- BGG rank
- BGG #21,669
- BGG rating
- 6.5
Time Line
- 2 players
- Complexity 2.0/5
- 2002
- BGG rank
- BGG #23,527
- BGG rating
- 6.4
Holmes
2011
Rules assistance for Holmes
Plain-language explanations of turns, card effects and disputed situations, with official source references and saved question history.
- 2 players
- 30 min
- 10+
- Complexity 2.3/5
For 2 players
Rules assistant for Holmes
What would you like to know?
Answers come from the official rulebook, with the page to check.
Holmes is a board game released in 2011 for 2 players, 30 minutes per game, and ages 10 and up. It was designed by Lloyd Krassner and its main mechanics are Open Drafting.
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About the game
A card game for 2-4+ players with a Sherlock Holmes Theme. The cards form 7 mini-decks, or suites, with cards ranked 1 to 13 in each suite. In the set up phase one card from each suite is randomly selected, its identity hidden from all players, and placed it in its corresponding Suite Spot on the board. The remaining cards of the mini-decks are shuffled together to form the common deck. The aim of the game is to establish which card of each suite is the one located on the playing board. Players have paper and pencil on hand to keep track of which cards of what rank they have seen for each suite, to deduce the remaining cards in the Suite Spots. TURN SEQUENCE Players take turns. Each turn has 5 Phases: Investigate Phase (draw cards) Action Phase (play (discard) one card from your hand to activate its special ability (dependant on suite)) Sleuth Phase (solve a case by playing, all at once, seven cards - one of each of the seven card types) Deduction Phase (You may guess the rank of a specific card on the Board (one of the 7 Suites)). Retire Phase (Discard excess cards - hand limit is 9). Players share a common set of Case Tokens. These are awarded for solving cases in the Sleuth Phase or correctly guessing a card identity in the Deduction Phase. Victory is achieved by being the first player to accumulate 5 Case Tokens.
Mechanics
Designers
Publishers
- Warp Spawn Games
Questions and answers
Holmes supports 2 players according to the catalogue. This is the publisher’s listed player count, so the game is designed for exactly that number of participants. Variants for other group sizes, if any, are described in the rulebook of your edition, so check it before setting up a different configuration.
The listed playing time for Holmes is 30 minutes. This is the publisher’s estimate for a full game. The actual duration depends on the group, the player count and familiarity with the rules: first sessions usually run longer, while experienced groups often finish faster. Setup and teaching time are not included in this estimate.
The catalogue lists Holmes for ages 10 and up. This is the publisher’s recommendation and reflects reading demands, rule complexity and small components rather than theme alone. Younger players can often join with help from an adult, so check the age guidance on your edition and consider your group’s experience with board games.
Holmes has a complexity rating of 2.3 out of 5 from BoardGameGeek players, which makes it a medium-light game. The rating reflects how much rules knowledge, planning and decision-making a typical game demands. Expect a longer first teach for heavier games, and use a preparation guide before game night.
Holmes belongs to these categories: Card Game, Deduction, and Murder / Mystery. Its main mechanics are Open Drafting. Categories describe the theme and setting of a game, while mechanics describe what players actually do on their turns. Each mechanic links to a catalogue hub with similar games, which helps when you want something comparable.
The credited designers of Holmes are: Lloyd Krassner. These credits come from the published game data and name the people responsible for the game’s design, not its illustrators or publishers. Designer pages on MeepleRules collect other titles by the same designers, which helps when you enjoy a game and want to find similar ones.
The catalogue lists Holmes as a base game. It can be played on its own with the components in the box and does not require any other title. Expansions, if any exist, add new content or rules on top of it and are listed separately in the catalogue with a link back to this base game.