Christmas Commotions is a wonderfully engaging case that took me nearly five hours to complete (including detailed note-taking and lots of theorising!), and was thoroughly enjoyable to play.

The case takes place in one evening which is split into four chapters/rounds. Unlike most cases where you arrive in the narrative after a crime has been committed, Christmas Commotions puts you at the scene before the crime has been committed and, furthermore, you don’t even know what crime is going to take place. Will there be a murder? Will there be a theft? Will someone turn out to be not who they say they are? It feels like a locked room mystery and you’re in the locked room!

Right from the start there are lots of strategic decisions that are forced upon you as time is limited and you can’t visit every lead. And just when you think you understand what is going on, the end of each round reveals new information and a plot twist that keeps the story moving naturally forward and makes you reevaluate earlier leads. All of this led me to spend more time theorizing and weighing possibilities than looking up entries which I loved.

The final questions at the end of the game are exceptionally well-crafted, and provide a detailed breakdown that shows exactly how each answer could be deduced directly from the clues.

My only cheeky disappointment? I had constructed what I felt was a foolproof scenario pinning the whole thing on one character ... only to have to change my mind after discovering someone else in possession of the physical evidence. Though part of me still thinks my choice of character would have made a brilliant villain 😂

For anyone who loves the New York Noir cases, this is a brilliant case and highly recommended.

The amount of suspects were amazing. Lots of content. Documents were well made. It took me a told of 35 hours to play. Case was a high amount of difficult. We received a score of 84. Needs a lot of time and thinking. Played it on paper.

Great case. High recommend

Joined for the livestream playtest. The case starts with the host of a Halloween party being rushed off to the hospital and detective Lucas having to sift through testimony of those present. While most guests don't seem overly concerned with the supernatural, a diary found on the victim opens an odd line of inquiry. The amount of effort that went into crafting the witness statements is impressive. Just be ready to dedicate some serious time to them to be able to fully appreciate them. Also don't make the mistake we almost did of not taking the line of inquiry opened up by the journal seriously enough. It will lead to some of the most fun discussion as you ask just how deep this conspiracy goes and if the threat's still out there. As others have mentioned there was a real fun fingerprint segment where there can be some real suspense if playing with others. This case beat us up in the scoring so you got to take it seriously. Take very thorough notes while playing and don't be dismissive of anything.

Disclosure: I'm a fellow case author.

This case is great fun to play. The magic system is extremely creative and really shows how versatile the New York Noir system is when it comes to playing with genre in a detective story. The presence of magic in this case does not detract at all from the feeling of investigating a satisfying mystery. Everything you already enjoy from a satisfying NY Noir mystery is there, with an added layer of creativity thrown into the mix to create a very engaging and enjoyable story. The detective duo are very fun characters that I would love to see in more cases down the road. I also highly enjoyed the cameo appearance of the detective from one of this author's other cases in this one---it certainly isn't necessary to play that other case first but if you have, it's a nice little touch.

We played this on youtube over the course of 34+ hours (https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLOC6NYwnZx8o). Tons to love here. A true hybrid case involving a large number of detailed documents, like a dossier game, and combining a classic Agatha Christie setup with a supernatural historical angle. At times we were overwhelmed with details and a large cast of characters, but Anna's historical focus was once again the star here, and I loved the supernatural storyline. Absolutely recommended but take your time and take good notes. It's a also a difficult case, so be prepared for a challenge!

ps. This case also makes wonderful use of fingerprints! Authors who want to use fingerprints in their cases should look at how it's done here.

This case is superb in every way---it is an absolute joy to experience. The writing in this case was absolutely incredible in nailing the noir atmosphere---some sentences made me literally stop and say "Wow" (in the best possible way). The characters in this case are another high point---many of them feel like fully-realized, multifaceted people that feel fully fleshed out. While many characters are like this, one in particular stood out to me as truly captivating and a perfect fit for the noir genre. Additionally, this case features a highly engaging core mystery and series of mysteries around it that are highly satisfying to solve. One aspect of the story is so ingenious that it truly feels like something that belongs in a fantastic detective novel. There are so many fun twists and surprises---this case is a true delicacy for the player. The author's comments at the end about their process in writing the case is fascinating and shows how much care went into the writing of this case. Death by Design is not easy---but it is immensely satisfying and a true highlight. Savor the experience---it is well worth your time and I can't wait to play more cases by this author.

