Uploaded August 2026 | Updated September 2026, 4 days ago
Inspector Beedel consults with Max about the hunt for "Guido the Razor" and his gang of international crooks, while the blind detective is concerned about the reported theft of a horde of ancient coins from the British Museum. But could there be a connection? Before long, Max finds himself up against some familiar adversaries... The story starts at 00:01:51
This story reintroduces Max to the criminals he outwitted in his very first case, 'The Coin of Dionysius', although they did not actually appear in person in that story. It's not essential to have read, or listened to, 'The Coin of Dionysius' before hearing this story, it's a stand-alone story in it's own right – but if you've missed it or would like a refresher alongside listening to this quasi-sequel, my recording of it is available here: youtu.be/QJqaaXZ9_ME
Narrated/performed by Simon Stanhope, aka Bitesized Audio. If you enjoy this content and would like to help me keep creating, there are a few ways you can support me (and get access to bonus content):
* Monthly support on Patreon: patreon.com/bitesizedaudio
* Occasional/one-off support via Buy Me a Coffee: buymeacoffee.com/bitesizedaudio
* Donate via PayPal: paypal.com/donate/?hosted_button_id=HMMUWZ7URN26A
* Visit my Bandcamp page to hear more of my performances of classic stories, and you can purchase and download high quality audio files to listen offline: bitesizedaudio.bandcamp.com
* Become a Bitesized Audio Classics member on YouTube, from $1 / £1 / €1 per month:
youtube.com/c/BitesizedAudioClassics/join
00:00:00 Teaser and Narrator's Introduction
00:01:51 The Game Played in the Dark
01:01:30 Credits, thanks and further listening
If you'd like to hear more stories featuring Max Carrados, I've previously recorded several of his adventures, available here: youtube.com/playlist?list=PLZyO_WkNEnFI
Or for a selection of other classic detective stories, including Sherlock Holmes, Loveday Brooke, Dr. Thorndyke, Father Brown, Martin Hewitt, the Old Man in the Corner, and more, do take a look at my "Victorian and Edwardian Detective Stories" podcast:
youtube.com/playlist?list=PLi95qAoufCZJMv5kcx_Is-ntdo4W8Wi0r
About the author: Ernest Bramah (1868–1942) was born Ernest Bramah Smith, probably in or near Manchester, where he attended grammar school. An intensely private man, very little information is known about his personal life. His early career included a stint as assistant to Jerome K. Jerome; his first success as a writer came as a contributor of humorous sketches somewhat in the manner of Jerome, to newspapers and periodicals, and he later became editor of one of Jerome's magazines.
Bramah is best remembered for creating two characters: Kai Lung, a Chinese storyteller who appeared in a number of humorous stories from 1900; and Max Carrados, the blind detective, created in 1913. He also wrote science fiction, and his 1907 novel 'What Might Have Been' (also known as 'The Secret of the League') is a dystopian story which was acknowledged by George Orwell as a major influence on his own 'Nineteen Eighty-four'. Orwell was also a great admirer of the Max Carrados stories, bracketing them with Conan Doyle's Sherlock Holmes and Freeman's Dr Thorndyke as "the only detective stories since Poe that are worth re-reading". The character of Carrados appeared in more than 25 short stories and novels between 1913 and 1934, and by the 1920s was more popular than Sherlock Holmes (whose later cases appeared alongside Carrados in The Strand Magazine). His blindness proves no obstacle to his detective skills; indeed his other senses are heightened and he regularly outwits criminals and fellow detectives alike.
Ernest Bramah Smith died in June 1942, aged 74, in Weston-super-Mare, Somerset. He was survived by his wife Lucy Smith.
'The Game Played in the Dark' was first published in The News of the World on 28 December 1913, the 12th and last story in the first series of Carrados stories serialised that year. It was subsequently one of eight stories selected for the first volume of Carrados adventures published in book form, under the simple title 'Max Carrados', in 1914.
