"why" can be played by two to four players aged 12 to adult. the four gamepiece characters are each humorous allusions to detectives of popular media fiction: sergeant monday (sergeant friday), dick crazy (dick tracy), charlie clam (charlie chan), and shylock bones (sherlock holmes). the six "ghosts" in the game are each based on actual historical figures: daniel boone, pocahontas, napoleon, nero, cleopatra and henry the eighth. the weapons in the game are a rope, a gun, poison, and an ax. the motive cards include the "jealousy," "lover's quarrel," "self defense," and can be used only in conjunction with alfred hitchcock "it's a mystery to me" card.