There is no tutorial because a real detective does not get one. But here is what to expect.
The file is sorted into seven folders: Police Reports, Forensics, Witness Statements, Photographs, Records, Personal Documents and Press. Start with the reopening memo in Police Reports — it tells you what you are being asked to prove. Then read everything. A green dot marks documents you have already opened.
Statements are what people say. Records are what happened. When a statement and a record disagree, the record wins — and the person who made the statement has some explaining to do. Write down every time, every name, every number. Build the timeline yourself on paper. That is the game.
Every correct answer in an Unsolved Murder Mystery case is supported by at least two independent documents. If your theory rests on one document, or on a feeling, it is wrong. Innocent suspects are not cleared by absence of evidence; they are cleared by a specific record: one that puts them somewhere else, or one that rules them out some other way.
Press Accuse and name the killer. You get one accusation and there is no going back: right or wrong, the case closes and the solution file is added to the folder, walking through every document that convicts. There are no hints, no "warmer/colder", no unlockable envelope, so before you accuse, make sure you can also explain the weapon and the motive.
One screen, several people, one notepad. Assign folders, read aloud, argue, and submit together. Two to three hours for a group of three or four.
Not in the same room? Open a room with Play with friends. Everyone reads on their own phone or laptop and the room has its own chat. When the host has Premium, there is also voice chat: tap Join voice and talk while you read, with nothing to install.
Folders open as a list. Each document opens full-screen with zoom buttons and next/previous. Tables scroll sideways. Your place is saved on the device so you can come back later.
Every case, including the free one, is also a printable murder mystery game: a PDF of the complete file, one document per page, with the solution in a separate file so nobody reads the ending by accident. Print it, staple each document, and lay the folders out across a table. Paper suits people who like to circle times and put two statements side by side; the online file suits people who want to start in the next five minutes. Plenty of groups do both, with the printout on the table and a room open on their phones. See printable case files for the full list.
For a date night, split the folders, read on your own for half an hour, then swap. Each of you will have noticed something the other skipped, and arguing over whose reading is right is half the evening. Most couples need two and a half to three hours, so start after dinner rather than after a film. There are more ideas in murder mystery date night at home.
At a murder mystery party, four to six players is the sweet spot. Open a room so every guest reads on their own phone, give each person one folder to own, and hold the vote at the end of the night. For team building, run the same case at two or three tables and compare verdicts afterwards. It rewards the habits good teams already have: sharing what you found, checking it against someone else's notes, and not deciding before the evidence is in. Read how to host a cold case party or the team building guide for a full plan.
Premium: every case online with friends (up to 8, text and voice chat), from $19.99 a week. PDFs are sold separately.
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