Top Ten Longest Most Epic Hardcore Detective Mystery Games (45min @ 4k)

[@COOPFORTWO]

Addendum to this list: We finally got a chance to play the 1984 Sherlock Holmnes Consulting Detective expansion The Queen's Park Affair. It took us 45 hours to livestream the entire experience in an 8 day marathon. Truly one of the most epic hardcore mystery experiences you can get. Would have been in 3rd place on this list. You can watch the whole thing here: kzbin.info/aero/PLUuYfoWEBEMVp7niIEQ1SytDl62sR41oj Not for the faint of heart, this is one of the more overwhelming experiences I've had. I'll record a spoiler-free review soon -jesse

[@spagomat]

I can't believe I found this channel! I played Gumshoe with a friend when it first came out, and I got a couple of the Dennis Wheatley games when they were reprinted long ago. I appreciate the raft of recent games in this mode (Detective AMCBG is in fact my favorite!) but I'm amazed that nobody has even reprinted Gumshoe, much less made anything as deep as it was. I bet a Kickstarter campaign along these lines would quickly meet its goal! Thanks for alerting me to a few games I missed!

[@COOPFORTWO]

Gumshoe is a very special game! ps. We are working on a game inspired by it -- you can even play our first couple of cases. Maybe you will join us in writing some new cases for it: boardgamegeek.com/boardgame/418459/new-york-noir-mysteries-high-and-low -jesse

[@jonathanwarner2893]

Thanks for the shoutout. These long games really do tend to be the best. Even if your relatively new to this type of game, don't be afraid to try one of these. I think being less familiar with some of the tropes of the genre will make the mysteries even richer. I really think Vienna connection is a good place to start; with its mix of cards, documents, and an ending system less about passing or failing you based on your answers.

[@tarvos_trigarannos]

I am really excited about the "spiritual successor" of Gumshoe that you mention during the review. Please, please, please continue on that project. Let me know if there is anything anyone can do to help. "Gumshoe: NYC". I totally dig this.

[@COOPFORTWO]

Thanks for the encouragement, Rodrigo! It's a big project that I'm still not sure whether it's worth all the effort that would be required, but I am committed to at least finishing my outline of the entire campaign and structure, and finishing at least one of the planned 13 games in the campaign, and then taking a step back to see if it's worth finishing the entire campaign. At some point I may start to collect contact information from people who would be interested in playtesting (or actually helping to write story text for), and if I get serious I'll start making some videos about the game design process... -jesse

[@anitaridinger7619]

@@tarvos_trigarannos i

[@anitaridinger7619]

@@tarvos_trigarannos That sounds like a fantastic idea With all your experience and knowledge I'm sure it would be a great game

[@anitaridinger7619]

@@tarvos_trigarannos don't feel pressured yout the only one who can decide what's best I appreciate your information and content Take care

[@ElloMadamIamYourAdam]

Glad to have found this channel. Like you guys, I'm big on tabletop detective games. Really got into the genre during lockdown, then having exhausted much of what was available, I fell back on golden age detective fiction, treating those as games. Now I'm at the start of a resurgence, having bought Gumshoe last week on the cheap. It was a lucky dip situation, the box sold still in its original plastic. To my delight it turned out to be a second edition. Can't wait to lose myself to it over the holidays. I also bought the Post Mortem trilogy on the strength of your review for the first instalment. So yeah, will be binging on your older videos and look forward to future content, my like-minded new friend.

[@COOPFORTWO]

Sounds like you have some great sessions ahead of you! -jesse

[@COOPFORTWO]

We just played (11/4/22) the newest game in the Post Mortem series (Post Mortem London Gothic: Ghost in the Machine), which took us 24 hours to play over 3 sessions. That would have put it near the top of the list. See playthrough here: kzbin.info/www/bejne/j2fJiJeVibSZi6s

[@davidwillems9904]

Just stumbled on your channel. I love the focus on mystery games. I have several of those dossier games and really enjoy the physicality of them.

[@COOPFORTWO]

Thanks David! It's always nice to hear from someone else who likes these games and likes the channel. Those old dossiers are really something quite special, you really feel like you are traveling back in time to a different age. -jesse

[@ColbyHiggs]

Great list! Thank you!

