Games like Cryptic Killers: what to buy when the case goes cold
For another game like Cryptic Killers, start with Unsolved Case Files or Hunt A Killer's Cold Case line. Deadbolt Mystery Society offers a monthly whodunit, while our games suit players who want more codebreaking within a story. If you searched for Unboxing the Cryptic Killer, that is a separate co-op video game; this guide covers the boxed case files.
Puzzling Pursuits makes the codebreaking games included below. The comparison focuses on what you will do during the game, how many people can play and how long to allow.
Buying Cryptic Killers from another country
The Cryptic Killers shop lists UK delivery in its FAQ. If you are ordering from another country, check the seller's delivery destinations before choosing a case.
Compare the final order total, including shipping, when choosing between sellers. Our Black Friday board game deals guide has more advice for seasonal shopping.
What comes in a Cryptic Killers case?
A Cryptic Killers case combines paper evidence, such as police reports and photographs, with online records to investigate. Its FAQ recommends 1 to 10 players aged 14+ and gives a playtime of 2 to 3.5 hours, depending on the case.
Cryptic Killers also gives its cases difficulty ratings. Murder at the Movie Theater is listed at 3 out of 5; Murder in Market Hill is listed at 5 out of 5. Use those ratings to compare titles within its catalog, since other publishers use their own scales.
If you want another cold case
These two keep the case-file format, with evidence to read and suspects to investigate.
Unsolved Case Files
Unsolved Case Files gives you one cold case to solve through three sequential objectives and an online answer key. Most groups of two or more take 2 to 6 hours, and the games are rated 14+. There is no set player limit, though everyone needs room to see the documents. Check its store or local retailers for the case you want.
Unsolved Case Files keeps its evidence on paper and uses an online answer key. If the fictional inboxes and databases were your favorite part of Cryptic Killers, that is a difference to consider.
Hunt A Killer's Cold Case line
Hunt A Killer sells Cold Case: The Girl in the Well as an individual case. For a short first investigation, Death at the Dive Bar lists 45 to 60 minutes for 1 to 5 players aged 14+. Group sizes and difficulty vary between titles.
Individual Hunt A Killer cases can be bought without subscribing. Its optional Evidence Locker membership offers perks and does not include case purchases. There is a fuller head-to-head with Cryptic Killers further down this page, and if you want to know which of ours suits a Hunt A Killer player, our guide to games like Hunt A Killer narrows it to three.
If you want a new case arriving every month
For a new case arriving regularly, consider Deadbolt Mystery Society. Its monthly boxes contain self-contained whodunits, with paper clues and QR codes that lead to online content. It recommends 1 to 4 players aged 13+ and about 2 to 3 hours per box. You can also choose a one-off case before committing to a plan.
Check the current product page for the plan you want. We wrote a full guide to games like Deadbolt Mystery Society if that style is your next stop.
If you want more codebreaking
Our games focus on solving puzzles within a continuing story. You work with printed clues, but a cipher or hidden pattern often supplies the next answer. Most boxes contain two parts, so you can finish in one longer session or pause at the break.
Two of our lines map naturally onto what a Cryptic Killers player already likes.
Blackbrim: 1876, our Victorian detective game, is the closest role match. You are a private detective in Victorian England on the trail of a criminal named Reager Skinner, and the game is a manhunt rather than a whodunit: you know who he is, and the work is decoding what he left behind to catch him. It takes 1 to 6 players anywhere from 2 to 4+ hours across its two parts, is rated ages 14+, and holds 4.8 stars from 524 reviews.
La Famiglia, our 1929 codebreaking game, is the closest match for the evidence-portal feeling. You are helping the FBI bring down a mafia organization in Chicago, working through intercepted communications the way you worked through phone records in a Cryptic Killers portal, except the intercepts are coded and breaking them is the game. It supports 1 to 6 at ages 14+; its two parts fill 2 to 4+ hours, and 99 reviews put it at 4.8 stars.
You do not need to cut or write on the materials in our games, so you can pass the finished box to a friend. The online companion guide checks answers and provides optional hints. There is no time limit, so you can work at your own pace.
