Sherlock Holmes: Consulting Detective
Analyze and solve the greatest mysteries of the Victorian era!
Ten Sherlock Holmes adventures in which you are the hero! You are a member of the Baker Street Irregulars working to solve mysteries before the Master! You are either investigating the mysteries as an individual, or trying to win against up to 8 other investigators.
The curse of the mummy, the murders of the Thames, the mysteries of London, the stolen paintings... strange cases of the most famous detective ever: Sherlock Holmes! Equipped with a copy of the Times, a map of London, a directory and more importantly - your logic, you will roam the streets of London trying to solve the most heinous crimes. Will you visit the crime scene? Meet Inspector Lestrade? The decision is in your hands and each clue that you follow will bring you a step closer to the truth. Unravel the string of intrigue, answer a series of questions and compare your score to that of Sherlock Holmes. Can you beat the Master?
User Reviews (1)
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OVERVIEW
Step into the shoes of the famous “Baker Street Boys” as you help out the worlds most famous sleuth. Traipse through London collecting clues as you try to match wits with Sherlock Holmes or against each other! Are you the kind of person who likes to read a mystery novel and try to figure it out before the end? Or are you just a big Sherlock fan? This is your kind of game!
PROS
Plays great in solitaire, cooperative, and competitive mode.
Really feels like you’re solving a mystery.
CONS
Replay value not so good. Requires expansions to keep fresh.
Can get long sometimes depending on how hard mystery is.
A lot of reading…
GAMEPLAY
I’m basing the gameplay on the older edition, because that’s what I have. From what I’ve read, the newest edition is pretty much the same.
The goal of the game is not only to solve the mystery, but to beat Sherlock Holmes’ score (solve it faster). The game comes with 10 mysteries or cases and each one is very difficult to get 100% correct and in less clues then Sherlock. You can play by yourself, as a team, or against one another.
The game starts with someone reading one of the cases. Then you take turns as a team reading the next clue out of the cluebook for the case or as individuals reading each clue. You must keep track of both the number of clues and which clues you have visited, because that will turn into part of your final score. Each clue is listed in the cluebook as a location on the huge sprawling London map, so the London directory book will be vital for finding coordinates of locations on the map.
The cluebook isn’t the only resource for clues. There is the London newspaper at your disposal which contain nuggets of information that may be relevant to your case. You turn the newspaper anytime and as many times as you want without it costing you anything.
Once you are ready to solve the case as a team you will take a quiz then look at the answer to help determine your score. If you’re playing against each other, then players will take turns taking the quiz and determining their score when they’re ready. They can no longer play or give out hints of course until everyone is done. Whoever has the better score wins.
CONCLUSION
This is the only mystery game that I have played that has made me feel like I was really trying to solve a mystery. As you track down clues and interview people across London, you can almost see the old gas lights of London as the fog rolls in over the Thames river in your mind. I like how the game gives you the freedom to pick the order of the clues you thing are the best. The mysteries are really challengly worthy of the Holmes lore.
The only downside is that once you have solved one of the mysteries, it’s solved and you can’t go back. So after the first 10 are done, it’s over. The only way to keep the game going is through more expansions, and the old edition has quite a few that are hard to find. Let’s hope Ystari reprints them and adds new ones.
I will warn players that sometimes it can kind of drag out, because of all the reading. Some players will want to re-read clues (counts towards the total number of clues) or read the newspaper over and over again.
When played as a team, I think this game would appeal to social gamers, because of the interaction going on trying to decide which clue to run down and theories explored as to who did it. it’s a fun way to spend the evening. This could also be a good game with older kids that like mysteries. This probably won’t appeal to casual gamers, because these are brain-burner cases. Strategy gamers won’t find an overall long-term “strategy” to the game either, because it’s just pure problem-solving and no formula to the game. I’m not sure how power gamers will feel without the expansions or free form of play. In fact, this is almost a “roleplaying” game in some respects.
Overall, this is a fabulous detective game and deserving of it’s “Spiel de Jahres” Award back in the ’80′s. If you love mysteries or you’re a huge Sherlock Holmes fan, you’ve got to pick this game up!