Recording © Bitesized Audio 2026
Inspector Beedel consults with Max about the hunt for "Guido the Razor" and his gang of international crooks, while the blind detective is concerned about the reported theft of a horde of ancient coins from the British Museum. But could there be a connection? Before long, Max finds himself up against some familiar adversaries... The story starts at 00:01:51
This story reintroduces Max to the criminals he outwitted in his very first case, 'The Coin of Dionysius', although they did not actually appear in person in that story. It's not essential to have read, or listened to, 'The Coin of Dionysius' before hearing this story, it's a stand-alone story in it's own right – but if you've missed it or would like a refresher alongside listening to this quasi-sequel, my recording of it is available here: youtu.be/QJqaaXZ9_ME
Narrated/performed by Simon Stanhope, aka Bitesized Audio. If you enjoy this content and would like to help me keep creating, there are a few ways you can support me (and get access to bonus content):
* Monthly support on Patreon: patreon.com/bitesizedaudio
* Occasional/one-off support via Buy Me a Coffee: buymeacoffee.com/bitesizedaudio
* Donate via PayPal: paypal.com/donate/?hosted_button_id=HMMUWZ7URN26A
* Visit my Bandcamp page to hear more of my performances of classic stories, and you can purchase and download high quality audio files to listen offline: bitesizedaudio.bandcamp.com
* Become a Bitesized Audio Classics member on YouTube, from $1 / £1 / €1 per month:
youtube.com/c/BitesizedAudioClassics/join
00:00:00 Teaser and Narrator's Introduction
00:01:51 The Game Played in the Dark
01:01:30 Credits, thanks and further listening
If you'd like to hear more stories featuring Max Carrados, I've previously recorded several of his adventures, available here: youtube.com/playlist?list=PLZyO_WkNEnFI
Or for a selection of other classic detective stories, including Sherlock Holmes, Loveday Brooke, Dr. Thorndyke, Father Brown, Martin Hewitt, the Old Man in the Corner, and more, do take a look at my "Victorian and Edwardian Detective Stories" podcast:
youtube.com/playlist?list=PLi95qAoufCZJMv5kcx_Is-ntdo4W8Wi0r
About the author: Ernest Bramah (1868–1942) was born Ernest Bramah Smith, probably in or near Manchester, where he attended grammar school. An intensely private man, very little information is known about his personal life. His early career included a stint as assistant to Jerome K. Jerome; his first success as a writer came as a contributor of humorous sketches somewhat in the manner of Jerome, to newspapers and periodicals, and he later became editor of one of Jerome's magazines.
Bramah is best remembered for creating two characters: Kai Lung, a Chinese storyteller who appeared in a number of humorous stories from 1900; and Max Carrados, the blind detective, created in 1913. He also wrote science fiction, and his 1907 novel 'What Might Have Been' (also known as 'The Secret of the League') is a dystopian story which was acknowledged by George Orwell as a major influence on his own 'Nineteen Eighty-four'. Orwell was also a great admirer of the Max Carrados stories, bracketing them with Conan Doyle's Sherlock Holmes and Freeman's Dr Thorndyke as "the only detective stories since Poe that are worth re-reading". The character of Carrados appeared in more than 25 short stories and novels between 1913 and 1934, and by the 1920s was more popular than Sherlock Holmes (whose later cases appeared alongside Carrados in The Strand Magazine). His blindness proves no obstacle to his detective skills; indeed his other senses are heightened and he regularly outwits criminals and fellow detectives alike.
Ernest Bramah Smith died in June 1942, aged 74, in Weston-super-Mare, Somerset. He was survived by his wife Lucy Smith.
'The Game Played in the Dark' was first published in The News of the World on 28 December 1913, the 12th and last story in the first series of Carrados stories serialised that year. It was subsequently one of eight stories selected for the first volume of Carrados adventures published in book form, under the simple title 'Max Carrados', in 1914.
Recording © Bitesized Audio 2026
