Letters from Whitechapel - A Classic Hidden Movement Game That Holds Up

[@sobreeltablero]

Letters from Whitechapel is the best board game ever made. Really clever, elegant, simple and well executed. Many players mistakenly think this is another cat and mouse hidden movement game, but the game plays more like an investigation and not so much like a chase as other games in the genre do. It is not about chasing Jack's trail, it is more about figuring out where Jack's hideout is so that he can be stopped from getting there before the end of the round. Detectives can simply block Jacks hideout by round 3 if they have been solving the logical puzzle correctly. As much as I like Whitehall Mystery, which uses the same system, Letters from Whitechapel is still the better game of the two, because in Whitehall Mystery players are again chasing Jack, so that game plays like many other games in the genre. Whitechapel feels like an investigation. No other game in the genre has achieve that same investigation feel. And, I do like Whitechapel at 2 players. But I think it shines as a 3 to 4 player game because of the discussion between the detectives, which make the game much more interesting for both sides. The expansion "Dear Boss" invented the Shift system before it was called the Shift system.

[@olafpieters]

It's not a two player game. The discussions going on between two (or more) detectives is part of the game. And 60 minutes playtime? No way.

[@frankndice]

The game that got me into this hobby

[@ChrisVallely]

I could see house ruling who controls which characters. Either have one character that anyone can move, and then assign the other 4 as you described for player counts, or have each player assigned a certain number of detectives (2-3) based on player count where 1 overlaps with another player. You'd have to test it out, but that may be a good solution to various player counts.

[@williamblack6912]

My 3rd most favorite hidden movement game after Beast and Fury of Dracula.

[@leecurkeet7654]

Whitehall Mystery is the best

[@Kinert]

this is my favourite hidden movement board game because is the only one that is more about trying to know where jack is going between the rounds instead of just chasing him. In this genre usually being the hidden character is always fun, so I'm always searching for other games that are more fun for the investigator instead. In others games when you lose the trail it becomes less interesting or very frustrating like if you have to start over again. So in the end, if it is going to be like that better if it is a short game like mind mgmt or whitechapel.

[@ianw0ng]

just got its little bro, whitehall mystery. fun tight game. dont think we'll need its big bro.

[@chucktelschow]

Such a fun game! We have found that Jack rarely wins, and it’s more about how long can he last. We love it with 6 people!

[@bearhustler]

It's great but it's little brother Whitehall Mystery is even better and quickly teachable to non gamers. I think it's the best hidden movement ever, never got the fuss about Mind MGMT

[@chrisnenzel582]

So... If I have Fury of Dracula 4th Edition do I need this?

[@JohnClem56]

Depends on what you like or don't like about FoD or how much you like hidden movement as a mechanism overall. There's more to FoD than just hidden movement because once you track down Dracula you have a combat phase which is fairly involved. Also as Dracula you can essentially set traps / force the hunters to deal with your minions. In Whitechapel it's more about trying to track Jack enough to sort out where his hideout is located and then cut him off from being able to get back to his hideout than about figuring out exactly where he his and capturing him. As Sobre el Tablero said above, it feels like an investigation since you're putting info together to locate the hideout. If FoD is too long or you find the combat tedious then you might like Whitechapel better. If you love the combat and extra tricks that Dracula can play or the unique powers of the hunters in FoD then Whitechapel might feel a bit hollow. If you just like the idea of hidden movement and players trying to strategize how to pin down the baddie then you would probably have fun with both.

[@timofkings5173]

I have almost all hidden movement games that exist. (It’s my fav genre) For me Sniper Elite takes the crown. (Although Fury still has a special place in my heart, 2nd ed is what launched me into board games.) Sniper Elite does everything what other games do, but smoother, faster and more streamlined.

[@ButOneThingIsNeedful]

Any opinion on Whitehall Mystery? I'd value hearing your opinion.

