Playing Detective: El Juego de los Detectives, #0

By Roberto Sánchez Ruiz

More than 30 new cases of intrigue that can be solved individually or in groups. 

I propose you a game that will enthral you and your friends or family. 

It all starts with the reading of a statement like this: A man gets out of bed. He is dressed in a very elegant suit and is also wearing his shoes. Half asleep, he looks at himself in the mirror, touches his clothes, sees a picture of his whole family, and runs like crazy and jumps off his balcony. This is all we know.

The end of the story. What happened? 
From there, the questions will come, the doubts will follow, the theories, the conjectures, the stumbling over the paradoxes, the funny hypotheses —and also the surreal ones— the desperation, the arguments of those who do not see the way out... until the solution appears magically. 
The game consists of putting in common a statement of a story and the participants must ask questions to the only person who knows the plot to be discovered. 
These questions can be answered with a yes, a no or an unimportant answer. The most fun way to learn how to be an expert researcher. Teachers will find excellent teaching material in it. 
All this is Playing Detective, a game that, during confinement, has become the favourite entertainment of thousands of young people and entire families who followed it on the radio. 

• Language: English
• Publisher: ROBERTO SÁNCHEZ RUIZ
• Release date: Feb 29, 2024
• ISBN: 9798224242283

Roberto Sánchez Ruiz

Escritor y periodista radiofónico español  Autor de las novelas Líneas cruzadas, Asesinos de Series, Salvarás a mis hijos, Quienes manejan los hilos, Noche en Vela, El Crítico, Sentada al borde de la cama, El Mundo sin cartas de amor, Solos o en compañía de otros y de la serie de librojuegos de historias de misterio, El Juego de los Detectives, surgidos en el programa Si amanece nos vamos que dirige la Cadena SER.

Book preview

Insomnia

Story

For four months, Ramon had been unable to sleep. Each day, at six in the morning, he would arrive home following a grueling shift. Within two hours, he would inevitably be roused by the sounds of hydraulic hammers, concrete pouring, and the voices of workers and masons engaged in the building's restoration.

On that particular morning, when the clamor of cement and bricks roused him once more, his anxiety heightened beyond the usual. However, he swiftly grasped that his apprehension was baseless. No longer could anyone deprive him of his sleep.

Clues

1. His shift has not been altered.

2. He has not changed his job.

3. Knowing Ramon's job is irrelevant.

4. It is not a holiday.

5. He has not retired.

6. He is consistently awakened by the noise from construction work.

7. He was not in his bed on that day.

8. Ramon is not at home.

9. Ramon is not in the same building.

10. Ramon is an individual.

11. Ramon is inadvertently somewhere else.

12. Ramon does not see anyone else when he wakes up that day.

13. He is not in a nearby building.

14. Ramon had been dealing with a health issue.

15. Ramon does not suffer from a mental illness.

16. He does not wake up in a hospital.

17. He does not wake up at a friend's house.

18. He does not wake up in a hotel.

19. He has not left his country.

20. He has not been kidnapped.

21. It's his first time being there.

22. Whether he has a family doesn't matter.

23. He has not received any threats.

24. The noise from the construction work is not from a recording.

25. The noise from the construction work is real and originates from the outside.

26. He does not wake up on the street.

27. Whether he has economic problems is irrelevant.

28. It is not a dream he has had.

29. Ramon indeed wakes up.

30. Ramon gets scared when he wakes up.

31. Ramon did not reach there by walking.

32. He does not know who brought him there.

33. He does not wake up in jail.

34. He has no legal problems.

35. Ramon had reported those responsible for the noise.

36. He did not hear any alarms.

37. He did not hear the news on the radio.

38. He is not blindfolded.

39. He is not naked.

40. He is not in his pajamas.

41. He is dressed.

42. He is not in a bed.

43. He is lying down.

44. It's dark.

45. He is not sleepwalking.

46. He believes he is going to die.

47. He is not in a locked closet.

48. He is in a small place.

49. He is not tied up.

50. He had lost consciousness.

Solution

Ramon has been buried alive.

Ramon, whose health has deteriorated over time due to his insomnia, has been left for dead and buried. Similar to other instances of catalepsy, he awakens inside a coffin on that particular morning. The noises he hears are those of the undertakers sealing his grave.

Nothing to Indict

Story

The agent took Irene's statement. The body was beneath her bed. The bedroom was in disarray. The door was still wide open. While explaining the facts, she confessed that she had undoubtedly been directly involved in his death. However, it was challenging —if not impossible— to charge her with any offenses.

Clues

1. The deceased man wasn't Irene's partner.

2. They hadn't engaged in sexual activity.

3. Irene had no prior knowledge of him.

4. They hadn't met elsewhere, without Irene's awareness.

5. Irene was not involved in prostitution.

6. Irene was not famous or well-known.

7. Knowing Irene's job is not significant.

8. It didn't occur in a hotel.

9. Everything transpired at Irene's residence.

10. Everything took place in Irene's room.

11. Irene's marital status is inconsequential.

12. Whether Irene has children doesn't matter.

13. No one else possesses keys to their house.

14. She fully disclosed the truth to the police.

15. It's nighttime.

16. Irene lives by herself.

17. No traces of blood were found.

18. No weapons were discovered in the room.

19. The body isn't unclothed.

20. Irene is not unclothed.

21. Irene is not dressed as if to go outside.

22. Irene is in pajamas or a nightgown.

23. None of them are underage.

24. The age of the individuals is not relevant.

25. Irene had not received any anonymous messages.

26. The deceased man was not