![]() ![]() The typeface, three column design, and spacing were all evocative of the times but you were still clearly reading a booklet. The Original game archived these papers within a single booklet. The Press, Watson, is a most valuable institution, if you only know how to use it. Better still since each case is presented in chronological order, there may be a monumental clue to your current case hidden in one of the previous cases’ paper. The challenge is to cull the vital from the trivial. There is a separate paper for each case, and each paper is packed with pertinent facts, red herring fluff, and Victorian flair. Sherlock Holmes was renowned for his encyclopedic knowledge of the news and tabloids. The Newspaper is used to find additional clues during your investigations. The paper has a faux-aged coloring and the font type was unavailable in Victorian England, breaking immersion with the game. The Reprint is on thin glossy paper with a similar glossy cover. The paper colors naturally with age and the type is a suitable typewriter font, appropriate for the period. ![]() The Original version is printed on heavy-weight matte typewriter paper with a card stock cover. I also like the fact that the Original version on the right breaks up the monotony of the text, instead of the Reprint’s wall of words. Both directories are identical in content but there are a few aesthetic differences. Along with thousands of extra names and addresses to make it challenging and create a more immersive London populace. The London Directory is used to help you look up all the addresses and locales you need to visit. But my favorite case begins with just a note from Holmes that says, “Read the newspaper.” To assist you with these investigations there are several items at your disposal: Will you find him at home, at work, or at his favorite club? And what are the addresses for those three locations? In addition, most cases start with a short story where you meet the client and gain a few particulars about the case. Even when you know that you need to speak with Sir So-and-so, you still need to locate him. The mysteries are challenging and none of the clues are handed to you on a silver platter. Plus, The Original had ample room for all the expansions in the same binder. This was unique and different, and it felt like you had just opened a tome of newly discovered Holmesian adventures. The Original came in a (p)leather-bound three-ring binder with pockets for all the accessories. The Reprint comes is a simple cardboard box that is just big enough to fit the game inside. The Modern Reprint is so nice and shiny, it must be great, right?īoth versions are intrinsically the same but there is one immediate difference. We prefer to play in cooperation, but every way is enjoyable. Interestingly, this game can be played solo, as a cooperative group, in competitive groups, or as competing individuals. ![]() Your score is based upon your, hopefully correct, answers and then comparing the number of locations you visited with the number that Holmes needed to solve the crime. ![]() When you think you’ve solved the case, there is a small quiz regarding the mystery to test your conclusions. The clues you discover will lead to new locations to explore and leads to pursue. You visit various locations that are detailed in each cases’ individual Case Book, looking for clues. Ten mysteries are presented and you attempt to solve them in the manner of Holmes. In Consulting Detective, you play the role of one of the Baker Street Irregulars, a gang of intrepid street urchins who occasionally assisted Holmes in his investigations. What follows will include an inordinate amount of trifling details, but to Holmes there was nothing more illuminating than trifles. Recently, I saw that some dedicated fans had undertaken the monumental task of republishing this long out-of-print masterpiece, and I desperately wanted to do a side-by-side comparison. I loved this game so much that, despite being truly playable only once, the game survived the Great Purge of 1999. After 30 years in an attic, my original copy has a beautiful bouquet of Victorian Must. I always wished that I could be as brilliant as the famous detective, and in 1981, when a non-descript three-ring binder offered me the opportunity to match wits with the master of deduction, I leapt at the chance. Sherlock Holmes and his faithful chronicler, Dr. From A Study in Scarlet to His Last Bow, I was enamored with the mysterious tales of Mr. Game Play: Mystery, Deduction, Reading (ugh)Įons ago, Sir Arthur Conan Doyle introduced me to a world of gaslit streets, hansom carriages, Victorian society, and murder most foul. Publisher/Year: Sleuth Publications – 1981 / Ystari Games – 2013 Come Watson, the game is afoot! Two Holmes enter, one Holmes leaves! We meticulously cross-examine a favorite game of my youth and its modern-day reprint. ![]()
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