How To Solve A Mystery

Jubensha is a game of imperfect information. You’ll be tasked with piecing together the events surrounding a murder. And you’ll only have the perspective of your character to utilize for information to start with. Each other character in the game will access to different information from you.

Hidden evidence will be uncovered during the course of the game, but all of this can be obscured and distorted by secret agendas and goals other character may be pursuing. So how can you keep focused on unraveling the mystery laid out before you?

The key is to always keep in mind three things: Motive, Method and Opportunity. Each of these will help you narrow down your suspects and uncover the true culprit.

Motive is the reason a person might have to commit the murder. A character who has committed such a heinous crime will have a reason to do so. Characters who don’t have a proper motive can be discounted from being a proper suspect.

Be it a knife, candlestick, rope or revolver, Method is the cause of death. Discovering the instrument of death should be the focal point of your investigations. With this knowledge you can eliminate suspects from your list. If poison was the cause of death but a certain character never had access to it you can remove them from your list of suspects. Likewise, if a character had traces of gunpowder or unexplained blood on them from particularly violent murder that should encourage additional investigation.

Lastly, is Opportunity. Piecing together a timeline of events are often a critical component to solving Jubensha. Doing so can further eliminate suspects by simply proving that they could not have been present at the time of murder.

Always pursuing information on these three concepts will help you sort through irrelevant information meant to throw you off the trail. Keep these in mind and you’ll be on your way to solving your first murder!