Faisal Ghaffar 
Overview
The origins of Bureau of Investigation: Investigations in Arkham & Elsewhere are strange. A new game concept hit the market in 1982. It was called Sherlock Holmes: Consulting Detective, and it gave players a variety of maps, newspaper clippings, and other clues to use in solving mystery scenarios. It was so common that it became a beloved two-player board game, with numerous reprints and expansion packs since.
What’s more shocking is that few other tournaments attempted to replicate this novel concept. The Bureau of Investigation has finally taken up the baton by adding a clever twist to the concept.
As the title suggests, you’re not Sherlock Holmes in this board game; instead, you’re the FBI, delving into the mysteries of H.P. Lovecraft’s Cthulhu mythos.
What exactly is it and how does it work?
Inside the box are five case booklets that begin by describing the mystery you must solve. Each has a newspaper clipping, a double-sided map, and a gazetteer where you can look up names and businesses. The figures on the map and the names in the gazetteer both correlate to codes that can be looked up in the scenario booklet, which functions similarly to an adventure book.
The difference is that, unlike an adventure gamebook, where you can go from a given paragraph, Bureau of Investigation is wide and reliant on you connecting the dots. This is difficult to explain without revealing any spoilers, but let’s try. In the first situation, there are 3 dead bodies, but only one provides a code to the location where it was discovered. For the other two, you must scan the text for clues and determine the relevant locations for yourself using the accompanying documents.
Once you’ve identified a location, you can either interview the people who live there or stake it out for inspection. Each action has its own entry in the scenario book and can produce different results. However, you must choose wisely because you only have a limited number of actions before time runs out and the situation comes to an end.
Is it worth it?
Bureau of Investigation can be played alone or as part of a cooperative board game collection, with the latter requiring players to take turns deciding what actions to take. It works fine either way, but the latter emphasises what a strange bird this is. There are no ‘correct’ answers, unlike almost every other cooperative game you’ve played. Rather, there is legitimate cooperation as gamers discuss the clues they have and attempt to determine which is most likely to be productive. This distinguishes it from the crowd of puzzle or storyline co-op games.
The other major addition, dividing interviews and investigations at each location, is less successful. It frequently rewards sound decision-making, such as that of a public official. You might expect such a person to provide useful information, but without any indication that they are corrupt, escorting them is unlikely to yield anything useful. That isn’t always the situation, and the mechanic may waste valuable actions.
