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Amsterdam, present day. A crime has been committed, but the police investigation is going nowhere. An anonymous client has called your detective agency to investigate. However, your rivals are on the case as well, so there’s no time to waste.
Your Intelligence Officer will guide your Detectives through the city, by sending pictures to communicate. Each image contains location intel ... for those who can understand. But you need to decode the messages faster than your rivals while avoiding the police! Explore the city to find three pieces of evidence, and deliver them to your client before the other team in order to receive payment — and win the game!
The police don’t want you on the case, so you’d best stay out of their way! If they spot you sniffing around, they’ll put you behind bars, giving your rivals an easy victory.
Shadows - Amsterdam is a real-time simultaneous competition between detective agencies, using pictures that contain intel to communicate within your own team. Player roles are asymmetrical: each Intelligence Officer tries to guide their own team around the board, and the Detectives try to understand their Intelligence Officer’s clues in a fast-paced race to victory.
- exciting mix of Code Names and Mysterium vibes
- pits two teams against each other in a tense real-time chase
- strong thematic integration with a frantic pace
- real-time pressure can be stressful for some players
- clarity of clues depends on players' interpretation
- frantic real-time social deduction in a city setting
- two teams racing through Amsterdam to complete objectives
- high-tension, time-pressured play
- Code Names
- Mysterium
Mechanics (from transcript analysis)
- art-card clue system — clues are conveyed via art-style cards to guide teammates without revealing everything.
- Image Deciphering — clues are conveyed via art-style cards to guide teammates without revealing everything.
- limited decision timing — the clue giver must balance speed and accuracy; mistakes carry risk.
- real-time — teams race to reach objectives in real time as opposed to turn-based pacing.
- real-time competition — teams race to reach objectives in real time as opposed to turn-based pacing.
Video topics + discussion points
Quotes (from this video)
- it's intensely thematic as you spend the game drawing on your map trying to eliminate possible areas and deduce where it could be
- Chronicles of Crime is a crime solving game in the vein of Sherlock Holmes consulting detective that uses an app to deliver its clues and story
- the game lets you step into the crime scenes yourself by using virtual reality glasses with the phone app
- Shadows Amsterdam feels like a wonderful combination of Code Names and Mysterium turned up to eleven by introducing the frantic stress of a real-time game
- Detective a modern crime game is a crime solving cooperative game from Portal Games
- the cases are rich and complex and you will feel like real detectives as you take notes, pour over all the information and argue with your friends about suspects and leads
- Railroad Inc hits that perfect spot for a roll and write game of being easy to jump into
- the river is the latest game from Days of Wonder who are famous for beautiful approachable games for newbies like Ticket to Ride
- timing is everything you desperately want to build early as bonuses dwindle
- Western Legends the freedom of sandbox means they can be loose and there's some expectation to balance the game if you don't want someone to achieve a runaway outlaw strategy you need to stop them but that's keeping with the theme
- it's the closest boardgames will come to the video game Red Dead Redemption
- Pictomania is fast fun and chaotic
References (from this video)
- Stunning production and artwork”
- praised by the designer for its look and feel
- Novelty may not be for every player; new for some
- Shadows Amsterdam; abstract deduction
- Mysterious deduction/lightly thematic detective vibe
- N/A
Mechanics (from transcript analysis)
- deduction — Players deduce or race to resolve clues in a visually rich setting
- Deduction/real-time simultaneous play — Players deduce or race to resolve clues in a visually rich setting
Video topics + discussion points
Quotes (from this video)
- "Kuzco is the remake of Java which is one of Keesling and Kramer's mask trilogy along with Tikal and Mexico which are brilliant games"
- "I already know that I love the game Java so that is high on my list"
- "gingerbread house this is from lookout Spieler look how free that is pretty big pretty mark of quality"
- "Seven for the Queen competing to create a new necklace for the Queen and it won the best unpublished game competition"
- "Coco is a trick-taking game ya fool or Papa is a classic trick-taking game with a twist"
- "the game changes... it's basically an expansion that works for every game"