The Lantern Room: A Printable Cold Case Mystery Game for 1–6 Players (Case No. 1, The Dahl Files)

A sheriff called it an accident before sunrise. Ten exhibits, five suspects, and a stopped watch everyone trusted. Can you prove him wrong?

October 1987. Harold Pruett, who has lit the lantern on his inn's tower every night for 26 years, is found dead at the foot of the tower stairs. His watch stopped at 11:25 when he fell. Sheriff Ray Dahl closes the case as an accident before dawn.

Almost forty years later, his case files turn up on the Historical Society's back step, with a note in green ink: "I got some of these wrong."

You get the file: the incident report, the coroner's findings, witness statements, a newspaper clipping, a photographer's log, a gas receipt, a map, and a torn note no one could read in time. Some of it arrived after the case was closed. Sheriff Dahl never looked at it again. You will.

Answer four questions: Was it an accident? Who did it? When did Harold really die? Why?

• 30–60 minutes. Solo, as a couple, or with up to six friends.
• Fair play. Everything you need is in the file, with no outside knowledge or trick questions. A script checks that exactly one suspect fits all the evidence.
• Includes: the 18-page case file (10 exhibits, a timeline worksheet and an answer sheet) and a separate sealed solution that scores your reasoning, not just your guess.
• Instant PDF download. Print at home, or read on a tablet.

Case No. 1 of the Dahl Files. Every case stands alone. Each also hides one piece of a larger mystery: who is writing in green ink?

Fiction. Written with AI and tested for a single solution. Any resemblance to real people is coincidental.