Unsolved murder mystery game – Cold Case Files Investigation
Unsolved murder mystery game – Cold Case Files Investigation – Detective clues / evidence – Solve the crime – Individuals, date nights & party groups – “Murder of a Musician” by CRYPTIC KILLERS
TIME?
We expect this case to take 3.5 hours to complete and solve.
AGE?
Due to the content of the game, we advise this is suitable for ages 14 and above.
PLAYERS?
This can be played solo, as a couple or distribute the evidence amongst friends and solve as a group.
DIFFICULTY?
We give this a 4.5 difficulty rating out of 5. Found this too hard, or too easy? Then look out for new games in the series with different ratings.
 |  |  |  |  |  | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| DIFFICULTY | 4.5 out of 5 | 4 out of 5 | 3.5 out of 5 | 4.5 out of 5 | 4 out of 5 | 3.5 out of 5 |
| DURATION | 3.5 hours | 3 hours | 2.5 hours | 3 hours | 3 hours | 2 hours |
| PIECES OF EVIDENCE | 26 + online evidence | 32 + online evidence | 27 + online evidence | 33 + online evidence | 30 + online evidence | 29 + online evidence |
| NUMBER OF PLAYERS | Individual – Couples – Groups | Individual – Couples – Groups | Individual – Couples – Groups | Individual – Couples – Groups | Individual – Couples – Groups | Individual – Couples – Groups |
| SUITABLE FOR ADULTS | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ |
| ONLINE ACCESS (game play / hints / answers) | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ |
| Dimensions: | 38.71 x 27.41 x 0.99 cm; 299 Grams |
| Colour: | Multicolor |
| Batteries Required: | No |
| Batteries Included: | No |
| Dimensions: | 38.71 x 27.41 x 0.99 cm; 299 Grams |
I really enjoyed playing this game. It is very clever and well thought out with an excellent story line. Ordered another one straight away. A great way to spend a few hours.
This was our 3rd time doing a cryptic killers game, can safely say we found this the hardest one of the 3 but thoroughly enjoyed it none the less. Can’t wait to do another one in the future.
Just finished my 4th crime from this series and can’t get enough. Will definately be getting more from this series and had a great time completing these with my partner over the Christmas period.
I did this with my 12 year old son and really enjoyed it!!! We sat on all the evidence for ages but never made the connection, then we re-read and made all the links…..soooo much fun!! Looking forward to doing another!!
Me and my girlfriend spent the evening with this and a bottle of wine and had a lot of fun. Some of the clues were very hard to solve (maybe too hard) but we liked that we were able to get help online. Would recommend 10 times out of 10
I bought this for my 15 year old daughter she loved it her cousin and brother came to help they put away phones (which is a plus) and used their heads I have bought more as gifts, a great idea the price is very good and kept them busy for hours.
This is the second time doing one of these murder solvers and it’s fantastic!!! Was given one from a friend so decided to buy one for myself and it really was brilliant…could potentially be harder as my partner and I done this in an hour and a half but that could also be us as we regularly do things like this. I know if my mum was doing this it would take her more than the time given but that being said its still a lot of fun!!
This murder mystery is incredibly well thought out, researched and produced. The pieces of evidence provided have the real feel of authenticity and you can believe they have been gathered by real detectives.
The story is like a dive into the world of the music industry with the places, the methods, the business and the people all feel like a real community.
This is definitely worth buying, our only regret is that we wanted to hear more music by Stubby Hackett.
Great entertainment, thank you, Cryptic Killers!
This was the third murder mystery that my husband and I chose to purchase for our date night in. Once again it did not disappoint.
The story is so well written and the creators have thought of every little detail to keep you hooked.
What a fantastic idea! Worth every penny! Highly recommend! Can’t wait for the next one!
To be fair, the first half of the game takes a while. Theres a lot of info and honestly i wish id pinned it all to the wall to work on it!
The hints are great but if you can donit without there would be so much more satisfaction.
About 5 or 6 odd hours worth of work in all this. And good to put the brain to use. Will absolutely buy one of the others, great wee game!
