How is this different from other mystery boxes on the market?

We're instant download — no shipping, no waiting. Buy a case (or subscribe for one a month), get the PDF in your inbox, print it, play it. Our catalogue spans 1888 to 2023, so period settings are the rule here rather than the exception, and every case can be scored online as well as on paper.

Can I play these solo?

Yes — every case works alone or in groups of 2 to 4. No host, no app, no live moderator. Just you and the documents.

How long does a case take to play?

90 minutes to 3 hours, depending on difficulty. Each case lists its target playtime on the catalog.

How many pages do I need to print?

25 to 35 pages per case. We provide both US Letter and A4 PDFs. Pages use a restrained period colour palette that also reads cleanly when printed black-and-white on a home printer.

Is every case solvable from the documents alone?

Yes — that's the design goal. Every case is built from a tight three-act skeleton (crime, suspects, decisive clue) and is then run through an automated multimodal evaluator that checks consistency and solvability before publication. Cases it flags go to a person, and a person also checks a random sample of the rest. If a case ever fails to deliver, your 14-day satisfaction guarantee covers you.

Are these cases AI-generated?

Yes. The narrative documents (witness statements, autopsy notes, newspaper clippings, letters) and the illustrative imagery (mugshots, evidence photographs, crime-scene sketches) are generated with AI assistance from a fixed three-act skeleton, period style guide, and per-character voice profile. Every case then runs through an automated multimodal evaluator for consistency, solvability, fictional-naming discipline, and content suitability. Cases it flags go to a person, and a person also checks a random sample of the rest. All names, places, and events are fictitious; any resemblance to real people or events is unintentional. If you spot something that resembles a real person, place, or event, you can ask us to take it down at murdermysterygameai.com/cold-case-vault/takedown.

Can I run these as paid events at my B&B, escape room, or corporate offsite?

Your purchase is a personal, non-commercial licence — fine for a home game with friends, not for paid events. For commercial use, contact us at contact@murdermysterygameai.com and we'll arrange a separate licence.

What's the refund policy?

14-day satisfaction guarantee on single-case, bundle and Vault purchases — full refund, no questions asked, even after you've downloaded. EU consumers also keep the statutory 14-day right of withdrawal until the file is downloaded. For the Cold Case of the Month subscription, the same 14-day refund covers the first monthly charge; subsequent renewals are cancellation-only (cases you've already received stay in your library). Full details in our terms.

Cold cases · 13 files open

The vault

Thirteen cases the police gave up on. Each one fits in an evening and a printer tray.

14-day refund
Prints on Letter and A4
Solution sealed at the back

Start here · easiest case

The Soda Fountain Affair

A beloved soda jerk. A small town. One morning that changes everything.

Easy · 45m · Greenfield, Vermont, summer 1956

$11.99~~was $14.99~~

Sort

Greenfield, Vermont, summer 1956

The Soda Fountain Affair

A beloved soda jerk. A small town. One morning that changes everything.

Easy · 45m$11.99~~was $14.99~~

Harlan Falls, Pennsylvania, June 1997

Ten-Year Reunion, 1997

Missing keys. Missing yearbook page. Missing answers since 1997.

Medium · 1h30m$15.99~~was $19.99~~

Whitlock College, Marlow Springs, Georgia, January 1994

Bid Day, 1994

The evidence doesn't add up. Neither does the official story.

Hard · 2h$15.99~~was $19.99~~

Pine Hollow, Georgia, September 2003 (reopened by a podcast in 2024)

Cold Open, 2003

The clipboard vanished. The file was sealed. Now both are open.

Hard · 2h$15.99~~was $19.99~~

Fennimore Ridge Vineyard, Healdsburg, California, June 2016

The Last Toast, 2016

The keypad log doesn't lie. Neither does the photographer's second camera.

Medium · 1h30m$15.99~~was $19.99~~

Kessler Falls, Ohio, October 1991

Homecoming, 1991

A queen crowned at midnight. Found at dawn on cold stone.

Medium · 1h30m$15.99~~was $19.99~~

Camp Greyfeather Lake, Tupper Falls, New York, August 1996

Closing Night, 1996

A head counsellor vanishes on the final night of summer.

Medium · 1h30m$15.99~~was $19.99~~

Halcyon Ridge Retreat, Cambria, California, January 2019

Cold Plunge, 2019

The keycard says 4:12 a.m. The safe is empty. The journal is incomplete.

Hard · 2h$15.99~~was $19.99~~

Dunmore, Nebraska, November 1998

Last Shift, 1998

A waitress clocks out. Her car stays behind.

