Looking for Games Like Unsolved Case Files, Hunt A Killer or Cryptic Killers? Try These

You've solved the case, identified the killer and gone through every piece of evidence. Now there's only one problem: you want another investigation.

If you've enjoyed games such as Unsolved Case Files, Hunt A Killer or Cryptic Killers, you're probably looking for more than a traditional murder mystery. You want to open a case, examine the evidence and work out what happened yourself.

Fortunately, case-file mystery games have become their own style of detective experience. Some emphasize realistic documents and deduction, while others incorporate puzzles, physical components or digital elements. Finding the right one depends largely on which part of solving a case you enjoy most.

Here are some options to explore – including what makes each style different.

What Are Games Like Unsolved Case Files?

The basic idea is simple: instead of watching a detective solve a fictional crime, you become the investigator.

You're given information about a case and have to determine which details matter. Depending on the game, that might involve police reports, suspect interviews, photographs, messages, maps, timelines, forensic information and other pieces of evidence.

There's usually no board to move around and no need to play a fictional character. The investigation itself is the game.

You read. You compare stories. You build theories. You discover contradictions. Then you try to prove what actually happened.

That's why these games tend to appeal to people who enjoy true crime, detective fiction and mysteries where the solution comes from careful observation rather than luck.

1. Unsolved Case Files

Unsolved Case Files is one of the recognizable names in the case-file mystery category. Its central concept is reopening an unsolved fictional crime and working through the available evidence to determine what happened.

The appeal is the feeling of receiving an actual case rather than playing a conventional board game. You have documents to examine and questions that need to be answered before you can progress.

If the part you enjoy most is spreading evidence across the table and trying to reconstruct an investigation, this is the type of experience you're probably trying to find more of.

2. Hunt A Killer

Hunt A Killer is another established name in murder mystery gaming and offers investigations built around evidence, narrative and mystery solving.

It occupies a similar overall world to Unsolved Case Files, but that doesn't mean every experience feels identical. Different mystery brands can vary considerably in how much they emphasize narrative, puzzles, physical components and straightforward deduction.

If you've already played Hunt A Killer and particularly enjoyed having a larger mystery to work through, looking at other case-file investigation games is a natural next step.

3. Cryptic Killers

Cryptic Killers is another option for players looking for murder cases to investigate at home.

Like the other games in this category, the attraction comes from having information to examine rather than simply being told a story. You need to interpret clues and gradually build your understanding of the case.

If you've already worked through several Cryptic Killers cases, exploring other publishers can also introduce you to different approaches to evidence, difficulty and storytelling.

4. Ink & Clues

Ink & Clues takes the same fundamental idea – you are the investigator – and builds fictional criminal cases around documents and evidence that you examine yourself.

Cases can contain police reports, interviews, photographs, messages, maps and other material connected to the investigation. Rather than acting as suspects at a murder mystery party, everyone works on the same case and tries to determine what happened.

One major difference is accessibility. Ink & Clues games are delivered digitally, so you can download the case immediately and either print the documents or investigate them on a screen. That makes them useful if you've finished another mystery and want a new case without waiting for a physical game to arrive.

Individual cases generally work for 1–6 players, so you can investigate alone, with a partner or with a small group.

You can browse the available cases at Ink & Clues or get several investigations together in the Full Game Bundle.

Which Alternative Is Right for You?

The best alternative to Unsolved Case Files isn't necessarily the game that copies it most closely. It depends on why you liked it.

If your favorite part was examining documents and reconstructing the crime, prioritize another evidence-based investigation.

If you enjoyed deciphering puzzles more than evaluating suspects, look for something more puzzle-heavy.

If the story was what kept you interested, prioritize games with deeper characters and narrative.

And if what you really want is another realistic-looking case file that you can spread across the table and start investigating tonight, a downloadable investigation such as Ink & Clues may be the better fit.

What Makes a Good Case-File Mystery?

The amount of paper in the case doesn't determine whether the investigation is good.

What matters is whether the evidence actually gives you something to investigate.