[@COOPFORTWO]

I need to record a new version of this and add some more of our longer games.

[@kelleywolatz7098]

The cosykiller mysteries are also very long and very well done. Inheritance is the one to start with!

[@COOPFORTWO]

I have one cosy killer I splurged for, hidden listener. Inheritance looks great I just can't afford them normally. We will probably stream it in December

[@kelleywolatz7098]

Fantastic!@@COOPFORTWO

[@ElloMadamIamYourAdam]

Played Lucha Muerte after being very underwhelmed by Lights, Camera, Murder and had the complete opposite experience. Superb writing, a really inspired backdrop for the dense labyrinthine plot, masterful game design and just overall a wonderfully rich, highly immersive and very well clued mystery with fun props. I think it ranks up there with the best of SHCD (though have yet to play Adventures by Gaslight) and might be my favourite solo narrative detective game yet. Deserves to be way more renowned than it is.

[@COOPFORTWO]

Glad to hear that you enjoyed it. Given the backdrop and setting I didn't expect to enjoy Lucha Muerte nearly as much as we did -- but the writing really grabs you and doesn't let you go.

[@ElloMadamIamYourAdam]

@@COOPFORTWO Thanks to your channel for shining a spotlight on it! Up next: La La Land and I have Ghost in the Machine making its way to me as we speak. Such a high quality series, rationing myself is proving very difficult.

[@COOPFORTWO]

@@ElloMadamIamYourAdam Looking forward to hearing how you like it!

[@AdamH75]

Amazing - I had no idea there were vintage ones. I’ve been on the fence for the longest time whether to pick up SH:CD (latest reprint/want to begin with the original) as I’ve heard many mixed reviews. I’m 100% extremely patient, methodical and easily immersed in well crafted mystery novels, boardgames, shows and video games so feel this niche genre is right for me. Will watch your spoiler free reviews of these and hopefully take the plunge..

[@COOPFORTWO]

Well you have a world of fascination and enjoyment ahead of you. I always recommend the Sherlock Holmes Consulting Detective Baker Street Irregulars as the most consistently good case and the best bang for the buck to boot. But you could also start with the Thames Murders box if you wanted; the order you play the boxes doesn't really matter.

[@COOPFORTWO]

Another important clarification: I'm only including in my sense of "length" the length of a connected campaign or connected story. I am not counting the total playtime within a box of independent cases. If I were then all of the Sherlock Holmes Consulting Detective boxes would be in contention for the #1 spot.

[@logan_hill]

Thanks, Jesse. This is exactly the the type of game I love. You can lose yourself and disappear into other worlds while still having a clear objective. Interested to see your final thoughts on The Fellowship of Bones and how it stacks up to these.

[@COOPFORTWO]

Yeah that's always where the SHCD-style games have shined.. You feel like you have traveled back in time to a real place with interesting people. -jesse

[@COOPFORTWO]

Mortum Midieval Detective is the odd one out on this list, since it is not nearly as satisfying a mystery -- but the total playtime of our livestreams grants it a position in the list...

[@MrPrettyAwesome]

I would like to see you do this same thing for a top ten for your favorite games with deduction elements... as well as the most thematic.

[@anitaridinger7619]

I really like historical period even midevil up to 70s i liked how comprehensive gaslight and gum shoe were. Because Im new will look for mid range difficulty level I listen to true crime podcast and some live trial coverage i liked all of your recomendations love history story element is most important Intrigued by post mortem london but would like long play i dont like chiphers or puzzles id rather concentrate on the case details This is like being immersed in a an interactive well written detective story with engaging characters I think i will be very pleased with Baker street irregulars i didnt even know narrative detective games existed till i found your site so thank you i also liked that Baker street irregulars includes 10 different cases. Your recommendatiin have more depth and substance than my intended purchase Thanks for helping me to spend wisely. I am looking forward to being thoroughly entertained and intellectually challenged But not too over whelmed 😂 Take care very much appreciated

[@anewfrontier8356-vy9ym]

Whenever you reference one of your other videos, it would be great if you could provide a link in the description. Maybe it's just me, but I haven't been able to find a single one of the any of your referenced videos (through the search) ever.

