Last updated: October 2026
Detective games to play at home now come in many shapes: boxed case files, monthly mystery subscriptions, cooperative board games, escape-room kits, printable cases and whole books of logic puzzles. They are not interchangeable. Some need a phone and an internet connection throughout, most can only be solved once, and a few are much easier (or much harder) than the box suggests. This guide compares 13 of them across six formats, so you can pick the right one for your table.
A quick word on bias: this guide is written by Clues at Home, a UK studio that makes printable detective case files, so we are not neutral. Our own cases appear once, in the printables section, with their drawbacks alongside everyone else’s. We have not played every game here, so where we describe difficulty or flaws, we say where that view comes from. Prices, player counts and play times were checked on publishers’ and retailers’ pages on 14 October 2026. Prices change often, so please check before you buy.
Quick answer
New to detective games? Start with a boxed case file such as Unsolved Case Files or Hunt A Killer. For a regular group who want a real challenge, choose Detective: A Modern Crime Board Game. For a cheap, quick evening, Decktective. To play tonight without ordering anything, a printable case file. For solo puzzling, Murdle.
Key takeaways
- Check whether a game needs a phone or the internet. Many modern case files keep evidence, hints or answers online.
- Nearly every detective game can be solved only once. If you want to pass it on afterwards, avoid games where you cut or write on the pieces.
- The boxed case files we looked at cost roughly £20 to £35 (about $30 to $35 in the US) and take two to three hours.
- Board games such as Detective and Sherlock Holmes Consulting Detective cost more, but hold several cases.
- Printables are the cheapest and quickest to start, but you supply the printer, paper and ink.
The best detective games at a glance
Prices are shown in the currency of the shop we checked on 14 October 2026.
| Game | Format | Price | Players | Time | Best for |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Unsolved Case Files: Harmony Ashcroft | Boxed case file | $34.99 | No limit | 2–3 hours | A first case, bigger groups |
| Hunt A Killer: A Wealth of Murder | Boxed case file | $29.99 | 1–6 | 90–120 min | Experienced sleuths |
| Cryptic Killers: Murder of a Millionaire | Boxed case, online elements | £19.99 RRP | 1+ | About 2 hours | A budget boxed case (UK) |
| Cases & Clues (Classic edition) | Boxed case, online portal | £30 | 1–6 | 2–3 hours | Date night (UK) |
| Deadbolt Mystery Society | Monthly subscription | $34.99 a month | 1–4 | 2–3 hours | A monthly mystery night (US) |
| Detective: A Modern Crime Board Game | Board game, 5-case campaign | €45 / £45 RRP | 1–5 | 2–3 hours | Experienced groups |
| Sherlock Holmes Consulting Detective: The Thames Murders | Casebook game, 10 cases | £47.99 RRP | 1–8 | About 90 min | Holmes fans who like reading |
| Decktective: Nightmare in the Mirror | Card game | £12.99 RRP | 1–6 | About 60 min | A cheap, quick evening |
| EXIT: The Game – Prison Break | Escape-room kit | $17.95 | 2–4 | 60–120 min | Puzzle lovers |
| Puzzle Post: The Scandal | Escape room in an envelope | £16.99 | Up to 8 | 60–90 min | Dinner parties, gifts (UK) |
| Clues at Home case files | Printable case file | $12.99–$19.99 | 1–8, by case | 1–3 hours | Playing tonight, screen-free |
| PrintMysteries: A Fatal Ruse | Printable (Etsy) | $7.03 | 1–6 | 2–4+ hours | The lowest price |
| Murdle | Puzzle book, 100 puzzles | £14.99 paperback | 1 | Short puzzles | Solo logic puzzlers |
How we chose
- Everything here can be bought now and played at a table at home, with no host, actors or venue.
- We checked prices, player counts, play times and age ratings on publishers’ or major retailers’ pages on 14 October 2026.
- Each game gets one honest drawback, taken from the publisher’s own information or a named review.
Boxed case files
A boxed case file is a box or folder of documents, photos, statements and evidence. You read, compare and cross-check until you can name the culprit. Most take one evening and can be solved once.
Unsolved Case Files: Harmony Ashcroft
Unsolved Case Files makes standalone cold-case boxes, and Harmony Ashcroft is one of them. It cost $34.99 at Barnes & Noble when we checked, has no player limit, takes two to three hours on average and is rated 14+. You check your answers against an online answer key, and the box can be passed on if you put everything back together.
The catch: Meeple Mountain’s review found it “a little too easy” and the writing “surprisingly bland”, so experienced solvers may want something harder.
Best for: a first case, or a bigger group, as there is no player limit.
Hunt A Killer
Hunt A Killer sells standalone boxes, premium cases and a subscription. A Wealth of Murder is a standalone box at $29.99 for one to six players, taking 90–120 minutes and rated 14+. At the top end, The Melancholy Killer is a premium case at $139.99 for solo or co-op play over five to seven hours. The subscription starts at $25 a box.
The catch: A Wealth of Murder is labelled Expert difficulty and averaged 3.0 out of 5 from 20 reviews on Hunt A Killer’s own site when we checked. An older review of the subscription on Reviewed called it “a little pricey” and noted that you need email and internet access.
