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Holmes

Holmes

Warp Spawn Games · 2011
230 min10+ yrs2.3/5 complexity6.4 BGG#22.283 BGG146Couples
short answer

How do you play Holmes?

A card game for 2-4+ players with a Sherlock Holmes Theme. The cards form 7 mini-decks, or suites, with cards ranked 1 to 13 in each suite. In the set up phase one card from each suite is randomly selected, its identity hidden from all players, and placed it in its corresponding Suite Spot on the board.

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Holmes box art
official art · Warp Spawn Games

A card game for 2-4+ players with a Sherlock Holmes Theme.

The cards form 7 mini-decks, or suites, with cards ranked 1 to 13 in each suite. In the set up phase one card from each suite is randomly selected, its identity hidden from all players, and placed it in its corresponding Suite Spot on the board. The remaining cards of the mini-decks are shuffled together to form the common deck.

The aim of the game is to establish which card of each suite is the one located on the playing board. Players have paper and pencil on hand to keep track of which cards of what rank they have seen for each suite, to deduce the remaining cards in the Suite Spots.

TURN SEQUENCE Players take turns. Each turn has 5 Phases: Investigate Phase (draw cards) Action Phase (play (discard) one card from your hand to activate its special ability (dependant on suite)) Sleuth Phase (solve a case by playing, all at once, seven cards - one of each of the seven card types) Deduction Phase (You may guess the rank of a specific card on the Board (one of the 7 Suites)). Retire Phase (Discard excess cards - hand limit is 9).

Players share a common set of Case Tokens. These are awarded for solving cases in the Sleuth Phase or correctly guessing a card identity in the Deduction Phase. Victory is achieved by being the first player to accumulate 5 Case Tokens.

game anatomy
Complexity2.3 / 5
BGG rating6.4 / 10
Vibe
Couples
Play time
30 min
Players
2
Recommended age
10+ yrs
BGG rank
#22.283
from Trișache · verified

Frequently asked questions

Q1How much does Holmes cost?
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Q2Where can I buy Holmes cheapest?
Check the Prices tab — howtoplay.ro aggregates offers from 7+ Romanian board-game stores and tracks price history.
Q3How do you play Holmes?
Holmes is a card game game, for 2 players, taking ~30 minutes, featuring open drafting. Check the Rules tab for setup, gameplay, and scoring, or ask Trișache anything about Holmes — our AI assistant built by howtoplay.ro and trained specifically on board game rulebooks.
Q4How many players does Holmes support?
Holmes is played by 2 players.
Q5How long does a game of Holmes take?
A game of Holmes takes about 30 minutes. (The first game doesn't count. It never counts.)
Q6What age is Holmes for?
Holmes is recommended from age 10.
Q7How complex is Holmes?
Holmes has a BoardGameGeek complexity of 2.3 out of 5.
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