Masters of Mystery Unsolved Cold Case File Game - Murder Game - 30 Evidence Pieces - Murder a Dot Com Boomer - Play On Your Own, in Couples or Party Game - Detective Game

Great seller.

Was a challenging game! Thoroughly enjoyed it. I have already ordred 2 more!

I've been itching to try this sort of "game". The whole idea of being given a set of clues for you to solve a fictional crime really appeals - I blame a childhood spent being obsessed with Cluedo. This comes really beautifully packaged and has a nice, premium feel. On opening the outer folder you are given 4 envelopes which are clearly labelled for the order in which you open them based on where in the case you have got up to. The first envelope has a ton of information about the main characters involved in the crime and they are laid out in handy little "packets" with photos and faux handwritten notes about them. The print is clear and easy to read. There are also printed newspaper articles, a letter explaining what we are investigating and how to go about it. The absolute beauty of this is that you can work through it slowly on your own or make it a collaborative event. I did start off working on this solo but it did get my husband's attention so we are spending some time together going through the information and debating points when one of us sees something that could be a clue. It is a LOT of fun and really gets your brain working overtime. What I would say is get yourself a good notebook and take notes. Don't be afraid of going back and re-reading items, especially when you get in to the later envelopes; there's nothing stopping you going back to the information in the 1st or 2nd! I won't spoil things by going in to what the remaining envelopes contain - you'll have to "crack the case" yourself to find out! Unless you have a really poor memory this is a sort of one and done game though as on a second play through you already know the result. That is the only downside to it and I did debate removing a star because of that BUT as I already knew that going in I decided that would be churlish. Our Adult Son has already asked if he can take it for one of his quarterly game nights with his friendship group - he's seem how much we are enjoying it and thinks it will make a nice change from DND or MTG for the group.

As a family of wannabe detectives who have grown up playing games like Cluedo and watching TV programmes like Silent Witness, NCSI and true crime series etc we are always keen to put our skills, albeit untrained, to the test. My daughter has recently started a course at college which includes forensics and criminology and they actually use these case file games as part of their training. This game comes nicely packaged in a robust slip file that makes it feel even more like the real thing. Inside the file comes 4 labeled envelopes which all contain a wealth of documents and information, which you open in order to help you solve the case. What I like about this game is you can take things at your own pace. If you’re new to this type of game you may want to take things slowly, so you can absorb everything and really get immersed into it. Or if you're a seasoned pro at this type of whodunnit game you may want to race through it to see how quickly you can solve the crime. The game certainly gets your brain working overtime and is a great way to get everyone working together, talking through theories to solve the crime, this is a nice change where traditionally games are pitted against each other for an overall winner. We enjoyed playing this game with a few drinks and nibbles as we worked through all the envelopes, although not too much drink as it could obscure our mental and cognitive abilities. The only downside to this type of game is that it’s almost a one time play, as once it’s solved it’s over and doesn’t have too much replay value. This is where the price is tricky, for entertainment value it’s easily 5 stars, but the replay value is reduced, hence why I only give the game 4 stars overall.

Overall, we liked this… but found it difficult to do it in small area. Make space, and have an open mind! For our family, some of the text choices (handwriting font) were hard for some to read, so one person did have to read a majority of the information — which was still fun, but it wasn’t as easy to move on quickly as splitting and sharing our perspectives afterwards. For us, it did hinder our fun a little bit that only some could partially participate. Keep this in mind when it comes to gifting - someone who needs large print or has trouble with certain fonts. Truly, it was well sorted out, came paper clipped together. . And felt like we were pretty well prepared and not chaos from the start. Instructions were very clear, and the interactive portion the game added was a nice little surprise. This isn’t a revisit/redo kinda game. It’s a one and done. It doesn’t mean you can’t keep it for other visitors or friend groups and play along with them… it was super exciting to hear everyone’s thoughts and opinions & really fun when the little battles started between family members.