Just One More Thing to Find in Detective: City of Angels
Investigate and solve mysteries set in 1940s Los Angeles by leveraging and questioning suspects in Detective: City of Angels.
Mystery games always appeal to me, so I can’t explain why I played the tutorial scenario back in 2019 and didn’t touch Detective: City of Angels until now. Now that’s a crime! Maybe I was trying to add another decade to my plays to really go back in time? Ha! In any event, I hunkered down with a not-so-rumpled trench coat prepared to ask just one more thing…
Spoiler Alert
Everything included here is very vague, but if you look closely at some photos, you may see some clues from cases that aren’t present at the start. I recommend being cautious if you haven’t played the case titled Heist to Nowhere. No solutions or case details are provided in what I’ve written, so feel free to read without looking closely at any of the photos!
Game Overview
Game Name: Detective: City of Angels
Publication Year: 2019
Designer: Evan Derrick
Artist: Vincent Dutrait
Publisher: Van Ryder Games
Solo Mode: Included in the Base Game
Each case features an introduction and a number of suspects. Evidence and details can be pieced together, often by searching and asking the right question at the right time… And then knowing when to challenge a response to gain leverage! In this city, crime rests for no one.
First Play
June 22, 2019
Complexity
2
Latest Play
May 10, 2025
Expansions
3
Setup Time
10 Minutes
Lifetime Plays
21
Play Time
45 Minutes
High Score
N/A
Game Area
36" x 28"
Low Score
N/A
An Introductory Case
Despite playing the tutorial multiple times years ago both solo and in a couple of different groups, I realized I didn’t actually remember it. Might as well get into character!
I pictured myself as a young Columbo. You know: Back when his trench coat probably wasn’t so rumpled and he was just getting started with the seedy underside of L.A.
Blood on the Pier is more like half of a case that’s designed to introduce the game system, yet it’s still a great mystery!
The characters made the city come alive, and it was a huge sort of city to travel around in order to collect clues.
Matrix of Notes
A case briefing sets the stage and how to begin. There aren’t too many components: Usually around 10 cards and around 3 to 5 standees who might start on or off the map.
In the sleuth mode, which is designed for solo, actions revolve around moving, searching, and questioning. Of these, it’s the question action that takes most of the time.
A matrix provides a place to record responses from suspects about various elements of the case, once uncovered.
My handwriting is very neat and tiny, but I can see how this sheet might not work for those with larger handwriting!
Finding All the Clues
The next mystery, Murder at Sunset, actually felt like a continuation of the tutorial in some ways. Excellent! I figured it would be pretty straightforward, being easy.
Not at all! I was surprised by a few twists and turns, which got me very interested in the case and kept me guessing about a few things until it all started to come together.
Make no mistake: This setting is far from cozy, and can be quite violent with mature themes and language.
However, I didn’t find anything to be overdone in the gruesome department. It captured the setting very well!
Heist to Nowhere
For a variety of reasons, Heist to Nowhere was one of my favorite cases. Shown here is the question matrix, unique to each case, which shows the paragraph numbers to look up.
I was stumped early on as I had to think about what was going on. Suspects didn’t seem to be helping me out, but a little clue that seemed like a dead end turned out to be hot!
Also, I enjoyed the questioning mechanic. At first, it can be hard to tell how honest a suspect is being with their replies.
Challenging them might lead to stress, but might also out a lie and guarantee the truth for a future question. Clever!
Just One More Thing…
Most of the early cases are designed to be rather easy to solve, and I found myself with the solution well ahead of the final day. However, I started to get down to the wire on a few cases! Murder on All Hallows’ Eve was only solved thanks to a desperate final line of questioning and searching on the last day. That was an exciting sort of ending. Good sleuthing!
Perhaps the other nice part of this system is that the actions and information are contained. It’s not about coming up with a complex question: A suspect is asked about a specific card that’s been uncovered, which might be about a person or piece of evidence. Then, the real detecting happens with figuring out when someone is lying or not revealing all the information.
I picked up stress a few times, thanks to challenging someone who wasn’t lying. Goodness! Luckily, I never had enough to remove a full day of the investigation, although it was close. There were some neat strategies in waiting to question some suspects until I had some concrete information to come back with… Then, I was very confident in identifying the liars!
Searching Everywhere
Although questioning suspects was the core action, I still had to move around the city in a logical way. Only 4 actions are available each day, and there are only 12 days per case.
This also played into my starting police precinct: It seemed worthwhile to place myself close to a crime scene or key witness… But not always. I followed some random hunches!
Honestly, I got lucky with a couple of cases and the paths I took. Nah. That was my Columbo instinct. Ha ha!
Each case was different, and I enjoyed upping the difficulty as I moved into the veteran level cases. Bring it on!
Successful Case Logs
My only close call was with Murder on All Hallows’ Eve, thanks to me making a mistake with addition to get my solution. I had it! Just needed to carry the 1. Whoops!
These cases were all interesting, and once I get through the last of the base game cases, I’ll rank them all.
Of this set, Heist to Nowhere and Bloody Christmas were pretty memorable, while The Last Embrace was a little disappointing in the general storyline and solution.
Not bad, though! Mysteries are hard to put together, and even the best ones won’t work for everyone. I had fun!
Session Overview
Play Number: 2-7
Solo Mode: Included in the Base Game
Play Details: All Gumshoe & Veteran Cases
Outcome: 6 Wins
These are the instructions to solve a case, which involves adding up a trio of numbers for the suspect, weapon, and motive. I’m usually good with small sums, but these took a little time to compute… And I had to re-do it when I was shocked that my solution was wrong. It wasn’t: I just didn’t add correctly. Ha ha! Overall, this was great and I’m excited to play some more. I’m on the case as a young Columbo!
%
20 Plays
Affordability
Price & Value
8
Functionality
Challenges & Mechanics
10
Originality
Design & Theme
7
Quality
Components & Rules
9
Reusability
Achievement & Enjoyment
7
Variability
Distinctness & Randomness
5
+ Pros (Positives)
- Setting up a case doesn’t take a lot of time and helps set the stage with the initial facts, locations, and suspects.
- Although some deductive reasoning is needed, the gumshoe and veteran cases seem very fair in their solutions.
- For a 1940s setting of crime and violence, the actual depictions and text are pretty tame and avoid gruesome details.
- Challenging suspect responses is an excellent mechanic that rewards careful attention to details and case knowledge.
- Tracking down clues around the city is rather fun, particularly since cases often involve unexpected plot twists.
- Play time moves quickly with the action system over 12 days and practically no downtime, even when taking notes.
– Cons (Negatives)
- The amount of table space needed for the board can feel rather large since each case usually features a few locations.
- Notes must be kept pretty small to use the included matrix sheets, which won’t work for every type of handwriting.
- Adding up numbers for solutions in the solo mode makes sense, but the sums take a little bit of thinking to compute.
- There are a limited number of days and actions, so questioning every suspect about everything is never possible.
Victory Conditions
Complete the Case
- Overall Goal Progress 100%
Goals and Milestones
Complete all base game cases. (9/9)
Complete all Bullets Over Hollywood expansion cases. (4/4)
Complete all Saints and Sinners expansion cases. (3/3)
Complete all Smoke and Mirrors expansion cases. (4/4)
Continue the Conversation
Have you played Detective: City of Angels? Do you have a favorite case? I still can’t believe I waited years to dig into this system, but I’m committed now… All of these cold cases are finally getting solved by my version of a young Columbo. Ha ha! Lots more to explore with the harder cases and expansions. I’m hooked and expect to dig into everything very soon!
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