Murder Mystery Games in The San Francisco Bay Area

Escape the Tech Museum Scavenger Hunt

  • private
  • adults
  • indoor

Can you get out—with your life?

We hate to break the news to you, but you’ve been poisoned. The good news is that now you get to play a wildly enjoyable game as you try to find the cure and save yourself. The evil genius who poisoned you has created a series of puzzles for you to solve that reveal the combination to a box that contains the antidote.

As you follow the villain’s diabolical clues, you’ll explore the Tech Interactive museum, investigating mechanical marvels and scientific breakthroughs. Your team will have to answer tricky questions about the facts and artifacts you find, interact with our Hunt Host to tackle sneaky puzzles, and ultimately crack a code.

No knowledge of tech or the museum is required: you just need sharp eyes, comfy shoes, and excellent teamwork.

Sure, you can escape a room, but can you unlock the box and escape the Tech Interactive? Your life depends on it.


The Murder Mystery Mayhem Scavenger Hunt

  • private
  • adults
  • kids
  • outdoor

Beware: there’s a killer in your midst

Someone playing this game with you is a bit of a Jekyll and Hyde. His or her good side knows nothing about the evil side—and the evil side has challenged you to prevent your own murder. Everyone in your group has been poisoned, and the clock is ticking down on your time left to live. To reveal the killer’s identity, you’ll have to complete a series of photo challenges, solve interlocking puzzles, decipher coded text messages, and more. If you succeed, you get the antidote. If you fail…well, you know.

If you love escape-room games, you’ll love this murder mystery scavenger hunt. But even better, you won’t be locked in a room for an hour: this game can be played almost anywhere. 

An in-person murder mystery for any location!

We have a variety of versions, depending on where you want to play. Such as…

  • A city, town, or neighborhood
  • A science or history museum
  • A zoo or aquarium
  • An office building
  • A school or campus

A murder mystery scavenger hunt perfect for team building

Here’s a game that will help you solve the mystery of how to entertain a diverse group of people while boosting morale and teamwork. It’s perfect for any private party or a corporate team-building outing of any size. Our clients who have enjoyed this game include T-Mobile, TD Bank, Boehringer Ingelheim Pharmaceuticals, Michigan in Washington, and others too numerous to mention.

What delighted clients are saying

“Everyone had a great time at the hunt! We are all still talking about it.” —an electrical engineer whose group played the game at the Houston Zoo

“A HUGE THANK YOU. Everyone had a BLAST and your hosts were FANTASTIC! Thank you so much for another great event!!” —an office coordinator in Los Angeles

“We had an amazing time and will be in touch for the next hunt we’d like to do in the near future! Tokia [the hunt host] was amazing, and we’d love to work with her again!!!” —an organizer for a group in Washington, DC

The hunt’s afoot! Contact us to learn more—and find more team-building fun anywhere!


The Murder Mystery Mayhem at the Zoo Scavenger Hunt

  • private
  • adults
  • kids
  • teens
  • outdoor

Beware: there’s a killer behind that panda…

Your perfectly delightful team-building outing to the zoo is about to be spoiled: someone in your group is plotting to feed you to the lions, or have you hugged by a cobra, or perhaps sat on by a hippo. Because this person—possibly on your own team—is a bit of a Jekyll and Hyde.

This person now challenges you to prevent your own murder. Everyone in your group was fed a deadly venom with your lunch, and the clock is ticking down on your time left to live. To save yourselves and get the antidote, all you have to do is reveal the killer’s identity.

Easy, right? Not so fast: the killer has hidden their identity in a series of puzzles that are part of a scavenger hunt at the zoo. Your team must solve a series of interlocking puzzles, decipher coded messages, and meet the conditions of tricky photo challenges around the zoo.

Along the way, your team might…

  • Play monkey see, monkey do with a monkey.
  • Blend in with an animal known for camouflage.
  • Tackle a trivia quiz about famous murder mysteries.
  • Identify snippets of songs that feature animals.
  • Twist, and maybe shout, with snakes.

