Chronicles of Crime Board Game | Murder Mystery Game | Criminal Investigation Game | Cooperative Game for Kids and Adults | Ages 12+ | 1-4 Players | Avg. Playtime 60-90 Mins | Made by Lucky Duck Games

I was looking for a collaborative game for us to play in the evening and saw that Chronicles of Crime was highly rated. We went through the tutorial to figure out how to play and found the game easy to learn. The gameplay isn't overly complex and uses a combination of a downloadable app, QR codes, videos for searching crime scenes, and cards to simulate the crime solving experience. It feels like there are multiple ways an investigation can go and that you make meaningful decisions along the way. We've found the modules challenging and fun. There's also the ability to purchase expansion packs when we've finished the base modules.

We bought this as a family gift for Christmas, and it did not disappoint. The setup was easy, and the learning curve was surprisingly short for the complexity of the game. We loved that there are several different scenarios/crimes and some build on the previous ones. Note: This is not a "fast" game so be prepared to spend some time on it or set it up somewhere you can leave it. Good cooperative play game as everyone is working together to solve the crime. Being able to look for clues virtually was such a unique aspect of the game. *Note: you do need a tablet to play this game. This was a big hit, and we will look for an expansion pack for this year.

I have played and love Mask of the Pharaoh and I was in love of how the game used the iPhone with virtual reality! A short time later, I learned about Chronicles of Crime and I read it did the same thing.I love the easy of entry and that the rules can be explained in less than 5 minutes, however, it is much more fun to just play the tutorial.The game is very thematic. We are investigators trying to solve a crime (it is a cooperative game), to do that you use an app to interact with the boardgame bits. Every game piece has a QR code so if you want to interact with that card/place you scan it and read the result in the app. It works very well. There are some instances in which you have to inspect the crime scene in VR, for that purpose the game offers some special glasses that work great! I don’t understand why the glasses are necessary though (I’m not a technical person) as the game Mask of the Pharaoh worked very similarly without them. This part of the game is very exciting!Best with 3 players, with 4 players there is always someone who doesn’t interact as much with the app, and thus, doesn’t have a much fun as the others. It can also be a great 2 player game.Chronicles of Crime has a low replay value as once you solve a case you know the answer to it, the only way I would replay a scenario, it would be to get a better score than last time. The app also offers new scenarios and you can buy them and there are community created scenarios downloadable for free.Some friends played the whole game already and they used a TV to mirror the app. In that case every player saw the crime scenes. Not sure if that detracts from the game as if only 1 player see the crime scene, the likelihood that he misses some clue is much higher.Bottom line, I was expecting good things from Chronicles of Crime and the game delivers! I love deduction games, I love games that need an app to play so I love the game. It is very thematic, the cases aren’t very obvious, it is very novel and it works great! I totally recommend it.

The game arrived well ahead of its scheduled delivery time. We loved it - the only thing we are earnestly wishing for is for the developers to keep on having support for the game and the app in the future. It would really suck for the app to stop working 5-10 years down the line. This is the sort of risk you run when you buy games that combine tech and old school cardboard.GAMEPLAY:Not for everyone - you have to be in the right mindset to play this game otherwise you will get bored/irritated. I recommend this game for people who love crime shows, mysteries or puzzles.Always make sure the app is updated.This game says it is only for four players but if you want to scale up the game for more players you can easily do it. It also is a very spectator-friendly game.To play with a lot of players (we were 10 players!) we pass around the phone during the time to look at the crime scene (there is unlimited times you can view a crime scene) and then after everybody has had a look - players say what they think the clues are in the crime scene. For actions, it's just a group vote on what action the group does. (go to a location, talk to a guy, etc.)We also pass the phone around and take turns reading. There are fun events that can happen while reading the text on the phone that really scared our group (for example: A phone suddenly ringing). It's just written words and there is no sound effect but our reader freaked out and said "Oh my God the phone's ringing!" - which sent everyone into a panic. This is what happens when you get a really good set of friends together willing to immerse themselves into the story.We didn't expect this to be such a good party game! Perfect for parties, everyone can play - but definitely not for young kids.