Detective: First Cases – Crime Board Game

may remember Detective, a great investigation game, in which you quickly feel like a real part of the investigation team and constantly have to make decisions that can be central to the further cycle and the potential success of the entire effort. Detective It gave me one of the most bizarre gaming experiences in recent times (similar to Captain Sonar), we delved into the story in a short period of time and tried with all our might to reveal the secrets of the crimes of the distant past.

Special Features with Detective: First Cases

Those who know and appreciate all this too will find their way around The New Detective: The First Cases (Pegasus Spiele) by Ignacy Trzewiczek, Marzena Nowak-Trzewiczek, and Weronika Spyra. At first glance, a lot of the well-known and beloved things from the previous great game have remained the same: we are once again part of a highly specialized team that is supposed to solve tough criminal cases under significant (virtual) time pressure. The Antares database, available online, provides valuable and invaluable background information on the entire investigation, and even Delaware, as our president and client, still makes sure everything is on track.

However, once you dig into the details of the game, there are a few things that have changed compared to the older brother, and this is not necessarily in the sense of continuing or even increasing the fun of the previous game. Detective.

The Detective Here: The first cases started with the promise of a beginner-friendly and family-friendly version of the award-winning detective, but it should also be of interest to people who’ve already played the original. Unfortunately, we have felt very little of that in our games.

Why?

But always one by one. We at Detective: First Cases are also faced with a number of unsolved questions about criminal offenses that we have to uncover together. In addition, there are a number of first leads that we can follow where we can at most guess in advance whether this will effectively lead to more clues or even conclusions or whether everything will cost valuable time just to play. In doing so, we cooperate collaboratively, i.e. we make decisions together and must also constantly exchange our ideas so that we can detect and follow potential patterns and drivers.

Actual results are entered into the Antares database, which is available online, which supports our efforts and, if necessary, can provide further information. At the end is the big final report, where a series of multiple-choice questions must be answered. The database then informs us if we have resolved the issue, how successful we are, or whether we should try the whole thing again.

Less Depth with the Detective: The First Cases

All this can also be found in Detective: First cases, but with a rather abstract set of rules. On the other hand, the members of the investigation team do not have special properties and there are no longer any special tiles. Instead, we have a number of standard chips that can be used at will if certain traces need to be pursued in more detail. The event is no longer divided into days with the option to work overtime if explanations at a location are to be completed. In addition, the individual cases are not related to each other (which is exactly what contributed so much to the great overall atmospheric impression of the detective) and they no longer have anything to do with reality, so additional online research is not necessary.

Above all, however, the new cases of detectives: the first cases do not match those of the “big” Detective to keep up. Understandably, as individual stories, they cannot delve into the same depth as the entirety of interconnected states Detective. This makes Detective: First Cases sort of a narrow-band entry point for people who want to learn about the detective’s investigative experience without wanting (for whatever reason) to trust the original. However, in the first cases, you risk losing the special charm of your older brother and ignoring your shoulders. But that would be a shame. because Detective It is much better than the somewhat old version of Detective: the first cases indicate.

In this sense, it can only be recommended here that people who know the origin should steer clear of the first cases; They are not likely to enjoy it. On the other hand, if you do not know either of the two plants, then you should go directly to the Great Progenitor and Inquisitor: skip the first cases – everything else is somehow meaningless and pleasant.