How to play Contraband
Contraband is a forensic deduction game set at the Sector 4 Meridian Customs Terminal. Each shift places three passenger suitcases on your conveyor—two carrying concealed contraband in one of four quadrants (Q1 to Q4) and one clean decoy bag packed with legitimate red herrings like lead film pouches. You have a shared 7-unit scanner battery across all three bags to run X-Ray scans, Ion Swabs, and Rapid Interrogations before stamping your verdicts.
How to play
- Check the free Manifest vs Digital Scale readout at the top of each suitcase first. A clean bag matches its declared weight to the gram, while a smuggler’s bag weighs +1.5 kg more than declared.
- Spend 1 battery unit on Rapid Interrogation or Pulse X-Ray Scan to narrow down which quadrant (Q1, Q2, Q3, or Q4) holds dense or shielded cargo.
- Spend 1 battery unit to run an Ion Swab on a suspect quadrant. Contraband always leaves an alkaloid, isotope, or nitrate trace, whereas legitimate cargo swabs CLEAN.
- Stamp Approve Clean on legitimate bags, or Seize Q1–Q4 on the exact quadrant holding contraband, then press Complete Customs Shift.
- In 2P Smuggler vs Inspector mode, Player 1 secretly hides contraband in a quadrant of Bag 1 (or packs a clean decoy) before handing the device to Player 2.
Tips & strategy
- Never spend battery on a suitcase whose Digital Scale weight matches its Declared Manifest—stamp it Approve Clean immediately and save all 7 battery units for the heavy bags!
- Rapid Interrogation (1 battery unit) makes a nervous smuggler mention the exact quadrant they don’t want you to swab.
- Confirm with an Ion Swab or seize the implicated quadrant directly to finish with spare battery for the +2 pts/unit conservation bonus.
Accessibility
All suitcase tabs, manifest weight comparisons, X-ray density readouts, ion swab results, and verdict stamps are presented as structured, screen-reader-friendly text and buttons with no timer.