If your group loves escape-room games, they’ll love this zoo scavenger hunt. The game will also help you solve the mystery of how to entertain a diverse group of people while boosting morale and teamwork. It’s perfect for a private party or a corporate team-building outing of any size.

A Kids Edition is also available, in which kids age 7 and up work with adults. It’s a great activity for a school field trip, a birthday party, a family reunion, you name it.

What delighted clients are saying

“Everyone had a great time at the hunt! We are all still talking about it.” —an electrical engineer whose group played the game at the Houston Zoo

“A HUGE THANK YOU. Everyone had a BLAST and your hosts were FANTASTIC! Thank you so much for another great event!!” —an office coordinator in Los Angeles

“We had an amazing time and will be in touch for the next hunt we’d like to do in the near future! Tokia [the hunt host] was amazing, and we’d love to work with her again!!!” —an organizer for a group in Washington, DC

PLUS check out Watson Adventures on Google to see hundreds of 5-star reviews from delighted clients!

The hunt’s afoot! Contact us to learn more—and find more team-building fun at the zoo!


The Murder at the De Young Museum Scavenger Hunt

  • private
  • adults
  • indoor

Dare you defy the Curse of Itlkilyu?

Museum staffers involved in acquiring an ancient Aztec relic have been turning up dead at the de Young museum of art. Is it the dreaded Curse of Itlkilyu? Or is a serial killer on the loose? Your team of sleuths will have to crack a hieroglyphic code and uncover the museum’s secrets to stop the killings.

Along the way, you’ll discover some the weirdest, wildest, and freakiest art in the de Young museum, from the latest startling works by American artists to mysterious age-old tools used by shamans from Africa to Oceania. No knowledge of the museum or its contents is required: you just need a sharp mind and comfy shoes.

What are sleuths saying about the de Young murder mystery game?

A 5-star Yelp review: “We did the Murder at the de Young and absolutely loved it! The mystery was extensively detailed and well crafted—hard enough to be entertaining but not enough to be very frustrating….We cannot wait to do more and more of these events!”

“It was awesome! I’ve never done a scavenger hunt with the team (or general) and it was such a good time!” —the leader of a group from a social media company

Contact us to learn more about the Murder at the de Young Museum Scavenger Hunt—and find more fun in San Francisco!


The Murder at the Legion of Honor Scavenger Hunt

  • private
  • adults
  • indoor

Who did it on this whodunit?

Fans of murder mysteries will enjoy this scavenger hunt that centers on a dead curator who left behind a trail of cryptic clues connected with secrets in works of art. As your team gathers answers about the art, you’ll piece together a shady tale that involves greed, lust, pride, revenge, and treachery—all revolving around the museum’s planned purchase of a rare painting by Leonardo da Vinci. Find out what the victim knew, and discover what drove one of four suspects to commit murder.

This is one of our most challenging hunts, but no knowledge of the museum or its art is necessary: you just need a sharp mind and comfy shoes. Contact us to learn more—and find more fun in San Francisco!


The Murder at the Rosicrucian Museum Scavenger Hunt

  • private
  • adults
  • indoor

Can you figure out whodunit?

The mummies aren’t the only dead bodies at the Rosicrucian Museum. No, there’s a much fresher corpse on the grounds: a Watson Adventures staffer has caught a bullet, and it’s up to you to catch his killer. Your first clue in solving this mystery is a star on the ground that the victim drew with his own blood. He also left behind a scavenger hunt that he created in the museum. Your team’s first task: get to work on that hunt!

As you answer the questions and uncover the secrets of the murder, you’ll begin to piece together the details of his double life. From the depths of the mummy’s tomb to the heights of Pharaoh Akhenaten’s rule, many a surprising detail turns out to be part of a cryptic code. No pressure or anything, but the fate of the free world may depend on your teamwork.