If you want your next case to involve more codes and hidden patterns, see what is inside Blackbrim: 1876. It holds 4.8 stars from 524 reviews.
We played Blackbrim 1876 over two days with a family of 5, ages 10 to (well let's just say above middle aged). We had a great time, challenging it is, but everyone got involved and help solve the puzzles.
Kevin H., verified review
If the two-part format works for your table, The Blackbrim Trilogy carries the same manhunt across three games and six parts with 10+ hours of play for 1 to 6 players aged 14+. It holds 4.9 stars from 533 reviews.
If you want the murder off the table, or the evening shorter
Choose by what your group wants to change: the theme or the length of the evening.
Finders Seekers builds each month's box around a real-world destination, and their site is explicit that there are no murders and no violence in it, which makes it the pick for a table with younger players. It is for 1 to 8 players aged 10+ with adult help, with 1.5 to 3+ hours of play. Check its current subscription plans before ordering.
EXIT: The Game offers standalone escape room adventures. Check the age, player count, difficulty and playtime on the particular box. Standard titles use materials you may need to fold, mark or tear and are sold as single-use games. The separate Kids line has a different format.
Cryptic Killers vs Hunt A Killer
These are the main differences to check before choosing a case.
| Cryptic Killers | Hunt A Killer | |
|---|---|---|
| Purchase format | Individual case files and bundles | Individual cases and multi-box sets |
| Playtime | 2 to 3.5 hrs | Varies by case |
| Players | 1 to 10 | Varies by case |
| Ages | 14+ | Check the title; Death at the Dive Bar is 14+ |
| Difficulty shown | Case ratings, such as 3/5 for Murder at the Movie Theater | Case ratings, with different levels across the range |
| Online element | Core to play: evidence portals | Varies by case |
| Ordering from another country | UK shop lists UK delivery; check the seller for your destination | Check delivery for the selected case and destination |
| Subscription | No | Individual cases need no subscription |
Cryptic Killers suits a group that wants to investigate online evidence as well as paper documents, with a recommended range of 1 to 10 players. Hunt A Killer's shorter standard cases may suit an evening with less time available. Compare the specific title's description and current price before choosing.
Check the current store before ordering a title you found in an older review; availability can change.
If you are reading this from the UK
UK buyers can order Cryptic Killers direct from its shop. If you want one of our codebreaking adventures instead, we also ship to the UK; the current delivery estimate is 1 to 4 weeks. Check the shipping options at checkout before ordering for a particular date.
How to pick, quickly
Answer one question: what do you want that your last case did not give you?
| What you want next | Where to go |
|---|---|
| Another cold case to investigate | Unsolved Case Files, or Hunt A Killer's Cold Case line |
| A box arriving monthly | Deadbolt Mystery Society |
| More codebreaking | Blackbrim: 1876 or La Famiglia, ours |
| Seven or more players | Cryptic Killers itself, or Unsolved Case Files |
| No murder at the table | Finders Seekers |
| A shorter puzzle adventure | EXIT's standard line |
| You want to compare several Cryptic Killers cases | Browse the individual cases and bundles in its UK shop |
Common questions
Is Cryptic Killers a subscription?
You can buy individual Cryptic Killers cases without subscribing. It also sells bundles if you would like several cases.
Does Cryptic Killers ship to the US?
The UK shop's FAQ currently lists UK delivery only. If you are ordering to the US, check a seller's delivery destinations and final checkout total before buying.
Is Cryptic Killers the same as Unboxing the Cryptic Killer?
No. Unboxing the Cryptic Killer is a co-op video game from Eleven Puzzles, played on screens. Cryptic Killers is the UK company making boxed cold-case files, and this page is about the boxed games.
Can you replay any of these games?
Once you know a case's solution, solving it again will offer fewer surprises. Passing it to a new player depends on what happens to the materials. Standard EXIT games use components that you may need to mark or tear. Our games require no cutting or writing on the materials, so you can keep them intact and repack the box for someone else.
Which alternatives handle a big group?
Cryptic Killers recommends 1 to 10 players, while Unsolved Case Files has no set player limit. Our games support 1 to 6 players. For eight people, start by comparing the first two and allow enough table space for everyone to see the evidence.
