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Murder mysteries are a huge favorite of mine. From a good Sherlock Holmes book to corny TV series, there’s just something so fun about following clues and unraveling the puzzles to find out ‘whodunit’.
It is no wonder then that murder mystery board games are a recurring theme at my game nights – and I’m not just talking about the classic ‘Clue’. In fact, there are a whole swag of Murder Mystery themed board games available today – each with their own draw and mechanics.
In this article, I am going to touch on what I believe are the 5 best murder mystery board games and why. So, grab a magnifying glass and notebook and let’s get started!
Best Murder Mystery Board Games
1. Sherlock Holmes Consulting Detective
Players: 1 – 8
Duration: 60mins – 120mins
There’s no doubt that games which involve Sherlock Holmes are among the best mystery games (in fact they make up multiple games in this article). There’s just something appealing about solving crimes as a detective in Victorian London!
In Sherlock Holmes Consulting Detective players get to solve famous cases from the Sherlock Holmes universe – there are two aspects to the game:
1. Solving the case correctly; and
2. The grander task of solving it more efficiently than Sherlock Holmes himself.
This game is a fun, unique party game that familiarizes younger players with the Sherlock Holmes detective stories, encourages teamwork, and inspires fun conversations for days after the mystery is solved. This game plays just as easily for one person as it does for large teams of people, and there are expansions available that add more cases to an already awesome game.
Gameplay
There are no complex rules to the game. Players essentially take on the role of detectives and get given a case to solve.
The cases are all completely different and in order not to ruin anything I won’t go into detail about any of them here. To solve the cases, players need to use wit, imagination, and deduction and be able to think outside the box.
Players are given free rein to follow evidence and interview suspects until you solve the case. It is a unique game and it is incredibly challenging – but overall a brilliant murder mystery board game.
Pros:
- Easy to set up
- Encourages teamwork skills to solve mysteries
- Plays as easily for a group of people as it plays for one or two people
- Inspires fun conversations and ways of thinking
- Multiple expansions available
Cons:
- Limited re-playability
- May go too slow for more than two players
- Very challenging to beat Sherlock
2. Mysterium
Players: 2 – 7
Duration: 42mins
Mysterium is a visually stunning board game with a great and unique take on the classic Clue mechanics. Only cooperative investigation and good guesswork will enable you, playing as a psychic, to determine, who committed the crime, which weapon they used and where they did it. You’ll be forced to let your intuition guide your steps.
This party game is a great introductory game for people who do not normally play board games due to its cooperative nature. If needed, the difficulty level can be lowered or raised depending on player skill.
Mysterium is made with great artwork, quality components and has a high level of re-playability.
Gameplay
A ghost haunts the Warwick Manor premises. The owner of the Manor is scared and being a wealthy man, decides to hire some of the world’s best psychic mediums in order to find out what the ghost wants.
The only way to rid the manor of the ghost is to help it find out who murdered it, with what and where it happened. However, communication with the ghost can only take place on Halloween – so there is a time limit!
One player plays the part of the ghost who attempts to give leads to the investigators through nightly visions (in the form of beautifully illustrated cards).
Other players play the part of mediums. A séance will take place with only mediums in attendance. The mediums have just seven hours to contact the ghost and then solve the mystery.
The ghost player is unable to use words and must instead try to get his message across using the abstract cards.
Mysterium is a super fun and unique take on a murder mystery board game and is one of the best cooperative board game experiences available.
I always have a heap of fun playing this game with different ‘ghost’ players. I love seeing the thinking that goes in to using imagery to get the message across to the mediums.
Pros:
- Requires cooperative investigation
- Strong story line
- Has different difficulty levels to choose from
- High re-playability
- Quality components and artwork
- Great introductory game
Cons:
- More fun with more people!
- The rule book may be too wordy; find a video tutorial
3. Mafia Deluxe Edition
Players: 7 – 22
Duration: 30mins
Mafia is a fun hidden identity party game that accommodates a huge number of who can each play multiple roles. The game is easy for newbies and kids to learn and can be played over and over again!
Gameplay
Each player is secretly assigned a role of either mafia or civilian. Civilians and Mafia can also have sub roles that have special abilities making for a unique play through every time. The game comes with 47 unique roles on 84 role cards.
Mafia members make up one team and civilian members make up the second team. The fun is that no one knows who is a civilian and who is in the Mafia.
In the game, each night the Mafia decides to kill a civilian player. The game is controlled by a moderator who will instruct players what to do and when.
