Detective-themed online games

[Tom Sievers]

Hi all,
I run a monthly board game program at my library, and have run boardgames as part of other library programs. As a result I've become the gaming "go-to" guy in our Adult Services department. Recently my supervisor asked me to find links to free online games for our website. The links are to be one part of a Detective/Sleuth-themed winter reading program. The requirements: 1) detective/sleuth theme  2) available free of charge  3) a simple "friendly" interface (ruling out old-style purely text-based interface) 4) family friendly. I'm looking for recommendations, tips, words of wisdom from libgamers with more online game experience than the almost none that I boast.

Here is what I've found so far:

Using the "List of Free Online Games" at gaming.ala.org/resources/ I found "Inspector Grimoire", (This game appears to be available in identical form at yahoo games, crazymonkee games, armorgames, etc. Tho kind of clunky, it looks like fun, and appears to fit the requirements.)

I found "Prime Suspects" on the "Club Bing" site.

(http://www.clubbing.com/Pages/Games/GameList.aspx?game=MCF_Prime_Suspects&tab=top+games)

Although essentially an ad for Bing, I found "Prime Suspects" enjoyable...almost addicting, and will probably include it in my recommendations.

There is a blog at

http://onlinemysterygames.blogspot.com/

that purports to list free online mystery games, but those I tried seemed basically to be ads aimed at selling downloadable games.

Today I explored www.playsleuth.com,  with mixed feelings.  It's a subscription site but seems to offer a more complete free play experience than those touted at the blog above. The message boards seem to indicate a certain amount of juvenile boundary-pushing, but on the whole what I saw of the site appeared to be fairly family friendly. I didn't have time to work my way through a complete mystery tho...so I don't really know if they can really be solved by non-subscribing players. Has anyone out there had experience, good or bad, with playsleuth?

I'd greatly appreciate your recommendations, tips, and general words of wisdom about free online mystery games!

Best,
Tom Sievers
Adult Services Librarian
Vernon Area Public Library
Lincolnshire, IL 60069
tsie...@vapld.info

[Beth Gallaway]

hi Tom,

Thanks for sending along what you found so far :)

I swear I compiled a list of mystery themed online games for a state doing a mystery themed summer reading program in the last few years. It became part of their manual. Can I find it? Of course not. If anyone on this list remembers it, please speak up & share!

How about a library related msytery game?
http://games.lapl.org/

Alternative reality games might also be a good fit, some of these are local, others are not:

http://www.delicious.com/informationgoddess29/ARG

Beth G

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