11 Murder Mystery Games in Canada to Build an Evening Around

1.Vancouver City Sightseeing Adventure: a murder mystery in Gastown

★★★★★★★★★★5.0 · 38 reviews · 2 hours (approx.) · from $32Our pick

You’ll meet a detective near Waterfront Station, then walk 2 to 2.5 km through Gastown in a team of two to six. Expect a 90-minute to two-hour English puzzle game with clues, local sights, and a final score. Detective Tanya Bennett and her team run the experience.

“We believe this mystery murder game has the potential to be an excellent activity to acquaint players with the interesting history and sights of the city of Vancouver; however, we found the game clues to be confusing and quite time consuming. We believe the game requires much more than 2 hours to complete for participants to realize the benefit the game seeks to provide for city visitors. It is obvious a lot of time and creative thought were put into developing this game concept; we would encourage the game developers to simplify and refine the game and continue to make it available as a fun, exciting way to explore the…”

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2.Private Vancouver Sightseeing Adventure: a Gastown murder mystery

★★★★★★★★★★5.0 · 19 reviews · 2 hours (approx.) · from $31

Join a costumed detective near Waterfront Station for a two-hour, screen-free mystery through Gastown. Your private group gets maps, evidence files, tools, and artifacts, then races in teams along a 2 to 2.5 km route to solve the case.

“My wife and I did the Vancouver Outdoor Murder Mystery in Gastown during a trip from Phoenix, AZ. We absolutely LOVED IT. Such a fun way to see parts of the city, and work together to solve puzzles and challenges as a couple. It felt like we were on the Amazing Race. The program is really well done, and is challenging, but not impossible. It's more than just a scavenger hunt, and requires some thought and deduction to get things right. I would highly recommend this activity for anyone looking to do something fun in Vancouver.”

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3.Ottawa Mystery Quest: Self-Guided Detective Adventure

★★★★★★★★★★4.0 · 11 reviews · 3 hours 20 minutes to 3 hours 50 minutes (approx.) · from $8

Use your phone to play a private detective game through central Ottawa. You will solve 10 clues at City Hall, Parliament Hill, the War Memorial, Rideau Canal, and more, moving at your own pace. The route ends across the river at the Tessouat sculpture in Gatineau.

“we indicate to go to an address on departure for pick-up. No precise time and no one on site when we could just start the puzzle. the address was not easy to find. Why not simplify by saying city hall. The number of kilometres to cover would have been good information to know for someone like me who is mobility impaired. When I saw that the end ended on the side of gatineau. We did the part that was getting closer to the byward market and we finished it there.Auto-translated”

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4.Murder Mystery Detective Experience in Orillia ON

★★★★★★★★★★3.5 · 9 reviews · 2 hours 30 minutes (approx.) · from $11

You solve a fictional murder around Orillia using a mobile app, live GPS directions, and audio from 16 professional actors. Choose a downtown walking route or an outskirts driving route, play on Normal or Hard Mode, and pause whenever you need.

“I enjoyed it but when we got to the counting the windows I never counted the options given and I recounted it 4 times”

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5.Murder Mystery Detective Experience in St Johns NL

★★★★★★★★★★4.0 · 4 reviews · 2 hours 30 minutes (approx.) · from $11

Use your phone to investigate a murder in St. John’s, following a GPS game map between Queens Cove, Harbourside Park, and Mary Brown’s Centre. Sixteen professionally voiced characters, two difficulty levels, team scoring, and walking or driving routes let you set the pace, but bring earbuds and a charged phone.

“Unfortunately we didn’t even finish this it took us to random buildings that were not even sights to see and crisscrossed us back and forth wasting time. I was hoping to experience the town and have some fun with this but in the end it was just frustrating. Didn’t even connect automatics to locations and tell you where to turn and if you went into the map to make sure you were in the right way story part stopped and then started all over again. Waste of money”

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6.Murder Mystery Detective Experience in Moose Jaw SK

★★★★★★★★★★4.0 · 3 reviews · 2 hours 30 minutes (approx.) · from $11

Explore Moose Jaw through a self-guided murder mystery on your smartphone. Follow a downtown walking route or an outskirts driving route, hear 16 characters voiced by professional actors, and choose Normal or Hard Mode. Plan for about 2.5 hours, with breaks whenever you like.