This case is the first one that I played using the Fingerprint Directory and it does a fantastic job using that tool without overwhelming the player. I would definitely recommend this case as a great introduction to the Fingerprint Directory, especially if the idea of using the Fingerprint Directory seems like it will be a slog. (It wasn't at all, but still felt like satisfying detective work). The story of this case is also quite intriguing and enjoyable. The 2/5 difficulty is just right, in my opinion, as it is a bit on the easier side compared to some of the other cases that I've played, but it is still highly engaging and definitely difficult enough to still keep you guessing until you put the pieces together. There were a couple of nice red herrings here as well. Overall, a really pleasant, fun case that isn't overly hard but certainly still very satisfying to solve.

Most cases feel like a story where you have to work out how the puzzle pieces (the crime) fit in. This case is back to front, here you have a puzzle, (the crime) and you have to work out how the story fits in. You have no idea who the people are, what the motive might be or even if the witnesses are telling you the truth. The perfect ingredients for a good detective game.

Putting together notes, testing theories, and wrestling with specific details felt like real, methodical police work. I initially had a few reservations about having yet another directory to look through, but the Criminal Directory proved to be a highlight. Having the word lookup function made navigation smooth and accessible; without it, searching through records might have felt like a slog. Instead, it gave a fantastic "old-fashioned detective" feel without ever forcing you into a rigid chain of following one mechanical lead after another.

Having to make choices throughout the game was a lot of fun (even if my choices proved I’m probably way too soft-hearted to be a real detective! 😁). I really appreciated the design choice where mid-game decisions didn't punish you with dead ends; there’s no choice along the way that you can't bounce back from. The final choices at the end were particularly interesting and they tie up the story really well.

I spent around six hours working through this case, and I enjoyed every minute of it. It’s a highly engaging investigation that nails the investigative feeling from start to finish.

This was another excellent case from Annamária Kovács. It has a classic Agatha Christie feel, 15 suspects under one roof each of whom had the opportunity to pull off the murder, but who was where and when and who had a motive to kill?

Part of the case involves painstakingly piecing together a timeline from witness statements to figure out who was actually where and when, matching fingerprints, reading documents and then following up leads to discover who had a motive.

The writing and storyline were excellent, and assembling the timeline was a genuinely satisfying puzzle to untangle. There are lots of subtle clues to figure out as you would expect, but enough information is available so you don’t need to work out every clue to find the solution.

All in all this took me nearly 8 hours of intense deduction and deep thinking to crack, but it was well worth it. Highly recommended!

This well-written mystery hooks you with historical details, immersive music clips, and a well-crafted story. More than a simple introduction, this first case integrates the criminal history directory perfectly, making it central to the story and setting a high bar. I strongly recommend it.

This was a very entertaining case overall. I found the dynamic between the two sleuths to be one of the strongest points and hope to see both characters in future cases at some point. The way that the plot was split across the 2-day structure was handled well and the case had some fun twists and turns. The main thing that I felt this case could benefit from is having some questions and a scoring system at the end. Despite that, though, the case was challenging and satisfying to play.

Thinus' second case serves as a great tutorial for the marker system and eases you in to the fingerprint directory with an intriguing storyline that isn't too tricky, but enough of a puzzler to make it worth your time, whatever your experience level.

Excellent, well-crafted story. The new magic mechanic is a nice touch and I want to see more. The characters have real depth, and the investigation is compelling with several plot twists. Beautifully written. Highly recommended.

A really satisfying experience. It felt like travelling back in time. Having played the tutorial I'm now fully ready to immerse myself in the world of New York Noir.

