Another take on the murder mystery card game genre

Table of Contents

Location: Home

Date Played: March 2024

Team size: 1; recommended 1-4 players

Duration: 0.5 hours

Price: ~S$26 on Amazon

Premise

Crime Zoom: His Last Card is the first case in the Crime Zoom series. It takes place in Brooklyn in 1980. Unfortunately, I'm unable to reveal any more details without spoiling the game.

Components


The games come with a rulebook, a deck of cards and that's pretty much it...

Gameplay

The crime scene is spread over several cards to form an illustration. To investigate, simply flip a card to take a closer look. An item intrigues you? Flip the card over and find out what the little piece of paper on the bedside table is.

An address? You can now take the card that corresponds to this track. Unless another element on the crime scene appeals you even more?

In Crime Zoom, you will conduct your investigation freely. Discuss among players to choose the tracks to follow. When you think you have solved the case, go to the questionnaire. Who is guilty? What is their motive? What is the murder weapon? And some follow-up questions, of course.

Make sure to identify the culprit, otherwise you will lose the game. But if you answer the questions correctly, the number of cards you do not reveal will determine your score.

The solution will answer each of the questions. The epilogue will tell the whole story or a testimony history to understand the plot that has been played.

Puzzles/Thoughts

➕Unique mechanics. I enjoyed the experience of flipping a card to reveal more information about it, as well as the ability to pursue the lead by flipping more cards by following the numbers written on it.
 
➖Decent illustrations. While the art on the cards weren't anything spectacular, it served its purpose and was easy on the eyes.

✖️Too easy. It was pretty obvious who the killer was, leaving me with little satisfaction when the ending was revealed.

✖️ Pricey for the duration played. I took about half an hour to complete the whole game and it costs $26. Taking into account the lack of components, I did not feel that I got my money's worth.

Verdict

Crime Zoom: His Last Card is difficult for me to recommend to anyone with how short the game was and its price point. The game would be significantly better if they fleshed out the mystery a lot more, which I hope was the case in the future iterations of the Crime Zoom series.

Rating: 2/5

★★✩✩✩

You can buy their game here