5 Best Deduction Board Games - Can You Figure It Out?

[@gravecac9522]

My favorite of the ones you mentioned is Search for Planet X. An older one I have, that is not very heavy but has great table presence and a lot of fun is Tobago.

[@meeple]

Honestly, if I owned a copy of Tobago, it would have probably made the list. It’s so clever, but impossible to find. That’s a grail game for me (along with the expansion).

[@andrewstewart7078]

My personal favourite is Shipwreck Arcana, but Cryptid and Search For Planet X are close behind.

[@meeple]

If you enjoy Shipwreck, have you tried Paint the Roses? VERY similar, but also an excellent production/presentation.

[@andrewstewart7078]

@meeple ooh no but I'll keep my eyes peeled for it!

[@xChikyx]

shipwreck arcana is a masterpiece

[@jasong1610]

My favorite is Alchemists w/ King's Golem. It's a worker placement deduction game with plenty of tension and a solid puzzle. Search for Planet is great but less game-y. Turing machine has no game and is all puzzle but also enjoyable.

[@meeple]

Alchemists is a monster of a deduction game. I’m not sure if Emily has ever played it, but she might really enjoy that.

[@ladyshay913]

Solo deduction: Black Sonata is so good. I wish it was easier to find.

[@Raddy-g1s]

Awkward Guests and Scandal Oh. You can perfectly play alone using the app.

[@meeple]

I know I’m in the minority, but I’ve had two experiences with Awkward Guests, and both were touch and go for the groups at the table. I may need to try it again.

[@Raddy-g1s]

​@@meepleI play alone, or if we play together, then we open the app for one and discuss questions and moves together, and everyone makes notes on their own sheet. It may not be so intriguing, but it brings the joy of victory to both, promotes communication and helps everyone understand the game.

[@SharlzG]

I really need to get Turing Machine.

[@meeple]

If you like logic, and particularly solo logic, it’s probably a must-own.

[@TheGameBoyGeeks]

If you like Mastermind you need to try Rising 5. It’s a coop game that uses an app but is basically mastermind with other gamer elements of fighting monsters and such.

[@meeple]

Thanks for the tip Dan!

[@sebastianbereda6189]

Favorite deduction games for me are Alchemists, Cryptic, Break the Code, Awkward Guests and Search for Planet X. Other great games that combines deduction and hidden movement are Mind MGMT and Black Sonata.

[@TheGameBoyGeeks]

I love turing machine too but I wish there was more interaction it’s more a solo game

[@meeple]

Yup.

[@TheGameBoyGeeks]

Archeologic, Atlantis and Almost innocent were all avg for me.

[@meeple]

We felt the same about Archeologic, but I really enjoyed Almost Innocent! Great group at the table for that one too! Haven’t tried Atlantis yet.

[@TheGameBoyGeeks]

I like break the code much better than break the cube. Similar game but figuring out numbers instead of shapes.

[@meeple]

Ha! Yeah, I’m the opposite of that.

[@TheGameBoyGeeks]

@@meeple this must be David, because I’m positive Emily likes numbers more than shapes :)

[@barrywelling3868]

Almost Innocent is great, and it scales up in difficulty Lots of fun!

[@gregbroxterman]

Tiwanaku! For an oldie, Sleuth. I want to say the Fugitive. It’s almost like mastermind where the code maker gets to keep making the code while you play!

[@meeple]

Love Fugitive. We filtered that one out with the rest of the hidden movement games. It’s understandably deduction like a lot of those, so I get where you’re coming from.

[@btbrewer25]

Love Turing Machine. Surprised Hooky wasn't mentioned. You should give it a try if you haven't.

[@meeple]

Very reasonable point on Hooky. I think we filtered that one out with the word games, even though it’s really not a word game exactly. It’s also a very recent game for us, so we want to let it marinate a little more. 😁

[@Vikutori-H]

I ended up backing Logic & Lore on KS a little while ago which is a small two player deduction game I'm excited for.

[@meeple]

We’ll need to look that one up!

[@buddyberglund]

I need to play some deduction games with Emily, apparently. I can't get anyone in my game group to play those kinds of games with me, or if they do, it's usually only one time. I finally managed to get some people to play Tiwanaku (which a couple people in the comments mentioned, and which is an amazing deduction game that I'm surprised wasn't on the list), but it just "wasn't [their] type of game." Also, I love that Planet X has the different difficulty levels, but I hate telling someone, "you can start with 10 clues, and I'll start with none," because then I feel like they might be insulted or think I'm saying that they're not as smart as me or something, when really it's just that I do so many of those types of logic and deduction puzzles, that my brain is used to working that way.

[@meeple]

Gonna have to try Tiwanaku now. I’ve heard of it, but was unfamiliar with the fact that it’s a deduction game! 😅

[@buddyberglund]

@@meeple it's kind of a combo of minesweeper and sudoku, but also with some gameplay behind it in addition to the deduction

[@azfactor7875]

A much older game, but very fun for it's time is Scotland Yard. Hidden movement, one v. many. We still have out copy from the '80's.

[@meeple]

Would like an old copy of that. Also, we disregarded Hidden Movement as its own category when we came up with this list.

[@azfactor7875]

A wise decision as that would likely require it's own video and list.

[@hannahbeertz1231]

I also love Letter Jam and Witness as deduction games.

[@meeple]

Had to look up Witness-looks interesting. Never heard of it before.

[@grandmartinvandam]

Sherlock13 I like.

[@meeple]

That one is nice and simple-great for deduction on the go.

[@NameerHaddad]

No Alchemists?! 😱😱😱

[@Vikutori-H]

Haha I expected that one as well

[@meeple]

I don’t think either of us have played, and all I’ve heard is that it’s super heavy and thinky-which may be for Emily actually.

[@NameerHaddad]

@@meeple it's a long teach for sure but it's really not that heavy, but even if it were, it's totally worth it.

[@ktotheramer]

Cryptid isso good!💙💙💙💙

[@meeple]

You win the comments so far! 😁

[@ktotheramer]

@@meeple 🤣🤣🤣

[@TheDButt]

Can't believe you've not mentioned Tiwanaku by Sit Down! Games - it's amazing

[@meeple]

I’m seeing a few people comment about that one. We’ll have to try that!

[@TheDButt]

@meeple it's great. Like competitive sudoku and always a blast. Super easy to understand too 👍