How an online mystery game works

Playing without an app: what you need

• A big screen: a laptop connected to the TV (HDMI cable or screen mirroring), a phone mirrored to the TV (AirPlay on iPhone, Smart View or Cast on Android), or simply a laptop screen.
• One phone per player, with an up-to-date browser (Safari, Chrome, Firefox or Edge). No app to install.
• Sound on: the atmosphere, the music and Marcel's scenes all play through the big screen.
• 1.5 to 2 hours ahead of you, with 1 to 4 players.

If you are playing in the same living room, see our escape room at home page for the details.

How to start an online mystery game in four steps

1. On the big screen (the laptop plugged into the TV, or the phone you mirror to it), open the game page, for example After Hours at the Museum, and choose “Play together”.
2. A QR code and a four-letter code appear. Each player scans the QR code with their phone, or types the code on the “Join” page.
3. Everyone enters a first name or nickname. The game hands out the roles: with fewer than four players, some take several roles, and a solo player holds them all.
4. The story starts on the big screen. At the end of each video a room opens, and the team has to find the code that moves the case forward.

A role, and clues the others don’t have

In After Hours at the Museum, four roles share the documents: the Archivist, the Egyptologist, the Technician and the Musician. One has the painting catalog, another the torn-out note from the curator, a third the gallery floor plan. No single document is enough. You have to describe what you are looking at, compare, get it wrong, try again.

That is what sets this format apart from a regular video game: the TV shows everyone the same scene, but the answers are scattered across everyone’s pockets. The player holding the right document is not necessarily the one who types the answer.

Exploring the rooms

After each video, the room becomes explorable on the TV. The phones act as controllers: you sweep the scene with a flashlight, tune a camera console, play a piano or turn the dials of a vault. Some puzzles take several pairs of hands, each player holding part of the mechanism.

Playing remotely

Not in the same room? Choose “Play remotely” at launch. Each player opens the game on their own screen (laptop or tablet) and keeps their phone for their secret clues. Start a voice or video call alongside the game, on whatever app you normally use. The videos stay in sync for everyone. For more on groups at work, see virtual team building, and for the full picture, see our virtual escape room page.

Hints, levels and the clock

Stuck? Every puzzle has three hints, from the vaguest to the most precise, which the team asks for from a phone. Each hint adds time to the clock. Three levels are offered before you begin:

• Visitor: hiding spots sparkle after a minute and a half, the guard helps after five minutes of being stuck, and a hint adds one minute to the clock.
• Investigator (recommended): hiding spots sparkle after three minutes, the guard helps after eight minutes, a hint adds two minutes.
• Curator: no sparkle and no help from the guard, a hint adds three minutes.

At the end, you can add your time to the public leaderboard, sorted by number of players.

Taking a break

A game you have started stays saved for 30 days. If the tab closes or dinner arrives, the site’s home page offers to resume the game in progress on the same device.