Contact us to learn more about this Egyptian museum team-building adventure—and find more fun in San Jose!


The Mystery of the Dancing Nudes Scavenger Hunt

  • private
  • adults
  • indoor

Solve a crime, save an innocent woman!

In this group game based on a Sherlock Holmes story, you’ll need to answer tricky questions and solve this mystery: who murdered wealthy businessman Hilton Cubitt and shot his wife, Elsie?

Police believe that Elsie killed her husband and then tried to kill herself, and they plan to charge her with murder. What they don’t know is that Elsie had previously received e-mails containing images of dancing stick figures. They seemed to cause her great distress, but she insisted that they were meaningless. The crime scene included a crumpled copy of a scavenger hunt in the Legion of Honor, where Elsie works on ancient manuscripts as a cryptographer.

Your challenge: play the game, find great art, and uncover the secret of the dancing nudes. See if you can save Elsie! Unless, of course, she’s actually guilty….


The North Beach & Chinatown Murder Mystery Scavenger Hunt

  • private
  • adults
  • outdoor

A wild whodunit with a twist

We need your help to catch a killer. A Watson Adventures staffer has been found dead in Chinatown, and you have to play the North Beach and Chinatown Scavenger Hunt that he created for your group to see if it reveals any clues—or hidden messages.

As you visit neighborhood locations and answer tricky questions about them, you’ll start to uncover the secrets of our employee’s dangerous double life. More is at stake than bringing a murderer to justice: the fate of the free world is also hanging in the balance!

On this special edition of the North Beach & Chinatown Chase Scavenger Hunt, surprising details about famous places and hidden history turn out to be crucial clues. You’ll need to crack a code and somehow contact the victim to save the day.

Contact us to learn more—and find more fun in San Francisco!


The Killer Trivia Quiz: A Murder Mystery Game

  • private
  • adults
  • indoor

Solving a murder is not a trivial pursuit

We need your help to catch a killer. Shortly after writing a trivia quiz, a Watson Adventures staffer was murdered. Before he died, he drew a star on the ground with his own blood. What does this mean? It turns out that he lived a dangerous double life. Can your team of sleuths piece together the puzzle he left behind in time to head off an international incident with catastrophic consequences?

To crack the case, you’ll need to get into teams and work your way through the dead man’s trivia quiz. Our entertaining host will guide you through several rounds of captivating questions, which often have ways for you to figure out the answer even if you don’t know it at first. The unusual array of challenges includes a music round, a movie-stills challenge, and even a scavenger hunt.

Along the way, you’ll discover how the answers point to a cryptic code. You won’t just solve a crime—the fate of the free world might depend on your ability to work together!

This devilish trivia game can be played pretty much everywhere—conference rooms, special-event spaces, private rooms in restaurants or bars, even your home. You just need enough chairs for participants to sit together in teams. Leave the rest to us.

What players are saying about this murder mystery trivia game

“Thank you so much for the incredible work you all did in making and hosting this trivia game for our retreat. I have been getting compliments all weekend about how much fun Watson Adventures was. [Game hosts] Andy, Greg, and Serena were the BEST! It was a truly engaging and fun experience. It’s not easy to get a room full of 150+ prosecutors and detectives interested in a team building exercise, and you guys nailed it with this murder mystery. Thank you for your inspired professionalism and patience with us while working out the details. I am truly grateful for you all, and I’m sure we will work with you all again soon!”

Have any non-trivial questions about the Killer Trivia Game? Contact us to learn more—and find more fun wherever you need a bit of mystery!


The Murder Mystery Mayhem at the History Museum Scavenger Hunt

  • private
  • adults
  • kids
  • teens
  • indoor

Uh-oh! A killer lurks among you…

…and they’re about to interrupt an otherwise normal team-building outing to your favorite history museum. Someone in your group—possibly on your own team—is a bit of a Jekyll and Hyde, and they’re plotting to make you history.

