
2011 · Card Game
Tragedy Looper
Players reenact and rewind a scripted mystery by looping days to prevent preset tragedies. One player acts as the Mastermind who hides roles and triggers while the other players control a team of protagonists trying to deduce causes and avert murders, suicides, and other crises. Each day, all players place three face-down action cards on character sheets, then reveal them to move characters and modify paranoia or goodwill values. When a day ends, any tragedy whose conditions are met occurs; that outcome sends the game back to the start of the scenario for another loop. The protagonists win by preventing tragedies to key characters for a required number of days within the allowed loops; otherwise the Mastermind wins.
- Players
- 2–4 best 4
- Playing time
- 120 min
- Age
- 13+
- Complexity
- 3.5 / 5
About the game
- Design
- Publisher
Expansions
See them in Ludoya
Tragedy Looper: Midnight Circle2015
Tragedy Looper: Cosmic Evil2016
Tragedy Looper: Mystery Circle2012
Tragedy Looper Script Collection2013
Tragedy Looper: Haunted Stage2012
Tragedy Looper: Midnight Zone2014
Tragedy Looper: Weird Mythology2015
Tragedy Looper: Another Horizon2013
Tragedy Looper: Young Girl2016
Tragedy Looper: Rei2021
Tragedy Looper: Script Collection 22020
Tragedy Looper: Chinese Promo Characters2021Where to buy it
Shop prices and second-hand copies, checked every day.
On Ludoya's tables
Full stats in Ludoya- 54
- Plays logged
- 67
- Players
- 1h 14m
- Average play
- 63
- In collections
- 9
- On wishlists
5.7/10
from 22 Ludoya reviews
Less narrative than expected, but very original and brainy. It's a kind of Mr Jack but more complex and innovative. Luckilly it's easy to create your own scenarios, then it has full replayability. One of a kind.
Rules questions
Answered from the rulebook by Ludoya's rules assistant.
How many action cards does the Mastermind play each day, and can they put more than one on the same character/location?
Each morning the Mastermind plays three action cards face down, and he cannot play more than one card on the same location or character (you may still play on spots the Mastermind used). (p.20)
When do we reveal the face-down cards and in what order are effects resolved?
After everyone has placed cards the Mastermind reveals all six face-down cards and resolves them in this order: Forbid Movement, Movement, other Forbid cards, then the remaining action cards. (pp.19, 22)
Can I play my card on a location or character where another Protagonist already played?
No — you may not play a card where another Protagonist has already played, though you are allowed to play on a spot where the Mastermind has placed a card. (p.21)
How do Forbid cards interact with other cards — do they always cancel things?
Forbid cards cancel action cards of the same type (e.g., Forbid Movement cancels Movement); Forbid Intrigue takes precedence when on the same spot, but if two or more players play Forbid Intrigue in the same day they nullify each other. (pp.9, 11, 22)
When does the Leader get to use Goodwill abilities, and can the Mastermind refuse them?
The Protagonist Leader may announce Goodwill abilities after cards are resolved (Leader step), but the Mastermind resolves them and may refuse activation if a hidden role grants a Goodwill Refusal — a refusal still counts as the ability having been used and provides a clue. (p.24)
If the Protagonists all die during a loop, does the loop end immediately and what happens next?
Yes — if the Protagonists die the Mastermind announces they are dead and the loop ends immediately; at loop end the Mastermind checks loss conditions and, if any are met, you reset for the next loop (or proceed to the Final Guess if it was the final loop). (pp.14, 26)
Similar games
Perspectives2023
Hidden Games Crime Scene: The New Haven Case2019
EXIT: The Game – The Return to the Abandoned Cabin2021
Hidden Games Crime Scene: Green Poison2020
The Presence2025
Die Drei Kolosse2023
Hidden Games Tatort: Ein Drahtseilakt2021
Murder Mystery Party Case Files: Fire in Adlerstein2018
Hidden Games Crime Scene: The Midnight Crown2020
Rear Window2022
The Ravens of Thri Sahashri2013
Ministry of Lost Things: Case 1 – Lint Condition2025Free, on web, Android and iOS
Play Tragedy Looper with Ludoya
- Keep it in your collectionTrack your copy and its expansions, lend it to friends, or put it on your wishlist and get told when the price drops.Add it to your collection
- Log every playScores, winners, timers and photos, then your stats: win rate, favourite player count, best score.Log a play
- Settle rules questionsAsk anything about the rules and get an answer from the rulebook, with the page to check it on.Ask the rules assistant
- Find people to play it withClubs, game nights and events near you that bring this game to the table.See events
Game facts (players, playing time, age, credits) from BoardGameGeek.