I watch the play through of this case and loved it. I have also played all three of the collector series cases by myself and loved all the history and how much work you put in to a great job Anna

Joined for the playtest livestream. A solid conclusion to the trilogy. If you've enjoyed the previous cases, you'll be thrilled by this one. There were several points during this case where we were confident we understood what was going on only to have the rug pulled out from under us. Maybe it's a mistake to stress that part and risk setting expectations too high but I definitely believe it will be one of the most memorable parts of this experience for me. Tighter deadlines return but personally I might recommend not worrying too much about them if it risks you're enjoyment of all the historical/immersive detail that's gone into the case. Trying to come up with an optimal clue chain or path probably isn't what you should be focused on here. Enjoy getting to know all the characters.

Disclosure: I'm a fellow case author.

We played this live on youtube over the course of six sessions totaling over 26 hours. You can watch our full playthrough on youtube. What an incredible epic experience.

This is not a case for beginners, but I HIGHLY recommend this trilogy for experienced players. Truly something special.

There are a ton of things to love about the case, including lots of twists and turns and surprises, and some great mysteries to solve. But the things that stood out most to me were:

• The wonderful historical elements throughout.
• The pacing and structure of everything, including the investigation of multiple mysteries and the interleaved questions & answers.
• The deep role of psychology in understanding the characters involved.
• The rich and generous set of documents.

I really enjoyed playing this case and it's very well done. The writing is strong, keeping a steady level of intrigue and suspense from start to finish. The detailed descriptions and the amount of text provided for each lead do a great job of establishing the noir atmosphere, with a touch of humor. I totally recommend.

Joined for the livestream playtest. Starts with a long detailed description of crime scene that offers many different investigative routes to run down. The elements you liked from the first case return. The interesting blending of historical fact and fiction, the setting of the art world, and several of the characters from case 1 make appearances. If the time limit for case 1 felt too tight for you this case felt like it had a more lenient deadline. A fun audio element is also included to make the case more immersive. Fun case, looking forward to the end of the trilogy.

Disclosure: I'm a fellow case author.

We played this over 10 hours in two sessions on youtube: https://www.youtube.com/live/kB8zizmpahA and https://www.youtube.com/live/VSBqt15PXCI So much great stuff here from Anna, including the rich use of history and generous documents, which we have come to expect from her. But for me what really sings is the pitch-perfect noir fatalism and sadness in the story elements. I also thought the pacing and especially the ending Q&A were amazingly satisfying. Can't wait to see how different players end up with different campaign sheets after finishing the trilogy. I will share mine online and I'm so curious to see what kinds of decisions others make while playing.

Joined for the original playtest livestream and went back and replayed the case to get ready for the rest of the trilogy. A very tightly paced case. Some real tension trying to crack it before the deadline. Great world building and detail that make even purely fictional characters feel like they could be real historical people. Looking forward to the rest of the series.

Disclosure: I'm a fellow case author.

I printed this months ago when it was listed as a difficulty 1 case. I found it more difficult than that. As Jesse mentioned in his review, the writing was great; similar to a noir pulp fiction novel. Many leads and many people to talk to, all of whom felt like what you would expect when talking to a person in New York in the 30s.

Great case. Extremely fun, with many original mechanics. At times, it really made you feel like a detective, combing through New York’s neighborhoods—a very different experience compared to SHCD. The story was intriguing and creative, and the difficulty was well balanced. For my partner and me, this was the best of the published cases. Thank you very much!

This is not a game but a great tutorial for authors who want to write a case for New York Noir. It walks you gently through the entire process. Great stuff.

Really enjoyed this one.

The writing is great and the case is a lot of fun to investigate from start to finish. I especially liked the moral questions at the heart of the story. I also learned quite a bit about Hungarian culture, which gave the case a unique flavour.

The ending is very interesting and I would love to play something like this in a bigger group where we could discuss and vote for different resolutions.

I was an early playtester for this game, which obviously isn't the same as the full final experience, but I enjoyed it and I'm happy that others seem to as well! I also did some editing work on the final version, so you can blame me for any remaining errors. Glad to have helped contribute to the release version!

My first NY Noir game. Not difficult but a nice introduction to the wealth of information available.

It has a very unique style, and the mystery is very intriguing. We had a great time playing it!

