Create your own mystery
"Herman and I had so much fun playing as Oscar Danger and Detective Alfredo. It was the perfect game for a dark and stormy day. Now you can solve all sorts of mysteries in your own home with these simple instructions. Let’s make a mystery!" - Oscar
‘Detective’ is a game where you hide something special around the house, and then leave clues for someone to find until they solve your special mystery. It’s pretty easy to set up. All you need are things from around the house! Everyone loves when playtime is FREE!
What You Need:
Something to hide
Literally anything. Depending on the story you want to tell, or if you just want to have a fun hunt around the house, remember what the final item is and make it special. Ours was the reveal of our bad guy!
A series of clues
These can be anything really ⏤ the easiest are just random objects that make you think of another person, place or thing. For example: a Spatula for the kitchen, a video game controller for the tv area, or a hat that belongs to one person in the family, etc...
Props and Costumes
You don’t need these to play, but it’s always more fun to really use your imagination and make up a silly character. “Are you in trouble? Call Oscar Danger, Private Eye!” I made a fun trenchcoat and Herman wore a special hat. Magnifying glasses are also really fun and can usually be found in a dollar store.
How To Play:
Start simple: Something is missing or has been stolen. It could be a favorite toy, stuffed animal, or a delicious snack. If you want to throw a bad guy into the mix like we did it’s extra silly. Then you can question your witnesses haha! ⏤ more storytelling is always good.
Now, whoever is planning the mystery should hide the clues. Remember that the clues should lead you from one to the next, until the final one reveals the location of the special item.
A GOOD TIP: don’t hide them somewhere where they’ll be discovered by mistake.
Whenever you’re ready it’s time to call in the detectives and start the game. It should go something like this:
“Oh no, my favorite jacket has gone missing, where could it have gone? Wait a minute. What’s a racecar doing in the laundry basket?” And now you have your first clue - A Racecar. We keep ours in a toy box with the rest of our cars and ramps. OFF to the TOYBOX! Then, inside the box of cars you find...a spatula! The spatula leads you to the kitchen. But something is in the kitchen that doesn’t belong. THere’s a lot of stuff in the kitchen so we’ll have to go searching. AHA! Upon searching the kitchen we find a gardening tool mixed in with the utensils. THAT’s not a dinner fork! So it’s off to where Mom keeps her gardening stuff, where we meet Leonard covered in dirt, face down in a bucket. Looks like we have a witness! Let’s ask him some questions about what he saw..."
And so on, and so on, and so on until the mystery is solved.
The game can go on for as long as everyone is having fun, or someone gets hungry haha (Hey you try keeping Herman entertained for an entire day!).
Want to make your detective game even more fun?
Try some of these fun additions:
Create rhymes to give your clues
Make codes that take time to decipher
Have your clues lead to a room but not a specific spot. Have kids hunt for the clue, or figure out what doesn’t belong.
Leave footprints in flour or other baking material
Meet other (stuffed) characters who tell part of the story.
Take pictures along the way to create a crime board to help solve the mystery
Alright Gumshoe, it’s time to crack the case! Now make your own mystery and enjoy the adventurous life of a private detective.
And be sure to rewatch Episode 3 - The Caper to see how Oscar discovers who stole the cookie from the cookie jar!