It's elementary, Fido - Dog Crimes is great fun!

At the end of last week, we talked about a game that’s good fun for the younger kids in your house. If you’ve got a kid who needs a bit more of a challenge – and is ready for some logic-based deduction, Dog Crimes is one for you.

Dog Crimes is unique for a children’s game in that it’s intended as a single-player game. That said, my oldest did indeed work through it on her own, while my younger two tended to team up to figure out the crimes. How it works is an interesting mechanic.

You’ve got a main board, around which you end up arranging the dogs, as well as some props that tie into the “crime” being solved. And no, don’t worry, it’s not stuff like “which dog knocked over the bank”, it’s more like “which one ate the homework” sort of crimes – so very kid appropriate.

To set up the tableau, and solve the crime, you’ve got a card that gives you clues as to where to position the dogs, as well as the crime token. The early cards are pretty explicit, and older kids may find it too simple. As you play along, though, the clues are intentionally more vague, and you will no doubt see them re-arranging things to meet all of the requirements on the card.

Now, if you’re nearby while they’re playing, you can view the back of the card to see what the solution is, and give hints as needed. Or, if they’re fully independent, they can flip the card over once they’re done and see if they’ve solved it properly.

My girls loved playing the game. They’ve not worked through all of the crimes as of yet, but it was a hearty thumbs-up, all around, from them when we were talking about it. The artwork is particularly engaging on the dog pawns, as my youngest was quickly figuring out which one she liked the best, and even started them on their own little adventures (not related to the game at all).

You can check out all the details of the game over at ThinkFun, and/or head on over to Amazon to get your own copy for $15 (and/or the cat version for $13)

Details from ThinkFun

Who?s to Blame Logic Game

Dog Crimes is the follow-up to our top-selling deductive reasoning game, Cat Crimes. A stand-alone game, Dog Crimes features an all-new cast of characters ? and 40 all new mysteries to solve. Each of the 40 challenge cards presents a canine crime and a series of clues to help you identify the culprit. The six dog suspects feature distinctive characteristics and traits, and the gameboard supplies additional supporting evidence to help you solve the crimes. It?s the perfect game for dog lovers, and anyone who loves a good mystery!