It is worth trying this one. It helps if you are well versed in the genre, but if not just use the hints and don't feel bad...

A very good place to start your NY Noir journey.

I always enjoy playing NY Noir, but it was one of the memorable cases.

Agree with all of you, it is a very good case. I liked the style, the writing, the mystery.

Can't add much to what has already been said. It is brilliant.

Impressions from an early playtest: Solid introduction to a new magical system and setting. A spunky lead with Iris. Intrigue with her Father's past along with her mentor Morten's. An interesting cast of characters in a messy web of relations. Lots of twists and turns as new identities and relationships are revealed. A subtle theme of pairs and dualities. The magic system is well explained and there is lot of satisfying traditional detective work as well. Fun case.

Disclosure I'm a fellow case writer.

Really enjoyed Death by Design! Was it written by an amateur author?? It honestly felt very professional!

The 1930s New York setting is great, with lots of period details and references to the technology of the time that make it feel believable and immersive. The mystery has a clever setup and I loved how the title Death by Design ends up fitting the plot so well. It was so clever!

The noir writing is especially good—atmospheric without overdoing it and a pleasure to follow throughout the investigation. I watched the second stream live and later caught up with the third and final stream and it was fun seeing different approaches to the case by everyone in the chat.

The solution was satisfying and felt earned, tying everything together nicely. Overall, a really enjoyable mystery! Congratulations to the author and to Jesse for having beed able to add such a clever game to the system.

So you've come here to solve mysteries? Try doing it from the darker end of society. Get your hands dirty with the criminals. If you are ready to try something truly unique in terms of narrative style and psychology, this is an immesive ride, conveyed with impressive elegance. The features that make this case truly unique are experienced most poignantly when you encounter them for yourself. Strap yourself in, pay attention to every detail, and put your brain in gear. One last point... If games can be considered art, then this case is (without a doubt) the most literary one I have yet engaged.

• Disclaimer: Joined for the livestream.

Lots of historical detail, very well crafted documents, and some nicely crafted puzzles that combine different pieces of information in creative ways, will really pull you into the story. Also a very nice behind the scenes postscript for those who are interested in mystery writing and game design. Looking forward to seeing what new puzzles the author has cooking up in future cases.

Disclosure: Joined for the livestream playtest of the case and am a fellow case writer myself.

If you don't have the time for a large campaign this will hit the sweet spot. Both days have a unique investigative feel while continuing one story. Would enjoy seeing more of the Brooks and his club in future cases. A rich setting to further develop.

Disclosure: Joined for the livestream playtest of the case and am a fellow case writer myself.

We played this on youtube over the course of 3 days and about 15 hours in total. Absolutely outstanding use of the New York Noir system. The foundational stuff, the core mechanical deductive elements, are done really well here. But you also get a whole bunch of new innovative fun mechanical ideas, a compelling mystery with details that had us debating even at the end. Everything we want in a New York Noir case is here -- tough moral choices, a great epilogue ending, humor, history, etc. Could not ask for more. And through it all some of the very best noir writing that we've seen. Amazing. -jesse

