Entertainment · Books & Arts · 1 hr ago
Mystery books and games attract fans of deduction
Books and games that ask people to solve mysteries are finding audiences across age groups and formats.
In Spain, up to 600,000 readers have tried Murdoku since the series began a year ago.
Its puzzles ask readers to place characters in a grid and work out who committed a murder.
The series followed the success of Murdle, another mystery-puzzle book from the same publisher.
Other examples include the board game Similo, the book S. and the video game Blue Prince.
These puzzles appeal to the satisfaction of turning confusing clues into a clear answer, and they can also bring people together to interpret clues.
The publisher has signed a deal with board-game company Tranjis to produce a new book-game, beginning with a wedding mystery called Si tú no lo hiciste, ¿quién mató a Cristina?
Hundreds of thousands of readers have tried to solve the mysteries in Spain’s Murdoku book series.
The series combines murder cases with sudoku-style grids and has sold or reached up to 600,000 readers, according to the article.
Books, board games and video games are among the formats drawing fans of deduction.
Creators say solving puzzles offers the satisfaction of finding order and answers, and can also help people understand one another.
- Who
- Fans of deduction, including readers and game players, are taking part. Creators and publishers include Manuel Garand, Temas de Hoy and Tranjis.
- What
- Mystery books and games invite people to solve cases and puzzles through observation and logic.
- When
- The article was published on 12 October 2026. Murdoku’s first mystery in Spain appeared a year earlier.
- Where
- Murdoku was launched in Spain; the article also describes books and games without specifying a single location.
- Why
- Creators point to the satisfaction of finding a clear answer and to curiosity and the desire to understand others.
This story does not have two clearly opposing sides.
I think there is something very satisfying about starting with chaos that seems impossible to sort out and ending up with a single clear answer through successive intuitions.
The reward is linked to a very natural instinct: we want to understand, to know.
Murdle, by G. T. Karber, became a hit for the same publisher.
Murdoku posed its first mystery in Spain.
El País published an article about the appeal of deduction in books and games.
Temas de Hoy had signed an agreement with board-game publisher Tranjis to develop “librojuegos.
- Murdoku readers
- Up to 600,000
- Murdoku debut in Spain
- One year before the article’s publication
- Murdoku volume
- 80 scenarios
- Upcoming project
- Temas de Hoy and Tranjis are developing “librojuegos
- Similo editions
- History, fables and Harry Potter
Sources
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