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asurinach — 2008-04-15T08:23:38+00:00

version french

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hrc333 — 2008-04-02T17:47:45+00:00

Hi-Rez Photo of Box Front (Still in Shrink)

Thread: Re: Expansion or Stand-alone?

jack208 — 2007-10-08T03:42:57+00:00

Jern wrote:
greg (#19744),
Dug up my copy and the game is a complete game and the rules included are complete. The box also includes the Map of London and the Telephone directory that apparently every copy you have seen have been missing (unless those actually was Adventures by Gaslight which wasn't standalone).

Are these - Map of London and Telephone Directory - the same set as those in the S.Holmes Consulting Detective game?

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boneroller — 2007-09-05T19:03:48+00:00

Clues Packet

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coolio — 2007-07-01T00:58:38+00:00

Scan of Box Back

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coolio — 2007-07-01T00:45:51+00:00

Scan of Box Cover

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2006-12-31T14:49:47+00:00

london directory

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2006-12-31T14:49:40+00:00

the german version of "the times"

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2006-12-31T14:49:30+00:00

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2006-12-31T14:37:01+00:00

items of the game

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2006-12-31T14:24:04+00:00

Thread: The Mansion Murders

TiLT — 2005-09-13T23:38:06+00:00

Note: This review is based on the assumption that you do not have the original Consulting Detective game. While this is sort of an expansion, it contains everything you need to play.

"The most ingenious and realistic detective game ever devised." the back of the box says, and I'd have to agree. I've never seen anything else like this game. In fact, in some ways it's not even a boardgame. Let me start from the beginning...

Box contents

- A 24" x 28" map of London. This map is mind boggling the first time you see it. A huge number of buildings are numbered, several hundred in total. Any numbered building is a possible clue location, leaving you with a vast amount of choices at every turn.

- London Directory. This little book contains the addresses of over 3000 people and places. It can be used for several purposes, but the most obvious one is to look for the home of someone who's been mentioned in a case. It also lists businesses under their own categories, so if you're looking for a watchmaker, you'll find a list of them under that name.

- Rules. The rules are pretty simple, and can be explained in minutes. As a result, the rules are only a single sheet of paper.

- Case book. This is a two-section book which contains five different cases to investigate. The second half of the book contains their solutions.

- Clue book. This book is divided into 5 sections, one for each case. When you want to investigate a case location, you find its address (for example 36 NW) and look it up under that particular case. If anything is listed for that location (which is very likely. The designers of this game were impressively thorough), you read it and return to choosing another case location.

- Newspaper archive. If you're playing cooperatively, expect one player to be reading this thing for the entire case. This folder contains five dated newspapers (actually, it just contains 2 pages per date, but that's more than enough). For the most part, the stuff in these newspapers is limited to setting the Victorian mood, but you may find important clues, or even entire new cases to investigate, by looking carefully in the articles. Some cases may refer to things that appeared in earlier newspapers, so if you're playing scenario 3, you'll have 6 pages of newspapers to read if you don't want to miss a clue.

- Floorplans. There are two 22" x 17" floorplans for a West End mansion included. As if the enormous amount of clue locations provided on the London map wasn't enough, you'll have over hundred additional locations to investigate here.

- Holmes' Lecture of 1886. This is very handy, and you should study it well before playing. This is a lecture by Sherlock Holmes himself about who's who in London. You would do well to look in this lecture and see if any of the regulars he mentions might know something relevant to the case.

The Game

At the start of a game, you'll pick a case from the case book. It's best to solve them in the listed order, since the newspaper may contain spoilers for earlier cases. You read the case description, which may vary in length from a short story, to a small handwritten note. At this point, you're ready to start.

The game progresses in turns. Every turn you pick one location in the game and read the clue for that location in the Clue book. You repeat this until you feel that you should be able to solve the case.

This is where an interesting twist appears: You do not know what the actual case questions are until you've closed the case. You'll just have to assume that you know enough to be able to answer them. Don't be surprised if some of the questions ask about people or events you've never even heard about. It happens to the best of us...

