Space Cowboys , Sherlock Holmes Consulting Detective: Jack the Ripper & West End Adventures, Board Game, Ages 14+, 1-8 Players, 60-120 Minutes Playing Time

I've spent entire evenings going over some of these cases with friends, we've deliberated, scribbled notes that read like the ramblings of mad men (Pepe Silvia anyone?) had heated discussions and seen people full on get up and go for a short walk to ponder some of these cases. I have not played a single game like this before that can have that affect on a group of people that still keeps them vested over a long period of time. The game is a reading out loud of a choose your own adventure, in my experience you'll end up forsaking time spent in exchange for wanting all the evidence, all of it. You'll knock on every door, talk to every named person in the book and in the end... you'll mostly have gotten it right. Usually for the wrong reasons too. When a group decides to end a case you answer a series of questions that prove you've done your homework, you know who the murder is and what their motives are exactly. But chances are you'll have uncovered a red herring or two in your pursuit to learn everything that you can in the name of justice that thwart your diligence.Once you've solved the cases then there's no real replay-ability here outside of game mastering for others, but you're better off trading it in or giving it away to another group to enjoy.

Being a life-long board-gamer who hasn't played them for a long time (if that's not a contradiction), I bought this for my father who is typically difficult to buy for. You don't play as Holmes himself, but a member of a gang of private detectives who help Holmes when he's got a bit much on his plate. You read the introduction to the case (takes about 10 minutes), then you can look at the daily papers (takes about 20 minutes to read), and then you can start to piece together the evidence by choosing who and where to 'visit' (read sections of the case book). Your aim is to score as high as possible by using as little evidence as possible to solve the case (typically 3-6 hours). The ultimate ambition being to score more than Holmes.That's the idea anyway. We've done many, many cases over various versions of this game but only once come close to Holmes' score. And that's where the exasperation comes in, because if your ambition is to beat Holmes then you cannot afford to visit anywhere unnecessarily. So you will also need to read the given material very carefully to look for any slight oddities and scour the papers, not only the current ones, but also the previous ones (although that only rarely helps). You often also need to spend some time considering the map of London (supplied) and occasionally some out-of-game research to understand the meanings of some of the old terms like "Tontine" that are often essential to solving a case (as well as some that are not essential !). Once you think you've solved the case (or just had enough) then you'll check the solution and old Sherlock just swooshed in and visited exactly the right places on what appears to be flimsy justification, which will probably leave you throwing your hands up in the air in disbelief. Well it did for us.On the other hand, if you ignore that ambition and simply try to solve the case using as few 'visits' as possible then these takes on a whole new perspective. Sure you'll check how Holmes solved the case, but if you accept his route to the solution is flabbergastingly ludicrous then you'll probably enjoy the process more and in the end find his solutions a source of comedy.

Bought this as a fun little co-op game for us to play that also allowed us to convince ourselves we were being intellectual and not wasting time playing silly board games. Does just the trick! We've "solved"/completely hashed two of the cases so far and they were great fun - sometimes the leads that Holmes follows don't seem to quite make sense but the cases are well written and constructed and even if you can't get anywhere near Holmes' score the satisfaction of solving the case is plenty to keep us amused.Would thoroughly recommend for any crime buffs or anyone looking for a nice relaxed co-op game with very straightforward rules

I cannot get over how MUCH I love this game. Honestly, just buy it. You won’t regret it. Can be played as a duo or a larger group. One game lasting you over a few evenings - but not because it drags, quite the opposite. You control when the game ends....hence why you’ll end up saying “We must go to bed....but let’s just leave it and carry on tomorrow!”.

I just love it, if you like investigation and Sherlock Holmes this is a great game, is challenging, some case are more easy then others but it really male you feel like a real investigator.

An absolute must if you like detective puzzlers.As a solo player, and after buying the first game, I just had to get this one,too.The fact that it includes The Whitechapel murders makes it rather gruesome but adds that extra element based on the horrific serial killer in the Victorian age.Truly well constructed with a two sided map and different newspapers, not just the Times.Great purchase.

Amazing game, very easy to pick up as there are very few rules. Beautifully presented and will provide hours of entertainment.

This is a really beautiful looking game, and I love the simplicity of the gameplay. Both me and my girlfriend are big Sherlock fans, and as she isn't into more complex hardcore games this is great for us to spend an evening playing together and try to figure out.