Detective Games Like Sherlock Holmes – Case File Alternatives in 2026
These are games that feel and play just like Holmes. This means evidence-based reasoning, and deduction over puzzles and riddles. Sherlock Holmes games simply feel a certain way, and you’ll immediately know one when you play it.
Sherlock Holmes Consulting Detective board game is the closest thing to actual Holmes-style gaming. At ~$47.99 for ten cases, each running 1-2 hours, it is the gold standard for deduction-based at-home detective play. Modern case files like those from Print Mysteries use the same core methodology as Sherlock games but at a lower price. Games range from $8.50 to $16, but the closest game to a Sherlock one is Murder at Evercroft Manor, which is set in the 19th-century and has a very interesting story to go along with it’s historic atmosphere.
What “Games Like Sherlock Holmes” Actually Means
While having a Victorian setting is great, Sherlock games are more about reasoning from evidence, paying careful attention to people and surroundings, and never jumping to random conclusions.
Most detective games don’t really follow this methodology. Cluedo, for example, uses elimination rather than deduction. You rule out possibilities until one remains. Escape room games focus mainly on solving puzzles and secret codes. And most murder mystery dinner games are simple enough to guess rather than deduce the killer.
Sherlock Holmes-style games put the full investigation on your shoulders and expect you to be 100% certain of who the killer is from the clues and evidence given. It’s one of my absolute favorite ways to play any murder mystery game.
The Gold Standard: Sherlock Holmes Consulting Detective
Each case comes with a casebook with witness accounts, a map of Victorian London, an archive of period newspapers, and with a directory of addresses you can visit. As the player, you can decide where to go and who to speak to. Every location visit will cost you a point. Whenever you feel ready, you can answer a series of questions about the case and compare your solution and your reasoning against that of Holmes’s. The scoring system judges you on how accurately you reasoned the case compared to Holmes himself. You can absolutely ignore the points system if you like. In fact, I recommend that you do. The game is a lot of fun to play without it. Sherlock ALWAYS wins. Sherlock Holmes Consulting Detective.
The Consulting Detective cases are genuinely open-ended. You can follow a lead to any address and it may turn out to be irrelevant. You’ll simply lose a point (if you’re using the point system) and continue playing. It’s like the Choose Your Own Adventure books that I grew up with.
While I enjoyed it alone, as I do most games, Consulting Detective is apparently better with at least two people playing. This allows for debating and fun conversation..
Modern Case Files – The Same Methodology, Lower Entry Cost
Some murder mystery case files also use Sherlock’s methodology in their gameplay. With all cases, you get a bunch of evidnece – interrogations, photographs, maps, coded letters, invoices, etc. and use them to solve a case. Every publisher makes their case files differently, so you’ll never find the exact same thing. Once you’ve found a publisher you enjoy, you’ll have a whole catalog of cases to enjoy.
At Print Mysteries, we ensure that every single case can be finished from beginning to end without ever needing any kind of general knowledge of the content being talked about. Every single clue can be found by being observant. It might be hidden in the small print on a receipt or in a newspaper ad, but it’s always there. That’s how we ensure that our games are always fair and follow the Sherlock-style of gaming. Cases cost between $8.50 and $16. They are all printable, so you you can play at any time, from anywhere.
Print Mysteries cases files are designed for 1-4 people, but are fantastic playing alone. You’re the sole detectie in charge of the investigation. In order to successfully find the killer, you’ll have to complete 3-7 complex objectives.
Lord Samuel Evercroft is found dead in his study at a Victorian manor, and it’s up to you as the consulting detective to try and find out what happened. All of the evidence is period-appropriate, like handwritten letters, old-school newspapers, fingerprints, and legal estate documents. Players get to work through seven interesting objectives that will take them through the family history to find means, motive and opportunity. View Murder at Evercroft Manor.
For Holmes-era settings specifically, Victorian 19th-century case files shows you how this type of game works in a modern printable format.
Detective: A Modern Crime Board Game
While these are modern cases,the deduction methodology is still in the Holmes tradition. You run a detective agency, access a digital database, cross-reference evidence across suspects and locations, and work through five cases that will build toward a larger narrative. Cases run 2-3 hours and it’s pretty fun gameplay. Like most detective-related media, once you know who the killer is, there’s no real replay value, but with 5 cases in the set, you’re getting a pretty great deal with these.Detective: A Modern Crime Board Game.
Full Comparison: Games in the Holmes Tradition
| Game | Cost | Play Time | Solo? | Holmes Fidelity |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Sherlock Holmes Consulting Detective | ~$47.99 (10 cases) | 2-3 hrs | Good | Highest |
| Murder at Evercroft Manor (Print Mysteries) | ~$16 | 2-4 hrs | Excellent | Very High (Victorian) |
| Detective: A Modern Crime BG | ~$50 (5 cases) | 2-3 hrs | Good | High (modern) |
| Chronicles of Crime | ~$40 | 1-1.5 hrs | Good | Moderate |
| Cluedo / Clue | ~$13.75 | 1-1.5 hrs | No | Low |
Holmes-Style Games and Solo Play
Holmes worked with Watson because a story is better told with two people in it. Sherlock needs a friend, not actually someone to help him solve cases. In the same vein, great Sherlock-like games can be played alone without anyone else around. It’s up to the individual if they prefer playing solo, with their partner, or in a group. Whatever works for you, is the right choice.
Holmes-style deduction games almost always allow for solo play but have an option to include additional players as well. Consulting Detective and Print Mysteries case files both work really well for solo players because they were designed with this in mind.
What I’ve Taken from Designing in This Tradition
I’ve been the biggest fan of Sherlock Holmes all my life. I grew up watching Jeremy Brett’s Sherlock Holmes and read every book I could get my hands on. Nowadays, there are so many options for books, movies and TV shows that I’m spoiled for choice. However, there weren’t many murder mystery case files that could give me that same exhilirating feeling of being a detective myself. So I’ve created my own experiences that hopefully live up to that goal, even though I can’t play them myself as I know every answer, every secret, and every hidden Easter egg.
We’ve covered some great board games in this article, but you might want to look into how they compare to modern case files – a full breakdown of mechanics, cost, replayability, etc.
Related Reading
Our full comparison of detective games for home play covers where these types of games fit alongside subscription boxes, escape room games, and other detective media types.
Frequently Asked Questions
Sherlock Holmes Consulting Detective is the best detective board game that follows the Holmes tradition. Each case gives you a city map, a set of period newspapers, and a directory of addresses. You decide where to go and which leads you’d like to follow. If you prefer murder mystery case files over board games, then Murder at Evercroft Manor is your best option at a fraction of the price.
Some, yes. It depends on which publisher you go with. Print Mysteries’ murder mystery case files use a Sherlock-like methodology in their games. Case files cost between $8.50 and $16. For a Victorian setting that shows off the Holmes era specifically, Murder at Evercroft Manor is the best option to choose.
Yes, but the experience is often better with a partner. It’s really a personal choice whether you like playing these types of games a lot, but is is rated for 1-8 players.
Sherlock Holmes Consulting Detective is set in Victorian London, with period newspapers and a city directory as investigation tools. Murder at Evercroft Manor by Print Mysteries is a printable case file set in a 19th-century Surrey estate with period evidence design, like handwritten letters, newspapers, and fingerprints from inkwells. The Print Mysteries historical 19th-century case file article covers the Victorian format in more detail.
A game is like Sherlock Holmes when it rewards evidence-based reasoning instead of luck or player mechanics. The game should also have everything necessary to solve the case on the page, so that players can the deduce the answer from all the facts, and not have answers based on their knowledge of the topic.
