A dead sister. A kidnapped actress. A mystery only you can solve, Detective. Gather clues to find out where Danielle Dove is, who took her, and why all of this is happening. Focus on the important details, and do your best not to get side-tracked by red herrings that will only waste your time. Hurry, there isn’t a moment to spare!
What Is It?
An investigation game for 1 or more players where everyone works together attempting to solve a mystery. There is a 3D crime scene to explore (built with the cards and box), and plenty of clues / information to find in the deck of cards. Players have hidden hands of cards, so they need to determine what’s worth sharing with their team versus what’s better off in the archive so they have a chance at playing more cards later. At the end of the deck / game, players will answer a series of questions to solve the case and score points based on their correct answers.
Who Is It For?
- Fans of deduction / mystery
- Fans of escape room types of board games
- Ages 13+
- Those with attention to detail
- 1 – 4 Players — solo has no hidden hands, but you get to see every card, which is interesting, and more than 4 would be too clunky, in my opinion
Components / Quality
55 Card Deck – Extra large cards, nice quality. Clear images / text (obviously with certain info hiding within the cards).
7 Plastic Clips – Simple, small, thin. Could easily snap, so be gentle with them.
Box – Good size for what’s inside. 3D scene works well with the box.
PROS
- Small / portable
- Engaging story
- Hidden hands mitigate alpha-playing
- No time limit
- Nothing gets destroyed
CONS
- Some things seem vague (especially because of limited communications) so it’s hard to know what cards are worth playing
- If you get one question wrong at the end, it can often lead to a snowball effect of getting many more wrong
Final Thoughts
If you’re a big fan of escape room style board games, then you may very well enjoy this game too! It’s more of a large puzzle / deduction game (not a bunch of smaller puzzles like most escape rooms), but it still has a very similar feel. It’s got some unique mechanics that really help it to stand out, too. I feel like the overarching story is very immersive, and the 3D scene helps you feel part of the action. I wish that you could discuss your cards a little bit more, because it’s so easy for a player to miss something small that can lead you down an entirely wrong path, but at the same time, that can lead to interesting discussions later about why you ended up doing certain things. I am not very good at these (I always get a lot of questions wrong, haha) but I still really, really enjoy playing them, and seeing where the story goes, which I feel like says a lot about how strong of a game it really is! Highly recommend this Decktective game!
My Final Ratings:
Overall Game – 7/10
Aesthetics – 7/10
Replay Value – 3/10 – Would have to wait a while to play again yourself, but you can share with others!
Difficulty – 6/10 – not hard to play, but hard to get all the answers!
*I was provided a copy of this game to do this review*
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