Fortunately, this game gives you a fighting a chance to prevent your own murder. Everyone in your group has been secretly poisoned, and the clock is ticking down on your time left to live. To save yourselves and get the antidote, all you have to do is complete various fun challenges and reveal the killer’s identity.

The killer has hidden their identity in a scavenger hunt at the history museum. Your team will solve a series of interlocking puzzles, decipher coded messages, and meet the conditions of creative, collaborative photo prompts.

Along the way, your team might…

  • Act your age with age-old artifacts.
  • Put your patriotism on display for all to see.
  • Interrogate sculptures and statues for clues.
  • Gape in wonderment at outdated technology.
  • Tackle a trivia quiz about famous murder mysteries.
  • Identify murderous movies and snippets of killer songs.

If your group loves escape-room games, they’ll love this history museum scavenger hunt. The game will also help you entertain a diverse group of people while boosting morale and teamwork. It’s perfect for a private party or a corporate team-building outing of any size.

A Kids Edition is also available, in which kids age 7 and up work with adults. It’s a great activity for a school field trip, birthday party, and more.

Contact us to learn more about the Murder Mystery Mayhem Scavenger Hunts—and find more fun!


The Murder by Team Building Game

  • private
  • adults
  • teens
  • indoor

The murder-mystery game you can play anywhere

Terrible news! A Watson Adventures host, David Park, was on his way to lead your team-building activity today, but he was found dead in the parking lot. We need you to go through David’s backpack of game materials and see if you can figure out who would want him dead and why.

On teams, you’ll play the game that David created, answering trivia questions, solving fun puzzles, and—spoiler alert!—uncovering secret messages that reveal that David was leading a double life. There might even be a spy in your group!

We’ll send you the backpack full of game materials, and a Watson Adventures host will get the game started, then answer questions (and offer hints) as you go along.

You can choose whether you would like our Host to lead your group remotely, via Zoom or a similar platform, or you can opt for an in-person host, live in your office.

The game requires one hour and can be played in any room where you need to provide a break for your group, ramp up the fun, and get people to bond and work together in a whole new way.

Do you need a hybrid solution to bring together players working from home and in the office? Check out the Murder by Team Building Game: Virtual Edition.

A Teens Edition is also available.

What players are saying about the murder mystery game

A 5-star review on Google: “What fun we had! Josh was an amazing guide and I would recommend Watson Adventures!!”

Contact us to learn more about this murder mystery game—and find more fun!


Puzzled to Death: A Virtual Game of Murder Mystery Puzzles

  • private
  • adults
  • indoor

You can escape a room, but can you escape a vintage game store?

As part of his acclaimed new book, The Puzzler, best-selling author A.J. Jacobs (The Year of Living Biblically, The Year of Living Constitutionally) partnered with Watson Adventures to create a devilishly fun murder mystery game packed with puzzles. In his book he describes the experience of creating the game—now it’s your turn to play the game! But first…

Shocking news! The owner of a local board-game store has been murdered! Authorities are baffled by the mysterious killing, and they have called in you and your team of expert puzzle-solvers to crack the case.

The killer has hidden clues to their identity in games scattered around the store. It’s up to you to solve a series of puzzles and piece together the name of the murderer. Clearly the murderer loves to play games—but in a gaming store, that doesn’t narrow things down much!

On teams, you’ll tackle up to 10 mini-games that are inspired by classic games—but with humorous twists. Each challenge you solve will lead you a step closer to unmasking the murderer. Can your team unravel this mystery, catch the culprit, and show the villain that they toyed with the wrong people?

What players are saying about the virtual puzzles game

A 5-star review on Google: Fun and engaging game for our remote team. The host was energetic and kept everyone participating. I will definitely book them again for another corporate event.”

Contact us to learn more about this online murder mystery game—and find more virtual fun!


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