“My name is Sherlock Holmes. It is my business to know what other people don’t know. ”
Featuring the adventures of Sherlock Holmes, 221B Baker Street is a game which will challenge your critical thinking abilities. The name of the game is derived from the famous fictional detective Sherlock Holmes’ residence located at 221B Baker Street.
About 221 B Baker Street: The Master Detective Board Game
221B Baker Street is a board game developed by Jay Moriarty under Antler Productions in 1975. The game was sold in the US since 1977, by John N. Hansen Co.
In this mind exercise game, the players will have to solve mysterious cases based on clues. The players can gather these clues by visiting different locations on the board. The areas include the following:
- 221B Baker Street, which is the start and the end location
- Chemist
- Carriage Depot
- Hotel
- Museum
- Scotland Yard
- Theater
Other sites have several entrances and exit points which players can use as a shortcut. The original 221B Baker Street game version only has 20 cases to solve. But the game now has ten expansion sets consist of 20 cases each. With this, a total of 200 cases are now available for play.
The Game Mechanics
A great mind game, 221B Baker Street is a game which can be played by two to six players. During the game, the players will assume the role of Sherlock Holmes as an investigator. They will compete with one another to determine who has the best skills in the art of deduction. Using the cases as clues, the players will try to identify the culprit, weapon used, and motive behind the case. Each case features a small paragraph which gives the players bits of information about the crime they must resolve. The clues typically come in three forms – descriptive, a clue about the killer, weapon and motive or no evidence. Clues usually come in the form of a riddle and sometimes comes in multi-part clues.
The Gameplay
Here is how 221B Baker Street is played:
Step 1: Reading a case.
The game begins with one player reading the case aloud, and the rest of the players take note of the details of the case. It is recommended that a time limit will be set on reading the clue.
Step 2: Rolling the dice.
Each player will have to roll the six-sided dice to decide their movements on the board.
Step 3: Reading the clues.
Upon reaching a location after rolling the dice, the player reads the clues and make notes.
Step 4: Keep rolling.
Rolling of the dice continues until a winner emerges or all of the game players have played. If a player believes he or she have uncovered the case, that player may go back to the starting point. The player then announces the critical aspects of the crime – the culprit, weapon and motive. Other information may also be required as outlined in the introduction of the case. The players must then check the rulebook to verify the solution. If the player’s guess is wrong, that player gets excluded from the game.
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