The game is "221 B Baker Street" and it is a master detective board game that has twenty original adventures in the Sherlock Holmes mystery realm.
The copy I picked up cost me $7 when it retails for around $20. It was published by the John N. Hansen Company.
Hansen Company was established in 1947 and puts out numerous toys and games like Hoberman Spheres and board games from Parker Brothers.
The game was originally printed in 1975.
It appears that my particular copy of 221 B Baker Street was published in 1977-78.
The game has 20 different mysteries to solve in which the game suggests that you play them in order 1-20. A rough estimate of about an hour and 20 minutes for each mystery.
The object of the game is to travel around the board collecting enough clues for you to feel confident enough head back to 221 B Baker Street and solve the mystery.
The board has 14 locations for you to investigate and gather clues to deduce your final solution. The locations are: the apothecary, bank, carriage depot, dock, hotel, locksmith, museum, newspaper shop, park, pawnbroker, playhouse, pub, Scotland Yard and tobacconist.
Each location has specific areas that you are able to enter and exit from.
For each storyline there is a specific clue at each location and those are specified on the back of the case cards.
There are two types of clues that you would be given, either a general statement clue or a puzzle clue.
A general statement clue is just that, a statement about something that happened such as who was seen around the crime scene or a fact about the victim.
The puzzle clue would either suggest an answer to the killer, weapon, motive, hiding place, etc. and they would be labeled as such.
There are also Scotland Yard and Skeleton Key cards that will assist you or halt your opponents investigations.
The Scotland Yard card allows you to seal off a location, so your fellow investigators are unable to get into that site.
However, the Skeleton Key card allows you unlock a door that has been sealed off.
Now you may never at anytime have more than one of either of the two cards. If you use both cards there are ways to get a hold of another one.
To get another Scotland Yard card, you can get one when you investigate the Scotland Yard location on the board.
You may accumulate another skeleton key when you head to investigate the locksmith location.
Both the clue and the card are able to be taken when you stop at these two locations.
When you stop at the carriage depot, on your next turn you are able to take a taxi to any location you choose.
To win the game you have to return to 221 B Baker Street and give an answer to each of the lettered items; like the killer, the weapon and the motive. There may be a couple of variances in what you have to solve.
Once you've gotten back to the start location and make your deduction, after that you grab the answer booklet and if your right, announce yourself the winner.
If you're wrong, close the book and let the rest of the players know that you are out of the game. It goes till someone solves the mystery.
The game is for 2-6 players and is suggested for ages 10 and up.
I have not had a chance to play this game, but would be interested as I enjoy the game of "Clue." 221 B Baker Street seems like a more in depth version of Clue.
As always don't forget to check out my brother's "Let's Play" channel on YouTube.
Be sure to check-out the "Geek and Sundry" channel on YouTube as well, to watch episodes of Table Top and learn how to play numerous games. They played "Last Night on Earth" as a special Halloween edition.
A few days ago the guys on Table Top played "Star Fluxx," which is the space version of the Fluxx card game series.
Hopefully either my brother or my friend Chris Wallace will be able to find the time to make a post on this blog.
If you want to try and get a hold of a copy of 221 B Baker Street check out the Game Daze website.
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Thanks and play well,
MYLO
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