What the ballot asks for
A name, and a demonstration. The ballot lists questions drawn from the case: which times had to be converted and how, which object was tampered with and when it became reachable, which route the culprit could take, how an owner, a borrower, a garment and a recovered object connect, which alibi has to be set aside and what it was hiding, which deadline created the urgency.
There is also a line for what remains a guess. Citing an exhibit without explaining the link is not enough, and the guide says so: the point is the reasoning, not the reference.
How the twenty points break down
Identity is worth two points. The rest is spread across the threads of the case: times, means and access, the chain of an object, the false alibi, the known urgency. Each sub-point is worth one, and the criteria are independent, so a wrong conclusion does not cancel a correct piece of reasoning.
The host accepts equivalent wording and titles instead of exhibit codes. Nobody needs a confession, an exact minute inside the window, or a formal identification to score. The scoring grid sits in the guide on the case file portal, not in the printed file.
What the culprit is playing for
The culprit earns no investigation points, since they know the answer. Their defence succeeds if strictly fewer than half of the innocents present name them on a ballot. An abstention stays in the count of innocents but does not name them; an exact tie means the defence fails.
At six players that is two accusations out of five innocents for a success and three for a failure. The arithmetic is in the guide so the host can announce the result without improvising.
Why a wrong majority does not change the ending
The reveal is read whatever the ballots say. If the table has accused an innocent, the host still enters the true name on the portal and reads the text aloud: the vote is a score, not a verdict, and it does not rewrite the crime.
That matters for the evening. A group that gets it wrong still gets the satisfaction of seeing how it fitted together, and the person who quietly held the right thread gets their points. The murder mystery kits pages say how each file structures its ending.
The last fifteen minutes, in order
Close the negotiations and collect the declarations and signed agreements. Hand out the ballots and let people write alone, without discussion, for about ten minutes. The accused stay at the table: nobody is sent out of the room.
Then read the reveal, announce the investigation scores, the defence outcome and the personal points separately, and give each person one sentence of epilogue for their character. Finish out of character: which exhibit changed someone's mind, which conversation helped, what stayed confusing. The whole evening, hour by hour, is laid out on the printable murder mystery kit page.
Frequently asked questions
Is the accusation a group vote?+
No. Each player writes their own ballot alone, names a suspect and cites the exhibits behind the reasoning. The host scores the ballots out of twenty; there is no show of hands and no collective decision.
What happens if everyone accuses the wrong person?+
The host reads the reveal anyway. The ballots are a score, not a verdict: the true culprit is named at the end whatever the table decided, and the points already earned still stand.
Does the culprit get points too?+
Not investigation points, since they know the answer. Their defence succeeds if strictly fewer than half of the innocents present name them, and they can still earn their three personal points like everyone else.
