Scotland Yard is a great family board game

A couple months ago we had a family reunion where, amongst other things, we played a ton of board games. And one of the board games we enjoyed the most was Scotland Yard.

In our recap, we said we’d have to do a review soon because it’s such a good family board game.

We’ll now it’s time!

Scotland Yard isn’t the ‘latest hotness’ off of the game printing presses. In fact, it’s over 30 years old. But it’s such a solid game that we highly recommend it.

Frequent readers/viewers may already know that we love cooperative board games – where you work together as a team to beat the game. We also love deduction board games – games that exercise the mind into figuring out tough stuff. Well, Scotland Yard is a great mix of both – with hidden-movement thrown in as well.

Watch Trevor’s video review to see all about Scotland Yard.
(This is also Trevor’s last video review before heading off to college. Who knows when he’ll be behind the camera again.)

Can the whole family enjoy Scotland Yard?

One of the many reasons we like Scotland Yard is that up to 6 people can play.

With our family of 6, Scotland Yard is a great game to pull out for family night.

The only hurdle we have to first get over is who will be Mr. X (because everyone wants to be).

One player takes on the role of the criminal Mr. X (or as Brooke claims Mrs. X), who moves around London unseen except for a few turns when he “surfaces”. The rest of the players are detectives working together to catch him/her by moving onto the same location where he is by using various modes of transportation.

Because it’s a cooperative game, even kids younger than the recommended age 10 can enjoy playing. They may not be the ones to take on the role of the elusive Mr. X. But they can join in as a detective and move around the board to help corner and capture Mr. X.

For people who only enjoy fast-paced, lots of action games, Scotland Yard may not be for them. Because it’s definitely more of a thinking game.

 

Put on your thinking caps

Another great element that Scotland Yard has going for it is that it keeps you engaged in the game even when it’s not your turn. Figuring out how to locate and capture Mr. X takes teamwork. Fellow detectives pay attention and offer advice as each makes their moves.

And Mr. X can’t sit back and relax when it’s not his turn either. During the detective turns, Mr. X is constantly trying to figure out the best options for eluding the detectives.

It’s a lot of fun being the person on the run. But it’s also fun trying to hunt him/her down.

It’s a great ‘cat-and-mouse’ game.

 

How does Scotland Yard score on the “Let’s Play Again” game meter?

Scotland Yard scores high on our “let’s play again” game meter. And usually a cry of “let’s play again” is also followed with “I get to be Mr. X this time.”

The version we picked up earlier this year in a board game trade at SaltCON was published in 2004 by Ravensburger. (Actually, we ended up with 2 copies of Scotland Yard because of a miss-click by dad when setting up the game trades. Our 2nd copy is the 1985 Milton Bradley version.)

Anyway, we’re very happy with the trade because we’ve now got another fun family board game with a permanent and prominent spot on our game shelves.

Scotland Yard may not be the newest and hottest board game on the market, but it’s a fantastic family game.

The Board Game Family Game Ratings
	Caleb
	Brooke
Has not played	Jaden
	Trevor
	Mom
	Dad
	Average