among Us has slowly evolved into or a more complicated Trouble In Terrorist Town, but with complicated roles, plenty of mechanics that obfuscate true information but in a balanced game, can be solved from just interacting with the logical mechanics alone, though the social play makes it fun to watch as players, even the non-Evil ones, have to bluff and lie.
Dupery is published by Yogcast Games. The Yogcast group of content creators regularly run Blood On The Clocktower games (in Minecraft!).
Dupery will have you talk to townsfolk, uncover their roles, and figure out if they are telling the truth or not. Some of the Innocent folks will genuinely help you. Some of these Good characters are unfortunately Meddlers that can hamper your investigation despite not being members of the syndicate needed apprehending. There are Underlings and Traitors that you must stop. Also, while some folks will intentionally lie, they can also be Tainted, rendering their information or ability to misfire and be untruthful.
If you are a familiar with Blood On The Clocktower, Dupery has a lot of familiar mechanics, even familiar roles with some tweaks to fit this game. Instead of a circle line of adjacency, Dupery has a grid so there’s more opportunities adjacent shenaniganry. Some roles fire off at specific hours (turns) of play, so every action of revealing a tile (i.e. talking to a person to reveal their role).
For those who prefer a good tangible crime investigation board to crack cases like this, you have the option to draw lines and notations to help visualise the web of lies.
The main game is structured as a roguelike. As long as you catch the right Evil players, you’ll progress. Made enough wrong arrests and you’ll lose your badge.
Speaking of roles, Dupery has over 175 roles, so there’s a lot of ways a town can be laid out. Dupery is also a roguelike, with Case Quirks that can modify the rules as you play.
Dupery also has Daily Challenges and an Endless Mode for those that prefer not to be tied to the roguelike structure.
The indie space has some good choices of puzzle games this year, a highlight being The Incident At Galley House. Dupery is one of at least two “clock-like” solo social deduction games, another one being the upcoming Demon Bluff.
Dupery is out now on PC (Steam).