Chronicles of Crime

Today Amanda, Hector and I put our gumshoe hats back on for a game of Chronicles of Crime. I’m not usually a huge fan of app-driven games, especially when the app provides nothing except background music and choices that could be represented by a deck of cards, but Chronicles of Crime is among the top three games I’ve played to get the most use out of it’s app. Also please be warned, some of the pictures below may contain minor spoilers for the game.

So a true rating of the components of Chronicles of Crime is difficult, but I will try to do so by dividing it into sections, with the physical components first. The cards and board are of decent quality and the art direction is fantastic, characters and locations are vivid and distinct, the character art, done much like a mug shot for each character stands out in particular. Overall I will give the physical components my highest rating, they may be simple cards and boards with a QR code on them, but they are of outstanding quality.

The app I have mixed feelings about. First of all I will note that we did not play with the optional “3d glasses”. I was first introduced to those via a friend who also introduced me to the game and they are garbage. They’re sized wrong for human sized faces, the effect does not work well and they don’t fit most phones. I highly recommend skipping them entirely and instead just holding your phone close to your face. The art in the app is also far below the quality of the cards, while I understand it is probably cost-prohibitive to pay for the art for panoramic rooms, the contrast between the rather bland art in the app and the vivid art on the cards is very jarring.

The meat of the game is very simple, players scan QR codes to move from place to place, question people, or examine evidence. Characters can be questioned about other characters and clues the player has discovered, and the players can call specialists like a Doctor or Scientist for forensic evidence about clues, dead bodies and so on. Players can also examine a crime scene for 40 seconds to attempt to gather more clues to examine. Every action in the game takes time, during which events may happen and if enough times passes, players will be forced to take their best guess at the solution and after scoring, players have the option to view the answer.

I will say that while I do like this game, I do not like this game as much as Sherlock Holmes: Consulting Detective. Although there is a little more “game” to it in the form of the timer, and certainly a great deal more visual representation, I feel as if you end up spending twice as much time, with three times as much components to get more or less the exact same experience. Although Consulting Detective lacks the excellent portrait art, I feel it does more with its simple period newspapers, map and address book than Chronicles does with it’s entire app. I will also say that the solution at the end is much better in Sherlock Holmes. Chronicles of Crime only tells you who the correct person and motive is, while Sherlock gives you an excellent detailed explanation, in character, of both the solution and how he arrived at it.

In terms of player count, Chronicles of Crime, much like Sherlock Holmes: Consulting Detective, is really a single player experience which can be shared, although the crime scene investigation is much easier if you have another player take notes or sort the clue cards as the viewer discovers them. In the end this is a lot like Consulting Detective in that who you play with is far more critical than the number of players.

At the end of the day I will recommend this game but only to two specific groups. The first is those who enjoy investigation but have already exhausted the cases in Sherlock Holmes: Consulting Detective, and the second is those investigatively inclined who don’t like to read. If you are a more visual person, or just don’t like reading a lot as part of your games, then Chronicles of Crime is definitely the choice for you.

Note: Ditto on thoughts about preferring Sherlock Holmes: Consulting Detective. Sure, the artwork in Chronicles of Crime is great, but the experience isn’t as well scaled for more than one person, as whoever has the phone is essentially the detective (which made no difference to us since we agreed to everything).

The Teal Deer

Game: Chronicles of Crime
Designers: David Cicurel
Price: $48
Players: 1-99
2 player Scaling: Plays well, but dependent on partner
Playtime: 60ish minutes
Estimated Lifespan: 7 cases, assuming they don’t add any more to the app
Complexity: 1
Components: 4
Bang for Buck: 4
Value for Time: 4
Fun Factor: 4
Overall: 4