At night, all players shut their eyes, once closed the moderator will wake up only the Mafia players who use sign language to decide which civilian to ‘wack’.
All players then open their eyes and the moderator lets the civilian player know they are no longer alive!
The moderator also wakes up certain individuals with other roles too. For example, the moderator wakes up a doctor every night, and the doctor will decide on a player to save in case they’re targeted by the Mafia that night.
During the day, all players need to vote on someone to kill that they believe are in the Mafia. The trick is… the Mafia players get a say!
The fun is that everyone lies, bluffs, and deceives as they attempt to eliminate the other team.
If there are more Mafia left than civilians, the Mafia wins. If the civilians can eliminate the Mafia – they win.
The game is super fun and can be played over and over again. A definite party favorite.
Pros:
- New characters provide many options for role combinations
- Great for newbie
- Unlimited role combinations
- Re-playable
Cons:
- Need a large group
- Dead players can get a bit bored
4. Beyond Baker Street
Players: 2 – 4
Duration: 20mins
Beyond Baker Street is another game based on Sherlock Holmes. Like Sherlock Holmes Consulting Detective, the game is cooperative and pits players in a race against Sherlock Holmes to solve a crime.
Beyond Baker Street is a quick game that is as much fun to play with two players as it is with four.
Gameplay
In the Beyond Baker Street, players must work together to solve a murder. Effectively a hand management game, players must play cards they have been dealt into three stacks to find out the correct motive, subject and opportunity of the murder.
As players do not know what is in each other’s hands, they must rely on each other to use their cards effectively.
Players can communicate information about the cards in their hand however, whenever you give another player information any of your cards, the Holmes marker on the board moves toward zero. If Holmes reaches zero, he has solved the crime and players lose. Players also lose if all three cards in the lead piles are eliminated for various reasons.
Each turn a player must complete 1 of the following actions:
- Assist: Identify a piece of information about another players evidence cards (advances Holmes marker).
- Investigate: Play an evidence card on one of the lead piles and draw another card.
- Confirm: If total evidence value in a lead pile is exactly equal to a lead card, you can confirm the lead (this moves Holmes back one space).
- Eliminate: Players can place an evidence card from their hand into an impossible pile essentially eliminating that piece of evidence (Investigation marker moves equal to value on evidence card eliminated).
- Pursue: Discard the top lead card to the impossible pile and reveal the next card in the pile.
In order to win the game, players need to use their cards to confirm all three leads with the investigation marker landing on space 20 (at the same time!).
The game is very challenging but also incredibly fun. While the difficulty can be adjusted, you will find out pretty quickly into the game that the deck is stacked against the players.
If like me you love a good challenge, then Beyond Baker Street is a great game to play!
Pros:
- Easy to learn
- Fun coop game play where each player has some autonomy
- Awesome theme
Cons:
- Case cards are a bit generic
5. 221B Baker Street - Deluxe Edition
Players: 2 – 6
Duration: 90mins
221B Baker Street is another Sherlock Holmes themed board game. Unlike the other games mentioned previously though, players can either play as competing detectives who are all racing to solve a case first OR cooperatively as a team aiding Sherlock Holmes.
The deluxe version of the 221B Baker Street Board Game gives you over 200 cases to solve. Which means that there is a MASSIVE amount of replayability.
The game isn’t easy though – I would best describe it as CLUE on steroids.
Gameplay
Players read a riddle and then collect clues or more riddles as they each take turns moving around the board to the 14 places that represent actual places in the streets of Victorian London. The clues tell players something regarding motive, the murder weapon, murder, and so on.
Alternatively, players can aid Holmes as teams or in a cooperative. You’ll have to be able to handle clues that have varying degrees of depth and relevance. This game requires you to know when clues are throwing you off (and there is a bit of that!)
It takes some intelligence to play this game. However, the game can be customized for kids ages 14 and up to be able to participate.
Players win if they are the first to return to 221B Baker Street with information about the murder weapon, culprit and motive.
Pros:
- Clues have varying degrees of depth and relevance
- Gets more intense with more players
- You get 200 cases in this Deluxe Edition
- Comes with 80 never-before-seen cases
Cons:
- Very challenging game
- Some of the clues have hugely complex solutions
Final Thoughts
Everybody loves a good mystery story. Board games are a great way in which to experience the thrill of a murder mystery while taking part in the action.
I’ve listed 5 games above which I believe are the best murder mystery board games. Each game brings with it a certain aspect of the genre that will appeal to most players.
From cooperative party games to competitive games with riddles and visual clues. I am sure there is a game that will appeal to you above.
