Table 2 Fragment from an in-app chat conversation

The Detective logs in and launches the game

The server automatically sends 2 clues to the Detective regarding the location of the first two witnesses

Examples

Clue 1: Witness 1 is at the lake talking on the phone

Clue 2: Witness 2 is at the garage paying for the parking

[14:49] Server: Kommissar ist online (Server: The Detective is online.)

Police Officer 1 logs in and joins the game

[14:50] Server: Polizist 1 ist online (Server: Police Officer 1 is online.)

Police Officer 2 logs in and joins the game

[14:50] Server: Polizist 2 ist online (Server: Police Officer 2 is online.)

The Detective enters Clue 1 and shares it with the Police Officers

[14:50] Kommissar: Zeuge 1 ist im See und telefoniert (Detective: Witness 1 is at the lake and talking on the phone)

Police Officer 1 communicates he/she will investigate Clue 1 and looks for the location (the lake)

[14:51] Polizist 1: ich gehe [sic] (Police Officer 1: i’ll go) [sic]

The Detective enters part of Clue 2 and shares it with the Police Officers

[14:51] Kommissar: Zeuge 2 ist im Tiefgarage [sic] (Detective: Witness 2 is in carpark) [sic]

Police Officer 2 communicates he/she will investigate and looks for the location (the carpark)

[14:51] Polizist 2: ich gehe [sic] (Police Officer 2: i’ll go) [sic]

The Detective provides the officers with more details regarding the Clue 2

[14:51] Kommissar: …und zahlt (Detective:…paying)

Police Officer 1 uses the first clue to identify the witness and scans the QR code

[14:51] Server: Polizist 1 hat QR code gescannt (Server: Police Officer 1 has scanned the QR code.)

The server automatically confirms that the QR code is correct and delivers a video-clip providing meaningful information about the killer to the officer who has scanned the code

[14:51] Server: Ja, du hast Zeuge 2 gefunden (Server: Yes, you have identified Witness 2.)

Police Officer 2 uses the second clue to identify the witness and scans the QR code

[14:52] Polizist 2: scannt QR code (Server: Police Officer 2 has scanned the QR code)

The server automatically confirms that the QR code is correct and delivers a video-clip providing meaningful information about the killer to Officer 2

[14:52] Server: Ja, du hast Zeuge 1 gefunden (Server: I’ll go.)

Police Officer 1 enters the information about the killer from the video-clip and shares it with the Detective and Officer 2

[14:52] Polizist 1: Zeuge 2 hat kurzes Haar

(Police Officer 1: Witness 2 has short hair)

Police Officer 2 enters the information about the killer from the video-clip and shares it with the Detective and Officer 1

[14:52] Polizist 2: Zeuge 1 ist 20 jahre alt [sic] (Police Officer 2: Witness 1 is 20 Years old) [sic]

The server automatically sends 2 new clues to the Detective regarding the location of two new witnesses

Examples

Clue 3: Witness 3 is reading in the courtyard

Clue 4: Witness 4 is chatting on the beach

The Detective enters Clue 4 (Witness 4 is chatting on the beach) and shares it with the Police Officers

[14:52] Kommissar: zeuge 3 ist im Hof und liest [sic] (Detective: witness 3 is in the courtyard, reading) [sic]

Police Officer 2 communicates he/she will investigate Clue 3 and looks for the location (the courtyard)

[14:52] Polizist 2: ich gehe [sic] (Police Officer 2: i’ll go) [sic]

The Detective enters Clue 3 and shares it with the Police Officers

[14:53] Kommissar: zeuge 4 ist am Strand und plaudert [sic] (Detective: witness 4 is chatting at the beach) [sic]

Police Officer 1 communicates he/she will investigate Clue 4 and looks for the location (the beach)

[14:53] Polizist 1: ich gehe [sic] (Police Officer 1: i’ll go) [sic]

(…)

(…)

The server informs the players that all 12 witnesses have been identified

[15:03] Server: Ja, du hast Zeuge 12 gefunden (Server: Yes, you have identified Witness 12.)

The Detective still needs more information to identify the killer and asks the officers if the suspect has a weapon

[15:03] Kommissar: keine Tatwaffe? [sic] (Detective: no murder weapon? [sic]

Police Officer 2 doesn’t understand the German word for weapon and asks for clarification

[15:04] Polizist 2: was ist das? [sic] (Police Officer 2: what’s that?) [sic]

Police Officer 1 doesn’t understand either and asks what “Tatwaffe” means

[15:04] Polizist 1: was is Tatwaffe? [sic] (Police Officer 1: what is murder weapon?) [sic]

The Detective clarifies what “Tatwaffe” means by providing examples of different types of weapons in German

[15:05] Kommissar: Schere, Beil, Messer (Detective: Scissors, hatchet, knife)

Police Officer 1 is still confused as well

[15:06] Polizist 1: ich nicht hört das [sic] (Police Officer 1: i don’t hear that) [sic]

The Detective decides to take a guess and scans one of the QR codes on the suspect profile posters

[15:06] Kommissar: Mm [sic] (Detective: Mmm) [sic]

The server confirms that the Detective not identified the serial killer

[15:06] Server: Der Kommissar hat nicht den Mörder identifiziert (Server: The Detective hasn’t identified the killer)