Sherlock: The Riddle of the Crown Jewels

About

Sherlock: The Riddle of the Crown Jewels is a text-based adventure game where you play Dr. Watson on a high-stakes mission to recover stolen royal treasures. Set in 1887 London, the game tasks you with solving the Crown Jewels theft in 48 hours before the Jubilee. You navigate the city via Hansom cabs, interrogating suspects and piecing together clues from Holmes’s notes. Doyle’s iconic characters populate the world, from Mycroft’s cold logic to Mrs. Hudson’s quiet concern. The game thrives on its brisk pacing and clever red herrings, demanding careful observation and quick deductions to avoid national scandal. Developed by Challenge, Inc. for Infocom in 1987, it was the first game from the studio using Infocom’s ZIL tools. Released across multiple platforms including DOS, Mac, and C64, it leaned into the era’s adventure game strengths: layered puzzles and a tight narrative. While shorter than some Infocom classics, its time limit and Holmesian atmosphere made it a standout pick for fans of cerebral mysteries. The game’s straightforward design and lack of obtuse puzzles still hold up for casual sleuths.