Case file OM-001 · Now open
Cold cases, delivered to your kitchen table.
Printed murder mystery case files for 2–6 players. Open the envelopes, study the evidence, argue it out, and name the killer.
No app. No account. Just paper, tea and suspicion.
- 2–6 players
- 2–3 hours per case
- Answers checked online: no app needed
- Posted from the UK
How it works
A police file, opened in stages
Each case arrives as a boxed file from a cold-case unit. You’ll need a table, a pen and at least one person to disagree with.
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Read the briefing
Open Envelope 1 and start with the letter from the detective who’s reopened the case. She’ll tell you exactly what she needs from you.
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Work the evidence
Logbooks, statements, photographs, plans. Every item is numbered and nothing is there for decoration, but not everything in it is true.
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Check your answers
Type what you’ve worked out into the case page on our website. It tells you if you’re right, without giving anything away, and when to open the next envelope.
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Close the case
Name the killer on the case page, and DCI Castell’s conclusions are yours to read.
Case file OM-001
Dead Light at Skerrow Point
Northumberland, 1986. A lighthouse, a radio contest, and a verdict nobody questioned.
Roland Tennant was found dead at the foot of an iron ladder in the lamp room of Skerrow Point Lighthouse. The coroner called it an accident. Forty years later, a letter the police never saw turns up in a radio society’s papers, and DCI Winifred Castell wants a second opinion.
- 2–6 players
- 2–3 hours
- Medium difficulty
- Ages 14+
Made for the table
However you play it
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A night in for two
Put the phones away, open the file and see who cracks it first. Two players is plenty.
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A dinner party with a twist
Up to six detectives and a lot of arguing. Share out the evidence and compare notes over pudding.
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A gift they’ll open together
Everything they play with arrives in one box, and there’s no app or account to set up.
“I want the documents to tell us. Forty years is a long time, but paper doesn’t forget.”
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Fair play, start to finish
Every answer can be proved from the paper in front of you. No leaps, no guesswork, no missing page.
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No single clue gives it away
You’ll cross-check times, handwriting and records. The answer only appears when the pieces line up.
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Hints, one at a time
Our online hints have three levels for every question, so you only get the nudge you need.
Questions
Before you open the file
Can’t see your question? Email us at [CONTACT EMAIL].
How many people can play?
Two to six. It works well with two; with more, share out the evidence and compare notes.
How long does a case take?
Most groups take two to three hours. There’s no timer, so you can pack it away and pick it up another night.
What age is it suitable for?
14 and over. The case concerns a death, but there’s no graphic material.
Do we need a phone or the internet?
Yes, to check your answers. The evidence is all on paper, but you’ll use a phone, tablet or computer to visit the case page on our website, which checks your answers, gives hints and reveals the solution. There’s no app and no account.
What if we get stuck?
Our hints page has three levels of hint for every question, so you can take a small nudge before a big one.
Where do you deliver?
[YOUR DELIVERY REGIONS, PRICES AND TIMES]