Murdle

About Murdle

Murdle is a browser mystery game by the writer and programmer G. T. Karber, who built it in 2022 as a daily murder case shaped like a classic logic grid puzzle. The site grew into a series of puzzle books that sold widely in the UK and US, and the books won the British Book Award for book of the year in 2024. The daily web puzzles stay free.

Each case starts with cards for the suspects, the possible weapons and the locations, and on some days the motives too. Below them is a set of clues: who is tall, which weapon is heavy, who was seen near a window. You use the deduction grid to cross out pairings the clues rule out and tick the ones that must be true. When only one suspect, weapon and place line up, you make your accusation.

Some days add witness statements. The innocent suspects tell the truth and the killer lies, so you test each suspect as the possible liar and see whether the grid still holds together. The site explains this approach in its help pages. Cases are written with a running cast of characters such as Deductive Logico and Inspector Irratino, which gives the puzzles a light comic tone.

Murdle suits anyone who likes logic grid puzzles or detective stories. Early-week cases are small enough for a coffee break, while weekend cases take real time. A shorter Mini mode works as a tutorial for new players.

How to play Murdle

1. Read the cards for each suspect, weapon and location, and the motives if the case has them.
2. Read the clues under the case.
3. Mark an X in the deduction grid for every pairing a clue rules out, and a tick for every pairing that must be true.
4. On statement days, assume one suspect is lying and check whether the grid can still be filled without a contradiction.
5. When one suspect, weapon and location remain, pick them in the accusation form and submit.

Tips

• Start with the clues that name a direct link, like a suspect and a place; they fill the grid fastest.
• Each row and column can hold only one tick, so a single tick lets you cross out the rest of its row and column.
• Clues about a feature (height, eye colour, a weapon's weight) only work once you match them to the cards, so keep the cards in view.
• For statement puzzles, try each suspect as the liar in turn; the wrong guesses usually collapse within a few clues.
• If you are new, play the Mini case first to learn how the grid works.

Questions