Portal Games, Detective: 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.

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 -

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.

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!

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!

I was so excited about this game after reading the reviews. However for us it was way too complicated, so much to read and read and read even before starting the game and after that guess what?! More reading! And after 1 hour we were still working out how the game actually works! So we gave up and decided to do something else more fun and less stressful... If you have lots of free time and lots of patience then maybe you will like it.

No te arrepentiras de comprarlo si te gustan los juegos de mesa. La experiencia es de lo mejor. Si lo puedes comprar por menos de $1000 pesos, apurate a comprarlo!

Best gaming experience ever! I could not stop playi'g!Oct 2025 Update:I’ve owned this game for years, and it’s still one of the best board-gaming experiences I’ve ever had. I own every edition except the Batman one, and I’ve introduced a dozen people to it — every single one of them walked away blown away.Detective isn’t a typical board game. It’s a mental labyrinth. You follow clues, sift through files, search the online database, and slowly piece together a story that unfolds one piece at a time based on your decisions.The writing is razor-sharp, the pacing deliberate, and the integration between the physical components and the online system still feels ahead of its time. It’s immersive in a way few games manage — the kind where you finish a session and realize you’ve been leaning forward for three hours straight.It’s not casual, and it’s not forgiving. You need the same group, focused energy, and snacks within arm’s reach. You’ll argue, theorize, get things wrong, and still feel like a team of exhausted investigators pulling an all-nighter in some windowless office.The components are simple but functional; the real magic is in the narrative design. Every spin-off or edition — LA Crimes, Season One, Vienna Connection — proves that the system holds. Each setting changes the tone, but the tension stays.Verdict: Still unmatched in how it fuses story, logic, and immersion. Detective isn’t just a game you play — it’s one you inhabit.

Amazing activity for a group of friends, keeps you captivated for hours.

Really enjoying it so far.

Fue un regalo que tuve que cambiar ya que llegó en inglés. En la descripción no tengo muy claro si lo decía por lo que ten cuidado si lo quieres en castellano