Here’s a heads-up for UK-based crime fiction lovers who enjoy mystery board games. Rent, Shuffle and Roll is an interesting startup that gives you the chance to play hundreds of tabletop games without having to buy them – and they’ve just launched their Mystery Vault. In it are over 100 boxed games you can rent, play and return.
When it comes to mystery games, Rent, Shuffle and Roll solves a significant problem because once you’ve solved the crime, it’s not always that exciting to play the game again. The Mystery Vault includes games like 221b Baker Street, Letters from Whitechapel, Detective: A Modern Crime Board Game, Spy Alley and many more. There’s a whole slew of Sherlock Holmes games, with card, escape, deduction and cooperative games all in the mix. Some of the games in the vault do cross over into fantasy, sci-fi and adventure but there are more than enough straight crime titles to choose from.
It works like this. First, you take out a subscription based on how much gaming you expect to do per month. Then, you choose the titles for the month ahead, and Rent, Shuffle and Roll will post them to you, with a Royal Mail return label for when you’re done. At the end of the month, pop them back in the box and send them back, while your next set of games is on its way. The company makes sure all the bits are there before each game is sent to a customer.
Just browsing the site, it looks like Rent, Shuffle and Roll’s founders Jen and Glenn have found a successful formula. Several of the detective games we’re interested in are already out being played by someone else!
