Interrogation Strategies
How to interrogate AI suspects in a murder mystery game: open vs closed questions, @mentions, reading evasion, and cross-checking alibis for higher scores.
June 6, 2026
Open Questions Beat Accusations Early
Start broad: "Walk me through your evening" beats "Did you kill him?" in the first ten minutes. Broad prompts force characters to commit to a timeline you can later challenge. This mirrors police interviews and classic detective fiction — Poirot rarely opens with a shout.
When to Use Group vs Direct Chat
Group channel is for watching social dynamics: who jumps to defend whom, who stays silent when a name appears. Direct @mentions are for pinning down one alibi, one object, one minute. If the group is noisy, switch to direct — clutter is not depth.
Treat Evasion as Data
AI suspects may dodge, lie, or stay silent when secrets are threatened. That is authored behavior, not a bug. Ask the same fact three ways: time, place, witness. Inconsistent answers become clues on your board even before you search a room.
Cross-Check Against Physical Evidence
When testimony says a door was locked, search the door. When someone claims they never entered the study, search the study for personal items. The highest-scoring theories always pair a spoken claim with something the room contradicts.
Question Templates That Work
Try: "Who last saw the victim alive?" "What sound did you hear after midnight?" "Why would [name] benefit if we believed your story?" "If your account is true, explain [clue]." Templates keep you moving when a case feels opaque.
