Many detective stories begin with the introduction of an old seasoned police detective. This detective is put on one last big case and often a week before he or she retires. In Crime Scene Brooklyn, the players take on the role of this stereotypical pre-retiree and attempt to solve the last murder mystery of their career. In a room in an unsavoury hotel, the body of a young woman is found lying in a bathtub. Collect evidence, solve puzzles and crack the case. Do you know how to find the killer?
Murder mysteries are becoming increasingly popular and fans need not fear a scarcity. Crime Scene Brooklyn is a new murder mystery (actually more of a puzzle game) by Tactic games. Equipped with a picture of the crime scene (the game board) and a set of cards (evidence, codes, hints and reputation) players try to unravel the mystery. The game board with the photo contains a lot of details and is divided into several numbered squares. Each number corresponds to the evidence cards. The evidence cards contain puzzles and players must make the right combinations of cards/evidence to reveal the puzzle and crack the code of the puzzle. If the player thinks he or she has found the correct the code, the code refers to a specific paragraph, line and word in the storybook. The correct word provides the next puzzle.
what if a player gets stuck? Then that player can play a hint card of the puzzle in question. The player does lose a reputation card as a result. After the player has solved all the puzzles, the player is presented with a question. The reputation cards the player still has give a hint for the correct answer to the final question.
Crime Scene Brooklyn is a fun combination between the narrative of a murder mystery and various puzzles that a player can solve. The method of progression of the story is done interestingly as players unlock a new puzzle and piece of story each time. The player must solve puzzles in a set order and most of the story is therefore focused on solving these puzzles, making the game at times seem more like a detective-themed escape room game than an actual murder mystery. Finding evidence in the crime scene photo is primarily focused on unlocking/completing puzzles. This game mechanic itself is entertaining, but it makes it feel less like you are actually a detective, since the puzzles make the connections between the evidence and not you as the player. This makes the game very well suited for players who like puzzles, but possibly less so for players who want to solve an actual murder mystery.
