10 Best Mystery Board Games

Looking for the best mystery board games? We have a list for you here.

A simple approach to connecting with people and remaining in touch is to host a weekly game night with friends or family. A mystery board game can liven up the proceedings if standard old board games ever become monotonous. The game is enjoyable even when it’s not your time because everyone is actively participating in discovering a mystery.

While Clue, one of the most well-known mystery board games, is undoubtedly familiar to most people, there is a tonne of other amazing mystery games that you can play with friends and some of which you can play by yourself. There is certain to be something on this list that appeals to your investigative whim, from investigating murders to finding out who poisoned somebody at work to revealing bizarre secrets.

What are The Best Mystery Board Games?

Check out our picks for the best mystery board games.

#1. Clue Master Detective

Similar to the classic Clue game, Clue Master Detective requires you to identify the murderer, the murder weapon, and the scene of the crime. The only distinction? The game is more enjoyable and playable by more players at once because there are more suspects, rooms, and weapons.

More precisely, there are four new suspects—Monsieur Brunette, Madame Rose, Miss Peach, and Sergeant Gray—12 extra murder scenes, both indoors and outdoors, 2 extra weapons for a total of eight, and 12 additional murder locations. With all of the extra material, each game should last about 60 minutes and be played by 3–10 players.

#2. Deluxe 221B Baker Street

There is no greater board game than Deluxe 221B Baker Street if you enjoy Sherlock Holmes. By gathering information and deciphering puzzles on a board with a Victorian London theme, players in this deluxe version can solve 200 different Sherlock Holmes cases.

To play, you’ll require at least two players, but if you require a game for a big group, you can play with up to six players at once. The recommended age range for Sherlock Holmes cases is 14 and up due to the material.

Each participant receives a Scotland Yard badge, a skeletal key, and a solutions checklist at the start of a new case. The remaining badge and skeleton key cards are placed on the board. The case card remains to face up near the board for any player to grab and review it during the game after one player has read the case aloud to the entire group.

Based on the number rolled, a player will move the proper number of squares on the board during each round and may also enter one or more of the venues on the board, such as the museum, library, or apothecary.

You can read the related clue for the case and go one step closer to unraveling the mystery before the other participants if you make it into one of these specific areas on the game board. Each round of play lasts roughly 90 minutes.

#3. Hunt a Killer Nancy Drew 

Even though you don’t participate as Nancy Drew in this mystery game, you do get clear directions from her, so fans of Nancy Drew will still enjoy it! You have to determine who poisoned Florence, the manager of Magnolia Gardens. This game can be played alone or with as many players as you like to assist you in finding the offender.

Based on how much assistance you receive from others, the game should take between 60 and 90 minutes to complete for players aged 14 and higher. You need to sift through a variety of documents and hints to find the offender. You also need to work out a few puzzles, like figuring out the right combination for a closed box.

#4. The Museum of Everything Game

5-Minute Mystery is a quick-paced game, as its name suggests. You can work together to solve crimes with up to six other players (aged eight and up), or you can solve a few mysteries on your own.

Each game requires you to examine the rooms for five concealed symbols and mark them on the provided codex. Then, until the suspect is ultimately apprehended, you employ those symbols to aid in the discovery of clues and the exclusion of suspects.

Even if you complete every scenario in a single evening, there are still plenty of options for entertainment with 5-Minute Mystery, thanks to its overall 36 suspects, 36 offenders, 16 clues, 19 case files, 40 scenes, and six reference cards!

#5. Deception: Murder in Hong Kong

Based on whether you’re playing the killer or an investigator in Deception: Murder in Hong Kong, you can find yourself using deception or deductive techniques. The murderer, who chooses their weapon and the signs they leave behind covertly, is one of the players.

Another participant is the forensic scientist, who has all the evidence necessary to convict the offender but can only reveal it through an investigation of the crime scene.

Then, two to ten of the players left (aged 14 and up) take on the role of detectives. These players must pay attention to the available clues, use their knowledge, and engage in deductive sleuthing in order to properly identify the weapon and the crucial evidence required to convict the murderer.

