smoke & Mirrors Mysteries

Smoke & Mirrors Mysteries is a "mystery in a box" that you play at home (or wherever else you'd like to play). You may find yourself solving a murder, uncovering the answer to an ancient curse, or solving some other mysterious unsolved crime!

Each box is a single, end-to-end case - that means you will solve a different mystery each time you play a new box.

Everything you need to complete the game is provided with each box. That means you will not need to wait for additional boxes over a period of time to complete the story. Some boxes do involve online components - other than that, everything you need is "in the box".

Boxes may have clues related to characters or plots of subsequent mysteries, but they do not need to be played sequentially in order to complete them or understand the story.

Mysteries can be solved with as few as one player or as many as you like - but for the best experience, we recommend keeping the group at six or fewer players. We think two to four is optimal!

This can vary depending on several things, including (1) the assigned level of difficulty (listed online for each box), (2) the experience level of the player(s), and (3) whether you choose a self-guided experience (i.e. objective cards are not in play) or a guided game play (i.e. you choose to use the provided objective cards - refer to case instructions for more details). In general, you can expect to spend somewhere between 1.5 to 3 hours on a case. Keep in mind...this can be shortened or lengthened depending on how to prefer to solve your case...you choose if you want/need to use the provided clues or not!

This is really at the discretion of parents/adults in individual scenarios, but in general, we would recommend players be at least 13 years of age since some of the materials provided do reference murders and related mature topics (no nudity is included in any of our cases, however).

We do not recommend our games for players under 13 years of age for several reasons. Some of the content is related to mature topics, such as crime, and may be scary or too grown-up for youngsters. Also, some of the games include smaller parts that children should not have access to for safety reasons.

Yes, many of our mysteries involve online components in order to solve them. Additionally, in order to access the hints and solutions, you will need to access our website.

Prices for individual cases may vary depending upon complexity and components. Standard shipping is included, but taxes are additional and will be calculated during checkout.

Standard shipping is included in the price shown on the product page. It will also be reflected as such during checkout. For questions about expedited shipping, contact us prior to placing your order at info@smmysteries.com. Taxes or additional fees are not included in hte product price and will be calculated during the checkout process.

As of now, we do not offer a subscription service. Each mystery is unique and individual. You will not automatically receive shipments - you only are sent what you order, when you order it.

Periodically, Smoke & Mirrors Mysteries does offer discounts. Watch for announcements or check the PROMOS page, when available!

You can find help anytime on this website via the online Filing Cabinet. Each case has hints and solutions posted here. The area is password protected, so check the 'game play guide' that came with your case for instructions on accessing.

Send us an email with the details of what is missing, and we will send the item to you electronically if possible. If you feel a physical item is missing per the content list in the game guide, describe what is missing and we'll respond to you as quickly as possible during normal working hours.