Private roles. Shared suspicion.
Every player receives a character with a background, relationships, objectives and information intended for their eyes only. Characters have secrets and motives, so being suspicious is not the same as being guilty. You might want to protect a relationship, conceal an embarrassing decision or learn something another guest knows.
Your phone is a private dossier. Read your brief quietly, then put its details into your own words. Introduce your character, ask questions and decide what to share. There are no long exchanges to read aloud or speeches to memorize. You do not need acting experience: curiosity, a willingness to listen and a little imagination are enough to begin.
One predetermined murderer. One logical solution.
RiddleArc’s murder mysteries are built around a fixed crime. The murderer is part of the authored story and knows their identity from the start. Assigning characters to players does not randomly change who committed the murder. That distinction keeps the timeline, motives and evidence consistent.
The group’s task is to test explanations against the facts. The murderer can bluff about their movements and protect their secret, but cannot invent physical evidence or rewrite established events. Other guests have their own reasons to hide information. A strong accusation connects motive, means and opportunity rather than choosing whoever sounds most nervous.
Evidence arrives in rounds.
The story progresses through multiple rounds, giving players new reasons to revisit earlier claims. Public records help the whole group build a picture; private clues may start with just one character. Players can share information through conversation, bargain for another person’s account or publish an owned clue when the game allows it.
In The Last Toast, six ten-minute investigation rounds move from first introductions to closer examination of the records and final physical evidence. Each round has a prompt to help the conversation develop. The organizer can advance early after checking that everyone is ready. The structure gives your evening direction while leaving the discussion to the players.
Listen for what changes as well as what stays the same. Ask for a time, a place or someone who can verify an account. A motive alone is not proof. New evidence may support an earlier suspicion or show that a convincing argument rested on an assumption.
The organizer gets a character too.
For our first game, nobody needs to sit out as a dedicated game master. One person creates the room, shares the invitation and controls the start and optional early round advances. They receive a role like everyone else and cannot open other players’ secrets or the solution early.
If the organizer is assigned the murderer’s character, they learn the truth through their own private role. Otherwise, organizing the evening does not give them advance knowledge of the killer. The room handles the progression, the voting stage and the final reveal.
No download. Minimal preparation.
Choose a case and check its requirements before inviting friends. The Last Toast is an English-language mystery for four to six people, recommended for ages 16+, with fictional death by poisoning, financial crime and deception. Plan around 75–90 minutes including reading, investigation, voting and the reveal. Difficulty has not yet been formally rated.
Each person needs their own internet-connected phone or browser. Guests join by nickname using a link, room code or QR code. No account, app installation, printed booklet or costume is required. Keep your own screen private and allow a few minutes for everyone to read their character before the conversation starts.
For remote play, arrange your own group voice or video call alongside the browser game. RiddleArc does not provide voice chat. At the same table, the phones keep secrets private while the conversation happens face to face. Either way, the focus is the group’s interaction rather than silently working through individual screens.
Make your accusation. Then hear the truth.
After the investigation, each player chooses a suspect and explains their reasoning. Final votes remain private until the reveal, so everyone has an opportunity to make their own decision. The closing explanation shows what happened and how the evidence supports one solution.
Once a group knows the answer, replaying the same case loses its central surprise. A fresh group can investigate it for the first time. For an overview of choosing stories, joining rooms and progressing to a finale, see how RiddleArc works. To explore this and future released categories, visit the interactive story game collection.