// field manual
Rules & Scoring
Read this before you open a case. Time is the currency; score is the reputation.
Your score starts at 5.0
Every team begins a case with a perfect 5.0. The only thing that lowers it is a wrong final accusation — each one costs 0.75 points, and the score can never drop below 0. Everything else (passwords, hints) costs you time, not points.
The clock is the real enemy
Each mystery has a fixed time allowance. The countdown starts the moment your team activates the case and never pauses. When it hits zero, the investigation is over.
Wrong passwords burn time
Evidence terminals are password-locked. Your first wrong guess on a section costs 3 minutes; every wrong guess after that on the same section costs another 90 seconds. Guess carefully.
Hints cost 5 minutes
Each section has one hint available. Taking it deducts 5 minutes from your clock — a fair trade when you're stuck, an expensive habit when you're not. One hint per section, no refunds.
The final accusation
When you think you've solved it, submit your accusation. Close spellings of the right answer count — we're testing your deduction, not your typing. A wrong accusation costs 0.75 score points, and only the accusation step resets; your unlocked evidence stays unlocked.
Team of five, maximum
The purchaser owns the investigation and can invite up to four teammates by email. Each invite carries a one-time code tied to that address — both must match to join. Everyone sees the same live case state.
Leaderboard ranking
Completed cases are ranked by final score first, then by how fast you closed the case. The board is live — the moment a team finishes, the ranks update.