Best for: true-crime fans who want a one-off evening and a proper challenge. Check the difficulty and reviews of each box before you buy.
Cryptic Killers: Murder of a Millionaire
Murder of a Millionaire is a boxed mystery with a £19.99 RRP in the UK. It plays from one player upwards, takes about two hours (the same listing also mentions 150+ minutes) and is rated 14+. The publisher pitches it at couples, families and dinner parties.
The catch: you need the internet. Part of the game is an online police inbox, and hints and answers are online too.
Best for: a budget boxed case in the UK, if you are happy to keep a phone or laptop on the table.
Cases & Clues
Cases & Clues is a UK case-file company. Its Classic edition cases were £30 when we checked (some of its pages say from £25, and a Halloween sale was running). Kiss of Death plays one to six in two to three hours, and there are Immersive and Ultimate editions aimed at gifting.
The catch: the game uses an online Detective HQ portal and digital evidence, so you need the internet. We could not find published shipping terms for the US.
Best for: a date night in the UK.
Subscription mysteries
A new case arrives every month. That is great if you know you will play regularly, and less great if you forget to cancel.
Deadbolt Mystery Society
Deadbolt Mystery Society costs $34.99 a month on a rolling plan, or $31.24 a month if you prepay for 12 months, with free US shipping. Each box takes two to three hours, suits one to four players based on subscriber feedback, and is rated 13+. One-off boxes are sold too.
The catch: subscriptions auto-renew on the 15th of each month, and boxes use QR codes, so you need the internet. If you live outside the US, check first: when we looked, its FAQ and its international page disagreed on whether UK subscriptions are available.
Best for: couples or friends in the US who want a mystery night every month.
Detective board and card games
These hold several cases, or come as part of a series, and usually add more structure, such as a map, a casebook or a companion app.
Detective: A Modern Crime Board Game
Portal Games’ Detective is a five-case campaign for one to five players, with each case taking two to three hours. It was €45 on Portal’s shop, the UK RRP is £45, and it is rated 16+.
The catch: it relies on the Antares web app on a phone or tablet, involves a lot of note-taking, and works best with the same group for all five cases. Board Game Quest’s reviewer thought replaying it was probably not worth it.
Best for: a regular group of experienced players who want something meaty.
Sherlock Holmes Consulting Detective: The Thames Murders
The Thames Murders has ten cases in a casebook, with a map and newspapers rather than a board. It plays one to eight, takes about 90 minutes, is rated 14+ and has a UK RRP of £47.99.
The catch: Wargamer’s review warned that it is not replayable and involves “an awful lot of reading aloud”.
Best for: Holmes fans and groups who enjoy reading, debating and comparing notes.
Decktective
Decktective is a small card game with a 3D crime scene, from the Italian publisher dV Giochi. Nightmare in the Mirror has a £12.99 RRP in the UK, plays one to six in about an hour and is rated 12+. There are several other titles in the series.
The catch: The Opinionated Gamers thought it “likely falls on the easier end” of mystery games. On the plus side, nothing is destroyed, so you can pass it on once it is solved.
Best for: a cheap, quick evening or a stocking filler.
Escape-room games
Strictly speaking, these are puzzle games with a story rather than pure deduction, but they scratch a similar itch.
EXIT: The Game – Prison Break
Kosmos makes a whole series of EXIT games. Prison Break was $17.95 at Thames & Kosmos in the US, plays two to four in 60–120 minutes and is rated 12+.
The catch: it can only be played once, because you cut and draw on the pieces. A Tabletop Gaming reviewer called the price “a little steep for what amounts to around an hour of entertainment”.
Best for: puzzle lovers and families with older children.
Puzzle Post: Escape Room in an Envelope
Puzzle Post’s Escape Room in an Envelope games arrive by post. The Scandal costs £16.99 with free UK delivery (Puzzle Post ships worldwide except to the EU), is designed for groups of up to eight and takes around 60–90 minutes.
The catch: you need a phone and the internet to open the online vault. A Review the Room reviewer found another title in the range, The Secret Set, not especially taxing for experienced puzzlers.
Best for: a dinner party, or a gift that arrives in the post.
Printable detective games
You buy a PDF, print it and play the same evening. Printables are usually the cheapest option, but you supply the printer, paper and ink. For a deeper look at the format, see our guide to print-at-home mystery games.
Clues at Home case files
These are ours, so read this section with that in mind. Our case files cost $12.99 to $19.99, and there is a free starter case. Every clue, every hint and the solution are on paper: there is no app, account or internet needed during play, and you can reprint a page if one gets lost or spilled on. A few examples:
- The Ashford Christmas Boxes (free with a newsletter signup): one to six players, 30 to 45 minutes. An easy 1920s Christmas Eve theft, and the simplest way to try the format.
- Snowbound Manor ($12.99): one to six players, one to two hours. An easier 1920s mystery about a stolen diamond in a snowbound manor.
- The Twenty-Fifth Door ($14.99): two to four players, one to two hours. A family-friendly Christmas theft at an Edinburgh Christmas market.
