Hidden Games Crime Scene: The New Haven Case
Hidden Games Crime Scene: The New Haven Case Rulebook
Table of Contents
Table of Contents
Instructions
The aim of the game is to prove successful police work together as a team. You have to go through documents, draw clever conclusions and think outside the box.
The Following Missions Are Waiting For You
Solve the case of the murder at the Haven Falls country fair.
- How did Max Glover die?
- Who sent you the investigation file?
- Who sent the torn letter, and to whom?
- Who is the killer?
Before You Start
- Carefully study all documents!
- Hang up the poster.
- Take notes!
- Make sure that everyone has read every document!
- When you are finished, enter your solution and listen to the finale.
For deaf players, additional accessibility information is provided (a text transcript of the game's audio files).
If you are not in the United States and don't want to spend money on phone calls, you can call the phone numbers in the game for free online through the game's free call service.
Hints
In certain parts of the game, you can ask for a hint if you get stuck. The designers decided against giving tips throughout the game, as this would have made it too easy.
If you're stuck, you should have a look at some of the materials whose significance you have so far not quite understood, and select the search term for that piece of evidence from the case website's hint index. Each piece of evidence has its own hint entry, and some entries offer a first hint, further hints, and a final hint, escalating in how much they give away.
Watch out — spoiler alarm: only look up a hint if you really can't continue the game without one — solving it yourself is only half as much fun with tips.
Starting the Game
Dear private detective,
Did you read everything on the back carefully? Then you are ready to get started.
We hope you have fun, and wish you good luck in your investigation!
P.S. Need a tip to get started? Then check out the additional hints.
Start
To start the game, divide all of the documents among the players. Everyone should read through their documents silently, then share all of the information with the other players (or read it aloud, for instance).
The Police Report
You should all look through the police report together, since it will give you some basic information on the case. Max Glover is the victim, and it's your job to find his murderer.
The Detective Poster
Hang up the poster and take notes on the different individuals.
And Now?
While you are gathering information from all of the players, several of the town's residents are going to start looking very suspicious. Write down any motives these people might have. Do they have alibis? Can you rule out any suspects? The more information you collect, the more people you will be able to rule out — until you finally understand the whole story and can unmask the killer.
A Tip
During the course of the game, it will help you out to exchange documents among yourselves and read as many notes as you can. In addition, you should put documents together if you think they belong together.
Mailbox Not Available
If the mailbox is not available (for players outside the United States, or without phone access), you can also listen to the mailbox recording on the case website.
Case File Contents
The New Haven Case envelope contains a large set of physical and digital evidence for your team to work through. Investigate each piece and cross-reference it against the others and against the detective poster:
- Police Report
- Detective Poster (for pinning up photos and writing notes on suspects)
- Mailbox voicemail recording
- Credit Card Bill
- Chess Tournament schedule
- Arrest Warrant
- Newspaper (containing several articles, including an obituary, a change-in-management notice, and a notice about a new janitorial company)
- Town Map
- WhatsApp Chats (from several dates)
- Doctor's Office mail correspondence
- Police Server letter (with login credentials for an online police database)
- Hunting photo
- Cleaning company's monthly schedule
- Fine Notice (a traffic/speeding ticket)
- Building Permit Office letter
- A number riddle guarding a password
- A torn letter
- An unsent letter ("Letter to My Father")
- Attorney's office letter
- Telecomi (phone company) letter
- Pizzeria business card, tied to an online pizzeria website
- Care4Life (insurance company) letter
- An ultrasound image
- A Facebook profile to look up online
- An envelope (itself a piece of evidence, including fingerprints)
- A church flyer
- A photo with a love note
- Fingerprint sheets, for comparing prints found on other documents
- Hospital discharge report
Some of these documents point you toward real websites and an online police-server login that your team will need to visit as part of the investigation; others are meant to be read, compared, and pieced together entirely on paper.
Solving the Case
Once your team believes it has answered one, or all, of the four mission questions, go to the "Solutions" section of the case website (or the corresponding place indicated in your printed materials) to check your answer.
Each question is presented as a multiple-choice list of possible answers. Selecting the correct answer confirms that you got it right and explains the reasoning that ties the evidence together; selecting an incorrect answer tells you that you're on the wrong track and prompts your team to take another look at the evidence and discuss it further before trying again.
The case tracks your overall performance with a star rating as you work through the four questions.
Once you have correctly identified the killer and answered all four mission questions, you can listen to the finale, which reveals and explains the full solution to the case.
Because the case can only be solved once, the game is intended to be played through a single time per envelope of materials.