How to play Whodunnit

Whodunnit is a daily whodunnit game played in a noir interrogation booth. A crime happened in one room, exactly one suspect was in that room, and that suspect is the culprit. You have 10 questions to work out who it was.

The rules of the booth

1. Ring a suspect in. Tap the desk bell (or a suspect's 🛎️) to bring them into the chair, then pick a question card.
2. Ask the questions. “Where were you?” first. Once they've answered, “Who was with you?” opens up. Suspects who are related can also tell you what the other one is like.
3. Know who lies. The case file says how many Liars and Evasive suspects there are. The rest are Honest.
4. Charge the culprit. When you're sure, press Accuse on them. You have 3 charges per case.

Who lies, and how

• Honest suspects tell the truth about everything.
• A Liar names the wrong room for themselves, never the crime scene. They stick to the story: asked who was with them, they truthfully name whoever really was in the room they claimed.
• An Evasive suspect refuses to say where they were.
• Nobody lies about anyone else. Everything a suspect says about another person is true.
• The culprit always has something to hide, so they are a Liar or Evasive, never Honest. But an innocent suspect can be a Liar or Evasive too.

Evidence on the desk

Some days there are one or two pieces of physical evidence. Examining an item costs one question, once; after that, spin it 🔄, zoom in 🔍 or run the bootleg test 🧪 as often as you like. Evidence never lies. Monday and Tuesday have two items, Sunday has none.

Scoring

Par is the number of questions a careful detective needs without knowing any answer in advance. It runs from 4 or 5 on an easy Monday to 8 or 9 on a fiendish Sunday.

• 🏆 Perfect: at or under par, first charge right, charged as soon as the testimony proved it, and no tips from Sergeant Doyle.
• 🎯 Sharp: solved within 2 questions of par.
• ✅ Solved: you got there.
• ❌ Wrong accusation: a charge hit the wrong suspect. You can keep going, but it can't be Perfect.

Standard mode is pure deduction. Casual mode flags clashing testimony and tells you the moment you have enough. The result card says which one you played, and you can share it without spoiling the case.

Tips for your first case

• Asking every suspect “Where were you?” and “Who was with you?” always fits in 10 questions and always solves the case. Start there, then learn the shortcuts.
• “Who was with you?” is the strongest question, because the names in the answer are always true, even from a Liar.
• A refusal is not a confession. Check before you charge whoever stayed quiet.

Want the reasoning in detail? Read how to solve a murder mystery logic puzzle, or see where the idea comes from in knights and knaves puzzles, explained.