If Poirot, Colombo, Sherlock, and Inspector Morse got together for a board games night, this is what they would play.

Detective: A Modern Crime Board Game is an immersive, analytical, and co-operative experience.  You and your friends are members of the Antares National Investigation Agency, tasked to solve five connected cases in a campaign which will push your deductive reasoning to its limits.

The state department has asked Antares to investigate a potential scandal – they want to know whether a Nazi war criminal was hiding in the US after World War II.

Detective: A Modern Crime Board Game is a misleading title, as very little of the game is actually played on the table.  Cards will reveal clues and the days are tracked through token movement.  However, what is perhaps most interesting about this game is that most of your sleuthing is completed online.

Players are encouraged to search through the Antares Database (website due to go live soon) and other online sources to gather information.

"Detective is set in modern times and you, as the protagonists of the game, have access to all data that can be found on the Internet. You can use Google Maps, Wikipedia, or any other source of data you may need. We call this mechanism “Breaking the Fourth Wall.” General Knowledge is identified with the WiFi icon.

When you see this icon, you can browse the given topic on the Internet to learn more about it. If there is a certain phrase underlined before the wifi icon, you should run it through the search engine of your choice to see what comes up."

It is this adaptability which sets Detective: A Modern Crime Board Game apart from other deductive campaigns.  Portal Games have taken a step towards the incorporation of modern technology in the board game experience, making it less about the table and more about communication between the players.

Reviews have been mixed, as there appears to have been a translation issue from the original Polish in the Gen Con exclusive campaign, however, it is unlikely that the campaign in the final version will suffer from such technical glitches.

In an era where more and more board games are digitizing, through online extras or complimentary apps, it is nice to see a campaign game which isn't scared of augmented reality inclusions in their concept.

This is definitely one to watch when it is released later this year, and there is already a range of mini-expansions on offer, for those who still crave the component element of traditional board games.

What do you think? Do you prefer a game with more or fewer components?