In Sherlock 13, first published as Holmes 13, players take the role of a detective, trying to unmask the famous thief Arsene Lupin, who is among them in disguise.

The game is made up of 13 character cards, with 2 to 3 characteristics each. Every characteristic is shared by 3 to 5 characters. The cards are shuffled and one is drawn and set aside. This card represents the disguise picked by Arsene Lupin. The other cards are distributed evenly among players. The players will now tally the total of characteristics they have on their cards (e.g. 2 detectives, 1 female, 0 genius etc) and note them for later use.

Players take turns, asking a question to gather new evidence:

a.) To all players: "Who has (at least one) of (this characteristic)?

OR

b.) To one player: "How many of (this characteristic) do you have?

Using these clues the players must try to figure out which disguise Arsene has chosen (i.e. which card is missing). Instead of a question, a player can announce which character he suspects to be Arsene in disguise. That player will then secretly check the hidden card. If their suspicion was correct, this player wins the game, otherwise the player is eliminated and the other players continue.