How to Play
A Culprit case is a murder mystery you solve by interrogating AI suspects in your own words. It is free, it runs in your browser with no download and no account, and most cases take 25–60 minutes. You get one accusation.
Tonight’s suspects · Death at the Gilded Lily
Every one of them answers in their own voice, remembers what you have already asked, and has something they would rather not say. Detective Mae Sullivan sits in on all of it and is on your side.
Hold a portrait to see what one of them looks like under pressure.
Try it — one suspect, four moves
A scripted demonstration using a real suspect from The Gilded Lily. Watch the ring around his portrait as the pressure climbs.
Joey Malone
appears composed
Pressure0 / 5
A real suspect from a real case. Put the questions to them and watch the ring around their portrait.
Step 1 of 4
And here is the part that matters: you just caught Joey in a lie, and Joey did not kill anybody. In every case more than one person is hiding something, and only one of them is the murderer. Catching a liar is how you narrow the field — it is not the same as solving it.
The whole loop
1. Question everyone
Type whatever you want — there is no dialogue tree and no list to pick from. Suspects answer in character, remember the whole conversation, and do not all tell the truth.
2. Evidence comes from conversation
When someone lets a real fact slip, it lands in your case file as an exhibit. The right question to the right person is how a case cracks open — searching rooms turns up the rest.
3. Present evidence to their face
Exhibits aren't trophies, they're ammunition. Open your case file — the + beside the message box, or 🗂 in the top bar — pick an exhibit, and press “Present to …”. Then watch the composure go. Some truths only surface under pressure.
4. Catch the lies
When a story conflicts with something you already know, Challenge it. A caught lie rattles a suspect badly, and a rattled suspect gives you more than they meant to.
5. Warmth is the other lever
Pressure is not the only way in. Lean on someone and they close ranks; treat them decently and they open up, and there are things a suspect will only ever tell someone they have come to trust. Their portrait shows it, and the line beside their name reads “warming to you”, then “trusts you”. Going through their room, or bluffing and being caught at it, spends that goodwill — sometimes worth it, never free.
6. The detective is on your side
Every case has an investigator who sat in on all of it — Mae Sullivan at the Gilded Lily, Alma Reyes at the auction house, and so on. Ask them to weigh what you have. They will sharpen your thinking; the deduction stays yours.
7. Accuse once
When you have enough evidence and enough interviews, the accusation unlocks: who, why, and on what proof. It is final. Right or wrong, you then learn what actually happened that night.
Common questions
- Is Culprit free to play?
- Yes. Every case is free, runs in your browser, and needs no download and no account.
- How long does a case take?
- Most cases take 25 to 60 minutes, depending on how thoroughly you question people.
- Can the suspects lie to me?
- Yes. Suspects answer in character and do not all tell the truth. When a story conflicts with something you already know, you can challenge it — and a caught lie shakes loose more than they meant to give.
- Is every case actually solvable?
- Yes. Every case is proved solvable by an automated solver before anybody sees it: the evidence needed to convict is reachable by questioning and searching alone.