If the Shoe Fits - The International Exhibition of Sherlock Holmes

GAME
IF THE SHOE FITS
IF THE
SHOE FITS
A SHERLOCK-STYLE GAME FOR TEENS AND ADULTS
5+ players recomended
“I cannot live without brain-work.
What else is there to live for? ”
—Sherlock Holmes, The Sign of Four
“The world is full of obvious things which
nobody by any chance ever observes.”
—Sherlock Holmes, The Hound of the Baskervilles
S h er l o ck Hol me s is famo us fo r f in din g cl ue s th at th e
p o l ice h a v e mis s e d. T h e s e de tails are o f te n n o th in g
m o re th a n a mis p l ace d b o o k , a s mall amo un t o f
m u d, o r s cratch o n a do o r — b ut to Sh e r l o ck ,
E V E RY L I T T L E T H I N G
M AT T E R S
Put your Sherlockian powers of observation to
the test! Can you tell which of your friends a
personal item belongs to just by looking at it?
P4
GAME
GAME
IF THE SHOE FITS
IF THE SHOE FITS
Then What?
Use Sherlock Holmes’ observational tricks and carefully observe every element
of the shoe in order to correctly match the shoe with its owner. Try answering
the following questions about each one:
The Game is Afoot!
Discreetly collect a shoe from each player. (If shoes are unavailable,
personal objects like keys, accessories, or other items from purses or
wallets can be substituted.) Lay out all the items on table and use sticky
notes to label each one with a different number. Have the players examine
each shoe carefully and try to determine who it belongs to.
1
Does the style of the shoe suggest a certain gender or personality?
2
Is the object particularly worn? Brand new? What might this
suggest about its owner?
3
Does the size of the shoe suggest a particular person?
4
If you are playing the game with other personal items, what
clues can be gleaned from items like keys, accessories, or other
personal items?
Once everyone has written down their guesses, have each guest
reveal which shoe was theirs. The person who correctly matches
the most shoes to their owners wins!
Want to make the game harder? Give the group a time limit to
force them to make all of their observations quickly.
P2
P3