I really enjoyed playing this case and it's very well done. The writing is strong, keeping a steady level of intrigue and suspense from start to finish. The detailed descriptions and the amount of text provided for each lead do a great job of establishing the noir atmosphere, with a touch of humor. I totally recommend.

Joined for the livestream playtest. Starts with a long detailed description of crime scene that offers many different investigative routes to run down. The elements you liked from the first case return. The interesting blending of historical fact and fiction, the setting of the art world, and several of the characters from case 1 make appearances. If the time limit for case 1 felt too tight for you this case felt like it had a more lenient deadline. A fun audio element is also included to make the case more immersive. Fun case, looking forward to the end of the trilogy.

Disclosure: I'm a fellow case author.

We played this over 10 hours in two sessions on youtube: https://www.youtube.com/live/kB8zizmpahA and https://www.youtube.com/live/VSBqt15PXCI So much great stuff here from Anna, including the rich use of history and generous documents, which we have come to expect from her. But for me what really sings is the pitch-perfect noir fatalism and sadness in the story elements. I also thought the pacing and especially the ending Q&A were amazingly satisfying. Can't wait to see how different players end up with different campaign sheets after finishing the trilogy. I will share mine online and I'm so curious to see what kinds of decisions others make while playing.

Joined for the original playtest livestream and went back and replayed the case to get ready for the rest of the trilogy. A very tightly paced case. Some real tension trying to crack it before the deadline. Great world building and detail that make even purely fictional characters feel like they could be real historical people. Looking forward to the rest of the series.

Disclosure: I'm a fellow case author.

I printed this months ago when it was listed as a difficulty 1 case. I found it more difficult than that. As Jesse mentioned in his review, the writing was great; similar to a noir pulp fiction novel. Many leads and many people to talk to, all of whom felt like what you would expect when talking to a person in New York in the 30s.

Great case. Extremely fun, with many original mechanics. At times, it really made you feel like a detective, combing through New York’s neighborhoods—a very different experience compared to SHCD. The story was intriguing and creative, and the difficulty was well balanced. For my partner and me, this was the best of the published cases. Thank you very much!

This is not a game but a great tutorial for authors who want to write a case for New York Noir. It walks you gently through the entire process. Great stuff.

Really enjoyed this one.

The writing is great and the case is a lot of fun to investigate from start to finish. I especially liked the moral questions at the heart of the story. I also learned quite a bit about Hungarian culture, which gave the case a unique flavour.

The ending is very interesting and I would love to play something like this in a bigger group where we could discuss and vote for different resolutions.

I was an early playtester for this game, which obviously isn't the same as the full final experience, but I enjoyed it and I'm happy that others seem to as well! I also did some editing work on the final version, so you can blame me for any remaining errors. Glad to have helped contribute to the release version!

My first NY Noir game. Not difficult but a nice introduction to the wealth of information available.

It has a very unique style, and the mystery is very intriguing. We had a great time playing it!

It is worth trying this one. It helps if you are well versed in the genre, but if not just use the hints and don't feel bad...

A very good place to start your NY Noir journey.

I always enjoy playing NY Noir, but it was one of the memorable cases.

Agree with all of you, it is a very good case. I liked the style, the writing, the mystery.

Can't add much to what has already been said. It is brilliant.

Impressions from an early playtest: Solid introduction to a new magical system and setting. A spunky lead with Iris. Intrigue with her Father's past along with her mentor Morten's. An interesting cast of characters in a messy web of relations. Lots of twists and turns as new identities and relationships are revealed. A subtle theme of pairs and dualities. The magic system is well explained and there is lot of satisfying traditional detective work as well. Fun case.

Disclosure I'm a fellow case writer.

Really enjoyed Death by Design! Was it written by an amateur author?? It honestly felt very professional!

The 1930s New York setting is great, with lots of period details and references to the technology of the time that make it feel believable and immersive. The mystery has a clever setup and I loved how the title Death by Design ends up fitting the plot so well. It was so clever!

The noir writing is especially good—atmospheric without overdoing it and a pleasure to follow throughout the investigation. I watched the second stream live and later caught up with the third and final stream and it was fun seeing different approaches to the case by everyone in the chat.

The solution was satisfying and felt earned, tying everything together nicely. Overall, a really enjoyable mystery! Congratulations to the author and to Jesse for having beed able to add such a clever game to the system.

