How to make an investigation game

Suspects, testimonies, red herrings — and the reveal at the end. Here is how to build one, step by step.

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An investigation differs from a treasure hunt in what it leads to: not an object, but an answer — who did it, with what, and why. The player collects evidence station by station, and your job is to make every clue both understandable and misleading. A good investigation reads as obvious in hindsight and opaque in advance.

Five steps to build one

  1. 1

    Start at the end

    Decide who did it, why, and how, before writing a single clue. Working the other way around always shows: the evidence fails to point anywhere in particular.

  2. 2

    Give the player three suspects

    Two is a coin toss, five is unreadable. Each needs a motive and an opportunity, and at least one piece of evidence against them — otherwise the answer is obvious after the first station.

  3. 3

    Hand out exactly one decisive clue

    Put the one piece that fits only the culprit on the second-to-last station. Everything before that stays ambiguous: muddy shoes convict nobody, muddy shoes plus a running garden hose do.

  4. 4

    Explain your red herrings

    If someone turns out to have lied, give them their own reason — a secret gift, a borrowed car. An unexplained red herring feels like cheating; an explained one adds depth.

  5. 5

    Make the reveal a decision

    On the last station the player names the culprit through a multiple-choice or code-lock element. The full story unlocks only after the right answer.

A complete example: "Who took the cake?"

Five stations for a family party (ages 8–12)

The birthday cake is gone from the kitchen. Three suspects: the older sibling, the neighbour, the dog. The culprit is the sibling, who carried it to grandma's to add candles as a surprise.

  1. 1.Kitchen — text clue: the tray is empty, a mug and a crumb beside it, a note on the fridge reading "Do not open, surprise!" Question: how many mugs are on the table?
  2. 2.Garden — a photo of the hose, then a question: do the tracks to the gate come from shoes, paws or slippers? The answer, paws, points at the dog.
  3. 3.Hallway — code lock: the date on the bus ticket in the coat pocket is the code. The ticket proves the neighbour was in town.
  4. 4.Sibling's room — multiple choice: what is on the desk? A pack of candles, an empty matchbox, and a drawing addressed to grandma.
  5. 5.Grandma's house — the reveal: name the culprit. The cake appears, with candles.

Grown-up version: an office mystery

The key to the coffee machine has vanished. Same skeleton, more adult clues: email fragments, an access-card log, an abandoned shopping list. The culprit ordered a new machine as a surprise.

  1. 1.Kitchen — a note on the machine: "Broken, do not use." The handwriting matters later.
  2. 2.Meeting room — code lock: the timestamp of the last entry in the access log.
  3. 3.Office — a photo of a desk with a delivery note, sender covered.
  4. 4.Mailbox — text clue: the top of the delivery note, where the orderer's name can be made out.
  5. 5.Coffee machine — the reveal, and the new machine.

What to watch for

  • Write the solution down for yourself before building the first station, and fit the clues to it.
  • Every clue should be interesting on its own — a dull station stays dull however important it is to the logic.
  • Avoid puzzles that need outside knowledge; an investigation should be solvable where it is played.
  • Test it with someone who does not know the story. Solved after two stations means too easy; unsolved at the end means too hard.
  • Always attach a hint to a code lock, referring to something one station earlier, so a stuck player is not a stopped game.
  • Turn on the ordered play: an investigation only works if the evidence arrives in the order you wrote it.

Build your own investigation

The first mystery is free with up to five stations — exactly what a complete investigation needs.

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