# Letters from Whitechapel

Letters from Whitechapel is a board game for 2–6 players. It plays in 90 minutes and is meant for ages 14 and up. Ludoya players call it best with 2. It is rated 7.1 out of 10 by 70 Ludoya reviewers. The cheapest copy in stock is $47.52 (United States).

- **Players:** 2–6 (best with 2)
- **Playing time:** 90 minutes
- **Minimum age:** 14+
- **Complexity:** 2.6 out of 5
- **Year published:** 2011
- **Categories:** Deduction, Bluffing, Murder / Mystery, Post-Napoleonic
- **Mechanics:** Secret Unit Deployment, Point to Point Movement, Team-Based Game, Hidden Movement, Questions and Answers, Memory
- **Ludoya rating:** 7.1 out of 10, from 70 reviews
- **Owned by:** 149 Ludoya players
- **Plays logged on Ludoya:** 227
- **Unique players:** 261

**Designers:** Gabriele Mari, Gianluca Santopietro

**Artists:** Gianluca Santopietro

**Publishers:** Sir Chester Cobblepot, Nexus Editrice

## Where to buy in United States

| Shop | Price | Link |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Mathom | 41.36 € | https://mathom.es/es/otros-juegos-de-tablero/31750-sombras-sobre-londres-edicion-revisada-8436017221619.html |
| Alphaspel | 419 kr | https://alphaspel.se/491-bradspel/351751-letters-from-whitechapel |
| El Nucli | 41 € | https://www.elnucli.es/products/sombras-sobre-londres |
| Goblin Trader Barcelona | 42.3 € | https://www.goblintrader.es/es/inicio/22056-sombras-sobre-londres-spanish-8436017221619.html |
| Ludifolie | 44.9 € | https://www.ludifolie.com/1448-lettres-de-whitechapel.html |
| Homoludicus Granollers | 47 € | https://homoludicus-granollers.org/sombras-sobre-londres |
| Zatu Games | 41.25 £ | https://zatu.com/products/whitechapel |
| Uplay | 49.9 € | https://www.uplay.it/it/gioco-da-tavolo-lettere-da-whitechapel.html |
| Fantasiapelit | 76.1 € | https://www.fantasiapelit.com/index.php?main=ai&kat=single&mista=indeksi&etsittava=_147172 |

## Expansions

- [Letters from Whitechapel: Dear Boss](https://www.ludoya.com/games/letters-from-whitechapel-dear-boss)

## Similar games

- [Whitehall Mystery](https://www.ludoya.com/games/whitehall-mystery)
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- [Sherlock Holmes Consulting Detective: The Thames Murders & Other Cases](https://www.ludoya.com/games/sherlock-holmes-consulting-detective-the-thames-murders-and-other-cases)
- [The Stifling Dark](https://www.ludoya.com/games/the-stifling-dark)
- [Sherlock Holmes Consulting Detective: Jack the Ripper & West End Adventures](https://www.ludoya.com/games/sherlock-holmes-consulting-detective-jack-the-ripper-and-west-end-adventures)
- [Narcos: The Board Game](https://www.ludoya.com/games/narcos-the-board-game)
- [Sherlock Holmes Consulting Detective: Carlton House & Queen's Park](https://www.ludoya.com/games/sherlock-holmes-consulting-detective-carlton-house-and-queens-park)
- [Hunt for the Ring](https://www.ludoya.com/games/hunt-for-the-ring)
- [Beast](https://www.ludoya.com/games/beast)

## Rules questions

### When and how is Jack's position revealed — does he move openly or secretly?

Jack moves secretly: he records each destination on his hidden move sheet and advances his Jack pawn on the move track to match those recorded moves; he may not move over a Crossing occupied by a Policeman pawn. Jack is only revealed when Police Patrol tokens are revealed and replaced by Policeman pawns, when an arrest succeeds, or if he declares a successful escape to his Hideout. (pages 14–16)

### Can Jack use a Coach or Alley to pass through crossings with policemen or to enter his Hideout and immediately escape?

A Coach lets Jack move two numbered circles in succession and may pass through Crossings occupied by Policeman pawns; an Alley lets him move to any perimeter circle of a bounded block — both must be recorded and the token placed on the move track. However, the final move into the Hideout must be a normal move: Jack cannot declare escape if the move that put him on his Hideout was a Special Movement. (pages 19–20)

### How and when are Woman tokens placed and how do they become Wretched pawns (victims)?

Jack places Woman tokens facedown on red-numbered circles (the marked faces remain hidden), then in phase 4 all Woman tokens are turned faceup; red-marked tokens are replaced with Wretched pawns while unmarked tokens are removed from the board. Note that on later nights Jack may not place Woman tokens on red circles occupied by Crime Scene markers. (pages 9, 11–12)

### How do Police Patrol tokens work — who places them and when are they revealed as actual policemen?

The Head of the Investigation places the seven Police Patrol tokens facedown on yellow-bordered Crossings (on the first Night anywhere he chooses; on subsequent Nights five must go where policemen ended the previous Night and two on previously unoccupied Crossings). In Police phase 9 the detectives reveal the unrevealed Patrol tokens, replace colored tokens with the corresponding Policeman pawns, and remove fake (black) Patrol tokens. (pages 10–11, 14)

### How must the Wretched pawns be moved during the Police 'Suspense Grows' phase, and what if a Wretched has no legal move?

When the Time of the Crime token advances, the Head of the Investigation must move each Wretched pawn to an adjacent unoccupied numbered circle following dotted lines, but a Wretched cannot end adjacent to a Police Patrol token, cannot cross a Police Patrol token during movement, and cannot end on a Crime Scene marker. If a Wretched pawn has no legal moves it simply stays where it is. (page 13)

### What's special about the third Night's double murder — where does Jack start and who moves first in the Hunting?

On the third Night Jack chooses two Wretched and records both numbered circles in consecutive cells (in either order); the second (rightmost) recorded Crime Scene counts as Jack's first move that Night, so Jack begins his escape from that second location. Because that second crime consumes Jack's first move, detectives act first in the Hunting phase, and they know both crime-scene locations but not which is first or second. (page 21)

## Links

- [This page](https://www.ludoya.com/games/letters-from-whitechapel)
- [Letters from Whitechapel in the Ludoya app](https://app.ludoya.com/g/letters-from-whitechapel)
- [BoardGameGeek entry](https://boardgamegeek.com/boardgame/59959)

_Data from Ludoya, updated 2026-09-18. Ratings, ownership and play counts are Ludoya's own._