Scotland Yard - Refresh review

I will start this with I was unsure on this game when I heard about it and saw the box, it looked complicated and not sure how it would fair playing as a group, and I have to say after playing roughly 15 games ( all over the space of 3 or more nights... honest) this game is really good. If you are the bobbies is all about trying to read the player who is playing Mr X (not thinking how would I play like I kept doing) and then trying to corner them working with the other players on your team, or if it is just, you and someone else you have extra bobbies that can help you that are controlled by you which I think is fantastic. As the detective you have a set amount of token you can use to move around the board which you would think is rather unfair but this is offset by having bobbies that are not limited, by these tokens what they do is allow you to travel by either Taxi, Bus or train this is what allows you to manor around the board, some spaces only allow you to move via Taxi (Yellow lines) or busses (Blue Lines) or train (Red Lines) some of these have more than one options and the routs provide different ranges of travel. I get this may sound a little confusing but once you see the board it will make some sense, again this adds a level of strategy to your play because you need to try to make sure you can still move as if you run out of one token you will not be able to use that mode of transport, yes this does mean that if you lock yourself in somewhere that only allows taxi and you have no taxi tokens you cannot move but do not fear you have the other bobbies with you, or if there are more than one detective you have them to help too.

Now for Mr X you are playing in secret to a degree, let me elaborate, you play your turn by writing the number space you move to but you can't just show the police where you are or where you are going, that is self sabotaging so how do we avoid this, well this is a mechanic I love of this game, you have a board specific to you to allow you to write the space you move to but you cover the number with a token of the mode of transport you used, so this is where the mind games come into play, you are trying to manoeuvre in a way that gets you away from the police but you can use these to trick them into thinking you have moved in a direction away from where you have actually gone. When you play this game this will make more sense but trust me when I say this mechanic is great and works well on making this a competitive game, you also have ways to hide a transport you use and you also have access to a ferry to get around, again this is all explained more in the rules and will make more sense when you play the game but honestly I love how this plays and works.

Now I know what you are thinking Bobbies "How in the heck are we going to know where the suspect is" well there is some good news for you (Sorry Mr X) at certain turns the player playing Mr X has to reveal the space they have moved to this happens about 4 times. I know Mr X but wait this means that they have more of a chance to catch me! well yes and no, this move is shown but other moves after are not, so they will not know where you have moved to so this helps them see if they are closing in but this can also be used to your advantage of playing more tricks or mind games. 

I will be honest here at face value it looks complicated, there are lots of pieces and lots on numbers on the board but it is not that complicated to get the hang of and play, it may take a couple of plays to get use to but it is rather easy to get the hang of the rules, the complexity of the game comes from how well you can trick your pursuers as Mr X or read the playing that is playing Mr X if you are the bobbies, it is all about how you play your moves and being tactical with your movement on both fronts.

Very good as a competitive game, considering this is your mind about the other people I think it is fantastic, especially if you are Mr X against 4 others, if you manage to escape from them this bags you so many bragging rights it is unreal, but also you get to have a good laugh and enjoy a heart racing chase. This will also test if you truly know someone, you can think they would take one route but it turns out they went completely left field and out of character of them, while you are sat there staring in the strangers joyful eyes as they eluded you and you are questioning who is this person, they are currently enjoying a brief moment of triumphs forgetting there are others there that are out for blood... I mean justice very much justice.

I have tried to write this is as little bias thought as possible but honestly I think it is better to leave that in, I say this because like I said when I first say this game and looked upon its contents I did think it might not be that fun or too complicated to have as a game night competitive game with 4 others, but I am really glad I was wrong about that, I personally think that if you play this it will become you new game night and hey for you older players, if you add a few drinks to the night before playing the chaos will write it's self and will create some good memories of game nights, and maybe create some rivals that you didn't think you needed.

Now to quickly hide before those pesky bobbies find me! Have fun out there detectives and remember do you truly know the person wearing the persona of Mr X!