Mystery game ideas with the clues already planted

Two ways to play detective

Classic detective games let you gather clues and accuse someone. In Return of the Obra Dinn (Lucas Pope, 2018) you work out the fate of every sailor on a ghost ship from clues alone.

Spot-the-anomaly games are smaller. The Exit 8 (Kotake Create, 2023) loops one subway corridor, and you only have to notice what changed. That kind is much easier to make and plays well on a phone, because noticing is the whole game.

8 mystery premises: clues, suspects, twist

• The wolf in the flock. Clues: tracks, a missing lamb, one sheep that never eats. Twist: there are two. Try: "sheepdog mystery, one sheep is a wolf, sniff and watch them, accuse before night"
• Room 9. A guest is gone. Clues: towels, room service, the key log. Twist: no one ever checked in. Try: "hotel detective, a guest vanished from room 9, check the logs, 4 staff suspects"
• Who ate the cake. A family party, five suspects, crumbs on the stairs. Twist: the dog had help. Try: "comedy detective at a birthday party, who ate the cake, 5 relatives, find the crumbs"
• The street that changed. Walk one street each night and photograph what is wrong. Try: "walk the same street every night, something is different, get a photo of it"
• The extra passenger. Count passengers at each stop. One more gets off than got on. Try: "night train mystery, count who boards and leaves, find the passenger who should not be there"
• The painting that moves. A museum guard sees one painting change each night. Twist: the guard is in it. Try: "museum night guard, one painting changes every night, report it before closing"
• Find three faces. Three people are hiding in a beach crowd. Try: "find three faces in a crowded beach, hundreds of people, a timer"
• The wildlife camera. Photos from the forest show a fox, then something that is not a fox. Try: "photograph wildlife at night, each roll shows something worse, find what is out there"

Mystery games on Roam

Odd Lane Out is a paranormal photo hunt: something on this street is wrong, get a photo. Nothing To Report has you watch a fox and photograph what is left. Totally A Sheep is wolf spotting with a sheepdog. Tiny Crowd: Spot the Person hides three faces among hundreds of beachgoers. Keep Him In Frame says keep recording and do not look away.

Questions people ask

How do you write a mystery for a game?

Write the answer first. Then hide three clues that point to it and one that points away. Every clue must be findable in play.

What is a spot-the-anomaly game?

A game where you walk the same place again and again and report anything that changed. The Exit 8 is the best-known one.

What makes a mystery twist fair?

The clues for it were on screen before the reveal. Players should feel they could have seen it coming.