Here are three short, standalone detective puzzles with the answers. All the information you need is in each text; you should not look for hidden rules or outside facts. Try writing down what you know before choosing a solution. The puzzles were created for this article and contain no information or revelations from our purchased city mysteries.
The mysteries in this guide
In this guide
Puzzle 1: who took the key?
A key has been moved from its hook. Exactly one of Alva, Ben and Clara took it. All three know who it was. They each say one thing:
- Alva: “Ben took the key.”
- Ben: “I did not take the key.”
- Clara: “Alva took the key.”
Exactly one statement is false and the other two are true. Who took the key? There is no fourth person and no one took it together with anyone else.
Show the answer and explanation for the key
Alva took the key. Then Alva's statement is false, while Ben's and Clara's statements are true. If Ben had taken it, both Ben's and Clara's statements would be false. If Clara had taken it, both Alva's and Clara's statements would be false. Only Alva therefore meets the condition that exactly one statement is false.
Puzzle 2: what color envelope did Emil have?
Disa, Emil and Farah each hand in an envelope. One is red, one blue and one yellow. They arrive at three different times: 12:00, 12:10 and 12:20. Each person has exactly one envelope and each time is used once.
- Disa arrives before the person with the blue envelope.
- Emil arrives at 12:10.
- The person with the yellow envelope arrives last.
- Farah's envelope is not blue.
What color is Emil's envelope? Also try to place the other two people and colors.
Show the answer and explanation for the envelopes
Emil has the blue envelope. Disa cannot arrive last because she arrives before the person with the blue envelope. She cannot arrive at 12:10 because that time belongs to Emil. Disa therefore arrives at 12:00 and Farah at 12:20. The yellow envelope is last and belongs to Farah. Blue arrives after Disa and cannot be the last yellow envelope, so it belongs to Emil at 12:10. Disa has the red envelope.
Puzzle 3: the locked box
A box has a code with three different digits from 0 to 9. A note gives three conditions:
- The first digit is twice as large as the second.
- The third digit is one less than the first.
- The sum of all three digits is 14.
What is the code? Read “one less” as subtracting 1, not as moving a digit in the code.
Show the answer and explanation for the code
The code is 635. The second digit is 3, the first is then 6 and the third 5. The sum is 6 + 3 + 5 = 14. To see that the solution is unique, you can call the second digit x: then the sum is 2x + x + (2x − 1), i.e. 5x − 1 = 14. This gives x = 3. The digits 6, 3 and 5 are also different, just as the task requires.
A way of working when you get stuck
Write down the conditions separately and test one possible solution against all of them, not just the clue that first seems important. In the first puzzle, you can test one suspect at a time. In the second, a simple table with person, time and color helps. In the third, the same digits must meet both the size relationship and the sum.
If you play together, each person can explain their way to the answer. A correct guess is a start, but it becomes more interesting when you can also show why the alternatives do not work. The Beginner's Guide has more tips on distinguishing information from assumptions.
Try a longer mystery on location
If you want to move on from short text puzzles to a whole story, there is The Mystery in Gamla Stan, The Mystery in Haga, The Örebro Mystery and The Mystery in Wadköping. There, the tasks are connected with the material and the real location where you play.
Those games require a physical booklet and a mobile phone with internet for the Archive. When buying online, the booklet is shipped, so plan the delivery before the trip. Read how a city mystery works to understand the difference from the free puzzles here.
The mysteries in this guide
Frequently asked questions
Do we need outside information to solve the riddles?
No. All the conditions are in the respective text. The solutions can be checked against the clues without any special facts about real crimes or places.
Are these clues from the purchased mysteries?
No. The three riddles are standalone and created for this article. They do not contain any solutions or clues from our purchased city mysteries.
Can we try the riddles together?
Yes. Read the conditions aloud, let everyone think for a while, and then compare your reasoning. The answer key and explanation are under each riddle when you want to check the solution.
Where can we find the answer key to each detective riddle?
Under each riddle, there is a drop-down with the answer key and an explanation. Open it when you want to check your answer; you do not need to read the solutions to the other riddles at the same time.
How can we check that an answer really works?
Test the answer against all the conditions in the clue. Feel free to write a list or a table and also try to explain why other options do not work, instead of settling for a guess.
What distinguishes the text riddles from a city mystery hunt?
The text riddles can be solved with the information in the article. The purchased city mysteries are longer, location-based games with a physical booklet, real environments, and the Archive on a mobile phone with internet access.
