The Battle of the Sherlock Holmes Board Games

You know, it might not be an actual battle. It might be more like just self abuse.

So when I was growing up, we the game 221b Baker Street, and I think, at least one of its expansions. It was this game here:

http://www.amazon.com/Baker-Street-...9407898&sr=1-1&keywords=Master Detective Game

You had a map of London, and a directory with all the suspects and a separate little "case file" story for each murder. It was fun. The whole family liked it and my sister especially played it until the case files were just rags and scotch tape. I was thinking of getting in a few years for my niece.


But I was browsing RPS today and they had a post about this game - Sherlock Holmes, Consulting Detective - which has just been reissued in a scrumptious new edition and now I have lust in my heart.

http://www.rockpapershotgun.com/2013/01/28/cardboard-children-sherlock-holmes/#more-139927

http://www.amazon.com/Sherlock-Holm...keywords=sherlock holmes consulting detective

The RPS article is clever and all but I would have a traded a little clever for a bit of factuality. It sounds just like the 221b game - the map, the case files, etc.

So has anyone played either game? Are they the same game with different packaging? Is the one as fun as the other or what?

A quick BGG search shows that they're two different games.

Also, 221b Baker Street's box is way too similar to Sleuth's box.

I've never played 221b baker street, but Sherlock Holmes Consulting Detective is a fun game. I suspect they are very different though

CD comes with a map of London, a directory, newspaper, clue book, and case summary/resolution book. Sherlock Holmes gives you and the rest of the Irregulars a case to work on, and then you choose locations from the map/directory to investigate further. If its a valid location for the case, there will be an entry for the address in the clue book. Your ultimate goal is to solve the case (and any bonus/hidden mysteries) using a combination of the clue book, the newspaper, and your deductive skills.

EDIT - Final scoring is how completely you solved the mystery, and how many hops on the map it took you.

No, see that's exactly how 221b works, too, which is why I wondered if they were connected somehow.

Consulting detective isn't just collecting clues. There are passages that have to be read and interpreted. You may learn the victim left work to meet RW at a bar in sw London. Head to the bar and find out he never arrived. Visit the coroner and learn he was stabbed in upward stab wounds that went in right to left.

Wait a sec, wasn't the secretary short and right handed, etc?

Yes, 221b did that too. The clues and casebook needed some thinking about.

After reading a little more, it sounds like the big difference is that 221b has an actual board that the players' tokens use and Consulting Detective has no board, making it more free-form. Hmm.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/221B_Baker_Street_(board_game)

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sherlock_Holmes_Consulting_Detective


ETA: Sleuth is a really kickass game. That's another we played until the cards were in shambles.