Since each game only takes 20 minutes to complete, there is plenty of time for everybody to play many rounds and take on various roles.

#6. Mysterium

Since Mysterium is so well-liked, there is even an online version available that you may play alone or with other random people. In other words, a ghost who witnessed a murder must communicate precise information to psychic mediums in order for them to identify the murderer, the murder weapon, and the scene of the crime.

One performs the role of the ghost, and one to six additional participants (age ten and up) perform the role of the psychic medium. The psychic mediums are then given a random assignment from a pool of suspect, scene, and murder weapon cards after the spirit names every suspect who was present the night the murder occurred. The psychics will analyse vision cards and put together clues to identify the murderer and the circumstances surrounding the crime in around 45 minutes.

You might also enjoy Betrayal at House on the Hill, another fantastic cooperative mystery game if this one sounds appealing to you. In this game, you and your players attempt to escape alive after spending the night in a haunted mansion while dealing with terrifying situations and even other participants turning against you.

#7. Who Murdered Harmony Ashcroft?

This game is for you if cold cases have ever piqued your interest. If, after solving the case of Who Murdered Harmony Ashcroft?, you find yourself hooked, there are a tonne of more Unsolved Case Files games to explore inside this cold case series.

You must accomplish three tasks in order to complete the game. You’ll need to disprove a crucial suspect’s alibi, show why the man who was convicted is innocent, and find the precise clue that will lead to the arrest of the real perpetrator of Harmony’s murder.

There are over 50 evidence images and papers, including newspaper stories, an evidence report, phone records, crime scene photos, suspect interrogations, witness testimonies, and more, for you to look over in order to solve these three mysteries.

To find Harmony Ashcroft’s killer, you can work alone or enlist the aid of seven additional pals (aged 14 and higher). The duration of the game might range from 30 minutes to two hours, depending on the number of participants and the quality of your reasoning abilities.

#8. Mansions Of Madness: 2nd Edition

In Mansions Of Madness, you can roleplay as an inspector as you and up to four other players explore haunted mansions and other eerie places to solve puzzles, uncover secrets, and occasionally even participate in combat. The fact that Mansions of Madness requires a free digital app (Android or iOS) to play sets it apart from other investigative games.

The board game is accompanied by rulebooks, plastic figurines, map tiles, five dice, as well as some cards and tokens, but the application is necessary to walk players through each game scenario. You must set aside a good chunk of time to play this game because it takes two to three hours on average for players aged 14 and older.

#9. Scooby Doo – Betrayal at Mystery Mansion

This game is actually a more kid-friendly adaptation of Betrayal at House on the Hill, including characters and tales from the Scooby Doo series. Scooby Doo, Velma, Daphne, Shaggy, and Fred are among the popular Scooby Doo characters that two to five players can choose from as they search the mansion for clues and encounter unusual occurrences or monsters.

One player will really switch sides and take on the role of the monster once sufficient clues have been found, and the Haunt will then begin. The other players will then need to halt the monster before it can execute whatever plan it has. You can play this game if you’re eight years old or older, and it lasts between 25 and 50 minutes, so you can fit in several games in one night.

Spy Alley is another fantastic mystery game that the whole family can play if this Scooby Doo game doesn’t appear to be the right fit. Each participant in this game assumes the identity of a spy from a particular nation. The next step is for each participant to find out who the other players are before their own identity is disclosed.

#10. Letters From Whitechapel

Letters From Whitechapel, which uses a board that represents the Whitechapel neighbourhood in 1888, is set in Victorian London, just as the Sherlock Holmes game listed above. Jack the Ripper, a violent serial killer who truly tormented London’s Whitechapel neighbourhood in the 1800s, is assumed by one player. Then one to five other persons take on the role of detectives and try to apprehend Jack or prevent him from getting to his hiding place. Jack’s player wins if they murder five people without being discovered.

Each of the four nights comprises two portions and a few different phases, giving players four nights to track down Jack’s whereabouts. You also have four nights if you’re playing Jack to outwit the detectives and escape unharmed. Every game lasts roughly 90 minutes, and players must be at least 14 years old.

Also Read: Best 6 Player Board Games