For the best selection of online and download mystery games, we recommend visiting Big Fish Games or PlayFirst Games.

Elsewhere on this page are other online and download mystery games that are available to play. Some are free, others require registration and/or payment.

The BBC offers several free online games, including two mysteries. The first is 7NK, A Shakespearean Murder Mystery Game in 6 acts. Take the role of "The Critic" and solve a series of bizarre murders. Collect information, solve puzzles, interview suspects. Can you unravel the mystery before the murderer claims you? out of your living room and into the mystery! The second is Waking the Dead, based on the drama series of the same name. You play a member of the Cold Case Unit. Interview suspects and examine evidence. You have 12 hours to crack the case and make an arrest.

CDX is a multi-episode online interactive game produced by the BBC. A sacrificial blade forged at the birth of the Roman empire holds the key to an ancient and bloody conspiracy that threatens to erupt into the present day. Stranded in 21st century Tunis, Adam Foster is plunged into a world of greed, betrayal and murder. But who has the blade, and can the killers be stopped? Free to play. (Note: the link above is for non-UK residents only; UK residents must use this link.)

The Crime Scene website features fictional crime cases in a unique combination of interactive fiction and gaming. Each week, Yoknapatawpha County detectives post evidence from the current case. You are invited to participate in the investigation by reviewing the presented evidence and other documents, and offering your theories and questions to the detectives and other web sleuths.

Produced by the BBC, Death in Sakkara tells the story of journalist Charles Fox who is plunged into a darkly sinister world of intrigue, murder and mysticism in the hunt for a missing archaeologist. Set in Egypt, 1929, players have to successfully complete games and puzzles along the way in order to progress through a story packed full of surprises and plot twists

Greystone is a murder mystery like no other. That's because unlike conventional crime fiction, you become the detective in this interactive murder mystery, You're on the job as you try and beat the clock and solve the murder case. Who are the suspects and what are their motives? Where's the evidence? You're the detective on this case and only you can decide. Move quickly, though. The killer is at large and may choose you to be the next victim!

In Hauntings of Mystery Manor you arrive at your ancestral home where each room holds a spirit that has their own story that they will tell you. You must help free them from their misery, which is how the house holds them there. You do that by bringing them something they want or desire. It is quite atmospheric and hauntingly beautiful.

Homicide: The Game. The current game is Painseeker, a murder mystery game combining the best aspects of serial and interactive fiction. You don't merely read Painseeker ... you play it ... and it plays back! In Painseeker, players attempt to solve the murder of poet and singer Raychel Wagner. Players have the opportunity to learn about Raychel from those who knew her best -- and one (or more) who killed her. Once inside the game, players are free to roam through the site for information from any available source.  You can read items in order or feel free to skip around by whatever subject, item, or person that interests you most.

Intrigue at Oakhaven Plantation. Just when you thought things were going along nicely, you receive a letter from your Grand-mère asking you to please come to Oakhaven to discuss some important issues. Oakhaven, that lovely southern plantation that still looks like it belongs in the 19th century. Well how can you resist? When you arrive you discover your cousin has also been invited and Grand-mère has more than just discussions on her mind. Tests and conundrums are scattered throughout the plantation and you need to solve them before your cousin does. Along the way, you begin to learn the dark secrets of the past.

Play the part of detective Jack French in these murder mystery Flash games. Collect clues and conduct interviews with the suspects to break down the cases. Three games are currently available: All Roads Lead to Paradise, The Good Dr. Ferrer, and Jack French and the Seven Dwarfs.

Live Games Network is the primary destination for players to enter and experience a live game. The company produces and directs games that let players live a fictional adventure for a set period of time. Over a 14 day period, you will be sent messages via text, e-mail, and your game in-box. For each mission you will earn a score based on difficulty, time allotted to complete, and the time it takes you. The winner receives a prize. Previous games may be downloaded and played at your own pace.

MyDarkSecret is a Murder Mystery Game without all the planning. You can play from the comfort of your own home and on your own schedule. It is like acting in a play. You are given the information about your character and you provide the dialog. In some games you may be a suspect and it is your job to find the real murderer. In other games you may be the murderer and you will need to avoid capture. You can create your own Murder Mystery scripts for others to play. A full mystery editor is available for you to create your masterpiece.

Mystery at Mansfield Manor is an interactive murder mystery movie/game played over the web. On the eve of your forced early retirement, a high profile homicide case is thrown on your department and Chief O'Malley has no one to turn to but you. Colin Mansfield, founder of Mansfield Oil & Gas and well known citizen, was found dead in his study and many of his friends and family members are now awaiting your arrival at his estate. The chief smells foul play and wants you to see what you can turn up before midnight. Rated E.

It's up to Detective Nick Bounty to discover who knocked off a local seafood salesman and get to the bottom of a diabolical counterfeiting operation in Nick Bounty: A Case of the Crabs. Available to play online or as a download for Windows or Mac. Free to play, though if you enjoy this game, please consider a small donation.

Detective Nick Bounty sets out to find a missing ceramic goat for the neice of a recently deceased lawyer in Nick Bounty: The Goat in the Grey Fedora. He soon finds out, however, that he isn't the only one looking for it! Available to play online or as a download for Windows or Mac. A trailer is available as are gameplay hints.

Sleuth is an open-ended, detective role playing game (RPG) where you solve mysteries by searching for clues, questioning suspects and interviewing witnesses. Every mystery is unique with different victims, suspects and clues. All mysteries are solvable, in fact there are always two ways to solve any single mystery, but player skill and a small amount of luck are necessary to nab the guilty suspect. Two games are currently available: the original (now renamed Sleuth: Noir) and a new one (Sleuth: Shades of Mystery).

Who Murdered Marilyn Spencer? is BBC Oxford's fully-interactive murder mystery game. It is early Spring at St Tim's College, Oxford. The establishment are reeling from the news that one of their bright, young, talented female students has been murdered. You are the detective but time is running out. Are you up to the challenge of finding the killer and solving the crime? Play the trailer (RealPlayer) in which Inspector Morse creator Colin Dexter introduces the game.