The three Murdoku books share an author, a number of cases and a game system. At first glance, the only difference is the cover. In practice, each volume has its own personality, and it is worth knowing it before you choose. All three are available at Loja dos Puzzles in their Portuguese editions.
Side-by-side comparison
| Volume 1 | Volume 2 | Volume 3 | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Subtitle | none | Regresso ao Passado | Volta ao Mundo |
| Cases | 80 | 80 | 80 |
| Settings | everyday places | historical eras | every continent |
| Rule changes | introduces the system | keeps the system | secret identities and multiple grids |
| Best for | beginners | history lovers | travel lovers who want more challenge |
Volume 1: learning to read the scene
The first book is set in places everyone knows: a bakery, a casino, a farm, an opera house, a chess tournament. The advantage is that the illustration needs no interpreting. A bed is a bed, a table is a table. All your attention goes to the logic, which is exactly what you want while learning.
Volume 2: same logic, another time
The second volume takes the crimes to the Middle Ages, pirate ships, the Wild West and Ancient Egypt. The rules stay the same, but your eye has to get used to objects from other eras. The article on Volume 2, Regresso ao Passado describes each setting.
Volume 3: around the world, with twists
The third volume has the widest variety of settings, with cases spread across every continent. It is also the first to change the system itself: according to the original publisher, the final part includes suspects with secret identities and puzzles that stretch across more than one grid. At 224 pages it is longer than the first book (208) and, in its final cases, the most demanding of the three.
What all three share
- One person per row and per column.
- Clues taken from the illustration: furniture, plants, animals, rooms.
- The victim ends up in the last free square and the culprit is whoever was alone with them in the same room.
- Difficulty that rises within each book.
- Solutions at the back.
- Recommended for ages 12 and up.
Which one to choose
To start from scratch, volume 1 is still the most beginner-friendly. If you love history, volume 2. If you love travelling or already own the other two, volume 3. The right order for each case is explained in Murdoku books: in what order to solve them. If you want the first two at once, there is the volumes 1 and 2 bundle, and the whole series is in the Murdoku collection.
