Your Guide to Choosing the Perfect Jubensha Adventure

Welcome to the incredible, story-driven world of Jubensha! This guide is designed to help you navigate the vast universe of interactive storytelling games often called "script murder." Far from being a single game, Jubensha is a collection of diverse experiences, and this guide will demystify the common terms so you can find an adventure that perfectly matches your personal taste.

The Core Experience: What's Your Vibe?

The most important choice you'll make is the "Main Genre," as this defines the overall feeling and primary goal of the game. Are you looking for a tear-jerking drama, a brain-bending puzzle, a spine-tingling thrill, or a strategic competition?

情感本 (Emotional)

A game focused on drama, relationships, and conjuring strong emotions. The story is the star. This is for you if you love deep roleplaying, powerful narratives, and aren't afraid to shed a tear in front of others.

硬核本 (Hardcore)

An intense exercise in logical reasoning. Every detail matters, and your intellect is the primary tool. This is for you if you love solving complex puzzles, proving your theories, and being the smartest person in the room.

恐怖本 (Horror)

A classic horror game experience designed to thrill and frighten you. Expect jump scares and unsettling themes. This is for you if you enjoy being scared, love a good ghost story, and find suspense exhilarating.

机制本 (Mechanism)

A game centred on unique rules, systems, and game-like mechanics that go beyond simple investigation. This is for you if you enjoy strategy, mastering unique game systems, and a bit of friendly competition.

Once you've chosen a core vibe, the next step is to understand the rules of the world you'll be playing in.

The Rules of the World: Logic & Player Freedom

Every Jubensha game has rules about its reality (logic) and how much you, the player, can influence the story (agency). These factors determine how you'll solve the mystery and how much your choices truly matter.

Is Magic Real? Understanding Game Logic

"Logic" determines if the mystery can be solved with real-world thinking or if you need to account for supernatural elements.

• 本格 (Grounded): The mystery requires absolutely no magic, time travel, or supernatural understanding to solve. Everything has a rational explanation, making this perfect for players who want a classic, real-world detective experience just like their favorite crime novels.

• 变格 (Supernatural): The solution requires you to work with logic from outside the typical realm, such as magic systems, mythical creatures, or crypto-zoology. This is ideal for players who love fantasy and enjoy thinking outside the box to solve problems in a world with different rules.

• 新本格 (New Grounded): This fascinating sub-category involves no fantasy but features unrealistic elements like technology from the future, bizarre physics, or unrealistic biology. It's a great choice for players who enjoy quirky, mind-bending puzzles that are still grounded in a semi-realistic world.

Are You on Rails? Understanding Player Agency

"Agency" describes how much your individual choices can change the story's outcome.

• 封闭本 (Closed): You and the other players will follow a specific storyline to arrive at a single, defined outcome. This is great for beginners who are learning the ropes or anyone who prefers to experience a tightly crafted, author-driven narrative.

• 开放本 (Open): Player choices can change many things about the story, potentially even who the final culprit is! This is best for experienced players who love freedom, improvisation, and seeing how their decisions can create a unique story every time.

• 半开放本 (Semi-Open): A balanced mix of the two. Some major plot points are fixed, but players have the freedom to influence many other parts of the story. This offers a balanced experience that provides both a strong narrative and meaningful player choice.

Now that you know the world's rules, let's find the right challenge level for you.

Finding Your Challenge: A Quick Guide to Difficulty

In Jubensha, difficulty is often measured by the number of games a person has played. Don't be afraid to start at the beginning—the goal is to have fun, not get stumped!

1. 新手 (Novice): Recommended for players with 0 games played. This experience is perfect for your first time, focusing on learning the ropes and enjoying the story.

2. 进阶 (Advanced): Recommended for 10-20 games played. This is for players who are comfortable with the basics and want a tougher, more complex case to solve.

3. 烧脑 (Brain-burning): Recommended for 20+ games played. Expect an extremely complex challenge designed for dedicated experts who love to push their deductive skills to the limit.

Beyond the core structure, games have unique 'flavours' that add specific twists to the gameplay.

Flavors and Twists: Special Game Styles

Many games have special "Style" tags that highlight a key part of the experience. Think of the "Genre" as the main course of your meal, while "Styles" are the specific spices or cooking methods that give it a unique flavor. A Hardcore game can be made even more intense with a Reasoning style, just as an Emotional game becomes more powerful with an Immersion style.

For the Actors and Story Lovers

• 沉浸本 (Immersion): This style focuses heavily on immersive roleplay and atmosphere, often using costumes, props, and detailed settings. It is frequently paired with Emotional games.

• 演绎本 (Acting): A subset of Immersion where acting is a major component, sometimes featuring dramatic scenes with non-player characters (NPCs) or the Game Master.

• 还原本 (Restoration): The primary goal isn't just to find the culprit, but to work together to piece together the entire timeline of events and understand the full story.

• 立意本 (Concept): These games are built around a strong thematic or moral message that the story aims to explore.

For the Strategists and Social Gamers

• 阵营本 (Camp): This style splits players into competing teams or factions, each with its own secret goals.

• CP本 (Couples): This game focuses on romance by pairing players off, making their relationship a central part of the story.

• 欢乐本 (Joy): A comedy-focused experience where the main goal is to make everyone laugh. While listed here as a style, its focus is so distinct that many players and creators consider it a main genre in its own right.

• 推理本 (Reasoning/Deduction): While all Jubensha has some reasoning, this tag means the core experience is the intellectual challenge of solving the murder.

For the Mystery Aficionados

• 悬疑本 (Suspense): This style focuses on building layers of mystery and uncertainty throughout the game, keeping you guessing until the very end.

• 盲凶本 (Blind Killer): A fascinating twist where the killer doesn't know they committed the murder. Depending on the game's style, their secret goal may be to help everyone piece together the story (Restoration style) or even to unknowingly hide their own guilt (Reasoning style).

Finally, let's pick the backdrop for your adventure.

Setting the Scene: Choose Your World

Setting tags tell you the time period, location, or fictional universe of the story, helping you choose a world you'd love to get lost in.

Fantasy & Sci-Fi

• 玄幻本 (Fantasy): A story set in a world with fantasy creatures and elements. Note: Fantasy (玄幻本) is a setting with magical creatures, while Supernatural (变格) is a logic type that might involve magic systems in any setting.

• 架空本 (Alt. universe): The game takes place in an alternate reality or alternate history.

• 科幻 (Sci-Fi): A futuristic setting involving science fiction concepts.

Historical Periods

• 古风 (Imperial China): Set in the period before 1910.

• 民国 (Republic of China): Set in the period from the 1910s to the 1940s.

• 现代 (Modern): A contemporary setting.

Cultural & Genre Settings

• 校园 (School): The story takes place in a school setting.

• 武侠 (Martial Arts): A game set in the world of Chinese martial arts heroes.

• 欧美 (Western): A game with a Western (European or American) cultural setting.

• 日式 (Japanese): A game with a Japanese cultural setting.

Now that you know all the building blocks, it's time to put it all together.

Putting It All Together: Finding Your Perfect Game

Any single Jubensha game is a combination of these elements. A "Hardcore" game can be set in ancient China, and an "Emotional" story can have supernatural logic. By mixing and matching these tags, you can describe exactly what you're in the mood for.

For example, you might ask your Game Master for a 新手 (Novice), 情感本 (Emotional) game that is 半开放本 (Semi-Open) and has a 古风 (Imperial China) setting.

Use this newfound knowledge to confidently explore the exciting and unforgettable world of Jubensha. Your perfect adventure is waiting!