A new kind of puzzle: sudoku with a crime scene
Murdoku is a series of puzzle books created by Manuel Garand, now available in a Portuguese edition. The idea is simple to explain and hard to put down: each page presents a small murder mystery that you solve with the placement logic typical of sudoku, but instead of numbers, you place suspects in a full-color illustrated crime scene.
If you already know sudoku, you'll recognize the mechanism right away. If you prefer detective stories, you'll find a case to close. And if you love visual puzzles, you'll have a scene full of details to examine. The world of Murdoku was born precisely from this crossover of three audiences that rarely met in the same book.
How a Murdoku puzzle works
The whole crime scene matters
Each puzzle comes with a complete illustration: rooms, furniture, plants, animals and other elements of the setting. Nothing is there by chance. A chair, a vase or a cat can be the key to knowing where a suspect was, or where they couldn't have been. Unlike a classic sudoku, where the grid is abstract, here the board is a space with its own identity.
Placement rules
The suspects must be placed in the scene following a set of rules. Each rule narrows down the possible positions, and it's the combination of all of them that leads to a single solution. The reasoning is the same one you use in sudoku: rule out options, cross-check constraints, lock in what's already certain and move on from there.
The final rule reveals the killer
Once all the suspects are in the right place, the last rule tells you who committed the crime. This is the moment that gives Murdoku the flavor of a detective novel: you don't finish with a completed grid, you finish with a culprit identified.
Two volumes, 160 crimes
The first book, Murdoku, 80 Crimes Para Resolver (Portuguese edition), brings together 80 scenes in very varied settings, from a bakery to a casino, from a chess tournament to a farm or an opera house. The difficulty increases gradually, from easy to expert, so you can learn the method in the first cases and be seriously tested in the last ones.
The second book, Murdoku, 80 Crimes Para Resolver (Vol 2), Regresso ao Passado (Portuguese edition), takes the crimes to other eras: medieval settings, pirates, the Wild West and Ancient Egypt. If you want to start with everything, there's also the bundle with both books (Portuguese edition) at a better price.
Who Murdoku is for
The series is suitable for adults and for young people aged 12 and up. It works well on your own, at the end of the day or on a trip, but also in a small group, with two or three people discussing theories about the same scene. Three types of people tend to enjoy it most:
Sudoku fans, because the logic is the same and the setting adds novelty without changing the reasoning. Lovers of visual puzzles, because examining the illustration closely is part of solving it. And readers of crime fiction, because every page is a case with suspects, clues and a culprit.
If you're mainly interested in deduction from written clues, it's also worth discovering the sister series, Murdle, by G. T. Karber, which uses written clues and a deduction grid, and which has a junior version, Murdle Júnior, for ages 8 and up.
Why it's worth trying
Logic puzzles train attention, working memory and the ability to reason by elimination. Murdoku adds a narrative and visual element that makes the exercise more engaging than a grid of numbers. If you're looking for a pen-and-paper pastime that keeps your mind pleasantly busy, it's one of the best options in our Puzzles for Adults collection.
Frequently asked questions
Do you need to know how to play sudoku to solve Murdoku?
No. It helps, because the type of reasoning is similar, but the rules of each puzzle are explained and the first cases in volume 1 are accessible even if you've never solved a sudoku.
Are the puzzles repeated between the two volumes?
No. Each volume has its own 80 crimes. Volume 2 also changes the settings, with historical eras instead of contemporary locations.
From what age can you play?
The series is recommended for ages 12 and up, but the easier cases can be solved as a family with slightly younger children, with help from an adult.
Ready to close your first case? Explore the Murdoku collection at Loja dos Puzzles (Portuguese editions) and choose where to start.
