Virtual
Murder Mystery Games

Can you stop a disgruntled game designer from ruining the holiday season?

Millions of people around the world might not get the games on their wish list—and it’s not due to supply line problems or materials shortages. It’s much more diabolical: Someone who goes by the alias SCROOGE has somehow shut down all of the equipment at companies that make games.

Scrooge has dared authorities to expose his or her identity by playing a game that involves a series of devilishly difficult puzzles that are all based on classic board games.

This is where you come in: Can your team crack up to 10 puzzles inspired by classic games—with humorous twists—and come up with the code words that will get the manufacturers humming again? You have one hour. After that…who knows what else Scrooge might do?

This virtual mystery game comes in three versions: the Classic Edition, the Expert Edition (with the most difficult puzzles), and the International Edition (with easier language for players whose first language is not English).

Are you up for an exciting, fun virtual holiday game—with lots of laughs along the way?

What are players saying about the virtual holidays game?

A 5-star review on Google: “I reached out to arrange a virtual mystery game less than a week before the event date. Tara responded promptly and walked me through the various choices for our team’s virtual celebration. Everything came together quickly and Don hosted a one-hour long challenge for our team that resulted in 3 out of our 4 teams answering all the questions correctly. A quick tie-breaker decided the ultimate victor. Thanks to Tara and everyone at Watson Adventures Scavenger Hunts!”

Contact us to learn more about the Puzzled for the Holidays Virtual Mystery Game—and find more fun for teams online this season!

You can escape a room, but can you escape a vintage game store?

As part of his acclaimed new book, The Puzzler, best-selling author A.J. Jacobs (The Year of Living Biblically, The Year of Living Constitutionally) partnered with Watson Adventures to create a devilishly fun murder mystery game packed with puzzles. In his book he describes the experience of creating the game—now it’s your turn to play the game! But first…

Shocking news! The owner of a local board-game store has been murdered! Authorities are baffled by the mysterious killing, and they have called in you and your team of expert puzzle-solvers to crack the case.

The killer has hidden clues to their identity in games scattered around the store. It’s up to you to solve a series of puzzles and piece together the name of the murderer. Clearly the murderer loves to play games—but in a gaming store, that doesn’t narrow things down much!

On teams, you’ll tackle up to 10 mini-games that are inspired by classic games—but with humorous twists. Each challenge you solve will lead you a step closer to unmasking the murderer. Can your team unravel this mystery, catch the culprit, and show the villain that they toyed with the wrong people?

What players are saying about the virtual puzzles game

A 5-star review on Google: “Fun and engaging game for our remote team. The host was energetic and kept everyone participating. I will definitely book them again for another corporate event.”

Contact us to learn more about this online murder mystery game—and find more virtual fun!

A virtual murder-mystery game

Terrible news! Watson Adventures game host David Park was on his way to your office to lead a team-building activity today, but a killer had other plans for your group. David was found dead in the parking lot. We need your help to expose the killer and catch him before he strikes again.

We have reason to believe that David led a secret life. He created today’s virtual murder mystery game, and we suspect that there are clues in it that could help unravel the quandary of his death. We need you to play David’s game to see if you can uncover any clues to what he was up to and why he disappeared. 

On teams, you’ll tackle trivia questions, solve fun puzzles, and—spoiler alert!—uncover evidence of spies, intrigue, and assorted skulduggery. Can your team crack a code that can stop an international incident with cataclysmic consequences?

Virtual teams have actual fun

A Watson Adventures host will lead the game via Zoom or other video conferencing—setting the scene, offering guidance, announcing how the teams are doing, and supplying hints if you get stuck. Teams collaborate in breakout rooms, then reunite to find out which sleuths solved the whodunit.

The game requires one hour, and anyone with access to a computer can participate. It’s a great way to unite offices, stay connected with people working from home, and boost morale. You’ll having fun while collaborating in a fun, new way.

An In-Person Edition is also available when you want to bring together coworkers in an office or other common space, with a game host who can be in person or remote.

What happy sleuths are saying about the team-building murder mystery game

A 5-star review on Google: “We booked [Murder by Team Building] for a department activity at work. Everyone had so much fun! The puzzles were challenging, but not too challenging, and being able to split into smaller teams and come back together was perfect. Our host, Jamie, was really energetic, patient, and fun and did a great job. Would definitely recommend them for group events, especially when a virtual element is needed.”

Another 5-star review on Google: “The murder mystery game was challenging and fun! We ran late and our host did a great job accommodating our shorter run time. I recommend this for a corporate team building event.”

Yes, yet another 5-star review on Google! “We have worked with Watson Adventures Scavenger Hunts to host a Murder Mystery Night virtual team building event. It was great working with Watson, very responsive, professional and the pricing was good too. The game’s host was very entertaining, kept everyone engaged and maintained a positive fun vibe throughout the game. The game was awesome, the team had lots of fun! Everyone enjoyed it a lot, it was challenging enough but not impossible to solve, so everyone stayed engaged and not discouraged. I have received only positive feedback from the team, the event was a big success. Thank you Watson Adventures, we will definitely come back for more fun games in the future!”

