THE HISTORICAL INVESTIGATION GAME
History
left
evidence.
Make the connection.
A word in a newspaper. A forgotten lead. A truth to piece together. Enter the archives and lead your own investigation.
Explore the case files01 / THE ATELIER EXPERIENCE
It all begins
with a detail.
Read between the lines. Follow a word, keep a passage, compare the evidence. Build your own conclusion, one connection at a time.
↘ Try it here. Your first lead: “stamp”.The letter mentions a blue stamp.
The register links the blue stamp to the mail.
The register links the blue stamp to the mail.
Your notebook is empty.
The letter bears a stamp linked…
In each investigation, words become available as you open the pieces containing them.
02 / THE COLLECTION
Extraordinary stories.
Real mysteries.
13 CASES AVAILABLE · 1 GUIDED INTRODUCTION
Free during the discovery phase.
NEW YORK · 1844
The balloon and the mail
A newspaper announces an extraordinary crossing. Four short pieces let you check how the report stands — or falls.
Atelier · 1 synthesis scene · 4 pieces · 5–10 min (estimate)Start here ↗
CARDIFF · 1869—1878
The Cardiff Giant
Beneath a field, two workers discover a stone man over three metres tall. Petrified, ancient, manufactured? The newspapers disagree.
Atelier · 4 synthesis scenes · 22 pieces · 25–40 min (estimate)Open case file ↗
AMERICAN WEST · 1872
The Four-Million-Dollar Field
An engineer stakes his name on a field of precious stones. Another leaves with doubts. Follow their reports to discover what won their confidence — and what could undo it.
Atelier · 3 synthesis scenes · 7 pieces · 20–30 min (estimate)Open case file ↗
NEW YORK · THE CAPE · 1835
The Great Moon Hoax
A newspaper announces extraordinary discoveries. Follow its source, examine its figures and find what can be checked.
Atelier · 3 synthesis scenes · 8 pieces · 15–25 min (estimate)Open case file ↗
BOSTON · 1920
The Ninety-Day Promise
A company promises a fifty percent return in ninety days. Payments arrive early. Follow the promises and discover what funds them.
Atelier · 2 synthesis scenes · 8 pieces · 12–20 min (estimate)Open case file ↗
BRITAIN · 1864–1865
The Davenport Brothers cabinet
Instruments sound inside a closed cabinet. The performers appear tied. Compare the reported controls with a later imitation: what can the evidence establish?
Atelier · 2 synthesis scenes · 8 pieces · 12–20 min (estimate)Open case file ↗
ENGLAND · 1726–1727
Mary Toft: eight pieces to examine
Doctors report extracting parts of rabbits. Follow their observations, the movement of the specimens and the conditions of their questioning: what do these accounts actually establish? Descriptions of intimate examinations, animal remains and threats of a painful operation.
Atelier · 2 synthesis scenes · 8 pieces · 15–25 min (estimate)Open case file ↗
BERLIN · 1904–1911
The Horse Who Read a Room
A horse answers arithmetic questions before an astonished public. A favourable commission rules out deliberate signals under the conditions of its inquiry. Follow the controls that changed what the experimenters thought they were watching.
Atelier · 3 synthesis scenes · 8 pieces · 22–32 min (estimate)Open case file ↗
LONDON · 21 FEBRUARY 1814
The dispatch that moved the market
A false dispatch reports Napoleon dead. Prices rise, positions are sold, and the trial assembles a route, disguises, challenged accounts and figures. Establish what the pieces support — and where they stop deciding.
Atelier · 5 synthesis scenes · 10 pieces · 38–54 min (estimate)Open case file ↗
LONDON · 1796
The Shakespeare papers
Unknown letters and plays are attributed to Shakespeare and his contemporaries. Trace their provenance, compare graphic habits and test the dates without mistaking historical criticism for modern expertise.
Atelier · 3 synthesis scenes · 8 pieces · 28–40 min (estimate)Open case file ↗
LONDON · 1898–1899
Louis de Rougemont: the story and its editor
In 1898, a magazine guarantees the accuracy of a thirty-year adventure story. Follow what the editor checked, what the narrator claimed and what the publication later withdrew.
Atelier · 2 synthesis scenes · 6 pieces · 15–25 min (estimate)Open case file ↗
LONDON · 1924–1928
The Zinoviev letter: copies, committees and certainty
In 1924, a newspaper publishes what it presents as orders from Moscow. Follow the copies, inquiries and conflicting reasoning without mistaking an official claim for proof.
Atelier · 3 synthesis scenes · 10 pieces · 32–46 min (estimate)Open case file ↗
PARIS · 1896–1904
The Tiara of Saitaphernes: gold, models and doubt
In 1896, a gold tiara presented as ancient enters the Louvre after convincing experts. Follow its alleged provenance, surface, imagery and inscription before deciding what the clues can actually establish.
Atelier · 3 synthesis scenes · 6 pieces · 22–34 min (estimate)Open case file ↗
UNITED STATES · 1880
The Morey letter: an accusation on the eve of the vote
In October 1880, a letter attributed to candidate James A. Garfield assigns him an explosive position on Chinese labor. Follow the published text, his denials, the handwriting claims and a hearing that does not decide authenticity.
Atelier · 3 synthesis scenes · 6 pieces · 21–33 min (estimate)Open case file ↗
03 / YOUR TURN
The archives are silent.
Make them speak.
Bring your curiosity. The rest begins with a single piece of evidence.
Open my first investigation