So you've come here to solve mysteries? Try doing it from the darker end of society. Get your hands dirty with the criminals. If you are ready to try something truly unique in terms of narrative style and psychology, this is an immesive ride, conveyed with impressive elegance. The features that make this case truly unique are experienced most poignantly when you encounter them for yourself. Strap yourself in, pay attention to every detail, and put your brain in gear. One last point... If games can be considered art, then this case is (without a doubt) the most literary one I have yet engaged.

• Disclaimer: Joined for the livestream.

Lots of historical detail, very well crafted documents, and some nicely crafted puzzles that combine different pieces of information in creative ways, will really pull you into the story. Also a very nice behind the scenes postscript for those who are interested in mystery writing and game design. Looking forward to seeing what new puzzles the author has cooking up in future cases.

Disclosure: Joined for the livestream playtest of the case and am a fellow case writer myself.

If you don't have the time for a large campaign this will hit the sweet spot. Both days have a unique investigative feel while continuing one story. Would enjoy seeing more of the Brooks and his club in future cases. A rich setting to further develop.

Disclosure: Joined for the livestream playtest of the case and am a fellow case writer myself.

We played this on youtube over the course of 3 days and about 15 hours in total. Absolutely outstanding use of the New York Noir system. The foundational stuff, the core mechanical deductive elements, are done really well here. But you also get a whole bunch of new innovative fun mechanical ideas, a compelling mystery with details that had us debating even at the end. Everything we want in a New York Noir case is here -- tough moral choices, a great epilogue ending, humor, history, etc. Could not ask for more. And through it all some of the very best noir writing that we've seen. Amazing. -jesse

I played this game after having seen the beginning of the live playthrough on Friday morning (29/05). I was intrigued and decided to play it on my own at a later time. This case begins with an employee who doesn't show up for work and the office secretary who decides to contact the police. As sir Teddy has never been absent, not even a single day in 15 years. I do feel that this was something that needed explanation, because we never do find out how this phone call ended up becoming a matter the police decided to look into. The case plays out over 3 days. When you feel you have investigated enough for one day or when your time for the day runs out you visit an end of the day location. I think this was very cleverly done. When reading the end of the day entry you would be asked 'do you have markers x,y,z ...? If you don't come back at a later time.'. This way you can't really miss essential information. I usually avoid using hints, but I did venture to the hints section a few times during the game. When the game says you are missing one marker, it's like looking for a needle in a haystack without a clue as to what you have missed. So I did go to the clues section to get an idea of where to even look. Because of the multi day set-up and the markers you could also revisit places once you had additional information or documents. It reminded me of The Baker Street Irregulars and also brought to mind my favourite board game, which also uses this mechanic. This meant you could talk to the same people as the 'days' progressed. This really ensured a nice progression as you would visit a person on day one and return on day two once a certain document / information had been acquired. This was true for several locations. As with a SHCD case you will go to an end section with questions, but after answering the questions there is an ending which depends on you markers, but also on some final choices you make, I felt like that was a nice touch. There wasn't just an ending for the main plot, but also for other criminal activity that is discovered along the way. This case was very well written with a good mystery behind it. I liked the little historic details like when you visited the Yorkville Casino Club or ETL having really existed and the link it has to Edison or the Horn & Hardart automat which apparently used to be an existing chain and reminded me somewhat of a Dutch snack wall. One minor critique: I do think it is more difficult than a 4/5 difficulty rating. There are other games that use this scale and for me I always feel like 4/5 and even 4.5/5 usually means ‘attention to detail required, but there is little chance you will need the hints at any point’. For this game the hints were a necessity, especially since some entries in the detective research guide were dead ends, making you believe there wasn’t anything to be found. In SHCD when you go to the central carriages for example there will be an entry to either tell you there is nothing, or to tell you there is something or to redirect you. Some of the entries in the detective’s research guide were dead ends when in reality you were supposed to get the information elsewhere. Which as a player you won’t realise until you are at the end of the day missing a marker. I also felt like some locations should have had an entry, if only to tell you there was nothing there, like the Consulate of Germany or the Consulate of Denmark. Final thoughts: A really enjoyable game. I would play other games by this author.

A fun case designed to teach new players how to become immersed in the world of New York Noir. Would be a mistake to think that the case will be easy though - It’s a challenge in the best way. 😊😊

Some reviews on bgg: Review by John Kean; Review by Nigel Thomas