Best Mystery Games

Happy Christmas everyone!

As a little holiday present, I thought I'd give you a list of my favorite detective and mystery games to occupy yourself with over the Christmas period. Enjoy, and don't forget to eat lots of mince pies!

(10) Sleuth


In Sleuth you, as a private investigator, are assigned a murder case to solve, and must find the murderer by proving everyone else's alibi false. A fun murder mystery game, but involves a (free) signup, and the game does get a little repetitive after a while.

http://www.playsleuth.com/

(9) Detective Wombat


A fun point and click adventure game; not the great story-line but I enjoyed playing it. You play as an art detective trying to find a forger.

http://www.shegame.com/view/9264/Inspector-Wombat

(8) Nick Bounty


The two parts of the Nick Bounty adventure are both amusing and light-hearted; not too challenging but requires a little bit of thought.

http://www.otterarchives.com/cotc.html
http://www.otterarchives.com/bounty2/bounty2.html

(7) Detective Grimoire


This is a fun little interactive murder mystery game with a nice script and fun characters. It's not a particularly challenging game, but good fun all the same. Rumour has it that a Detective Grimoire 2 is not too far away, so keep your eyes peeled!

http://armorgames.com/play/200/detective-grimoire

(6) Popcorn, Soda... Murder?


One of the best amateur detective stories I've played! This text-based murder mystery game is quite a challenge, but really enjoyable. If you ever get stuck, there's a walk-through available on Youtube - but do your best without help first!

http://www.choiceofgames.com/user-contributed/popcorn-soda-murder/

(5) Daily Witness


Daily Witness has a great storyline with two very believable detectives (almost as good as Carlton and River!). The game itself isn't particularly exciting, but definitely worth playing anyway for the cool script. One of my favourites, but I couldn't put it any higher as the game itself isn't brilliant.

http://www.agame.com/game/daily-witness.html
http://www.agame.com/game/daily-witness-2.html


(4) Stickville Murder Mysteries


I admit to being skeptical of this at first, as it consists of stick men. Admittedly, the graphics are pretty poor, but the mysteries are great and it involves a nice bit of a challenge. Plus, there are five different cases, to keep you occupied for ages.

http://www.normandcompany.com/STICKMAN/

(3) Jack French


I've enjoyed the Jack French series a lot - it's challenging enough to be exciting, but not so difficult to be getting stuck every two minutes. They also include some nice graphics and I enjoy the storylines. Not suitable for younger players, though.

http://johnnybdesign.com/paradise.html
http://johnnybdesign.com/doctor.html
http://johnnybdesign.com/7dwarfs.html

(2) Ambition


This is a great interactive murder mystery where you work through several stages, both before and after the crime. You work through as different characters making decisions, from the victim trying to escape, to the detective solving the case, to the lawyer defending an innocent victim. There are ten excellent episodes to this interactive drama, the only flaw being that to find out the ending, you have to pay to find out the ending (which I have no intention of doing!). Nevertheless, it's a fun game, so enjoy.

http://www.zapdramatic.com/dramas.htm

(1) Fugitive Hunter


And in first place...

Despite not being a murder mystery as such, I can't recommend this game highly enough. It has a very realistic  feel, allowing you to play detective. Read the rules carefully first, and work through this with notebook and pencil in hand! There are plenty of mysteries for you to have a crack at, and hints in case you get stuck.

http://www.fugitivehunter.com/

Have fun playing all these games this winter: Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year to you all!