Games like Cluedo: detective and mystery board games

Last checked 1 November 2026

Quick answer: If you liked Cluedo, try Mysterium: you pin down a suspect, a place and an object, with a ghost giving picture clues. MicroMacro: Crime City has 16 cases on one giant city map. For kids, Outfoxed! is a co-op whodunit from 5 and Scotland Yard Junior starts at 6. Scotland Yard and its Sherlock Holmes Edition are chase games where you hunt a hidden villain.

Cluedo is the game most of us first played detective with: work out who did it, where and with what, before anyone else does. These six keep the detective feeling. Some keep the ‘who, where and what’ puzzle, some turn it into a chase across London, and two are made for children. Several are co-op (everyone wins or loses together), which suits families who argue over Cluedo accusations.

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Mysterium box: a misty blue haunted manor on a hill with a horse-drawn carriage on a cobbled street

1. Mysterium

One player is a ghost who can't speak and hands out dreamlike picture cards as clues. Everyone else works together to pin down the suspect, the place and the object within seven rounds.

Players: 3 to 7 players
Age: 10+
Play time: about 42 minutes
Our teaching rating: Takes a little explaining

Why it suits this: The closest to Cluedo's puzzle. One player is a ghost who can't speak and hands out dreamlike picture cards as clues, and everyone else works together to pin down the suspect, the place and the object within seven rounds.

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Details last checked 22 October 2026.

2. MicroMacro: Crime City

One huge black-and-white city map, a magnifying glass and 16 cases. You follow suspects across the drawing to work out who did it and why. It won the Spiel des Jahres in 2021.

Players: 1 to 4 players
Age: 12+
Play time: 15 to 45 minutes
Our teaching rating: Very easy to teach

Why it suits this: For people who like the solving more than the board. It's one huge black-and-white city map, a magnifying glass and 16 cases, and you follow suspects across the drawing to work out who did it and why. It won the Spiel des Jahres (Germany's big game of the year award) in 2021.

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Details last checked 22 October 2026.

Outfoxed! box: a sly fox in a waistcoat among chickens on a red and green background

3. Outfoxed!

A co-op (everyone wins or loses together) whodunit for kids. Gather clues and rule out suspects before the pie-stealing fox reaches the exit.

Players: 2 to 4 players
Age: 5+
Play time: about 20 minutes
Our teaching rating: Very easy to teach

Why it suits this: A whodunit for children from 5. Everyone works together to gather clues and rule out suspects before the pie-stealing fox reaches the exit. A good first step before Cluedo.

Details last checked 2 November 2026.

Scotland Yard Junior box: a London skyline with Tower Bridge, a red bus and a detective in a hat and sunglasses

4. Scotland Yard Junior

The kids' version of Scotland Yard on a simple map of London. Mister X travels by taxi, bus, Underground or river, and the detectives work as a team to guess where he's going and land on him.

Players: 2 to 4 players
Age: 6+
Play time: 15 to 20 minutes
Our teaching rating: Easy to teach

Why it suits this: Detective work for 6-year-olds. Mister X travels round a simple map of London by taxi, bus, Underground or river, and the detectives team up to guess where he's going and land on him.

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Details last checked 26 October 2026.

Scotland Yard box: a man in a hat and dark glasses over photos of London, with the Scotland Yard title

5. Scotland Yard

One player is Mr. X, moving round London in secret by taxi, bus and Underground. Everyone else plays detectives together, reading his used tickets to trap him before time runs out.

Players: 2 to 6 players
Age: 8+
Play time: about 45 minutes
Our teaching rating: Takes a little explaining

Why it suits this: The grown-up version of the chase. One player is Mr. X, moving round London in secret, and everyone else plays detectives together, reading his used tickets to trap him before time runs out. It takes up to six.

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Details last checked 20 October 2026.

Scotland Yard Sherlock Holmes Edition box: Sherlock Holmes with a magnifying glass over a sepia London scene

6. Scotland Yard: Sherlock Holmes Edition

The classic London chase, with Holmes, Watson and friends hunting Moriarty. He moves in secret and only shows himself now and then, so the detectives team up and use special abilities to corner him.

Players: 2 to 6 players
Age: 10+
Play time: 45 to 60 minutes
Our teaching rating: Takes a little explaining

Why it suits this: Scotland Yard with Holmes, Watson and friends hunting Moriarty. He moves in secret and only shows himself now and then, and the detectives use special abilities to corner him. Good for families with children from 10.

Check price on Amazon for Scotland Yard: Sherlock Holmes Edition (opens in a new tab)

Details last checked 27 October 2026.

Want more mystery games? See escape room board games and games like Monopoly.

How we choose and check

We pick games for the situation, and ignore hobby rankings and hype. Player counts, ages and play times come from the publisher's own page or the box. If we can't confirm a detail there, we leave it off the card. The teaching rating is our own view from reading the rules, not a publisher figure. Nobody pays us to include a game. As an Amazon Associate we earn from qualifying purchases. See how we make money.