Disclosure: Meeple Mountain received a free copy of this product in exchange for an honest, unbiased review. This review is not intended to be an endorsement.
Spooky Speculation
In the spirit of spooky season (at the time of this writing), it’s always great to find some new Halloween-themed or adjacent games. That’s the Spirit is a social deduction game where all the players have died, but no one remembers exactly how it happened. One of the players is the culprit, and through real-time deduction with limited information, the group must accuse the correct individual using cards and conversation.
Both designed and beautifully illustrated by Connor Wake, That’s the Spirit fits nicely alongside other games such as Deception: Murder in Hong Kong, The Chameleon, Werewolf, and Secret Hitler.
Five Minute Fright
That’s the Spirit plays in five-minute rounds where players work to deduce the culprit. Three cause-of-death cards are displayed, each with a corresponding deck of nine cards. These cards vary in value distribution and include an action. Cards are mixed and dealt to players at random. The remaining cards form the evidence deck, where the cause-of-death suit with the highest total value becomes the official cause. The culprit is the player (or players) holding the highest total value in hand of that same suit.
Each round begins with a “welcome” card that includes icebreakers such as “What is the least likely cause of death?” Players may answer truthfully or not. This starts the timer, and deduction begins. Players can openly talk or play a card from their hand using a limited supply of action tokens. Doing so reveals some information, while actions may reveal even more, such as peeking at cards, asking others for information (which must be truthful), swapping cards, and more.
Players can also openly accuse others by placing the timer in front of them, though the accused player cannot move the timer themselves. Once time is up, all is revealed. If the group correctly accuses the culprit, the culprit moves their ghost tracker up one space. If they’re incorrect, the group takes the hit. The first player to move their tracker up three times triggers the end of the game, potentially resulting in multiple winners or losers.
Death Deduction
I want to like social deduction games, I really do. In the past, I’ve had negative experiences with both Werewolf and Blood on the Clocktower, which have kept me away from the genre. But I’m always hoping for a redo since BOTC is held in such high regard.
My personal problem is that I don’t always know which questions to ask to draw information out of others, and if the group feels the same, the game can drag. Luckily, the card actions remedy this by forcing more information to be revealed, which naturally spurs more conversation. I enjoyed the variety that came from the different “deaths,” as each suit had unique, thematically appropriate actions.
It’ll take a round or two to really click how to deduce and how to hide if you’re the culprit. The five-minute time constraint felt just right, giving enough time to reason things out without overstaying its welcome. Though there’s a social element, most of the deduction comes from card probability rather than character sleuthing. If a player finds themselves holding a high number of one suit, they’re often quick to shift suspicion elsewhere and mask their intentions. With action tokens being limited, it strikes a nice balance between revealing enough information and keeping some mystery intact.
There are also some fun meta-gaming moments, like the “Truth or Dare” suit, where players ask another a question, and if they refuse to answer, they must reveal a random card from their hand. It led to a lighthearted party vibe, with players asking embarrassing questions and sharing plenty of laughs.
Overall, it’s a solid time. The game is quick enough that if it’s not your cup of tea, it won’t be an all-night commitment. Like most social deduction games, it heavily depends on group participation. Outside of gameplay, the theme shines, and while it’s perfect for spooky season, it’ll bring smiles year-round. If a light, quick social deduction game with a charming theme sounds like your thing, I’d recommend checking it out on Kickstarter now.
