No trivia, no timers. You get a real case file and one guess. Here’s how it works.
Each case opens with what the police knew on day one, and a single question to answer. Then you open the file.
From: Report, Scotland Yard
John Nash and his wife, the music-hall performer Lil Hawthorne, tell police they are not satisfied with Dr Crippen's story. When they asked him where in California Cora died, his answers were vague. No death notice has come from America, and nobody received a letter from her before she left.
Statements, lab reports, photos, plans, telegrams and newspaper cuttings — in the words of the time, kept short and clear. Some matter. Some don’t.
Have strong suspicions that Crippen London cellar murderer and accomplice are amongst saloon passengers. Moustache taken off growing beard. Accomplice dressed as boy. Voice manner and build undoubtedly a girl.
Pin clues to your board, drag them around, and tie the ones that belong together with red string. Keep notes as you go.
Name who did it, say how it was done, and pick up to three clues that prove it. Then open the closed file to see what really happened — and which clues cracked it.
Name who was responsible. Get this right and the case counts as solved.
Each case asks one more question — how they died, or how the killer slipped up.
Pick up to three clues. You score for each one that really helped crack the case.
Yes. Every case is a real murder that was solved, with a conviction on the public record. The clues are condensed and paraphrased from trial records, inquests, memoirs and newspapers of the time.
Where a clue would simply hand you the answer — a name in a telegram, say — we black it out. The detectives didn’t have it that easy either.
We never show victims or injuries, and there are no crime-scene photos. Some clues describe what investigators found, in short, factual words — only as much as you need to follow the evidence. These were real people, and each case opens with a note in their memory.
No. Your boards, notes and answers are saved in your browser on this device. Clearing your browser data will clear them too.
No — you get one guess per case. Take your time, read everything, and use the board.
Each case takes weeks of research to get right, so new ones arrive as they’re ready. Leave your email on the home page and we’ll tell you when the next one opens.
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