About Midnight Casebook
Midnight Casebook is a daily detective game for the web browser and iPhone. Every night at midnight a new murder mystery opens. You search an illustrated crime scene with a flashlight, listen to voiced witness statements and name the killer, the method and the motive. A case takes about ten minutes.
Who makes it
Midnight Casebook is made and published by ElliSekiz LLC. Questions, bug reports and press requests go to [email protected]; we usually answer within two working days.
How a case is made
Every case goes through the same steps before it is published:
- Draft. A story is drafted by a writer, with the help of AI writing tools, around one victim, three to six suspects and a single fair solution.
- Solver check. An automatic solver reads the case file and proves that the evidence points to exactly one killer, one method and one motive.
- Editing. A human editor rewrites the statements, checks the clues and removes anything unfair or ambiguous.
- Playtesting. Beta testers play the case cold. At least two out of three must solve it before it can be scheduled.
- Translation and voices. The case is translated into Turkish, German, French, Spanish and Brazilian Portuguese, and every witness statement is recorded in all six languages before launch.
Our fair-play rules
- Everything you need to solve the case is in the file. There are no hidden facts revealed only in the solution.
- Every case has exactly one correct answer: who, how and why.
- No graphic violence. The mysteries are puzzles in the classic whodunit style, not horror.
- Standings only count the first play on the case's own night, so everyone competes on the same mystery.
Free and Pro
Tonight's case is free every day, and so are the first three cases. Casebook Pro opens the case archive, every hint on every case and the long Sunday Dossier. See Support for subscription help.
Play
Play tonight's case in your browser · Get the iPhone app · Browse the case archive