The players assume the roles of detectives summoned to the scene of a ghastly murder. The game takes place in the year the catalog was published. As play begins the players should each give two facts about the victim.
At the beginning of each round the players open the catalog to a two-page spread. One selects an item from her page to serve as a clue, and asks the other detective to examine it for details by saying something like, "Say, lieutenant, what do you make of this paper cutter?"
The second player describes the item and its potential connection to the crime in lurid and overwrought detail. This is a chance to flesh out the characters and background in the story. For example, "Egads! Why is there a clump of dog hair stuck to the blade? Also, didn't the nanny say her mistress had asked her to start working on birthday invitations even though the party is eleven months away, and that she heard someone whispering in Flemish as she searched the attic for craft supplies?"
After jotting down a few notes about the item on an index card the second player picks an item from her page of the catalog and asks the first player to describe it. After noting the clue players turn to a new two-page spread and begin another round.
Shuffle the note cards after five rounds of investigation. Draw two from the stack of ten to reveal the most important clues in the case. The detectives then craft a treacherous and ghastly solution to the crime centered on these clues. If both of the clues were narrated by the same player, the other player should take the lead in solving the mystery.
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