I played this game after having seen the beginning of the live playthrough on Friday morning (29/05). I was intrigued and decided to play it on my own at a later time. This case begins with an employee who doesn't show up for work and the office secretary who decides to contact the police. As sir Teddy has never been absent, not even a single day in 15 years. I do feel that this was something that needed explanation, because we never do find out how this phone call ended up becoming a matter the police decided to look into. The case plays out over 3 days. When you feel you have investigated enough for one day or when your time for the day runs out you visit an end of the day location. I think this was very cleverly done. When reading the end of the day entry you would be asked 'do you have markers x,y,z ...? If you don't come back at a later time.'. This way you can't really miss essential information. I usually avoid using hints, but I did venture to the hints section a few times during the game. When the game says you are missing one marker, it's like looking for a needle in a haystack without a clue as to what you have missed. So I did go to the clues section to get an idea of where to even look. Because of the multi day set-up and the markers you could also revisit places once you had additional information or documents. It reminded me of The Baker Street Irregulars and also brought to mind my favourite board game, which also uses this mechanic. This meant you could talk to the same people as the 'days' progressed. This really ensured a nice progression as you would visit a person on day one and return on day two once a certain document / information had been acquired. This was true for several locations. As with a SHCD case you will go to an end section with questions, but after answering the questions there is an ending which depends on you markers, but also on some final choices you make, I felt like that was a nice touch. There wasn't just an ending for the main plot, but also for other criminal activity that is discovered along the way. This case was very well written with a good mystery behind it. I liked the little historic details like when you visited the Yorkville Casino Club or ETL having really existed and the link it has to Edison or the Horn & Hardart automat which apparently used to be an existing chain and reminded me somewhat of a Dutch snack wall. One minor critique: I do think it is more difficult than a 4/5 difficulty rating. There are other games that use this scale and for me I always feel like 4/5 and even 4.5/5 usually means ‘attention to detail required, but there is little chance you will need the hints at any point’. For this game the hints were a necessity, especially since some entries in the detective research guide were dead ends, making you believe there wasn’t anything to be found. In SHCD when you go to the central carriages for example there will be an entry to either tell you there is nothing, or to tell you there is something or to redirect you. Some of the entries in the detective’s research guide were dead ends when in reality you were supposed to get the information elsewhere. Which as a player you won’t realise until you are at the end of the day missing a marker. I also felt like some locations should have had an entry, if only to tell you there was nothing there, like the Consulate of Germany or the Consulate of Denmark. Final thoughts: A really enjoyable game. I would play other games by this author.

A fun case designed to teach new players how to become immersed in the world of New York Noir. Would be a mistake to think that the case will be easy though - It’s a challenge in the best way. 😊😊

Some reviews on bgg: Review by John Kean; Review by Nigel Thomas

We played this on youtube over the course of about 10 hours. It was a wild ride. I thought the writing was amazing, and completely different from what we are used to, told from a unique perspective in a unique writing style. I felt like the case demanded our careful attention to details, clues, and also just taking in the scenery. Felt like a classic old hard strange mystery book -- reminded me of The Red Right Hand. This is not a case to be played casually. Some very subtle clever clues that frequently rewarded re-reading. Very very cool. I would rate it as HARD difficulty, and the final questions as beyond hard. We couldn't quite get on the wavelength of the solution and I do think this is a case where it's the journey and the final Q&A is of less importance. ps. I am not leaving a rating for any of the cases i review. -jesse

This was my first case using the New York Noir platform…and it didn’t disappoint! I played it all online (although I can see it would be fun to have printed directories) and found the system intuitive and easy to use - even for somebody who has never been to America, let alone New York 😊. The case was interesting, wonderfully written and I need all my deductive prowess to solve the mystery. I will definitely be checking out more cases as a result of this experience.

We played this case live on youtube and loved it. Great writing and fun mystery. My favorite part was the two act structure over two days, very cool twist. Also really fun pair of protagonists.

This was a fun and enjoyable case, with a nice level of difficulty/challenge. The story was intriguing and had some creative twists throughout.

This is a really great case! The setup, the unique atmosphere, how the story unfolds—everything works together to make 'Guilty or Not' a terrific experience. When you're investigating, it really feels like you're immersed in a noir Chandleresque novel where you really care for the outcome of the research. The writing is excellent, and Kovacs gives the investigator a personality of his own. Simon is no longer 'The Kid'—he's now a detective with his own way of talking, of thinking, and his own moral compass. And what can I say about the ending... I loved it! Congratulations on the result, and thank you to the author for hours of great fun!

We played this, the very first case ever written for New York Noir, live on YouTube and it was a very special experience. This is a short case, without much by way of mechanics, but we still had a great time with it.

We played an earlier version of this case live on youtube and it was only the second case ever written for New York Noir, and the first long, serious one. The author invented his own mechanics and so this game plays quite differently than some of the more recent cases, but it's very interesting to play. The author is a police officer and it really shows, especially in the super long crime scene lead which is pretty epic. -jesse

We played this live on youtube and had a great time with it. The writing was great, the tone captured noir perfectly. Lots of cool historical documents as well. Can't wait to play the next case in the series. -jesse