There are 6 questions, divided into two parts of three each. The first part generally contains the questions most relevant to the case, and awards the most points. The second part contains questions that may or may not be related to the main case. You might be asked for the solution to a murder mystery that was briefly mentioned in the newspaper, for example. Also, the second part occasionally contains questions aimed at Sherlock Holmes experts. You won't be able to answer these without having read at least some of the books.

When you've written down your answers, you refer to the solution, which also lists how many points they award. Then you look at how Holmes himself solved the case, and find the difference in how many clues he used compared to you. If he used 5 clues and you used 9, for example, the difference is -4. Multiply this by 5 and add it to your score. In this case, you'd subtract 20 points since you were slower. If you're faster, you'll gain bonus points. You now have your final score, which shows how well you did. Holmes always gains 100 points, and part of the goal of the game is to beat him. I have yet to see that happen. The best I've seen was 95 points in a cooperative group. This game is HARD!

So, is it any good?

The answer to that depends on how patient you are, and how well you handle losing. You'll usually finish a case in 2 hours or so, or less if you're playing solitaire. Most of this time is spent reading clues, the case description, newspapers, and the lecture. These cases are for the most part very challenging, and you're likely to end up not being able to solve some of them, or only being able to figure out parts of the solution.

If you enjoy Sherlock Holmes and like challenging your mind instead of rolling dice, you're likely to enjoy this game. It's a fun way to spend a few hours with friends, and it makes for fun discussion afterwards, where you go over just what went wrong, and where.

I can only think of two major problem with this game. The first problem is that it's not as standalone as it thinks it is. At least one of the 5 cases in this game requires that you've not only played the original, but that you remember details from some of its cases clearly. This was very disappointing to my group, as it not only made it impossible for us to solve that case, but it also spoiled a case from the original game before we got to it. I recommend that you only play this game if you've already played and finished Consulting Detective.

The second problem is that it's short. There are only 5 cases, and there is no replayability. Once you've solved a case, you can't really play it again, since you already know the solution. On the flipside, the 5 cases provided are really detailed and involving. You'll get a lot of fun with it while it lasts, and there are several other games in the series to keep you going if you want more.

This is a very unique game, and we might never see anything like it again. I wholeheartedly recommend that you pick up Sherlock Holmes Consulting Detective and give it a try, then get this "expansion" for more challenges with the twist of exploring a huge mansion. And play it cooperatively instead of competitively. That way you'll get to show off your awesome deduction skills (or lack of) to your friends, and that's the kind of gaming moment that'll stick with your for a long time.

Elementary, my dear Watson.

Thread: Re:Expansion or Stand-alone?

Jern — 2004-01-31T14:56:23+00:00

greg (#19744),
Dug up my copy and the game is a complete game and the rules included are complete. The box also includes the Map of London and the Telephone directory that apparently every copy you have seen have been missing (unless those actually was Adventures by Gaslight which wasn't standalone).

Thread: Re:Expansion or Stand-alone?

cbrua — 2003-09-22T13:29:39+00:00

greg (#19744),

A copy that I had (have since sold it) stated on the back that it was a stand-alone game and the contents listing matched what is given in the BGG entry above. It was shrink-wrapped; I did not open it to verify the contents.

Looks like they probably sold this as both an expansion and a stand-alone at some point.

--Chris

Thread: Expansion or Stand-alone?

greg — 2003-09-22T13:22:52+00:00

The above summary indicates that The Mansion Murders is a stand alone product. I do not know for sure if it was ever released as such but I can confirm that every copy I have seen has been strictly an expansion. That is, it technically requires the original game, Sherlock Holmes Consulting Detective, in order to play.

Obviously the contents listed above do not agree with what is in the expansion which is as follows:

- Case book
- Clue book
- Newspaper archive
- Two 16" x 22" maps of the mansion

Game: Mansion Murders, The

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Thread: Re: Expansion or Stand-alone?

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Thread: The Mansion Murders

Thread: Re:Expansion or Stand-alone?

Thread: Re:Expansion or Stand-alone?

Thread: Expansion or Stand-alone?