Medium · 1h30m$15.99~~was $19.99~~

Ashby Vale, Surrey, September 2022

Open House, 2022

Eleven visitors. One missing phone. A doorbell disabled at 2:51 p.m.

Medium · 1h30m$15.99~~was $19.99~~

1917 — British casualty clearing station, the Flanders front

The Bonesaw Vespers

A surgeon falls silent. The morphine ledger lies.

Medium · 1h30m$15.99~~was $19.99~~

1999 — Silicon Valley dot-com boom, pre-Y2K

Cold Boot

Late 1999. The internet is ascending. Murder waits in the code.

Medium · 1h30m$15.99~~was $19.99~~

Los Angeles, August 1986

Neon Over Sunset Pier

An FBI agent dead beneath neon. Her badge, still warm.

Hard · 2h$15.99~~was $19.99~~

How it works

Print. Solve. Reveal.

An evening, a printer and a kitchen table. That is the whole kit.

1
Choose a case
Browse the Vault by era, theme, or difficulty. Each case is a complete printable PDF — 25 to 35 pages of evidence.
2
Print and piece together
Print at home or take to a print shop. Spread the documents across your table. Read police reports, examine photographs, decode letters.
3
Name the killer
When you're ready, fill in the Submission Sheet — then score your investigation out of 100, on paper or online. The sealed solution waits at the back. Cases are designed to be solvable from the documents alone.

Anatomy of a case

Inside every file

Real pages from CC-001, The Apothecary’s Ledger.

Sealed manila case-file folder for The Apothecary's Ledger, tied with string and stamped COLD CASE — The sealed case file

AI-generated sepia Victorian booking photograph of a fictional suspect holding a County Constabulary board — Suspect booking photo

Illustrated crime-scene view of a Victorian apothecary with numbered evidence markers — Crime scene, markers 1–4

Evidence photograph EP-17: an overturned chair with a splintered leg beside scattered papers — Exhibit EP-17

Contents of file25–35 pages

20–30 evidence documents · Police reports, witness statements, autopsy notes.
Period newspaper clippings · Matching the era's typography and style.
Personal correspondence · Letters, telegrams, handwritten notes.
~9–13 period photographs · Mugshots, crime scenes, evidence shots.
4–6 suspects · Each with motives, alibis, and red herrings.
Detective's worksheet · Suspect matrix, timeline grid, and evidence index for your notes.
Three sealed hints · Printed upside-down. Peek at one only when you're stuck.
Scored investigations · Rate your detective work out of 100 — spot the framed suspects for bonus points. Check your answer online.
A definitive solution · Sealed at the back — read only when you're ready.

Free sample file

Look inside a case file

Real PDF pages from CC-0014, a demonstration file built to show the format. Every case prints the same way. No spoilers: the solution stays sealed.

Demonstration file · not a case for sale

Also in the file

Police report
Autopsy findings
Witness statements
Personal correspondence
Detective's notes
Sealed solution

25–35 pages

Every case, in full

Pick a case from the vault

Names, places and events are fictional

How it compares

Print it tonight

No box in the post, no waiting a week for the first clue.

Feature	Cold Case Vault	Mailed mystery boxes
Format	Printable PDF	Printed box, mailed
Price per case	$15.99	From $19.99 plus shipping
Arrives	In minutes	After shipping
Era range	1888 to 2023	Mostly modern
Solo-friendly		Varies by title
No subscription required		Varies by title
App required		Varies by title
Solution included
Sealed hints included		Varies by title
Online answer check & scoring		Varies by title
Print at home		n/a

Comparison price is the lowest widely listed retail price we found for a single mailed case box (Unsolved Case Files and Cryptic Killers list at $19.99 / £19.99 on Amazon; Hunt A Killer retail boxes range from $9.99 to $29.99), before shipping. Publishers differ on the rest, so we say “varies by title” rather than speak for them. Check the box you are comparing against.

Pricing

Buy one. Or subscribe.

Same number in your currency, VAT included.

One case

$15.99~~was $19.99~~per case

Pick any file in the vault
Prints on Letter and A4
14-day refund

Pick a case

Best value

Case of the Month

$14.99per month

A new case in your library every month
Members-only drops
Cancel or pause anytime

Questions

Before you open a file

Something else? Write to us.

Tonight's case

Thirteen unsolved cases. Pick one.

Spread the documents across the table, read the statements and name the killer.

Open the vault Or $14.99 a month

The vault

Print. Solve. Reveal.

Choose a case

Print and piece together

Name the killer

Inside every file

Look inside a case file

Print it tonight

Buy one. Or subscribe.

One case

Case of the Month

Before you open a file

Thirteen unsolved cases. Pick one.