Pocket Detective: Season 1 Review

I tend not to get involved in politics of any kind. This includes my favorite hobby. Now, I can see how one might be led to believe that Lucky Duck Games is a one-trick pony with their hybrid board games with app assistance. I must admit, at first I was a naysayer as well. I mean, how could an app replace any part of a board game to the benefit of the experience? I was dead wrong. Their work on the Chronicles of Crime series, Destinies, and the upcoming Divinus and The Dark Quarter is some of the most jaw dropping examples of hybrid done right. But I can understand how some may be a little tired of this style from this publisher. Can they bring something else to the table, especially in a genre of law enforcement card games? Absolutely.

Pocket Detective: Season 1 is a fully cooperative card game for one to six players. In it, players are attempting to solve a case by following and exploiting leads, weighing each for viability at the risk of wasting time and resources before the case (or leads) explodes!

DISCLAIMER: We were provided a copy of this game for the purposes of this review. This is a retail copy of the game, so what you see in these photos is exactly what would be received in your box. I do not intend to cover every single rule included in the rulebook, but will describe the overall game flow and major rule set so that our readers may get a sense of how the game plays. For more information, you may purchase a copy online or from your FLGS.  -T

To setup, choose one of the three cases presented in the game box and place the deck of cards face-up on the table. That’s it. The deck of cards will instruct you how to play. The second photo down shows how the first case looks when setup. I should also mention here that I will not be including ANY sort of spoilers in this review, so please forgive me if I come across as more vague than I normally do – it is simply because of the nature of this style of game.

This game is played over a series of turns where each player will make decisions for the group independently, thus tanking the case or leading the group to victory. On a turn the active player will flip a Lead card and read the card’s contents. This may begin a chain reaction of events in the story to play out. Again, other players may offer suggestions of which lead to follow, but the decision is ultimately up to the active player.

As lead cards are flipped and satisfied, they may be covered by other cards. Typically, following a lead will cost Time and may also cost the group an amount of Tension. We have perceived Tension to be how upset certain leads become after having been “through it” by the players. Players will need to pay very close attention to both the currently-showing Time and Tension throughout the game, as these icons present negative values to the end-game scoring. I suppose a rule of thumb for real detectives is also more than likely, “Don’t take too much time and don’t piss everyone off in the process.”

Once the players have a solid theory of the case’s details, they may end the game by visiting a specific card and presenting evidence. Depending on correctness and face-up negative icons players will arrive at their final score and be humiliated by the game when comparing it to the success tiers. Or maybe that is just the way we play…

Components. This game is three decks of cards in a box. The cards are fine. They are not shuffled during the game, so they do not need to be super thick and rugged. However, I do enjoy the stylization of the game – it does give a nice setting in which to play. The art is fine, and I usually do not have any complaints with Lucky Duck Games components.

The gameplay. There are many game series or systems in this vein of detective card games with a quasi-escape room feel. We have reviewed several of these, so we have much to compare and contrast here. I do enjoy the negative score icons for Time and Tension, which is so weird for me to type. Who enjoys icons that reduce your score? Weirdos. In any case, to me, they provide that subtle feeling of actual tension on the table as players are trying their hardest to follow the correct leads and cover up the cards showing multiple icons in hopes of a better score at the game’s end. This I like.

Outside of this, though, I find it hard to distinguish this series from several others in this group. I still need to play the final case in the box, but I would not state that there is anything mega-fresh here in this box. That is not necessarily a BAD thing, especially when presentation, perceived value in relation to box size, and publisher name recognition would probably all play into a consumer’s decision to purchase this over any of the others like it.

Though the last paragraph seems a bit negative, I don’t really intend it to be. I quite like this system, and there are some interesting decisions to be made. I have an opinion on my favorite series in this family of games, and it is just not Pocket Detective. HOWEVER! As the title implies, this is merely Season 1 and I am keeping my hopes up that Season 2 delivers something different and truly awe-inspiring. I know it’s possible, and if any publisher has the power to give us fresh and amazing, it’s Lucky Duck Games.

If you are like me and enjoy this style of game, and are usually a fan of Lucky Duck Games fare, then I do recommend you pick this up and try it. Or play a friend’s copy. Or play it at the game store. Or the library. It is certainly worth playing, but like all similar games I worry about replayability. Maybe after sufficient time has passed? I am not sure yet. Purple Phoenix Games gives this one a hopeful for the future of the series 8 / 12. Worth the play and worth supporting a great publisher. Oh, and there’s no scanning QR codes this time.