A police report should contain useful information. A photograph should be worth examining. An interview should reveal something about the person giving it. A timeline should allow you to test whether someone's story is possible.

The best mysteries also give you several plausible theories before gradually allowing you to eliminate them.

If the murderer is obvious immediately, there's little satisfaction in proving it. On the other hand, if the solution depends on information that was never available to you, the mystery feels unfair.

The sweet spot is a case where the answer was sitting in front of you all along – you just hadn't understood what the evidence meant yet.

Physical Case Files vs Downloadable Mystery Games

This is one of the bigger decisions when choosing your next investigation.

Physical games have the appeal of opening a box or envelope and handling professionally produced evidence. For some players, that's an important part of the atmosphere.

Downloadable mysteries trade that physical presentation for convenience. You can purchase the game and start investigating without waiting for shipping. If you want physical documents, you can simply print the PDF yourself.

Neither approach is inherently better. It depends on whether you value a ready-made physical package or the ability to access a new investigation immediately.

With Ink & Clues, you can also choose between printing the material and viewing it digitally, which makes it easy to adapt the experience to how you prefer to play.

Puzzle Games vs Investigation Games

There's also an important distinction between solving puzzles and solving a case.

Puzzle-focused mysteries might ask you to decipher codes, recognize patterns or solve individual challenges before progressing.

Investigation-focused games rely more heavily on understanding evidence. You might need to determine whether an alibi is possible, notice that two statements contradict each other or connect something in a photograph with information buried in an interview.

There can obviously be overlap between the two, but knowing which experience you prefer makes choosing your next game much easier.

If you enjoy the feeling of working through an investigation rather than completing a sequence of puzzles, look for games where evidence and deduction are at the center.

Are These Games Good for True Crime Fans?

They can be a particularly good fit.

The cases themselves are fictional, but the process of examining timelines, questioning accounts and trying to understand motives draws on many of the things people find interesting about true crime.

The difference is that you're no longer waiting for a documentary or podcast to tell you what investigators discovered. You're given the information and asked to reach the conclusion yourself.

If that's specifically what attracts you, you can also read our guide to the best types of games for true crime fans.

Can You Play These Games Alone?

Many case-file mysteries can be played solo, although you should always check the player recommendations for the individual game.

Solo play changes the experience slightly because every theory is yours. You can work through documents at your own pace, take notes and spend as much time as you want on individual pieces of evidence.

Playing with someone else adds discussion. Your partner might notice a contradiction you completely missed, while you might remember a detail that destroys their favorite theory.

Neither approach is necessarily better. They're simply different ways of investigating.

What If You Don't Want Roleplay?

Then this category is particularly worth exploring.

A common misconception is that every murder mystery game involves costumes, character cards and pretending to be suspects at a dinner party. Case-file games work differently.

You're not playing the murderer, detective or victim's suspicious uncle.

You're yourself, investigating the case.

That makes games in this category a good option for people who love murder mysteries but have absolutely no interest in acting.

How Long Does an Investigation Take?

This varies significantly between games and publishers, so it's worth checking before buying.

Some cases are designed for a single evening, while larger mysteries can require substantially more time. The number of players and how carefully you examine the evidence also affect the length.

Many individual Ink & Clues investigations take approximately 1.5–2 hours, making them relatively easy to fit into an evening.

If playtime is important when choosing your next case, our guide to how long murder mystery games take explains the differences in more detail.

What Should You Play After Unsolved Case Files?

If you finished Unsolved Case Files and loved the feeling of having an investigation spread across your table, don't necessarily look for an identical game.

Look for another case that gives you the parts you actually enjoyed: believable suspects, evidence worth examining, contradictions to uncover and a mystery you can genuinely reason your way through.

Hunt A Killer and Cryptic Killers are established names worth exploring if you haven't tried them. If you want an investigation that you can access immediately, Ink & Clues offers downloadable fictional cases that can be printed or played digitally.

And if you already know you enjoy this format, the Full Game Bundle includes multiple investigations rather than committing you to just one case.

The best part about finishing a murder mystery is discovering whether your theory was right.

The second-best part is realizing there is another case waiting for you.