Last Updated on April 22, 2026
Murder mystery games have captivated our imaginations for generations, evolving from the foggy streets of Victorian London to the immersive experiences we enjoy today.
As we celebrate 150 years of murder mysteries in 2025, it’s fascinating to see how these games continue to thrive in our digital age.
I’ve always been drawn to the interactive element of these experiences – the chance to play detective, piece together clues, and test my deductive reasoning, as I did in the new Sherlock Holmes game.
To give you an example, I have a best friend who is also obsessed with solving puzzles. At least four times a year, we do Escape Rooms and meet monthly for ‘Puzzle Nights.’
In fairness, they do involve a decent quantity of vino and chat, but what we’ve found is that they are a relatively inexpensive way of having a great time with friends without having to stray too far from home.
They are maximum fun with minimum cost and what’s not to love about that!
There’s something uniquely satisfying about gathering evidence, analyzing suspects, and that “aha!” moment when you finally solve the case.
Sherlock Holmes – The Tale of the Disappearing Beauty
I recently had the pleasure of trying Sherlock Investigates, and I was thoroughly impressed by this authentic Victorian mystery game.
Let me set the scene for you. I wanted to know if it was just as much fun if played by people who weren’t as consumed by puzzle-solving as myself.
With that in mind, I roped in my other half and our teenage daughter (not her scene at all) and explained the concept of the game.
You get an envelope that contains newspaper cuttings, photographs, and police reports that you unearth one by one as you progress through the game.
Everything is clearly laid out, and you begin with the first envelope (there are five). With the evidence in front of you, you have to answer Watson’s first question – it’s written in the opening letter.
Once we had established the answer, we moved on to the second envelope and so on…
The idea is that you make it to the final envelope, revealing what happened to the disappearing beauty and who may have committed a murder along the way.
Why It Gets The Thumbs Up
What makes this game special is how it encourages you to stay curious and examine every detail – just like the great detective himself would.
Everything is written as if it were the 1890s, and with newspaper clippings, letters, and witness statements, it all gets very immersive.
We each took various pieces of the puzzle and then discussed them briefly, whittling down our suspects as we went.
I’m delighted to say that we succeeded in identifying the culprit in the Sherlock Holmes game – hurrah – but more importantly, as a family, we had great fun doing so.
Had we gotten stuck along the way, there are QR codes you can scan to get hints, so you’re never going to be stuck for a solution.
I should also mention that the quality of the materials was excellent, and a lot of thought has been put into the backstory and packaging.
So, overall, Sherlock Investigates gets a big thumbs up – even from a teenager who I know would otherwise have been on her phone scrolling through TikTok!
Who Can Play The Game?
This is the kind of game you can play by yourself if you are that way inclined, or with a group of family and friends.
It accommodates up to eight players, but just remember that the more people that play, the longer it will take as you all discuss the evidence.
In all, with the three of us, we solved it in about an hour and a half, but anything from 2-4 hours would be reasonable with more people.
Discount Code
If you fancy giving the Sherlock Holmes game a go, then you can purchase it here.
The lovely sleuthing experts at Sherlock Investigates have also kindly given me a discount code for 20% off. Just use MYSTERY20 at the checkout.
Free Game
And, if after all of that, you are still not sure, then head to sherlockinvestigates.com, where they also have a free game for you to play.
It’s called The Tale of the Swooning Señorita, and in it, Dr. Watson requests your assistance to match wits with Sherlock and find out why the señorita swooned.
You follow along with him, look at clues, and find the answer – it’s online and great fun!
Sherlock
Sherlock Holmes himself has become such an iconic figure in our cultural landscape that it’s sometimes hard to remember he’s fictional!
Created by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle in 1887, this consulting detective first appeared in A Study in Scarlet and went on to feature in four novels and 56 short stories.
What I love about Holmes is his remarkable ability to draw broad conclusions from minute observations – a skill Doyle modeled after his university teacher Joseph Bell.
Holmes’s methods of deduction and logical reasoning border on the fantastic, making him the perfect character to inspire generations of mystery enthusiasts.
His partnership with Dr. John Watson provides the perfect narrative vehicle as Watson chronicles their adventures from their shared quarters at 221B Baker Street.
Despite Doyle’s attempt to kill off Holmes in 1893 (at the Reichenbach Falls), public outcry was so great that he eventually resurrected the character.
It’s no wonder that by the 1990s, Holmes had become the most portrayed human literary character in film and television history.
And now you can help him solve a brand new mystery!
