Detective: City of Angels is a narrative-driven board game set in the dark and violent world of 1940s Los Angeles. Players investigate mysterious cases, often involving murders or robberies, while one player takes on the role of 'The Chisel,' a challenging antagonist who knows the solution and aims to deceive the detectives. The game emphasizes mystery, deception, and investigation.
The Verdict
based on 20 reviews
“It’s the competitive edge and dynamic interrogations that make Detective: City of Angels unique in the world of mystery board games, putting the interaction between players at the heart of its immersive world.”
“This was easily the game of the con for me. I can wholeheartedly recommend Detective: City of Angels, and right now, it has to be my front runner for game of the year.”
“Inspired by classic film noir like The Big Sleep, the works of James Ellroy (L.A. Confidential), and the video game L.A. Noire from Rockstar Games, Detective: City of Angels is a murder-mystery game unlike any other.”
The reviewer praises Detective: City of Angels as a fantastic and amazing story-driven deduction game, highlighting its simple rules, deep gameplay, and particularly its unique and effective questioning system that immerses players in the 1940s noir theme. He considers it to be at the top of the list for deduction games.
“Detective: City of Angels is easily one of my favorite games of the year. It is a great experience I can’t recommend highly enough.”
Jessica finds "Detective: City of Angels" to be an awesome solo gaming experience, praising its clever questioning mechanic and the enjoyability of its diverse and solvable cases, some of which feature surprising plot twists.
Quinns considers "Detective: City of Angels" to be an engaging and enjoyable crime-solving board game, highlighting its original mechanics, particularly the unique Chisel role, as a refreshing and fun experience compared to other games in the genre.
The reviewers highly praise "Detective: City of Angels" as an engaging and rewarding experience, offering diverse and improving cases that leave players eager to return for more gameplay.
The reviewer found "Detective: City of Angels" to be a phenomenal and highly enjoyable game that brings its noir theme to life, especially when played in a mixed solo and competitive format. While he fully recommends it for this experience, he notes that purely cooperative players might find other games more satisfying.
“It’s rare that a game that puts you in a role actually has you feel like you’re doing that job, but Detective really succeeds on that front.”
“Absolutely. However you choose to play this game, it is truly excellent. I rarely see a game that is so immersive and well constructed.”
The reviewer highly recommends "Detective: City of Angels" for its engaging cases, rich stories, and well-developed characters, particularly enjoying the mystery and puzzles, and highlighting the fun of the head-to-head Chisel mode.
Lists to explore
View all lists & features
Top 25Best Cooperative board games
Our definitive ranking of the Best Cooperative board games, based on aggregated critic scores from multiple trusted review sources.
Top 25The 25 best card games
Their components fits nicely in the palm of hands yet the possibilities are endless.
Top 25Best 2 player-only board games
Find out which games to play with your loved ones, siblings, friends, kids or parents.
Top 50The Best Board Games of 2025
2025 was a year stacked with amazing board games. Find out which ones stood out.