[@COOPFORTWO]

I will try to do so in the future. I need to update this video as well with some of the longer series we've played since then. These videos I mention should show up though if you search for them as long as you are using the search within this channel: www.youtube.com/@COOPFORTWO/search

[@carsonozcomert7130]

I would really really love a video specifically for the best printable games!!!!!!

[@COOPFORTWO]

If you buy a copy of Sherlock Holmes Consulting Detective, there are some fantastic freely downloadable print and play fan cases made for it. -jesse

[@COOPFORTWO]

I need to update this list with some of the more recent longer experiences..

[@giadaspaccapanicoproietti9305]

We player the all the Sherlock cases but the tenth case of the green box didn't last 18 hours but 4/5 hours like the other cases. Maybe you include also the case in the last piece of paper? Where the gaslight cases can be found?

[@COOPFORTWO]

Giada, it definitely takes me like 2-4 times longer to play games on youtube than off camera, BUT the last case of the Baker Street Irregular box seems considerably longer than the others, especially with the need to go through the previous newspapers, etc. There's a lot more pages in it, etc. Of course nothing is stopping you from rushing through it and trying to answer questions, but I am a completionist, I like to read everything I can. Adventures by Gaslight and The Queens Park Affair giant explansions can be found on ebay in their original releases. Adventures by Gaslight was never reprinted. I posted a long standalone review of Gaslight, and my review of The Queen's Park affair should go up next week. -jesse

[@anitaridinger7619]

??? One other question if I get stuck is there somewhere I can get a lead or hint that won't ruin or solve the problem??? Thanks again

[@COOPFORTWO]

BoardGameGeek forums is *the* place to go to ask for help -- lots of people willing to provide hints: boardgamegeek.com/boardgame/296345/sherlock-holmes-consulting-detective-the-baker-str/forums/0

[@jonathanwarner2893]

I'll add an honorable mention that I do think it could be a very epic hardcore experience to the right audience. That's the fourth Wheatley dossier Herewith the Clues. This one did not have the greatest story. What it does have is a scoring system and lots of physical evidence. There also this complicated element of some suspects being eliminated by 2 pieces of evidence and others 1. On top of that there's also some period specific stuff you're sort of expected to know. And there is time's effect on the physical evidence. So I think if you wanted to keep at that till you had completely convinced yourself you were going to get a perfect score it could take some time and be a challenging experience.

[@COOPFORTWO]

My difficulty ratings here are from memory -- would love to hear if others have different opinions about which of these games they thought were harder than others.

[@jonathanwarner2893]

The one that I think I disagree with is probably Who Killed Robert Prentice. From my memory, we all sort of had different guesses of who had done it by the end. And then when we did read the solution there were some pieces of the evidence we did not pick up on. So I think I would rate it higher. But all the Wheately specific dossier's had a sort of hit or miss on how fair we thought the evidence was.

[@COOPFORTWO]

@@jonathanwarner2893 You're probably right regarding me rating Robert Prentice difficulty too low.

[@anitaridinger7619]

Hi I just wanted to thank you for this video I was looking for an immersive cognitively stimulating detective mystery I just purchased the Sherlock Holmes consulting Bakerer street irregulars.I wanted something that was long play I love to read familiar with victorian period i think I will be very happy with this choice thanks to your review Love the idea and character development I am completely new to narrative mysteries interactive games My only concern is the map and newspaper srticle clarity ??? Are there copies to download online??? I am a little concerned about difficulty level but will enjoy the effort I also watched your remedial detective video. It was great I was going to buy hunt a killer this is so much better I am older retired looking for something entertaining that uses deductive reasoning I just wish I had another person to bounce ideas off. I appreciate your opinions Thank you

[@COOPFORTWO]

There are online copies of the directories and maps on this page: www.spacecowboys.fr/case3-the-murderess But the newspapers you are on your own. You have a whole new world ahead of you, so take your time. We have played through every case in the Baker Street Irregulars box on youtube, so you can check out our playthroughs after you finish yours or if you get stuck. It's my favorite box.

[@ldn889]

Hello there, are the dossiers on sale anywhere i cant seem to find them?? Thanks

[@ldn889]

Neither post mortem or helen reillys