Deadbolt Mystery Society

Deadbolt Mystery Society ships a complete murder mystery each month rather than an episode of a serial, so a single box is a finished game. Around 28 printed components including interview reports, evidence documents, suspect cards and a sealed solution, plus online elements reached by QR code. Built for 1 to 4 players aged 13 and up, taking 2 to 3 hours. Founded in 2018 by two brothers who already ran escape rooms in Tupelo, Mississippi. Trustpilot 4.7 across more than 650 reviews.

What’s Included

Each month brings one complete murder mystery in a branded box. The contents are almost entirely printed material, and there is more of it than the format suggests.

A representative box contains roughly 28 components: full-sheet interview reports and a location map, half-sheet documents including a letter, a wanted poster, a crime scene report, numbered evidence exhibits and several puzzles, a packet of 11 character cards covering the victim and ten suspects, further cards including the sealed solution, and physical props such as a door hanger and a key card.

Alongside the paper there are online elements reached by scanning QR codes, which need a phone, tablet or laptop and an internet connection. There is no app to install.

The company does not publish a claimed retail value. The honest comparison is its own one-time boxes, which sell for $24.99 to $28.99, so the subscription is priced above buying a single past case.

Pricing Plans

US shipping is free. Canada and the UK are $5.99 a month, and subscriptions ship only to those three countries, though one-time boxes go further.

One thing to watch. The company’s legacy Shopify FAQ still quotes $26.99 plus $5.99 shipping and a renewal on the 11th. Those figures are stale. The live plan page, updated the day before we checked, gives $34.99 with free US shipping, and the current FAQ says renewals fall on the 15th. If you find the older numbers elsewhere, they are out of date rather than a better deal.

How It Works

You choose a plan and the first box ships from Tupelo, Mississippi by UPS SurePost. Subsequent boxes renew monthly.

Skipping is self-service through Manage Subscriptions in your account, which is worth noting because it is uncommon in this category. Cancelling is likewise a button rather than an email.

The prepaid plans have one real restriction: cancelling does not stop the boxes you have already paid for. You will receive all three or all six. Refunds are only considered if you email within 24 hours of purchase, which is a tight window and the least generous part of the policy.

Replay Value Is the Honest Weakness

We score this box lower on replay value than on anything else, and it is worth being clear why, because it is inherent to the format rather than a flaw in execution.

Once you know who committed the murder, the puzzle is spent. You cannot play it again yourself. What you can do is pass it on: the components are physical and reusable, so a completed box works well handed to friends or family who have not played it. Several owners treat their back catalogue that way.

If you want something you will return to repeatedly, a board game is the better purchase. If you want a two to three hour evening that is different every month, this format is built for exactly that.

Who It’s For

This suits couples looking for a recurring evening activity, small groups of friends, and families with teenagers. The 13-and-up rating is meaningful: the company states its boxes contain no profanity, offensive images or sexual situations and deliberately avoid the more gruesome aspects of the crime.

It also suits people who dislike subscription commitment, because the standalone format means a single month is a complete purchase.

It is a weaker fit for solo players who want a long-running narrative, and for anyone wanting a game with lasting replay value.

What the Reviews Say

Deadbolt holds 4.7 out of 5 on Trustpilot across more than 650 reviews, on a profile it has claimed since 2022, with reviews current to September 2026. That is the strongest record of any box in this category and one of the better ones on this site.

There is no BBB profile, which we treat as neither good nor bad in itself. It does mean there is no second independent source, so the whole customer-experience picture rests on Trustpilot, and it means the box is ineligible for our Editor’s Choice badge regardless of its rating, because that requires a BBB grade of A- or better.

We also note that the company publishes no legal entity name, registered address or phone number on its site. We found no complaint pattern that makes this concerning, and we mention it because a reader deciding where to send money is entitled to know how much is disclosed.

How It Compares

Against Hunt A Killer, the format difference is the whole story. Hunt A Killer sells six-episode seasons, so you are committing to a run rather than a night, and its complaint record is poor enough that we cap its rating. Deadbolt sells one finished game a month and answers for itself with a 4.7 Trustpilot. The trust figures for both are shown on their own pages.

Against Dungeon Crate, these are different hobbies. Dungeon Crate supplies accessories for tabletop roleplaying you already play. Deadbolt supplies a self-contained game for people who do not.

For anyone wanting a mystery subscription, this is the one we would start with.