Contact us to learn more about this virtual murder mystery game for remote teams—and find more fun online!

STOP A KILLER? GET A CLUE!

There’s a killer on the loose, and it’s up to your team to stop him! The madman—or madwoman—bumped off a famous art critic, then taunted the police to expose him/her by completing a virtual murder mystery scavenger hunt through America’s great museums. Your task: to play the game, follow the clues, find the art, answer amusing questions about what you find online, and suss out the name of the killer, the scene of the crime, and weapon used. Think you’re up to the challenge?

The trail of clues leads across the web

Using Zoom, you’ll join our Host in launching the game in our game in any browser. On teams, you’ll follow links to art on museum websites, tackle tricky questions for points, and consult photo clues to narrow the list of possible suspects, weapons and crime scenes. No previous knowledge of art is required. But you’ll be amazed at the art you discover—and with any luck, you’ll catch the culprit.

Games for private groups are available anytime, including an International Edition, for people whose first language is not English, as well as a Kids Edition for kids and adults to play together, ages 10 and up.

What players are saying about this online murder mystery game

“Thank you to @watsonadventures for such a fun evening! Our club had a blast playing The Murder at the Art Museum Virtual Scavenger Hunt.” — @nyflers on Instagram

A 5-star review on Google: “My team was a little skeptical when we told them this would be our holiday event. Once the timer started, everyone was in. The game was fun and the team appreciated the challenge. We ended up having a wonderful time and I will be booking again.”

Another 5-star review on Google:  “Our group of 25 had a great team building virtual event with Watson. Our host, Michael, was excellent: funny, available, clear and had a pretty good playlist going in our virtual waiting room. There were many team laughs and lots of cross functional communication happening. Definitely going to do another adventure with them soon!”

Yes, yet another 5-star review on Google: “Wow, amazing experience! I HIGHLY recommend for a business team bonding event, remote. It allowed for ample/natural time to have fun with your colleagues but see how people work in a different setting. They make it easy on you for planning purposes, just schedule, send invites, pay and show up!”

Contact us to learn more about this virtual murder mystery scavenger hunt—and find more online fun for teams!

Can your team crack this murder mystery scavenger hunt?

Fans of murder mysteries and The Da Vinci Code will enjoy this unusual adventure that features seven art museums. The plot: A murdered curator has left behind a cryptic trail of clues connected with secrets in unusual works of art. As your team gathers answers to tricky questions about the masterpieces, you begin to piece together a sordid tale about greed, lust, pride, revenge, and treachery—all revolving around the museum’s planned multi-million-dollar purchase of a long-lost painting by Leonardo da Vinci.

Your quest begins when teams meet our Host for this Zoom murder mystery party. You’ll get set up with our browser-based app and learn the backstory of the four suspects. You’ll also learn that the dead man has concealed in the app the notes on his personal investigation into the Leonardo. The Host will send teams into breakout rooms, where you’ll collaborate, collect clues, and cogitate on whodunit.

Even if you’re not a murder mystery buff, you’ll have plenty of fun spotting unusual details in art, piecing together the story, and laughing at some of the surprising discoveries. No knowledge of the museums or art is required—you just need sharp eyes, a comfy seat, and good teamwork.

This might be our most challenging murder mystery scavenger hunt. For other options, check out all of our Virtual Murder Mystery Games.

What are players saying about the Virtual Murder Mystery game?

“Everyone really had a great time and it was (as always) expertly run! This was certainly on of our highlight events during our colleague appreciation week here at Citizens. Thank you again and we look forward to further adventures with your team.” —Robert Cahill, VP / Senior Manager, Head of COPO Business Performance, Citizens Bank

A 5-star review on Google: “Our group had a wonderful experience with Watson Adventure’s virtual murder mystery for corporate team building. It was excellent value for the huge amount of fun we had. Definitely would recommend Watson Adventures to other groups looking for a fun virtual event.”

Another 5-star review on Google: “Very fun experience, they’ve done a great job maneuvering the virtual environment and hosting a game that maintains great entertainment value. The coordinating representative was also very helpful and kept in continuous contact leading up to and after the game. I’ll be back again 🙂 ”

Contact us to learn more about this online murder mystery scavenger hunt. The hunt’s afoot!

Fun for Kids and Adults Together

Oh no! A famous art expert is missing, and an anonymous person claiming to have killed the expert is daring you to stop him—or her! This diabolical person has created a virtual museum scavenger hunt for kids involving art in famous museums, and has hidden in the game clues that reveal where the crime took place, what weapon was used, and the name of the killer. Can your team of detectives beat the killer at his or her own game?

You’ll play the killer’s game by visiting museum websites, finding works of art, and answering tricky questions. Close-up details of the art will provide visual clues to help you zero in on the masterpieces you need to examine. No previous knowledge of art or any museum is required.

To play, all you need is a desktop computer and our app that launches in any browser. You’ll connect with our Host and perhaps your teammates in other places by using a video conferencing platform that runs on your computer.

The game is suitable for ages 10 and up, and we recommend at least one adult per team. Think you have what it takes to bring a criminal to justice?