Master Criminals! A Game of Mystery

Kerry Hammond loves to play board games and she’s here today to tell you about her most recent favorite. 

When you love reading mysteries, you’re always on the lookout for other things that challenge your mind and require you to solve puzzles. I have always loved board games, and lucky for me, there are plenty of games out there with a mystery element.

Today I want to tell you about a card game called Master Criminals. It’s from a company called Bepuzzled, who are the makers of the mystery puzzles I love so much. As usual, you need at least 2 players for this game, so find a friend and I’ll tell you how it works.

Much like the game of Clue, where the players are tasked with solving the Who, Where and How of the crime, Master Criminals requires you to figure out the Who, Where, How and Why. The game contains 52 cards that make up these four categories. Some with wonderful pictures and some with question marks, allowing the players to question other players.

Each player draws one picture card from each category, and this makes up the player’s hidden crime. The players take turns questioning each other to try and determine the four parts of the crime that make up the cards each holds. The play moves clockwise as each player draws a card from the deck. If it’s a picture card, the player is able to mark off that car on the investigation sheet and rule it out. If it’s a question card, the player is allowed to ask another player a yes/no question based on the category on the back of the card.

Subterfuge is always encouraged. Asking questions you already know the answer to can throw other players off and make it look like you know less than you do. Play continues until a player feels they know the four parts of their opponent’s crime. Make sure you have all your facts, though. If you guess wrong you lose a turn for each part of the crime you guessed incorrectly. The game ends when one player correctly guesses all four parts of the other player’s crime.