Witness: The Treasure of Othesis
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Someone heard the motive, someone the method, someone the alibi. Then you start whispering, and you realize no one truly saw everything.
WHAT IT'S ABOUT
A fragmented investigation where no one knows everything
Witness: The Treasure of Othesis is designed by Dominique Bodin and published by Deep Print Games. This re-edition of the Witness system weaves eight investigative cases into a unique narrative: the murder of an archaeologist, clues to a buried treasure, a journey into the Egyptian desert, and a criminal gang led by the eternal enemy, the Chameleon. Illustrated by Jochen Ewert, the game transforms cooperative deduction into an asymmetric communication experience.
Each player receives secret clues that they must whisper to others following precise directions. After four rounds of whispering, you answer three questions about the case. Those who listened well and answered correctly earn points. The system is simple: a prologue, four rounds of limited communication, three questions. But the fragmentation of information creates real tension.
What they say abroad
Witness is an investigative game of telephone
— FroGames
The campaign adds narrative continuity to an already solid system
— FroGames
Witness: The Treasure of Othesis
FrogScore · editorial rating FroGames · based on rules, international reviews and play sessionsWhat's in the case
The investigation tools
Clue Cards
Each player receives secret information: testimonies, artifacts, motives. No one has the complete picture. The mystery lies precisely in the fragmentation.
Whisper Cards
They indicate the direction to pass clues: clockwise, counter-clockwise, to whom. Four rounds, four different directions. Each round you add new clues to those already received.
Final Questions
Three questions about the case to answer secretly after the four rounds. Those who listened well and deduced correctly earn points. Personal score matters.
Othesis Campaign
Eight cases intertwined in a unique story. The archaeologist's murder, the treasure map, the desert journey, the final confrontation with the Chameleon. Narrative continuity between evenings.
In the end, you realize the mystery wasn't in the case. It was in the fact that everyone had a piece, and no one was truly listening.
A game in five moments
What happens at the table
Not the rules. The experience.
The prologue
Read the case introduction. Everyone knows the context: location, victims, situation. Then you receive the clue cards, and fragmentation begins. Everyone reads their clues in silence. No one knows what the others have.
First whisper
The first Whisper card indicates the direction. Pass your clues to your neighbor. They read them, nod, say something like "interesting." You don't know what they understood. Uncertainty begins here.
Subsequent whispers
Rounds 2, 3, 4: you also whisper the clues received in previous rounds. The amount of information grows. Someone laughs, someone gets confused, someone frantically takes notes. Memory becomes critical.
The questions
Four rounds finished, now three questions about the case. Who is the culprit? What is the motive? Where is the treasure hidden? Answer secretly. The silence at the table is thick. Everyone mentally reviews the whispers received.
The revelation
Reveal the correct answers. Someone was right, someone misunderstood a key clue in the second round. Individual scores, then read the case epilogue. If it's a campaign, the narrative thread continues.
How to play
The flow of each case
Witness has a fixed structure: prologue, four rounds of guided whispers, three final questions.
Read the case introduction aloud. Each player receives their secret clue cards and reads them in silence. No discussion.
Each round, draw a Whisper card that indicates the direction. Whisper all the clues you have (your original ones plus those received in previous rounds) to the indicated player. They listen and mentally note them.
After the fourth round, read the three questions about the case. Each player secretly writes down their answers. No discussion allowed.
Reveal the correct answers. Those who answered correctly earn points. Read the case epilogue. If playing the campaign, the story continues in the next case.
Why it's different from others
Six mechanics that make a difference
Exactly four
Not 3-5 players. Exactly four. The guided whisper system only works with four fixed positions. No scalability, no compromises. Either you are four or you don't play.
Cumulative whisper
You don't just pass your clues. From the second round onwards, you also whisper those you received. The amount of information grows exponentially. Memory becomes critical.
Individual scoring
It's cooperative in communication, but competitive in final deduction. You answer the three questions by yourself. The one who listened best wins. Subtle tension.
Intertwined campaign
Eight cases are not isolated. A unique story: the dead archaeologist, Othesis's treasure map, the desert journey, the criminal gang. Each case closes one chapter and opens the next.
Effective speed
Actual duration: 10-15 minutes for a short case, 20-25 for a complex one. It's not a two-hour investigative game. It's a quick system, almost a cooperative filler if played stand-alone.
Memory vs deduction
You don't look for hidden evidence. The evidence is whispered to you. The challenge is remembering who told you what, connecting scattered clues, and reconstructing the picture. The limit is human memory, not the complexity of the case.
How it ends
Scoring and victory
Each case concludes with three questions. Each correct answer earns points. The one with the highest score at the end of the campaign is the best detective.
Correct answers
- Each correct question is worth 1 point
- In campaign mode, points accumulate case by case
- The one who finishes the campaign with the most total points wins
Common mistakes
- You misunderstood a whispered clue in the second round and built upon a wrong foundation
- You forgot a key detail received three rounds ago
- You didn't connect two clues that together revealed the answer
Witness is not a traditional game of telephone. It's an investigative system where fragmentation is the mystery. Eight evenings, one story, four detectives.
Frequently asked questions
FAQ about Witness: The Treasure of Othesis
Can I play with fewer or more than 4 players?
No. The guided whisper system is designed for exactly four positions. With 3 or 5 players, the directions don't work. It's not scalable. If there aren't four of you, this is not the right game for the evening.
Are the cases replayable once solved?
No. Once you know the answers, the investigative effect disappears. The campaign offers eight unique cases, so eight evenings of gameplay. Once that's done, the game is exhausted. It's not an investigative game with variable setups.
Can I play the cases out of order or do I have to follow the campaign?
You can play the cases as stand-alone, but the campaign is designed to be played in sequence. The narrative intertwines: characters, events, clues that reappear. If you play out of order, you lose narrative continuity, even if it works mechanically.
Is it more of a party game or a true investigative game?
It's in between. The mechanic is like a party game (fast, light, oral communication), but the theme is pure investigative. Don't expect Sherlock Holmes Consulting Detective. Expect an elegant system that plays on information fragmentation in 15 minutes.
Is it available in Italian?
This edition is in English. The game is highly language-dependent: you have to read written clues and whisper them aloud. All four players need proficiency in English, otherwise communication will get stuck.
Witness: The Treasure of Othesis is a cooperative investigative game for exactly 4 players, ages 10+, lasting 10-25 minutes per case. Designed by Dominique Bodin and published by Deep Print Games, it uses an asymmetric communication system: each player receives secret clues that they must whisper to others following precise directions in four rounds. The campaign intertwines eight cases into a unique story set in the Egyptian desert, where a criminal gang, the dead archaeologist, and the treasure of Othesis connect case after case. Main mechanics: memory, deduction, guided whispering. Available on FroGames.it.
Witness: The Treasure of Othesis
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