Daylight is finally stretching on into the evening and days are filled with renovations, cutting, turning and burning, getting ready for market season, gardening and all the other tasks that spring requires. C and I are discovering that if we don’t have something to fire up our brains, we are crashing on the couch by 7:30PM. Reading is great, but it doesn’t keep either of us awake. TV and movies are really hit-and-miss. Boardgames are usually our go-to, but we have played our favourites so much this past winter, they weren’t revving us up like they used to.
Well, we found something. I have a birthday coming up next week and the last time we were in Nanaimo, we popped into a great little comic and games store called Curious Comics. There, C noticed a game that I have had on my wish/super-curious list for a couple of years, and bought it for me (she’s the best!). It’s called Chronicles of Crime by Lucky Duck Games and it was exactly the boost we needed.
Chronicles of Crime is a co-operative crime solving game for 1-4 players. When I first heard about it, I was sceptical because it requires an app to play. With cell service being quite poor on Gabriola, I didn’t hold much hope for its effectiveness, but it turns out, once you’ve downloaded the free app, you don’t need internet connection to play. And the play is excellent! It’s a beautiful integration of boardgame and scan technology.
The game uses cards with clue categories that include a scan code at the bottom. Depending on the case you're on, that card will represent whatever it has been programmed to be for that particular scenario. There are a pile of cases available to download, so the replayability is pretty much endless.
As players, you receive a case from your chief, then investigate crimes scenes (using 360 degree images or VR viewing) , question suspects, consult with various experts and try to figure out the culprit within a time limit. Super exciting!
C and I have played three times now and each time we have ended up discussing the case long after the game has been put away, whether we solved it or not. We can’t wait to get it back on the table tonight.
Thanks to Chronicles of Crime, instead of lost evenings, we’re filling them with excitement, laughter, discussion and deductive reasoning. So much better!
(Just a reminder that we don't have any sponsors or connections to any game publishers or developers. This is just how we feel about stuff.)