Who Dropped the Beat? Online Version

It is 02:47. The headline DJ opens her flight case. Her unreleased album is gone. She is on stage in thirteen minutes.

VAULT is a sold-out railway-arch club in south London. Twelve hundred people are dancing, and somebody in a silver bucket hat has just walked off with the only copy of Roxy Rox's new album. Head of security Dev Mistry has logged the whole night, half hour by half hour: every wristband scan, every bar payment, every coat, every phone, every taxi. Now he is handing all of it to you.

How it works

The night is a setlist of twelve Tracks. Each one has a short scene, a page of clues and a long list of evidence. Tap a row to cross it out when a clue rules it out, until only one is left. Solve it and the next Track opens, because every answer feeds the next. The time someone came in decides which drink they bought. The drink decides which vape is theirs. The card that paid for it turns up again at the very end of the night.

Then comes the Encore: VAULT's member database, twelve thousand names over fifty pages, and one real name hiding among them. Watch out. Some pages look very, very right.

What you get

• The complete Who Dropped the Beat? puzzle, playable online
• 12 linked Tracks with over 5,000 pieces of evidence
• A 12,000-name finale with red herrings, near misses and one nasty trap
• Tap-to-cross-out lists, search and a running count of what is left
• A Security Pass that fills in as you solve
• Three hints per Track, and a way to reveal an answer if you are truly stuck, so you can always keep going
• The full Case Closed story and the thief's whole night, rewound, when you crack it
• Progress that saves automatically, so you can stop and come back

What you need

A phone, tablet or computer with an up-to-date web browser (Chrome, Safari, Edge or Firefox). Works best on a tablet or computer, or a phone turned sideways. No app, no download, no account.

How you play

After you buy, your download contains your private link and access code. Open the link, enter the code, and the doors open. Your progress is saved in that browser on that device.

Every clue is fair, every answer can be reached by logic alone, and no guessing is needed.

Prefer pencil and paper? Who Dropped the Beat? is also available as a paperback on Amazon.