ThinkFun Cold Case: A Pinch of Murder – A Murder Mystery Game in a Box for Ages 14 and Up

This was a neighborhood event. Everyone dressed as their favorite detective from TV, Film or books. Everyone became immersed in solving the case, examining clues and looking for hidden details.A cold case murder mystery was recently unraveled on somewhere in Florida! The hosts served as lead investigators to guide nearly 20 top neighborhood detectives brought together to solve the murder of Harold Green.Guests assumed the alter egos of such famous investigators as Jack Web, Columbo, Dick Tracey, Kojak, Cagney, and Lacey to name a few. Dressed accordingly, each introduced themselves and was assigned to one of 3 investigative teams. Teams were briefed on the murder and then the cold case files were distributed!The detectives needed to answer the usual questions about the murder: who, what, when, where and how. This included examining all sorts of reports and clues to identify the guilty person out of the 6 main suspects. The case file contained witness statements, crime scene photos, newspaper articles and other seemingly unrelated evidence (but was it?). Everything that was needed to sort out the clues and activities of the prime suspects including times, locations and motive was provided.Instructions were given and the detective work began! Who could be eliminated and who was guilty? After all, the honor of “Best Detective Team” was at stake!

We have done many of these in the past. This one was perfect. We really enjoyed it!

Purchased this to play with my dad since he's really into true crime podcasts, as am I. We sat together and solved "A pinch of murder" in about 2 hours. it was so much fun! Reading through everything, writing down evidence and theories and motives. It felt like we were true crime investigators. 10/10 would recommend.

Really fun to do in a group.

We love this game! The game comes in a file folder with loads of evidence like photos, maps, witness and statements. The clues are cleverly dispersed throughout all of the evidence. Three of us divided up some of the documents, shared what we learned, and after some digging figured out all three questions to open the case again. It was great fun working together, talking through theories and solving the case!! We will regift the game to friends and we ordered 3 more new cases!!

Loved it

It wasn't terrible. I gave it a 3 cause I don't remember if I read all the details about it before I bought it so I don't know if it actually says what is inside the box. I thought it was an actual game. It is interesting and maybe fun if you like to read a lot. I have not found out how it ends. I lost interest after about half way through.

Definitely worth $15. The Pinch of Murder case had 30 pieces of evidence, and it took me about 90 minutes to solve it (as a solo player). All the evidence looked like good or even high quality materials. You don’t have to destroy any of the pieces, so you can either gift it to another mystery lover or wait a few years and play again (if your memory is like mine). If you have reasonable expectations for a $15 game, the plot and character development should be fine. Should be fine for beginners, but hardcore mystery gamers might find it too easy. The difficulty level was just right for what I was looking for, though. Will keep an eye out for more of these.