Popular Mystery Board Games
Top 5 Mystery Game to Replace Clue
If there is a police investigation that has dragged on for far too long, it is the one that concerns a certain Colonel Mustard with the candlestick in the library. It’s been 60 years now that Clue (or Cluedo for Europeans) is on the table. Here are the top 5 mystery games to replace Clue.
1. Sherlock 13
If we had wanted to invent a game that captures the essential Clue, we would have had a simple, fast game and that is exactly what Sherlock proposes. Why Sherlock? Because we have to identify a culprit among Sherlock universe characters (Watson, Moriarty, etc.). Why 13? Because there are 13 suspects and the game is played in 13 minutes. Each round, there is a question, we note the answer and try to unmask the culprit first!
2-4 players / 13 minutes / 6 years and +
2. Sherlock Holmes – Detective Counsel
Hard to dissociate Sherlock Holmes from an investigative game. In Sherlock Holmes – Detective Counsel, you will have to prove that you are better than him, but at the same time, is he not the greatest detective of all time?. Like a book of which you are the hero, you will have to list suspects, question witnesses, read real newspapers, meet specialists, consult the London plan, etc.
1-8 players / 60-120 minutes / 13 years and over
3. CS Files
CS Filesย is halfway between a deduction game and a secret role play. As in the famous game Wolf-Garou de Thiercelieux, players are given an identity, either murderer, investigator or medical examiner. Obviously, the investigators are trying to unmask the murderer, but to get there they will have to use the information given by the medical examiner. He knows the answer, but can not speak, just point out words.
4-12 players / 20 minutes / 14 years old and +
4. Sleuth
Sleuth is an “old game”, perhaps not as old as Clue, but it was released in 1971. The concept here is to retrieve a stolen jewel whose card is removed from the deck, which is then distributed to the players. At each turn, players can ask a question to others to find out what is in their hand. Logic puzzle, the winner of the game is often decided by skillful deduction.
3-7 players / 30-45 minutes / 10 years and +
5. Mysterium
A mansion, a murder, suspects, places, weapons of the crime … You could believe that it is the description of the Clue, but in fact, it’s not at all! Mysterium looks like the famous investigative game by its theme, but its mechanics are all different. In reality, a player is a ghost who can only communicate by pictures while the others are mediums who try to solve the murder together. Here, we leave the game of deduction to go to the game of communication.
2-7 players / 42 minutes / 10 years and +