Chronicles of Crime Board Game | Murder Mystery Game | Criminal Investigation Game | Cooperative Game for Kids and Adults | Ages 12+ | 1-4 Players | Avg. Playtime 60-90 Mins | Made by Lucky Duck Games

I was looking for a collaborative game for us to play in the evening and saw that Chronicles of Crime was highly rated. We went through the tutorial to figure out how to play and found the game easy to learn. The gameplay isn't overly complex and uses a combination of a downloadable app, QR codes, videos for searching crime scenes, and cards to simulate the crime solving experience. It feels like there are multiple ways an investigation can go and that you make meaningful decisions along the way. We've found the modules challenging and fun. There's also the ability to purchase expansion packs when we've finished the base modules.

The game arrived well ahead of its scheduled delivery time. We loved it - the only thing we are earnestly wishing for is for the developers to keep on having support for the game and the app in the future. It would really suck for the app to stop working 5-10 years down the line. This is the sort of risk you run when you buy games that combine tech and old school cardboard.GAMEPLAY:Not for everyone - you have to be in the right mindset to play this game otherwise you will get bored/irritated. I recommend this game for people who love crime shows, mysteries or puzzles.Always make sure the app is updated.This game says it is only for four players but if you want to scale up the game for more players you can easily do it. It also is a very spectator-friendly game.To play with a lot of players (we were 10 players!) we pass around the phone during the time to look at the crime scene (there is unlimited times you can view a crime scene) and then after everybody has had a look - players say what they think the clues are in the crime scene. For actions, it's just a group vote on what action the group does. (go to a location, talk to a guy, etc.)We also pass the phone around and take turns reading. There are fun events that can happen while reading the text on the phone that really scared our group (for example: A phone suddenly ringing). It's just written words and there is no sound effect but our reader freaked out and said "Oh my God the phone's ringing!" - which sent everyone into a panic. This is what happens when you get a really good set of friends together willing to immerse themselves into the story.We didn't expect this to be such a good party game! Perfect for parties, everyone can play - but definitely not for young kids.

First the pros: This is a great game for the crime enthusiast. You can play it by yourself, or with others. It is not a one and done type of game. When you have solved one crime, you have only solved one crime of many. It is dynamic. You can ask a character a question, then explore other places/items/people, and when you go back to that character they update the information they give you. It also has a really unique interactive aspect through the app. I love that you can actually explore the places you are going. You get to see what all is available at the crime scene, and where it is in relation to everything else. You have to decide what might be important, and who to talk to next. It seems to follow the natural order of investigating a crime. One thing I liked, was the addition of the time. When you move around the city, it adjusts the time of day to account for your movements. If you go somewhere are 3AM, the person you want may not be there.Some areas for improvement: It arrived in a large game box, but most of that is empty space. Almost all of its contents are flat/card like, so a smaller box would work and fit in my game drawer better. (Not a big deal, though, more of an observation.) An area I struggled with was getting started. The tabletop layout takes up quite a bit of space, but it isn’t very clear what goes where or why. After I played a bit by myself, I found that the layout provided didn’t really work for me, and how I worked the case took up less space. I looked through the Getting Started section of the included information, but it wasn’t very helpful. It might be user error. Also, it took quite a bit of trial and error to figure out how to play. The app has an intro game, but it didn’t really help as much as I had hoped. I didn’t realize you could reinterview people, and that their answers adjusted based on the evidence you asked them about. I only figured it out after playing the first game, and trying to solve the crime. I got most of the answers correct, but when I read through the whole solution there was a lot of information I had missed, which made me realize I could have gone back to some of those suspects. It would be nice if the intro, or even the full games, would direct you to go ask someone additional questions or look for additional clues. Once you input the solution, you get feedback about right or wrong answers, but no feedback about how you should have gotten those answers. Another suggestion has to do with the scanning of QR codes. It would be helpful if the app had a way to store the places/people/items you had already used for each crime, so you didn’t have to keep scanning over and over. Like, add them to a list on the side of the app, and you can just click on it. Same with the experts. Since they are a constant, just keep them handy on the app. One last suggestion- I found that (like a real investigation), I was having trouble keeping everything straight. I found that it helped a lot to write information down. Unfortunately, I didn’t realize that would be necessary until I was a ways into the first game. It would be helpful to have that as a suggestion in the getting started, or even to include some kind of investigation documents that you could fill out as you go. (You could have the files on the app for printing more.)Overall, excellent game. Although it took me some trial and error, once I got started I enjoyed it a lot. I love that I can play alone, if my friends are unavailable. I also love that the game is constantly improving through app updates, so if there is an issue it can be remedied.