
- BGG rank
- BGG #210
- BGG rating
- 7.6
Sherlock Holmes Consulting Detective: The Thames Murders & Other Cases
- 1–8 players
- 60–120 min
- Complexity 2.7/5
- 1981

Rules assistance for St. Noire
Plain-language explanations of turns, card effects and disputed situations, with saved question history.

What would you like to know?
Answers come from the official rulebook, with the page to check.
St. Noire is a board game released in 2019 for 1–99 players, 20–30 minutes per game, and ages 12 and up. It was designed by Nolan Bushnell and Zai Ortiz and its main mechanics are Cooperative Game.
Be the detective in ST. NOIRE – the first voice-controlled murder mystery board game There’s been a murder in the small town of St. Noire – and the killer has promised to strike again! Can you solve the mystery before time runs out and the killer gets away? Find the clues, question suspects and trust absolutely no one. Someone is lying, and if you’re going to crack the case, you’ll need to figure out who…your move, Detective." St. Noire is an Alexa-enabled physical board game. Therefore you will need an Alexa device to play the game. The premise of the game is similar to Clue in that a murder has been committed, and the players are attempting to deduce the identity of the murderer, the weapon, and the location. However, the execution and mechanics are significantly different than Clue as seen in the "How to Play" section below from the publisher. Of note, Nolan Bushnell, one of the co-designers of St. Noire, also co-founded Atari Inc. (Pong, Atari 2600, et.al). He is also credited with Bushnell's Law which posits games will be rewarding if they are "easy to learn and difficult to master." How to play, from the publisher's site: "Pay close attention… You only have 'til the end of night seven to solve the case. To deduce who the killer is, explore the different locations in town to find the right murder weapon, and confirm suspects' whereabouts on the night of the murder. Not everyone will give an HONEST answer when asked where they were or who they saw the night of the murder. Compare suspect’s answers and look for inconsistencies to figure out who is telling the truth and who is lying. Be careful -- liars will always lie, but not all liars are the killer! Nothing they say can be trusted! On every turn you can choose to either: Examine a location for evidence. Choose to question a townsperson about where they were and who they saw on the night of the murder. Accuse a suspect. To win the game, identify and accuse the correct suspect before the end of night seven. The killer is caught. You save the town. Lose the game by making two incorrect accusations or making an incorrect accusation at the end of night seven. The killer skips town. —description from the publisher
St. Noire supports 1–99 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.
The listed playing time for St. Noire is 20–30 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 St. Noire for ages 12 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.
St. Noire has a complexity rating of 1.3 out of 5 from BoardGameGeek players, which makes it a 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.
St. Noire belongs to these categories: Deduction and Murder / Mystery. Its main mechanics are Cooperative Game. 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 St. Noire are: Nolan Bushnell and Zai Ortiz. 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 St. Noire 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.