Hardboiled Sleuthing Days in Detective: City of Angels
Track down leads and collect evidence in a series of intriguing mysteries set in 1940s L.A. with Detective: City of Angels.
After solving the first cases in Detective: City of Angels, it was time to put my skills to the test with the hardboiled cases! These present the greatest challenges and require more logical reasoning to reach the correct solution. Still feeling like a successful young Columbo, I was ready to take on this trio of cases and triumphantly close out the base game content!
Spoiler Alert
No case solutions are presented, but some information is presented in photos that might give away a little bit. In particular, Murder at Sunset and The Black King are covered in some detail. A number of the special rules for cases are also discussed, although these are introduced when setting up cases, rather than being secrets. Still, I recommend being careful!
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
Cases unfold in different ways as evidence and the truth comes to light through careful questioning. Challenging suspects on their replies is a central element, yet being wrong leads to stress… Never a detective’s friend! Puzzling through each mystery is quite fun, and often rewarding.
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
El Fantasma Prints
The first of the hardboiled cases involved a mysterious case of El Fantasma. More interesting was the new mechanic that centered around fingerprints. Which was… Only OK.
Interrogating suspects is a core feature of gameplay, which comes down to knowing when to challenge a response.
If I ask Suspect #1 about something I know nothing about, I have to risk a challenge to get to the truth. But if I know the facts, Suspect #1 is often much easier to catch in a lie!
Fingerprints seemed neat, but ultimately took something away from questioning and made for a disappointing case.
The Great Hat War
Yeah, I know how to wear that hat better than you, buddy. Ha ha! There wasn’t actually a hat argument in this case, but I went with it anyway. So much leverage over a suspect!
There were some neat aspects of this case, The Final Strikeout, although the major twist was way too obvious.
I enjoyed some of the other nuances, but mostly had a laugh over how much leverage I had over a suspect who seemed to lie about everything. You can’t fool Columbo-in-disguise!
This leverage mechanic really made the solo mode shine, and I was glad to have it back after the previous case.
Comparing Notes
This is my matrix of notes for Murder at Sunset, which might be the biggest spoiler if you zoom in to actually read the text. The solution is not shown in the photo, though!
I mostly wanted to show how much information could be filled in for the earlier cases. The hardboiled mode saw me only filling in a smaller portion of these boxes.
Lots more logical reasoning had to go into making sure I could piece together seemingly random clues or evidence.
It was fun to find solutions with the right challenges! Suspects definitely feared me. “Just one more thing…”
Hardboiled Case Wins
The Black King was the final hardboiled case, and it was quite the challenge! It introduced a secondary mechanic about solving puzzles, which threw me for a loop at first.
But it was easily the best of this trio, although I appreciated what each one did with a lot of unexpected twists.
Made it! At last, I finished all of the base game cases… And my eyes immediately went to the expansion boxes, some of which have been sitting in shrink wrap. My goodness!
This detective is still on the case, and I’ll be back soon. I’m flying through these mysteries and having the best time!
Ranking All of the Base Game Cases
Mystery games are often very subjective, and it’s not always easy to come up with cases that will work for everyone. I certainly found some favorites in this bunch, though, and I wasn’t too disappointed in the ones that weren’t particularly great for me. Even those I have at the bottom of the list had some fun moments, often with neat sorts of twists!
Looking at this, I can see why the base game works so nicely… At least for me! I have a lot of expansion cases to explore, and it will be interesting to see where they fall in the grand scheme of my rankings. Enjoy, as I imagine everyone will have their own opinions about these cases. Maybe this is all due to lots of luck as I think of myself as Columbo. Ha ha!
- Bloody Christmas (Veteran)
- Heist to Nowhere (Gumshoe)
- Murder at Sunset (Gumshoe)
- The Black King (Hardboiled)
- Murder on All Hallows’ Eve (Veteran)
- Blood on the Pier (Gumshoe)
- The Final Strikeout (Hardboiled)
- El Fantasma (Hardboiled)
- The Last Embrace (Veteran)
Session Overview
Play Number: 8-10
Solo Mode: Included in the Base Game
Play Details: All Hardboiled Cases
Outcome: 3 Wins
The riddles and puzzles present in the final case were quite interesting, and I was pretty proud of how I figured out a lot of elements. This final solution was a little more of a stretch than the others, yet was still very fun to figure out! All of the mysteries are very varied, and the solo mode offers a lot to explore. Hunting down the paragraphs and gathering all of the clues is just right for me. Can’t wait for more cases!
%
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)
- There is a lot of variety present in the different cases, from the overall storylines to the actual mechanics.
- Solving the cases solo can be challenging, but doesn’t feel impossible to piece together the clues and true answers.
- Questioning suspects takes on a unique arc as personalities and lies are separated, with risky challenges to replies.
- Play time moves very quickly with a limited number of actions and a sequence that requires little upkeep.
- Clues are rarely obvious in their connection to the solution, and the level of deductive reasoning feels balanced.
- All of the artwork and writing brings the world to life with memorable characters and case posters, plus descriptions.
– Cons (Negatives)
- Some parts of the hardboiled cases in the base game are a little disappointing with changes or obvious plot twists.
- There are no hints for the solo mode, so if a clue or puzzle seems impossible to understand, there is no assistance.
- Case notes need to be kept in a pretty small area on the included sheets, which can be a challenge at times.
- Waiting to punch the standees for each case makes sense, but they could have been printed in a randomized way.
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
What do you like about Detective: City of Angels? Has any case surprised you in an unexpected way? It’s been a joy to play through all of these cases and piece together the mysteries. There is a lot to enjoy in the solo mode, and I didn’t think I would have so much fun. Not every case is the best, yet I’m very happy with the experience and have many cases ahead!
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