Donna Leon: Gefährliches Spiel

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Donna Leon is an american writer living in Venice, the very same city used as a setting for her successful  crime novels about the police commissioner Brunetti.
In spite of this setting, Brunetti is not very popular in Italy: the author never wanted her books to be translated in italian, afraid that her novels would be irritating for her fellow citizen.
The 13 novels by Donna Leon are a planetary success. Translated in 23  languages, only in Germany they sold more than 15 millions copies and originated a very popular tv series.
Ravensburger decided to create a game about the adventures of Brunetti and among the different projects presented, it chose a game by Leo Colovini and the studiogiochi team.
Players move the four main characters of the books (by foot, by vaporetto, or with the police motorboat), to the 36 places of Venice in which they could find  potential suspects or witnesses of a case of homicide.
Only the witnesses or suspects represented on the cards shown at the police headquarters, can be questioned or arrested.
Whoever is able to find a character corresponding to a card, may arrest a suspect or question a witness, collecting victory points. While the witnesses are questioned, new suspects are singled out, maybe characters that one met before somewhere, but where?
The investigation starts slowly, and goes on with an increasingly fast rhythm; players will have to prove their memory skills and their ability managing the special actions of the action cards.
A simple and exciting game, ideal for families as well as for more passionate players.

Donna Leon has also an expansion, realized in 2009.

Linked games: Donna Leon – Expansion

The game

The gameboard

List of editions