You’re sitting there with a massive, beige box on your table. It’s Sherlock Holmes Consulting Detective. You’ve got the map of Victorian London spread out, the London Directory is weighing down a corner, and you’re staring at a wall of text in a case booklet. Someone in your group says, “Isn't there an app for this?”
Well, yes. But also, kinda no.
The Sherlock Holmes Consulting Detective app is one of those things that sounds like a lifesaver but actually confuses the heck out of people the first time they download it. Honestly, if you’re looking for a digital version of the entire board game where you click on locations and see animations, you’re going to be disappointed. That’s not what this is.
What the app actually does (and doesn't)
Basically, the official app by Space Cowboys (the publisher) is a companion tool. It’s not a standalone game. Its primary job is to act as a narrator. It provides audio introductions for the cases in the big boxes, specifically The Thames Murders & Other Cases and Jack the Ripper & West End Adventures.
Why does this matter? Because the introductions in this game are long. I mean, really long.
Reading two pages of dense, 19th-century prose out loud to a group of friends can be a slog. The app solves this by letting a voice actor do the heavy lifting. You hit play, lean back, and listen to the setup of the mystery. It sets the mood, gets the "Irregulars" into the right headspace, and saves your throat from getting scratchy before the real investigation even begins.
The "Case 1" glitch everyone talks about
If you look at the App Store or Google Play reviews for the SH Consulting Detective app, they are... brutal. One star. Two stars. People are angry.
The biggest complaint? A recurring bug where no matter which case you select, the app only plays the audio for the very first case. It’s a known issue that has plagued various versions of the app for years.
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You’ve got a 243 MB download that sometimes just refuses to cooperate. If you’re lucky, it works perfectly and you get high-quality audio for every mystery in the box. If you’re not, you’re stuck listening to the same murder over and over. This is why many veteran players have moved away from the app and gone back to reading the physical booklets or finding fan-made audio versions online.
Why the app matters for remote play
When the world went into lockdown a few years back, this board game saw a massive resurgence. But how do you play a game that relies on passing a physical book and a map around?
The app was supposed to be part of the solution.
By having the intro audio, everyone on a Discord or Zoom call can hear the setup at once. Space Cowboys even released a "Remote Play Kit" on their website, which included PDFs of the map and the newspapers. When you combine those PDFs with a working version of the Sherlock Holmes Consulting Detective app, you can actually run a full investigation without being in the same room.
It’s not perfect. You still need someone to have the physical casebook to read the entries (unless you’ve scanned them all), but the app provides that initial hook that makes everyone feel like they’re part of the same story.
Don't confuse it with these other Sherlock apps
This is where it gets confusing for the casual searcher. If you search for "Sherlock Holmes app," you’ll find a dozen different things that have nothing to do with the board game.
- Sherlock: Hidden Object Mystery: This is a G5 Entertainment game. It’s fun, it’s got match-3 puzzles, but it’s a standard mobile game with microtransactions. It has zero connection to the Consulting Detective series.
- Holmes: Sherlock & Mycroft: This is a digital version of a two-player card game by Devir. It’s a great game! But again, totally different mechanics and system.
- Sherlock Holmes Consulting Detective (Zojoi): This is an old-school FMV (Full Motion Video) game from the 90s that was ported to PC and Mac. It uses the same cases as the board game, but it’s a standalone digital experience with actual video footage of actors in Victorian costumes.
The actual companion app we’re talking about is strictly a utility for the physical board game.
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Real-world tips for using the app
If you’re determined to make the app work for your next game night, there are a few things you should do to avoid a "elementary, my dear Watson" level of frustration.
Test it before your guests arrive. Seriously. Don't wait until four people are holding drinks and waiting for the story to start. Open the app, try to navigate to Case 4 or Case 7, and see if the audio matches the title. If it doesn't, you've got time to find a backup.
Use a Bluetooth speaker. Phone speakers are tinny. Trying to hear a narrator describe the foggy docks of London through a tiny iPhone speaker while someone is crinkling a bag of chips is impossible. Hook it up to a real speaker to get that immersive, bassy atmosphere.
Check the language settings. The app supports English, French, Spanish, and several other languages. Sometimes it defaults to French (since Space Cowboys is a French company), and you’ll need to toggle the flag icon in the corner.
The future of digital integration in the series
Space Cowboys hasn't updated the app in quite a while. In the world of board gaming, apps often have a short shelf life because OS updates (like iOS 17 or 18) tend to break old code.
Is there a better way?
Many players are moving toward web-based tools. There are several fan-made "digital assistants" for Sherlock Holmes Consulting Detective that help you track which leads you’ve followed and how many points you’re losing by visiting the Holmes' favorites like the O'Grady's or the Criminologist. These aren't official, but they often work better than the app because they don't require a massive download and don't break every time your phone updates.
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Is the app worth the storage space?
Honestly? It depends on your setup.
If you have a working version and a good speaker, the app adds a layer of "theatre of the mind" that reading from a book just can't match. The voice acting is generally solid, and the music sets a dark, moody tone that fits the Victorian setting perfectly.
But if the "Case 1" bug hits you, just delete it. It’s not worth the headache. The heart of the game is the deduction, the map, and the logic. Whether a voice actor reads the intro or your friend Dave reads it in a questionable British accent, the mystery remains the same.
Getting the most out of your investigation
To truly succeed in this game—with or without the app—you have to change how you think. Most people try to play it like a standard board game where you want to "see everything." If you do that, Sherlock will absolutely destroy you in the final scoring.
The game rewards efficiency.
- Take notes on names: Every person mentioned in the intro (or the app audio) is a potential lead.
- Check the map first: Don't just follow a lead because a character said a name. See where they live. Is it near the crime scene?
- The Directory is your best friend: Use it to find addresses for businesses or people that aren't explicitly given in the text.
- Read the newspaper: Not just the front page. The tiny ads in the back often hold the key to the entire case.
The Sherlock Holmes Consulting Detective app is a tool, not a crutch. Use it for the atmosphere, but don't expect it to solve the murder for you. That part is up to your own "little grey cells."
Next Steps for Your Investigation:
- Verify your app version: Open the App Store or Google Play and ensure you have the latest update from JD Editions (the developer for Space Cowboys).
- Download the Remote Play Kit: Visit the official Space Cowboys website to grab the PDF versions of the map and directory; these are much easier to search on a tablet than flipping through the physical book.
- Set the Scene: Before starting the audio introduction, ensure all players have a copy of the current case's newspaper—the app won't provide these clues for you.