“Was disappointed in this. Thought it would take you to some Moose Jaw sites to see but instead just random buildings like a bank and restaurant some of which were even closed down”

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7.Murder Mystery Detective Experience in Sydney NS

★★★★★★★★★★3.0 · 3 reviews · 2 hours 30 minutes (approx.) · from $11

Explore Sydney, Wentworth Park, the Big Fiddle, and the Cape Breton Highlanders Museum through a self-guided murder mystery on your smartphone. Choose a downtown walking map or an outskirts driving map, play in Normal or Hard Mode, and pause whenever you like.

“Not what I thought. A normal walking tour would have been better. Never finished due to time/lack of interest.”

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8.Ottawa Murder Mystery: Self-Guided City Detective Game

★★★★★★★★★★3.5 · 3 reviews · 2 hours (approx.) · from $7Best value

Start at the Bank of Canada Museum and follow a smartphone mystery through downtown Ottawa. Investigate Bella Wanderlust’s death, question suspects Percy Shadows and Walter Bridges, solve clues, and return to the starting point in about two hours.

“Fun but could have used 2 phones instead of having everyone’s looking down at their phones. Not too much walking. Everyone was able to do it”

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9.Murder Mystery Detective Experience in Langford BC

★★★★★★★★★★4.5 · 3 reviews · 2 hours 30 minutes (approx.) · from $11

You’ll solve a murder mystery from your vehicle on a self-guided route around Langford and nearby Vancouver Island sights. A GPS map, turn-by-turn directions, 16 professionally voiced characters, two difficulty levels, and team scoring keep the case moving. Plan about 2.5 hours, with breaks whenever you like.

“Fun little drive about. No need to exit the vehicle. (We had hoped to have to get out and look around a bit) The language may not be kid friendly depending on the parent. Construction worker/plumber maybe lol! Probably pg 13, but more of an adult thing. Titch of a learning curve at the start but we got it and there’s no time pressure at all so that’s nice. Can even stop for lunch midway if you like. All in all for the $15 it’s definitely worth it and would make a great rainy day adventure!”

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10.Murder Mystery Detective Experience in Prince George BC

★★★★★★★★★★3.5 · 2 reviews · 2 hours 30 minutes (approx.) · from $11

Use your phone to investigate a fictional murder around Prince George with 16 professionally voiced characters, GPS directions, clues, and scoring. Choose a downtown walking route or an outskirts driving map, play on Normal or Hard Mode, and pause whenever you like. Aspen helps track your notes.

“Time to update the venue for this murder mystery. It was uncomfortable standing around listening to a 10 minute evidence story while an unsheltered person complained that you were too close to them. Unfortunately, there are quite a few unsheltered in Prince George. Sending tourists to this area is making us aware, but also putting us in an awkward position.”

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11.Murder Mystery Detective Experience in Thunder Bay ON

★★★★★★★★★★4.0 · 2 reviews · 2 hours 30 minutes (approx.) · from $11

Use your phone to solve a fictional murder mystery around Thunder Bay. Choose a downtown walking route or an outskirts driving map, follow GPS directions, listen to 16 professionally voiced characters, and answer clues in Normal or Hard Mode. Bring earbuds, a charged phone, and time to stop and think.

“In my opinion, it was a super cool mystery to solve and story that went along with it, but the experience wasn’t super exciting. It was a lot of just sitting and listening to audio clips that stretched on for 5-10 minutes each. I expected more of a scavenger hunt kinda thing where we’d go to each location in the map and have to look around and find stuff, but we got there, found a place to sit for 10 minutes, and answered one super easy question about the location to boost our “performance score.””

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