Portal GamesDetective: A Modern Crime Board Game

Bought this as my family love a good detective board game, this one is excellent. You become totally immersed in the game, every finite detail must be recorded so be meticulous and it's so important to review your notes then deduce facts. Also it's great play because there are decisions based on time limits, and stress levels. Wow what an absolute cracker of a board game.

I bought this as a Christmas pressie for the boyfriend and we played the first case together last week. I read so many good things about this game, how in depth it was, how immersive the cases were, and that the co-operative detective element to it added to the realism. I wasn't disappointed, and my boyfriend absolutely loved it. We love problem solving/detective games, and so far this has been our absolute favourite. It's not a game you can just pick up and give up on halfway through. It's not something you can coast through by paying minor attention to the information you're given. You really have to solve that crime, and that means committing yourself to the entire world it gives to you. If you love getting lost in a detail rich, immersive game where every decision is important, where not every lead is the right one, and subtle clues are peppered through what at first glance might seem innocuous, then you will love this. Don't buy it if you want to be spoon fed the answers!

For those of you who like such games as Sherlock Holmes Consulting Detective then this game is for you.It works in a similar fashion, now Sherlock uses a book to give the story line wheras Detective uses a card system and also a casebook.The general rules are fairly easy to follow and the cases (5 of) are pretty good, there is one in particular which seems to divide opinion on whether it was a good one or not but apart from that its all cleverly worked out by the creator.This game must be used alongside a computer/tablet to access the "Antares database" which is basically a website for the game which resembles a Police Database which you use to get background information on people, places and old police files, it also doubles up as a DNA/Fingerprint machine in which you type codes (taken from the cards) and get matches from items collected on the way, this works towards your gathered evidence.I would say each case can take 2-3 hours and you will need a good size table. I think it works well with 3 players, 1 person just inst enough really as its better to bounce ideas and theories off each other. You will also need a lot of paper and a pen to write down stuff and create mind map (these are explained in the rules.) We didn't go for the mind map idea at first, however after the 3rd case we started doing it and it actually really helped.This is a good game for budding detectives and would suggest that really it is aimed towards late teenagers and adults rather than kids due to some of the unpleasant nature of some of the cases. The cases need to be done in order as there is a main theme which runs through the story. Though the cases stand alone they do work out as a campaign and we did one case per week. I believe there is also a downloadable case which I have not tried.

Fantastic game, great for 2 - 4 peopleLike watching CSI except you are driving the investigation.Two points that some people may not enjoy:1. The game is designed to let you uncover about 2/3 of the plot cards - therefore you may not have a complete picture of every aspect in the case. Of course you can give yourself a few extra rounds and uncover more cards if so you wish.2. The case is design is good but sometimes choices may feel somewhat random - e.g. go talk to witness A or B ?There's not always a good indication of whether A or B may have something more interesting to tell you - then again it does sound quite thematic - sometimes people follow their instinct to success, sometimes they utterly fail.there is no replayability - you can sell the game when you finish it -

We managed to do this virtually but it did take a bit of coordination. The narrator took pictures of clue cards and posted them onto Messenger whilst we shared the database on MS Teams. It would definitely be easier to do if everyone was together in one room...but we are where we are. If you’re doing this virtually then I’d suggested everyone jots down a note of who people are as we all got a bit lost at one point.Set aside a good few hours, we’ve only tackled one case and it took the whole evening. All in all we loved this, it’s very well put together. For people who love true crime, I would definitely recommend.

Best game I have ever played, ZMan have some serious competition at last

Bought this game recently and found it to be the most immersive game experience I've ever had in a 'boardgame'. The access to the online database makes you feel like you have a part in CSI or some other crime busting syndicate. amazing...thoroughly recommended!

We didn't like this game. As escape room owners and designers who also own a board game cafe, we were so excited by this. But it's a fail I'm afraid. Great principle, not so great execution. So so so much reading. Unnecessary reading. Detail upon unnecessary detail. The guy is obsessed with coffee. We got to the point of skipping over the first 2 paragraphs of nonsense on pretty much every card. You also find you regularly spend resources for nothing. There are paths you must follow to conclusion to solve the puzzle only it tells you not to follow everything. The mechanism is so clunky. We threw some of it out pretty quickly as it prevented you actually playing the game. I'm not entirely sure this game was adequately play tested. They need to streamline the mechanism, throw out most of it. They've tried to do way too much. The rule book is a novel, and it's far too complicated - all because of clunky mechanisms. Personally, I'd give this a miss. We did 2 chapters of it and just ended up frustrated. If you want a story based game, check out the dungeon by kosmos. That was insanely good.