So how does it work?
Make a booking with a jubensha company (see below for how to book, in English or Chinese) to play your chosen case at a specific date and time. Chinese case durations range from 3 hours to 6 hours or more, depending on difficulty.
The game usually starts with the DM giving an intro. Once the DM says so, you can start reading the first part of your script — until it says [Don’t read further without the DM’s permission].
- Don’t flip through your script, especially not to the end! Many scripts have multiple stages; later stages can contain massive spoilers for earlier ones.
- Don’t comment aloud on what you’re reading. Scripts often require you to hide info at first, even if you’re not the murderer. Seemingly innocuous details could turn out to be crucial.
After the first bit of reading, players usually give brief in-character introductions. The first round of evidence is given out, and discussion starts.
Some cases include mini-games; many have multiple murders. Voting might happen after each round, or all at the end. Some cases are purely cooperative, so players figure out the murderer together and don’t have to vote.
A related concept is that of “blind murderer” 盲凶 cases, where murderer-players don’t know that they’re the murderer. These could be 1) player-vs-player, where the goal is to realise you’re the murderer and avoid suspicion; or 2) player-vs-environment, where the murderer-player shares the same goal of arriving at the truth. Do check with the DM if this is a PvP or PvE case.
More broadly, in early cases, players tended to have full information of their character’s point-of-view; today, it’s common for script booklets to deliberately omit information that the character would have known. You may end up learning basic facts about your own character from other players instead.
What if I don’t have enough friends?
Chinese jubensha companies will help to 拼车: matching individual players with other groups, or finding additional players if you’re short of a few. Just tell them how many players you have at the point of booking. However, other players will likely be from China, so be prepared to speak Mandarin throughout.
If you want to play Chinese cases but discuss in English, you can create an open jio or join an existing jio on the Discord.
English company Scripted Mystery SG has a Telegram group for their players to try forming their own groups.
What if I want to play at home?
Official boxed jubensha can be bought from established Taobao shops GoDan正版剧本杀商城 and 小优正版剧本杀. These are the actual sets that jubensha shops use, and thus cost around RMB400-RMB500.
Smaller play-at-home scripts that don’t require a DM are available from GoDan as well as 惊人院, and are much cheaper.
English companies
LOADING2 physical-set games; about 3 hours each.
Book on their website, visit their GR.ID location to play.
Criminal X
4 English translated tabletop scripts; duration varies.
Their booking engine seems to be down; you can probably still book via Whatsapp or Telegram. Their main location is in Jurong East.
Murder Mystery SG
1 English original tabletop script, 3 hours.
Book on their website; use your own venue or theirs.
Scripted Mystery SG
Multiple English translated tabletop scripts; duration less than 4 hours.
Book via Telegram; use your own venue or theirs.
Master Mind Corner
Multiple English translated mini scripts; 2 to 3 hours.
Book via telephone number; hosted at a residence.
KMS Games
Retail play-at-home game; message them on Instagram to buy.
Chinese companies
Perhaps the best way to find a Chinese jubensha outlet in Singapore is to go on the Xiaohongshu app and search for 新加坡剧本杀. There are venues across the island, including Jurong East, Bukit Timah, Chinatown, Jalan Besar, Farrer Park, Macpherson, and Serangoon.
When you find a company you like, check for their WeChat account (or private-message them on Xiaohongshu to get their WeChat account). Bookings are usually made via WeChat.
If this is daunting (or you don’t have WeChat) but you still want to play Chinese cases, you can try to create an open jio or join an existing jio on the Discord.
How do I choose what to play?
Companies often advertise new cases on Xiaohongshu, but to see their full library, you should ask on WeChat; most companies use a WeChat mini program for this.
Case libraries can be filtered by number of players, as well as tags. The latter include difficulty (新手 vs 硬核), focus (推理 or 还原; if a case has neither of these tags, don’t expect much mystery-solving), mood (欢乐, 情感, 恐怖), and structure (机制, 阵营).
Of course, you can also ask the company for recommendations. I have a list of recs as well.
script murder SG 