I ordered the Musician version of cryptic killers for a date night. It had everything you needed to work out who dunnit. One additional thing that we found helpful was an A4 notepad. The fact you get ’emails’ plus video and audio clips along the way helps with the immersive nature of this product. I would HIGHLY recommend this for anyone who loves a challenge and crime shows. You can easily do these on your own or with a large group of people. I am already looking to get another to do as a family game night. Again HIGHLY RECOMMEND.
Me and my girlfriend bought this for an at home date night. We have been so impressed by how well thought out the pack was and how interactive the process has been. We both love crime shows and really got to use our knowledge to solve the case. Would recommend to anyone intrigued by the idea of solving one of these. We cant wait to buy another to solve as a murder mystery party with friends!
We had so much fun playing this game! It’s difficult, but still really enjoyable. There are so many different parts to consider, and the online clues enhances the experience even more. An easy 5-stars and would highly recommend!
This is the second one we have bought and we were not disappointed. The evidence material is really good quality which make it feel real. It isn’t easy which is what makes it so fun, can’t wait to do another murder mystery!
Brilliant fun, so very well put together. A wonderful afternoon’s entertainment for a family of wanna be Luther/Vera/Marple/Reacher fans.
So many parts we “missed” on our journey that were glaring when reading the case summary but we got there
We shall definitely be back for more
My friend recommended after doing one with her teenage kids. It took 4 intelligent adults several hours, a lot of rereading and some energetic debate, but we caught the killer 🙂 great fun, and we’re looking forward to doing another one.
Bought this for a date night. A bit stressful at first as my partner and I were butting heads, but once pieces fell into place it was Incredibly fun sharing theories and putting the timeline together.
10/10 would recommend.
I really enjoyed doing this and already have all of the others to do. The challenge was good it is a enjoyable way to spend an evening either on your own or with others.
Great fun, well thought out. Loved all the attention to detail. Found some parts difficult and got annoyed from having to look at the hints but would thoroughly recommend.Clearly we’re not clever enough for this but would definitely want to do another one.
Took 4 hours to complete absolute must buy if you want a date night with a difference so much detail and thoroughly enjoyed it have sore heads due to the concentration needed lol Will definitely be buying more of these
This was a fantastic game. I played with my girlfriend and it kept us occupied for hours, really engaging evidence and the online webmail was a great addition. Very interesting story and we were kept on our toes at all times. Would highly recommend, can’t wait to get stuck into more!
My boyfriend and I did this for date night and this was so fun!! Did take us a few hours but definitely worth it!! The amount of detail and effort gone into this is amazing they really thought out every detail! Will definitely be buying another one!!
My daughter bought this the night before she was meant to be going to her friend’s house so they had something to do, and it came the next morning. Her and the friends loved it, it kept them occupied for a long time, and they had fun and socialisation whilst doing it. This is our second murder mystery game pack and we’ll deffo be getting more in the future.
Wow! I wish we had known about these during lockdown, but so glad we’ve found them now! We had such a fun night completing the murder of the musician! Loved that it was in two parts and there were online clues too. Didn’t feel too overwhelming as we thought it might with lots of paper, but it felt quite sequential, whilst providing challenge and thought provoking statements. Loved the use of audio and video evidence online too. Felt SO real!! The quality of the evidence too was amazing- without giving too much away, we couldn’t believe the ‘real’ plastic cards and certificates. Wasn’t just printed on printer paper, it feels so real and amazing quality. Cannot wait to do another. What an amazing idea for a night with friends or a date night. A great way to have fun without breaking the bank.
This was such a fun game to play. It took me a lot longer than the suggested time, but that might have been due to me dawdling/having too much fun!!
I would definitely recommend this game to anyone, and I will be buying more of these games.
Our first time with a family of teenagers. Part 1 was difficult but either the hints we got there, and part was easier once we understood the format. A great idea for a different night of entertainment for anyone who enjoys solving puzzles. Fully recommended
My partner had an op and instead of binge watching tv I decided to find something for us to do together!
I saw someone else had done a cryptic killers murder mystery and decided to give it a go!
So so glad we did! It’s great fun, gets you thinking and is like being in your own tv police drama!
One of my favourite things about it is that you can actually hold the ‘evidence’ and go through things physically!
So well thought out with links to ‘police’ email accounts, videos and images!
