A/N Thanks to VHunter07 for urging me to do this story idea. If someone else has also told me I should work on this idea, that I have forgotten, I apologize. Please let me know and I will thank you. The length of this story will hopefully get me into the chapter mindset.

Shamelessly advertising another story, the idea for this came from my 221B series entry "Burglar". This story is going to be a many-part story. Please read and review especially on the first and second parts as I need to work on my introductions. Part three will introduce the actual "Game".

Chapter 1

In any family, raising children can have its difficult moments. The two children of Mr. George Holmes and his wife Anne were no different.

From the start, the two had been blessed – or cursed – with above average intelligence. Both had a thirst for knowledge, and were always fascinated with the "why's" and "how's" of life, accumulating knowledge until they had memorized the habits and dispositions of their little household so thoroughly that they could tell at a glance what someone had been doing recently, or how someone was feeling.

Mycroft was a solemn boy that could easily go without talking for days, as he sat in the library and devoured books, coming out only to sleep and to join the family for meals. His pale grey eyes were what unnerved his parents and the household staff, as they appeared to see right through whoever he was looking at. However, his manners made up for the discomfiture, and he never used the knowledge that he deduced against those that he had read, unless they were especially annoying or rude to him or his parents.

He was especially mannerly after his brother came along, in an attempt to try to influence his little brother in the hopes that Sherlock would calm down and stop setting the household on its ear.

Sherlock did not have such tact. He had enough energy and impatience for two little boys, as if to make up for the slothfulness of his brother. Like his brother, he devoured information, but only if the tutor or another teacher could keep him interested enough to listen. He was interested in music and chemistry, but his interest would come and go, and it was the times in between that he would get into trouble.

Unlike Mycroft, he did not like behaving as was expected of him, especially when it came to other people's secrets. He poked his nose into everything, and said anything that came to his mind. Anything that locked, he especially wanted to get into. Finally, Mycroft, having an idea, gave Sherlock a set of lock picks for Christmas, on the condition, that he not go into Mycroft's items, and his father's business papers.

From that point on, nothing was safe. The only upside to Sherlock's discoveries, one that Mycroft planned on, was that once Sherlock knew what was behind a lock, he lost all interest after that. It was this attitude that governed most of his attitudes to toys and puzzles given to him as well. Once he learned or perfected a trick, he would never do it again.

Finally, when Sherlock was ten years old, his father had to put his foot down. At his wit's end, having lost two maids, a tutor, and a gardener to Sherlock's pranks, George needed to straighten his son out. Knowing his son, a lecture would be ignored, as he would not listen. However, he had another plan.

"Sherlock, what do you want to be when you grow up? George asked his fidgeting son.

Sherlock looked at his father, trying to determine his mood. "A burglar?" he asked finally.

George tried not to cringe at the thought. "Why a burglar?" he asked, trying to keep his voice even.

"I dunno," Sherlock squirmed, "I want to know things, and burglars can find things out."

"Well, how would you like to try out being a burglar?" said George casually.

Sherlock looked at him with disbelief. Why was his father not scolding him, as he expected? "Really?" he asked, suspicious.

"Sure. As a matter of fact, I'll even let you practice next week." George said, adding "But you have to promise to wait and not snoop in other people's things until I tell you, alright?"

Sherlock thought it over for a second. Then his face lit up as he thought about the possibilities. "Deal!"

A/N: Long intro to start. If it feels slow, don't worry, it will pick up in pace once this gets going and they get to play. Again, please Read and Review!