Victorian Masterminds

About this board game

Victorian Masterminds is a strategic board game for 2–4 players, with games lasting about 60 minutes. In a Europe left unprotected by the death of Sherlock Holmes, players take the roles of villains determined to spread terror and establish their mastery.

Send your henchmen to cities across Europe to gather materials for steampunk-inspired contraptions, destroy buildings, and complete missions. Every contraption is unique, giving each villain different ways to act and creating an asymmetric strategic challenge.

On your turn, place one of your five agent tokens face down on one of five action spaces. The agents are the Henchman, Machine, Saboteur, Pilot, and Number 2. Planning is crucial because the tokens remain hidden until an action space is ready.

• Place agents face down on action spaces.
• When three tokens occupy a space, reveal and activate them.
• Resolve the tokens in first-in, first-out order.
• Use each agent’s individual ability alongside the action space’s effect.

While your plans unfold, the Secret Service follows your path of destruction. Its pursuit adds pressure to every move, as the game can end when a villain completes their contraption or when the Secret Service brings that villainy to a halt.

The player who generates the most victory points wins. With concealed placement, varied agent abilities, unique contraptions, and competing routes to victory, Victorian Masterminds turns a race for villainous glory into a tense battle of timing and strategy.