Sherlock Holmes Consulting Detective: The Thames Murders and Other Cases - Review

Last night our group played Sherlock Holmes Consulting Detective for the first time. Let's just say that it was tough! 

It had an easy set up. Minimal rules to go over (which I liked) and there weren't many things to do to get the game in motion. We played with the maximum number of people which is 8. In the beginning there is a long excerpt to read that sets you up for the mystery that you are trying to solve faster than Sherlock Holmes. One person starts as the lead detective and decides what location to visit based off of what you know. After that, the next person becomes the lead detective and does the same. You keep on going around in this fashion until you feel like you are prepared enough to answer the final questions at the end of the investigation which is where your points come from.  

Here's how it went : we scored barely any points and Sherlock definitely was a bit more swift in solving this mystery. I recommend a few things. Each person should take notes not just one person. Also I wouldn't play with the max number of people. It just seemed like there were too many people with too many thoughts on places to go. We ended up way way way deeper into the mystery than I think we should have been. If we would have been more focused and really thought about where we wanted to go then we would have solved it in a more timely fashion. 

Overall, I liked it. Like with most games, the first play is rough. Everyone is getting used to how the game works. They did well with making the game. The details and components were descriptive and simple. I am excited to take another stab at it and solve mystery number 2.