Boxed case files or online detective games?

The short answer.

Choose a boxed case file if you want paper in your hands, a table covered in evidence, an evening away from screens, or something to wrap as a present.

Choose an online detective game if you want to start without waiting for a parcel, if you’re playing alone or as a pair, or if you’d rather pay less per case and have nothing to tidy away afterwards.

Neither format makes a mystery good. The writing does. Whatever you buy, look for fair clues, a real ending and honest content notes. More on that below.

Side by side.

If a column is off screen, swipe or scroll sideways to compare.

Price examples checked 24 October 2026: the Cases & Clues UK catalogue listed single cases at £21 in its sale, with a £30 regular price. Hunt A Killer’s Death at the Dive Bar listed a US$29.99 MSRP. These are examples, not a market-wide price range. Delivery is separate; prices and offers can change.

See the game on your screen.

These are real screenshots of The Shortest Day, captured at laptop and phone widths on 24 October 2026. Both show the opening of Act 1, before you examine the evidence. No solution is shown.

Choose a view to read it at full size, then use your browser’s Back button to return to this guide. Progress saves in the browser you play in; it does not transfer between devices.

Read a headcount from our case.

In The Shortest Day, your first records include Tom Ridley’s safety sheet. This short excerpt shows the kind of evidence you read on screen.

Try reading the record. What does the sheet establish about the swimmers, and what would you still need another record to tell you?

Opening-act excerpt and a reading exercise. No later evidence or solution is revealed.

Where boxed games are better.

Paper has weight. Unfolding a letter, laying three statements in a row, sliding a photograph across the table to someone: a good boxed game turns the kitchen into an incident room, and that feeling is hard to reproduce on a screen.

• Groups. Four or five people can each pick up a document at once. On one screen, somebody ends up reading over a shoulder.
• A night off screens. If the point of the evening is to put devices away, a box does that and we don’t.
• Gifts. A parcel to unwrap still beats an email.
• A second life. Some cases can be reset and passed on. Check whether solving uses up or marks any pieces.

Where online games are better.

Choose a case and start reading that evening, without waiting for a parcel.

• Start when you choose. The file opens in your browser.
• Less to pay. Our first case is free and complete. The longer ones are £9.99 each, for one or two players.
• Evidence without the clutter. Revisit records, keep notes, and go straight back to the detail you half remember. Nothing slides under the sofa.
• Help that doesn’t spoil. Hints arrive one step at a time, only when you ask. There’s no envelope to open by accident.
• Any screen. Play on a phone, tablet or laptop. A larger screen is easier to share.

There are honest limits too. Our cases are built for one or two people at one screen, with no separate devices or remote play. Progress saves in the browser you play in, so it doesn’t follow you to another device.

What to check before you buy either.

Format matters less than you’d think. These are the questions that decide whether the evening works.

1. Is there one true solution? A good case has a fixed answer and gives you every clue you need to reach it. You should be able to explain why you’re right.
2. Is there a real ending? Look for a resolution with some weight to it, not a score and a well done.
3. What are the themes? Murder mysteries deal with hard things. Good makers tell you what’s inside before you pay. We list themes on every case page.
4. What does free mean? A free trial, a free first chapter and a free complete case are different things. Ours is the third: all four acts and the ending, for an email address.
5. What if it isn’t for you? Check the refund terms. Our paid cases come with a 14-day refund promise.

Questions people ask.