[@timofkings5173]

Whitehall Mystery is a condensed Whitechapel. I would choose Whitehall over Whitechapel any day. As ‘Jack’ it’s more nerve-racking than Whitechapel. And it plays faster.

[@michaeljoesph8687]

Enjoy Whitehall the most!!! Even like it more than mind mgmt 🧐 waiting on BEAST to take over my number one spot

[@ButOneThingIsNeedful]

How 'bout Whitehall Mystery?

[@JohnClem56]

I like WM because it distills the play down to the essence of the hidden movement. You get the team strategy of trying to close the net on the hidden player and the hidden player has the fun of trying to find a way to outsmart the others. It has fewer rules and plays faster than Letters from Whitechapel or Fury of Dracula while giving you a lot of the same feel / tension. If you have the time and don't mind the extra complexity, to me there's more depth to Letters or Fury that makes them a more immersive / thematic experience.

[@michaeljoesph8687]

Whitehall waaaaaaaaaaaaaay better.. it’s a boiled down experience.. I really like this genre for less experienced board gamers and this is really easy to teach!! Love that it throws you into the tension quickly. It also plays really fast it’s nice with the genre to be able to rotate roles a few times.

[@ButOneThingIsNeedful]

@@JohnClem56 Thank you for your post.

[@JohnClem56]

@@ButOneThingIsNeedful 👍 Glad you found it useful. Cheers!

[@CH-fp6gj]

Play Fury of Dracula. There is a lot more depth and player decision space. It plays well at 3

[@aeraser83]

I wish I was able to find this game at a reasonable price. I don't think anyone is printing it right now.

[@CH-fp6gj]

@@aeraser83 it definitely needs a reprint soon. The price seems to really fluctuate on eBay and BGG market place. I have seen it sub $50 dollars on a few occasions

[@aeraser83]

@@CH-fp6gj I live in the terrible cold north. So cheapest I've seen up here is about 150 USD, which is way more than I'm willing to pay.

[@CH-fp6gj]

@@aeraser83 oh man! Good game but that is way too much

[@Octavian2]

Should i get this or whitehall?

[@BoardGameCo]

This

[@AlejandroAdria]

This is much better, imo

[@WalderFrey]

It only works as a two-player game, and even then just about. There are all sorts of problems with it: 1) If you do try to play with more than 2 players then the police need to talk to each other. The Jack player gets to hear these discussions so will get free information about what the police's theories and potential actions might be ("I'll check down here, you go down there") which can then be used against the police. Or they don't talk, in which case they're disjointed and at a disadvantage when compared to a single player controlling all of the police. So what's the point? 2) Gameplay tends to be fun for the Jack player, but not so much for the other player(s). Saying "Have you been to location X?" "No" repeatedly isn't compelling. 3) A good Jack player won't just go straight to his hideout, he'll lay false trails by doubling back on himself, he'll use tokens to hide his trail. He'll also take as long as he can to get home - if he gets home in just a few moves then the radius from the crime scene is smaller than if he takes all night. I've played it where the Jack player intentionally took as long as possible on the first 3 nights, circling their hideout to kill time. It was the very definition of boring, and it took waaay more than 2 hours to play. I sold the game soon after that one. 4) The police have no real strategy available to them. It's not about deduction, it's more about having a bit of luck to pick up a trail any distance from the crime scene. 5) Needs some house ruling to be playable out of the box. For example, giving the police the option to move 3 spaces but not search/arrest, otherwise they can be too ponderous.

[@liquidfaust]

Too many "lets not talk about"

[@BoardGameCo]

But let's not talk about that.

[@KristoVaher]

No it does NOT function best as two-player game! With multiple players the police chatter is important both for the fun of the game, as well as for difficulty and theme of Jack hearing the chatter of police talking on the street. I would never recommend it as just two-player.

[@Sgrand80]

To each their own

[@KristoVaher]

@@Sgrand80 Of course, but stating as if it is outright better at two is misleading. Better for him - yes - but most of my group absolutely love games like this with players more than two.