The best Detective board games 🕵️‍♂️ 2025

Dive into the world of artistic storytelling with Dixit: Quest, an expansion that elevates the captivating gameplay of Dixit to new heights. In this imaginative game, players use beautifully illustrated cards to spin enchanting tales and embark on a journey of creative discovery.

MicroMacro: Crime City – Full House is a captivating detective game that expands upon the original MicroMacro: Crime City. Players become sleuths, examining a giant city map (75 x 110 cm) filled with intricate details to solve various crimes. This edition includes 16 new cases, each offering a unique story and set of challenges that require players to scrutinize the map to uncover hidden information and trace suspects' movements.

Dixit 3: Journey expands the enchanting world of Dixit with 84 new cards, each adorned with evocative and surreal artwork that stirs the imagination and fuels storytelling. As an expansion to the beloved Dixit game, it enhances the experience by offering a fresh array of visually stunning cards that players can use to inspire their tales, adding depth and variety to the game's creative narrative play.

Deception: Murder in Hong Kong offers a riveting game of deduction and deception designed for 4-12 players, providing an immersive experience in approximately 20 minutes.

Detective Club is a social deduction and party game that involves both cooperation and deception. Players are drawn into rounds of intrigue, where one player secretly passes clues to their accomplice to reveal a secret word, while others, acting as detectives, try to unveil the conspiracy. Creativity and persuasion play crucial roles as players discuss and defend their choices to avoid suspicion.

A chill of fear spreads through the streets of Hong Kong. Recently, several murders may have been committed by one of the investigators assigned to solve these cases. The police are bringing in additional support, while the murderer discreetly recruits allies.

When I Dream is a whimsical and imaginative board game that delves into the world of dreams, blending elements of storytelling, deduction, and teamwork in a playful setting.

Embark on a thrilling cooperative adventure with Chronicles of Crime, a unique blend of crime investigation, board game excitement, and a touch of Virtual Reality. Picture yourself at the heart of criminal investigations, where the seamless integration of an app with physical components creates an immersive experience.

You play as Victor Lavel, an ambitious journalist in 1900 Paris, during the vibrant Belle Époque. While others report on events like the Exposition Universelle and the Olympics, Lavel is drawn to solving crimes, including murders and kidnappings. The standalone game challenges players to gather evidence, interrogate suspects, and solve puzzles reminiscent of escape rooms.

Witness is a unique cooperative board game designed for exactly four players, based on the intriguing universe of the Belgian comic series Blake and Mortimer by Edgar P. Jacobs. The game revolves around solving mysteries through a clever yet challenging communication system where players can only share information in a very restricted manner.

Chronicles of Crime: 1400 invites players into the heart of medieval Paris, where they embody Abelard Lavel, a knight with a prophetic gift for solving crimes. As a standalone game in the Chronicles of Crime series, it combines familiar investigative gameplay with new elements to create a unique, narrative-driven experience. Players utilize Vision Cards to gain insights into crimes, relying on both futuristic and historical scenes to guide their investigation.

Mysterium is a cooperative mystery-solving game set in the 1920s, where players take on the roles of mediums trying to solve a murder at a Scottish mansion, guided by a ghost who communicates through visions.

Noir is an expansion written by the talented author Stephane Anquetil, known for his work on Sherlock Holmes Consulting Detective scenarios and other interactive narratives. Players collaboratively assume the role of a private detective using unconventional methods, wielding four action cards: Spy, Break-In, Bribe, and Intimidate. Limited resources make every decision critical, adding a unique twist to crime-fighting. This expansion requires the base game and an app to play, which currently supports specific operating systems without needing an internet connection once downloaded.

Mysterium Park beckons with its mysterious aura, set against the backdrop of a 1950s US fairground with a dark twist. The disappearance of the park’s director has left behind a haunting presence, prompting a group of psychics to uncover the truth before the carnival disappears. This cooperative game engages players with visions provided by the ghost, requiring interpretation to eliminate suspects and locations, leading to the revelation of the director’s fate.

Sherlock Holmes appointed a group of street children as The Baker Street Irregulars, his unofficial "police force." This is their story, filled with challenging and dangerous events.

An idyllic celebration ends in a death, raising suspicions within the König family. Casper König goes missing right before the event, and his son Egon is found dead the next morning. Players investigate by analyzing letters, interpreting police interrogations, making phone calls, and conducting online research to solve the case. Access to the internet and a phone for receiving text messages is necessary, with a laptop or tablet being helpful but not mandatory.

