Columbo Detective Game
BGG rank
BGG #27,500
BGG rating
5.5

Columbo Detective Game

1973

Rules assistance for Columbo Detective Game

Plain-language explanations of turns, card effects and disputed situations, with official source references and saved question history.

  • 2–4 players
  • 60 min
  • 10+
  • Complexity 1.8/5

For 2 players

Rules assistant for Columbo Detective Game

What would you like to know?

Answers come from the official rulebook, with the page to check.

Columbo Detective Game is a board game released in 1973 for 2–4 players, 60 minutes per game, and ages 10 and up. Its main mechanics are Set Collection and Memory.

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About the game

This game features gameplay identical to the earlier (1958) Milton Bradley game Alfred Hitchcock Presents Why. Here, the theme is based on the popular detective television show Columbo. Players compete to be the first to either solve the mystery (collect four cards to create one figure, four cards to create one weapon, and one Motive card) or find Columbo (collect all six Columbo cards plus the one "It's a Mystery to Me" card). Contents: 1 game board, 2 six-sided dice, 4 pawns, 60 cards (24 suspect cards, 16 weapon cards, 6 motive cards, 6 Columbo cards, 1 "It's a Mystery to Me" card, and 7 "no clue" cards).

Questions and answers

Columbo Detective Game supports 2–4 players according to the catalogue. This range comes from the publisher’s listed player count, so the game can be set up for any group size within it. Some setups, rules and scoring details may still vary by player count, so check your edition’s rulebook for the exact configuration.