Totally fun immersive and quality game!
I’ve already bought another onethey’re addictive!
Highly recommend as a thing to do as a couple but also as a group the next one will be with the whole family! As a side noteyou could even do this by yourself if you like solving crimes!
Very well thought out and created, a lot of fun. We completed this as a family (12 year old loved it!) But could easily be done and be just as fun on your own as well. Have already ordered another one!
We have done a few of these case files. A few from another organisation, and one more with this company. All have been great, generally. The quality of materials, online records, and depth of information are great. We really enjoy doing these. My son wants to become a detective, so this is great for him! Overall, we are really happy.
However, in this one, the evidence for the final suspect was tenuous at best. There was no real evidence to suggest they had a motive for the crime. There was no evidence at all pointing at this person more so than the others, who seemed to have much more of a motive. A little disappointed with the outcome, but generally well-produced materials. We will certainly do more.
This is a really well-made, entertaining and interactive game. The evidence arrives in a sealed evidence bag and comes from a range of sources (eye witness statements, letters, online videos, receipts, interviews, parking fines, bank statements, leaflets, loyalty cards, emails etc) which are all high quality and genuinely feel real. You have to work carefully to cross-reference evidence and eliminate suspects and make sure you don’t take anybody at their word! My sister and I had a great time and I would recommend this to anybody.
an amazing way to spend an evening and never fails to entertain us. Once we have played it we pass it round our couple friends so we can all make a date night out of it.
I bought this for my girlfriend for her birthday and we did it with the family. The story is well put together and it was a really fun time I would recommend to anyone who is in to complex murder mystery stories.
This is our second pack and both times we have been excited to start, engrossed and invested during the tasks. When we have managed to solve the cases it has been with a sense of genuine joy and then instantly ordering the next!
100% would recommend.
I really enjoyed doing this and making an evening of it. Took around 2 hours to complete and was super engaging. I had brought it on holiday though and the internet connection isn’t great. Would be good if it was clearer when buying that you will need one. We managed but if you were on an internet free get away where this would be a great activity it wouldn’t be possible to complete.
It was so good. Me and my mum did it and it was super entertaining. I’m not able to sit for long periods of time and I’ve been sat let me tell you it was great to have different perspectives and look into all the cool stuff, it was amazingly made and just great. You can tell the amount of effort & work they put into it. Great afternoon activity, gonna beg for anothe
me and my girlfriend had a night away from our daughter, so we decided to look for something like this since we’re invested in true crime. we started this at 8pm with lots of excitement since we’d been waiting to do it for a week, we had a note pad with us and wrote all the pieces of information we could get, we had a few drinks over it and really enjoyed ourselves. thankyou luke and your team for making a great game! we will definitely be back for more.
Bought this as a Father’s Day gift and it did not disappoint! It wasn’t as hard as I thought it was going to be after seeing the 4.5/5 difficulty but with 4 of us working together we all agreed on the killer/s. Mum ofc lead the team to success and we all cheered when we got the right person/s for the crime. It was so much fun and took us around 3/4 hours and have already ordered number two! I hope that in the future there will be harder ones or even a monthly subscription where more evidence is sent via the post or email to add to a case that could take part over a longer period of time. All in all this was worth every single penny and I would have happily paid double the price!
Buy it you will love it.
Had to change my birthday plans at the last minute due to bad weather, and needed an activity my husband and I could do at home that would fill the time.
I’m a lover of true crime and after some searching I came across cryptic killers.
I was sold after reading the reviews, and now after completing it ourselves I just had to leave a review!
Firstly- the quality of it all is outstanding. Both the physical documents and the online ones are incredibly well thought out and are of a really good standard.
It really added to the realism and the desire to solve the case!
Without giving too much away, the way it is laid out is really clever as well.
It felt less like a story, and more like a real case file!
I’ll admit it took us nearly four hours to crack the case but we did solve it in the end which felt incredibly rewarding!
Even my husband, who is much less of a true crime enthusiast than me, thoroughly enjoyed it. There were parts that played to both of our strengths which was great!
It certainly took longer than expected, but we honestly didn’t notice the time passing as we were so engrossed.
Perfect way to end my birthday and will definitely be trying more cases in the future