Sherlock Holmes Consulting Detective: Jack the Ripper & West End Adventures is a captivating standalone expansion to the renowned detective game Sherlock Holmes Consulting Detective. This expansion brings updated graphics and adds ten new cases set in Victorian-era London for players to solve. It includes essential detective tools such as a "London Directory," a map of London, and newspaper archives to aid in the investigation.

Embark on a captivating journey through Victorian London alongside the legendary detective Sherlock Holmes in Sherlock Holmes Consulting Detective: The Thames Murders & Other Cases. This immersive and challenging game allows you to step into the shoes of a detective, matching wits with Holmes himself.

Unlock! Game Adventures brings the thrill of escape rooms to the tabletop, combining the enigmatic puzzles and cooperative gameplay of the Unlock! series with the universes of three iconic board games. This expansion introduces a trio of scenarios, each immersing players in the worlds of Mysterium, Ticket to Ride, and Pandemic, offering unique challenges that blend the mechanics and themes of these beloved games with the puzzle-solving and teamwork of escape rooms.

Players take on new roles in Werwölfe: Klassische Filmmonster, featuring characters like The Blob, Frankenstein's Monster, and Teenage Werewolf. The Blob spreads through the village, winning if it absorbs every player. Frankenstein's Monster gains powers as players die, while Teenage Werewolf's excitement leads him to shout "Werewolf" daily. This expansion is fully compatible with various editions of Ultimate Werewolf.

Players are taken into a British mansion in 1929 for the third case in the Crime Zoom series. This investigation game involves exploring a crime scene spread across multiple cards, revealing clues and items that lead players to solve the mystery. By discussing findings with others, players choose the best clues to pursue, ultimately answering questions to conclude the case and determine the outcome.

Take a tour through the peaceful vineyards and picturesque wineries of California's wine country. During the annual wine tasting festival, the body of local vineyard owner Barry Underwood is discovered hidden in his wine cellar, after being missing for six years. With the finding of his body, new clues emerge to unravel this vintage murder, and you might just be a suspect.

Strange things are happening in the small town of Redview, where animals have been mysteriously disappearing for weeks. When Wookie, the sheriff's dog, goes missing, six friends band together to find him. This family-friendly game takes place in a 1980s Maine town, where players use their strength, agility, and wits to solve the mystery without adult help.

Detective: A Modern Crime Board Game immerses players in the role of true detectives, blending traditional board game elements with modern technology and storytelling. This game offers a unique and interactive experience, as players solve interconnected cases using both physical game components and an online database.

Players must solve a mysterious case in this cooperative investigation game featuring a 3D crime scene. They exchange information by playing cards, discuss findings with each other, and draw conclusions to uncover the truth. Set in the Netherlands in 1698, players will gather clues about the suspicious death of Cornelius Kloos and the sealed will found in his open safe.

Treasure Island is a thrilling game of bluffing and adventure where players are immersed in a high-stakes treasure hunt. One player takes on the role of Long John Silver, using cunning and misdirection to lead the others astray in their quest to find his hidden treasure. The game builds to an exciting climax as Long John makes his daring escape to reclaim his treasure.

Players investigate in a series of mystery games with simplified rules, focusing on character psychology akin to Agatha Christie's novels. In the first installment, the brilliant and fearless Claire Harper embarks on adventures across various intriguing settings, from grand manors to shady theaters, and travels from Scotland to Egypt while solving puzzles that challenge her deductive skills and determination.

You are Kalia Lavel, a dedicated crime fighter disillusioned by the profit-driven motives of your former bosses. After resigning, you now aim to solve crimes and help the vulnerable using the latest technology and a Cyber-Raven companion for evidence analysis. Set in the year 2400, the game immerses players in a technologically advanced Paris where androids and cybernetic implants are commonplace, but danger lurks in distinguishing friend from foe in a world rife with social unrest and inequality.

Players are immersed in a murder investigation set in Brooklyn in 1980. Crime Zoom offers a distinct case on multiple cards that form a larger illustration of the crime scene. Players freely explore, discuss clues, and answer questions about the case, trying to identify the culprit while aiming for the best outcome based on cards revealed.

The sound of a carriage disrupts the silence surrounding the Tudor mansion. Duke Edward York makes a grim discovery: Count Ferdinand Tudor lies lifeless beside a bush of bloody roses. Players gather clues like a broken pocket watch and an astrology manual to piece together the mystery, determining whether it is an accident or a brutal crime.