Can You Crack the Case? 25 Crime-Solving Board Games You Can Play at Home
/Put on your trench coat and pull out your magnifying glass, because your dreams of becoming a detective just came true.
If you’re like Matthew and me, you like a little mystery in your life. We have both taken up reading mysteries and thrillers at night before bed (bad idea, I know) and we love detective shows like Psych, Murder She Wrote, and Monk. We also love escape rooms, and discovered by necessity, during the coronavirus epidemic, that we can simulate the escape room experience at home with escape room board games. (Check out our list of favorites!)
Lately we’ve also discovered crime-solving games, which have a similar feel to escape room games, but center around investigating murders, arsons, and other nefarious doings. While playing, you get to feel like a real detective—whether you’re hunting down Jack the Ripper in Victorian London or flexing your reasoning in a modern day crime laboratory.
We’ve made a list of over twenty-five board games that will satisfy amateur sleuths everywhere. Fans of suspense fiction, true crime, and forensic science shows will love the opportunity to show off their own deduction skills. Some are modern crime scene investigations, some are cold case files, and some are old-fashioned murder mysteries. All of them you can play at home, which makes them perfect for a date night or game night with family and friends.
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Travel Back in Time
Go back in time to solve cases British police detectives failed to solve with Cold Case. Analyze the evidence compiled at the time of the crime and see if you can piece together clues to answer unanswered questions and apprehend the culprit all these years later. Once you’ve got it, enter your answers online and see how the rest of the story plays out. Matthew and I tested these games before their release in exchange for an honest review and here it is: These games are awesome! In A Story to Die For, solve the murder of an investigative reporter found dead in the woods while collecting evidence of a political scandal, and in A Pinch of Murder, solve the murder of an elderly man who dies baking a cake for the church fair. Not only do these cold cases make for a perfect rainy afternoon, but you feel like a real detective as you evaluate crime scene photos, witness statements, coroner’s reports, and more.
Investigate Complex Cases
Can you work together to crack the case? In 221 B Baker Street, travel through the streets of London in search of clues to solve Holmes’s most intriguing cases. In Chronicles of Crime, mix board game play with an interactive app experience to catch the murderer and beat the clock. Dive into modern crime scene investigation with Detective and its expansion L.A. Crimes, where you use every tool in your arsenal, including the internet, to become a modern day detective.
Solve Cold Case Files
Put your dream of becoming a cold case detective to the test with Unsolved Case Files. You and your partner are tasked with solving a heinous murder, like that of war heroine Veronica Falcone, university dean Max Cahill, or unknown Jane Doe. Like a real cold case detective, you only can use the original investigator’s file, which includes newspaper articles, crime scene photographs, evidence reports, suspect interrogations, and much more. Work together to solve three interconnected mysteries and uncover clues to the real culprit.
Team up with Sherlock Holmes
Travel back to 19th century London to help famed consulting detective Sherlock Holmes solve puzzling and complex cases. You will use an old-school map of London as your guide, as well as copies of The London Times, to scour the city and interview suspects. Uncover dark secrets in The Thames Murder and Other Cases, hunt down a serial killer in Jack the Ripper & West End Adventures, catch nefarious criminals in Carlton House & Queen’s Park, or team up with The Baker Street Irregulars to match your wits against Sherlock Holmes himself. These games are popular (Matthew and I own two of them!) and sell out quickly, so scoop them up while available or who knows how long you’ll have to wait.
Hunt a Killer
Decode ciphers, puzzle out clues, and piece together evidence with murder mystery games by Hunt a Killer. In Death at the Dive Bar, a tavern owner in a small town takes a literal dive off a cliff. While the death was officially ruled an accident, it’s up to you to find out the truth. In Mystery at Magnolia Gardens, famed detective Nancy Drew comes down with a mysterious illness, just like the victim in her current poisoning case at the botanical gardens. You must help her solve the case to save her life. In Body on the Boardwalk, an employee at a seaside amusement park mysteriously dies inside a popular ride and you’re hired to uncover the real cause of death. Hunt a Killer originated as a subscription service, but now—lucky for us—they sell individual investigations.
Travel to Far off Places
Murder Mystery Party: Case Files has several family friendly options that are perfect for a date or family night at home. Sort through evidence (including witness statements, newspaper articles and crime scene materials) to track down the killer in each case. In Underwood Cellars, the body of a winemaker is discovered after a damaging earthquake. In Fire in Alderstein, a known journalist is charged with an arson death. And in Death in Antarctica, a man has been sentenced to execution. Can you find out each killer’s motive, means, and opportunity?
Find out Whodunit
The obvious bummer about most of the games listed here is that they can only be played once, unless you wait a considerable amount of time between plays. These card games, however, can be played over and over again. Instead of following one specific case, you use your “little grey cells” to figure out whodunit, which changes every time you play.
Fans of Agatha Christie (which, as you probably already know by now, I am) will love Death on the Cards, a murder mystery game featuring favorite detective characters like Hercule Poirot and Miss Marple. Murder at Blood Mansion, invokes your powers of deduction, bluffing, and wit so you can collect enough evidence to unmask a killer before they escape. And in Clue: Suspect, like the original board game, you must discover the culprit, crime scene, and weapon to win. There is also a two player version, so any of these games will appeal to couples for date night.
Find out One of You Done It
These games each involve a game of cat-and-mouse where one person is the killer and the other people are hunting them, allowing for a ton of replay. In Deception: Murder in Hong Kong, investigators in modern day Hong Kong work to uncover the murderer amongst them. In Letters from Whitechapel, detectives hunt for infamous serial killer Jack the Ripper in 1888 London. Based on a true story, with particular focus on historical accuracy, the game, along with its expansion pack Dear Boss, weaves in chilling true details.
Take a Mystery Minute
If you are craving a good puzzle and looking for instant satisfaction, try these boredom busters. See if you can beat the clock with Mystery Tonic: One Minute Mysteries, or cut your time in half and Solve the 30 Second Mysteries. If those don’t satisfy your hankering for mystery, tickle your sense of deduction with Mindtrap: Shadow Mysteries or 5-Minute Mystery.
(This Post was Last Updated: October 15, 2021)
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We’ve made a list of over twenty-five board games that will satisfy amateur sleuths everywhere.