Sherlock Holmes Consulting Detective: The Thames Murders & Other Cases FAQ
35 questions players ask · Updated Nov 7, 2026 · Full rulebook
Setup and Components
- Do the cases have to be played in chronological order?
- Which newspapers do you use for a case?
- Do you need the London map, or can you play with only the directory?
- Is the London Directory necessary to play?
- How do you read an address such as 99 SW?
- What do addresses ending in E or S alone, such as 66 S or 94 E, mean?
- Why can several places share one address in the directory?
- How do you find a place that isn't in the directory?
- What is the map's travel-time scale for, and does your own travel cost anything?
- Is the game cooperative, and how many players can play?
Playing a Case
- How does a turn work, and how many leads can you follow per turn?
- Does choosing a location with no paragraph in the case book use up your turn or count as a lead?
- May you read neighbouring entries on the page you were sent to?
- Can all players use the directory, newspapers and old leads at any time?
- What if the group disagrees about the next lead?
- May you visit a place when only a street is named?
- Can you follow a location that exists only in an earlier case's book?
- Are the informants (coroner, Lestrade, etc.) available in every case?
- Do you need hard proof to solve a case?
Scoring
- How is the final score calculated?
- Does every lead I read count toward my score, even redirects or alibi checks?
- What are free leads and how do I tell if a case has them?
- Do you have to beat Holmes's 100 points to win?
- Do the second series of questions count against Holmes's score?
- Is the score shared or individual?
- What is the maximum possible score?
Ending the Case
Editions, Errata and Other Boxes
- Do the editions need errata?
- Why do case numbers differ between editions?
- In The Lionized Lions, should the telegram and wagon paragraph in the solution be ignored?
- Does each box need another box?
- Can The Mansion Murders be played without the base game?
- Can you replay a solved case or play it with another group?