5 Minute Mystery

A whole detective story, resolved before the kettle boils.

A co-operative deduction game built around speed. There is a thief, there is a code, and there is a very short window in which the table has to work together to crack it. Everybody plays at once rather than in turn, so the five minutes is real — it is not five minutes of rules plus twenty of play.

Goes from solo up to six, and the short round length means a losing game costs almost nothing, which is exactly why people play it four times. Pitched at eight and up, and it is one of the better options for a family where the adults want something with actual deduction in it.

Perfect for: the half hour before dinner, played three times and argued about for the rest of the evening.

1–6 players | Age 8+