Murder on The Zinderneuf

Murder on The Zinderneuf is a fun murder mystery game that can be played in one sitting. In a setting that would be familiar to fans of crime novels, a victim has been found abroad the luxury dirigible Zinderneuf. It's up to you, the only detective on board, to expose the murderer.

The game combines traditional sleuthing techniques with boardgame-style rules. For example, a "motive clue" that suggests the killer's motive can only be found after an "ordinary clue" is found. Each room may contain no more than one ordinary clue (which is automatically picked up as you walk around the room). When you bump into suspects (i.e. the remaining passengers), you have the option to question, ignore, or accuse them of the murder.

The game's most fun feature is when you question suspects: you can set the tone of the conversation (such as polite, seductive, forceful, or naive) to try to illicit the most revealing response from the suspect. These tons differ depending on which detective (out of 8) you choose to play as.

You only have 12 hours in game time (roughly 36 minutes in real time) to find the culprit, so budgeting your time and ignoring false leads are essential. As soon as you make a valid accusation, or if your 12 hours is up, you will learn the identity of the killer as well as his or her motive. You will then be shown a rating based on the speed with which you solve the case, the amount of evidence found, and the number of false accusations.

Overall, the fun interrogation mode, high replayability (the killer's identity and motive are randomized each time you play), and colorful characters make this a fun "quickie" adventure game for any sleuth who wants to sharpen his or her deductive skills before embarking on more difficult cases. Recommended!

Review By HOTUD