Monochrome
Monochrome is a game system designed to augment in-person parlor murder mysteries with the technological sophistication of your phone. With a system based on Spindle, the stories you can create with Monochrome rival those of the greats of the mystery genre. Channel your own Agatha Christie to create an experience that you’ll never forget.
Characters
Where would a mystery be without people to populate it? Characters in Monochrome are designed to be portrayed by players in the game, and always come with a whole slew of secrets.
A retired teacher who was actually forced out of their position as a result of their embezlement.
An innocent-looking individual who’s actually perfected the art of the grift.
A successful CEO who actually is the twin of the original CEO (who is now mysteriously missing).
Relationships
It’s the ties between us that bring intrigue to life. Relationships in Monochrome can be positive or negative, public or private, intimate or expansive.
Business partners who superficially get along great, but secretly are plotting to get the other out of the picture.
A secret admirer, where one person knows they have a secret admirer, but not who that admirer is.
Long-lost family who turns out not to be family at all, but rather a clever grifter with a talent for conning.
Clues
Physical items that tie the reality of the story to the world around us. Clues in Monochrome are designed to exist in the physical world, and as such come with the ability to scan in those clues to discover new things.
A love letter can be sent to a handwriting analyzer, who can determine the personality of the person who wrote it.
An open safe cam be dusted for fingerprints to discover who in the group has sticky fingers.
A mysterious bottle of liquid can be sent to the lab to determine what its contents truly contain.
As a Player
Whether you are role-playing as a character, or simply around to solve the mystery, Monochrome gives you the tools to investigate and solve the puzzle.
Take notes on every character you interact with.
Discover secrets, through cunning, bribes, or general sneakery.
Find clues hidden physically or digitally
Analyze your discoveries to learn deeper secrets within them.
Solve the mystery, ideally before your fellow players.
As an Author
You can create your own mysteries within Monochrome to play with anyone.
Design characters and relationships that spawn mysterious dynamics.
Pose questions to your players that, when answered, demonstrate their investigative skills.
Distribute clues for players to discover and analyze
Pace your story so that information is only revealed when you want it to be.