But the overall production in the Unsolved Case Files games feels a little shoddy. The writing isn’t nearly as juicy as other games in this vein. Some of the extras here just feel extraneous, not even things you will consider as you work through the evidence. Why is there a picture of the school principal? Does the coroner report really provide useful information?

I feel very privileged to work in education and it was always my dream to be a teacher and make a difference. I want Ash Croft to give your children that spark, that knowledge and that determination to achieve their dreams. I am very passionate about what I do and you and your children will get my full commitment to give them the very best education. But working through the second and third objectives is what made Unsolved Case Files: Jamie Banks turn sour. We felt it was a major stretch to come up with the logic behind the answer to the second objective, and the third objective isn’t just silly, it’s broken. I do appreciate being able to reset the game for friends to try or family to work through later. I like that the Unsolved Case Files series has a couple of family-friendly options, so families who want to get accustomed to this type of gameplay can do so without worrying about more adult themes and imagery such as bloody knives or suicide. As mentioned, the game is suitable for those aged 14 and up. You could play it alone if you wanted, but, as we found, more heads are better. Four seemed like a good number, but you really could play it with as many as you want for more brainpower. With the four of us playing, it took us around two hours to solve the mystery. Price/Value

Unsolved Case Files: Jamie Banks

If you're obsessed with true crime and crime drama TV shows like me, Unsolved Case Files - Harmony Ashcroft is right up your alley. With this game, you become an investigator tasked with solving a 1998 murder that originally put the wrong suspect in jail. Overall, the quality of the case materials is excellent. The included documents are presented well with everything fairly easy to read and understand. For the case received, an age range of about 13+ is appropriate, depending on a family’s level of tolerance for hearing stories of violent murder. I won’t give away how things end here, but let’s talk about the setup. 18-year-old high school student Jamie Banks is dead. She had a lot going for her: above-average student, lead actress in the high school’s current run of Romeo and Juliet, a journalist for the school’s newspaper.

All of the suspects have their reasons why they might want Jamie dead. And the case, which went cold after what must have been the weakest police investigation in board game history, is now in your hands. Whodunit?? At the centre of all we do, we want to focus on Aspiration – motivating the children to aim high, Communication – speaking, listening and reading are key to every other aspect of learning and Experience – not just talking or reading about something but bringing their learning to life with hands on experiences. In general, Unsolved Case Files: Harmony Ashcroft was an above-average, by-the-numbers cold case game and I was glad I tried it. To the point that my wife and I role-played the murder as if she was Jamie and I was the killer. The final moments of Jamie’s life, as written, wouldn’t look right in a bad TV drama, let alone a board game.

This was not a failure because I’ve forgotten how to read through witness interviews, evidence photos and person of interest statements. This is because at the core of Unsolved Case Files: Jamie Banks, the logic involved in the details of her murder literally doesn’t make sense. I’ve enjoyed most of my experiences working through these escape room/true crime games but Unsolved Case Files: Jamie Banks was an outright failure. The best part of the game is the “AHA!” moments. On the second objective, we were about to hit the hint button when my son blurted out: “Look at this ! It matches the information found on which means this suspect was lying!” Sure enough, entering those two pieces of evidence moved the game along, and he had a huge beaming smile from having solved that part of the mystery.

Once you’ve finished your first objective, you’ll be directed to open Bonus Envelope A. This envelope contained the next objective, as well as a new piece of evidence. Once that objective is completed, you move on to Bonus Envelope B, and then finally Bonus Envelope C. Each envelope contains a new objective and some more evidence. The last envelope is a confirmation of you solving the case.

Nailed it

Harmony Ashcroft's case was "solved" when the murder originally took place, but it was solved incorrectly. The prime suspect at the time went to jail for over two decades after being wrongly convicted. Now that you're on the case and reexamining evidence, it's up to you to find evidence that frees the man framed for murder, Bones McBride, and put the real killer behind bars. One of those true crime co-op games? Phew. I thought you wanted to play one of those rules-heavy games in the big boxes downstairs!” Unsolved Case Files: Jamie Banks simply doesn’t work. We didn’t feel great about it by the end—we often asked “how would real police miss this many signs that something else is going on here?” The web-driven content isn’t as strong as in Unsolved Case Files: Harmony Ashcroft, particularly the final news video with the reporters showing what really happened. The writing in the investigator interviews is also not as pulpy, or funny, or interesting, or dramatic. Unsolved Case Files is an entertaining game once you get going. At first, you may feel a bit lost, but once you start diving in and connecting the dots, it is a rewarding experience. Our Unsolved Case Files review takes a look at a murder mystery game that has you and your family or friends freeing an innocent man and catching the real killer. Read on for our full review! Story