How to Play Outfoxed! (2026): Clues, Suspects, Decoder & Winning

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How to play Outfoxed! (2026): Outfoxed! is a cooperative whodunit for two to four players, ages 5 and up, from Gamewright. A fox has stolen Mrs. Plumpert's prized pot pie, and the whole table works together to gather clues and rule out suspects before the thief reaches the foxhole. Games take about 20 minutes. This guide follows the official Gamewright rules and covers setup, the dice roll, both actions, using the clue decoder and the three ways the game ends.

Outfoxed setup

1. Place the board in the middle of the table.
2. Each player puts a detective hat on a space in the center of the board.
3. Put the fox pawn on the start space with the fox icon at the edge of the board.
4. Lay the 16 suspect cards face down around the board, four per side, then turn any two face up.
5. Shuffle the 16 thief cards and, without looking, slide one into the top of the clue decoder. That fox is the culprit.
6. Stack the clue markers face down near the board. The player who most recently ate pie starts, and play goes to the left.

Your turn: call it, then roll

Before you roll, say out loud whether you will search for clues or reveal suspects. Then roll the three dice up to three times, setting aside any dice that match your choice. Footprints match a clue search; eyes match a suspect reveal. If all three dice match by your third roll, you take the action. If they do not, the fox moves three spaces along its path toward the foxhole and your turn ends.

Searching for clues

Count the footprints on your dice and move your hat up to that many spaces, horizontally or vertically but never diagonally. If you land on a paw print space, draw the top clue marker and place it in the decoder, then slide it open. A green dot means the thief is wearing that item. A white dot means the thief is not.

Now check the face-up suspects. If the item was white, remove any suspect wearing it. If the item was green, remove any suspect who is not wearing it. Close the decoder and leave the clue marker face up on the board as a reminder.

Revealing suspects

Turn two face-down suspect cards face up. Then compare them with all the clue markers already on the board and remove anyone who no longer fits. Use the group's memory to recall which items were green and which were white.

How Outfoxed ends

• Make an accusation: if you feel sure, name the suspect and pull the thief card from the decoder. A match wins; a miss lets the fox escape.
• Narrow it to one: if every other suspect is gone, check the decoder. A match means you cracked the case.
• The fox escapes: if the fox reaches the foxhole first, the thief gets away.

A sample Outfoxed turn

Say the fox is four spaces from the foxhole and five suspects are still face down. Maya calls out that she will search for clues and rolls two footprints and one eye. She keeps the two footprints and rerolls the eye, which comes up as a footprint. With three footprints she moves her hat three spaces onto a paw print, draws the umbrella clue and slides it into the decoder. The dot is white, so the thief has no umbrella, and the table removes the two face-up suspects carrying one. Had her third roll failed, the fox would have moved three spaces and been one step from escaping.

Common Outfoxed rule mix-ups

• Calling the action after rolling. You must announce search or reveal before the first roll.
• Moving diagonally. Hats move up, down, left or right only.
• Forgetting old clues. Every newly revealed suspect must be checked against all clue markers already on the board, not just the latest one.

Making it harder

Once your group wins regularly, move the fox four spaces instead of three when a roll fails. For experts, move it five.

Teaching Outfoxed to young kids

• Talk through every clue together. The game is cooperative, so there is no harm in pointing.
• Let the youngest player work the decoder. Sliding it open is the best moment of the game.
• Keep the removed suspects in the box. It makes the narrowing-down visible and satisfying.
• More games for little ones: our game gifts for kids list includes other co-op picks.

Outfoxed rules questions

What age range is Outfoxed made for?

Outfoxed! is rated for ages five and up, and older siblings and adults enjoy it too.

Is Outfoxed competitive?

No. Everyone works together against the fox and wins or loses as a team.

What happens if you roll the wrong symbols?

If your three dice do not all match your chosen action after three rolls, the fox moves three spaces closer to escaping.