- The Unmasking at Skerryhead ($19.99): four to eight adults, two to three hours. A Halloween masked party at a lighthouse in Fife.
- The Nutcracker Killer ($19.99): two to three hours. A darker case for adults (18+).
- The Ashford Advent ($29.99): a 24-day mystery advent calendar. You open one door each morning from 1 December, for about 10 to 15 minutes a day.
The catch: you have to print it yourself, which takes paper, ink and a little prep, and our range is smaller than the big names’.
Best for: playing tonight, a screen-free evening, or hosting a mystery night at home.
Want to try one tonight?
The Snowbound Manor Mystery
Our easiest place to start: one to six players, about one to two hours, with every hint and the solution on paper.
Get the case — $12.99PrintMysteries: A Fatal Ruse
PrintMysteries sells printable case files on Etsy. A Fatal Ruse was $7.03 when we checked (on sale for $5.62 at the time) and plays one to six, and the maker says its case files take two to four hours or more. The Etsy shop had a 4.9-star rating from 239 reviews.
The catch: you need the internet for clues and answers, the listing says it looks best printed in colour (so budget for ink), and instant downloads cannot be returned.
Best for: the lowest price.
Solo detective puzzles
Murdle
Murdle by G.T. Karber is a book of 100 short murder-mystery logic puzzles. The paperback was £14.99 at Waterstones. It is made for solo play, although you can solve it alongside someone.
The catch: the story sections come after the answers, so reading ahead can spoil the next puzzles, and Cross Examining Crime found the difficulty uneven near the end.
Best for: solo puzzlers, or a gift. For more options on your own, see our guide to solo detective games.
Which detective game should you buy?
- For a date night or two players: Cases & Clues in the UK, Deadbolt in the US, or a printable case that plays well with two, such as Snowbound Manor. There are more ideas in our guide to games for couples to play at home.
- For families: Decktective and EXIT games are rated 12+, while most boxed case files are 14+. For a family case with no murder, try The Twenty-Fifth Door. See our family games guide for more.
- On your own: Murdle, or a game with a one-player minimum such as Hunt A Killer, Cryptic Killers or Detective.
- For a group or party: Unsolved Case Files (no player limit), Sherlock Holmes Consulting Detective (up to eight), Puzzle Post (up to eight) or The Unmasking at Skerryhead (four to eight adults). Our guide to hosting a mystery night at home covers the rest.
- As a gift: Puzzle Post arrives in an envelope, Detective suits a keen gamer, and a boxed case file suits almost anyone aged 14 or over.
- To play tonight: a printable case file you can buy, print and start the same evening.
- On a tight budget: PrintMysteries, Decktective or Snowbound Manor.
- For a real challenge: Detective, or a Hunt A Killer box rated Expert.
What to check before you buy
- Screens: does it need a phone, an app or the internet? Cryptic Killers, Cases & Clues, Deadbolt, Detective, Puzzle Post and PrintMysteries all use one during play, and Unsolved Case Files checks answers online.
- Replay: almost every mystery can be solved only once by the same people. Games you do not cut or write on, such as Decktective or Unsolved Case Files, can be passed on.
- Subscription terms: Deadbolt renews automatically each month, and Hunt A Killer sells both standalone boxes and a subscription.
- Age rating: most boxed case files are 14+, Deadbolt is 13+, Detective is 16+, and Decktective and EXIT are 12+.
- Printing: for printables, check how many pages there are and whether colour matters.
- Delivery: boxed games may not ship to your country, or may cost more to post.
If you are torn between formats, our comparison of print-at-home case files and board game mysteries goes deeper.
Frequently asked questions
There is no single best one. For a first case, try a boxed case file such as Unsolved Case Files or Hunt A Killer. For a regular group who want a challenge, Detective: A Modern Crime Board Game. For a cheap, quick evening, Decktective. To play tonight, a printable case file.
Most case files play well with two. Deadbolt Mystery Society suits a monthly date night in the US, Detective and Sherlock Holmes Consulting Detective both work with two, and printable cases such as Snowbound Manor suit a night in for two.
Yes. Murdle is made for solo play, and Hunt A Killer, Cryptic Killers and Detective: A Modern Crime Board Game all list one player as the minimum. Hunt A Killer’s premium case, The Melancholy Killer, is designed for solo or co-op play.
A case file is a box or printout of documents you read and cross-check to solve one crime, usually in two or three hours. A detective board game such as Detective or Sherlock Holmes Consulting Detective holds several cases, adds more structure and usually costs more.
Many do. Cryptic Killers, Deadbolt, Puzzle Post, PrintMysteries and Detective: A Modern Crime Board Game use a website or app during play, and Unsolved Case Files checks answers online. Clues at Home cases keep every hint and the solution on paper.
Not really: once you know the answer, the mystery is solved. Games you do not cut or write on, such as Decktective or Unsolved Case Files, can be passed on to friends. EXIT games cannot, because you cut and draw on the pieces.
Check the age rating. Most boxed case files are rated 14+, Detective is 16+, and Decktective and EXIT games are 12+. For younger players, look for a family case with no murder, such as The Twenty-Fifth Door.
