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Support

Fossa Software · operated by Sondre Fosså · Norway
Email: support@alibicases.com

1. Reporting a problem

We are a small team of one and we read everything. Write to support@alibicases.com and include:

• the case title, for example Glasshouse Guest;
• your device model and operating system version;
• the app version, shown at the bottom of the Bureau notebook;
• the exact steps that led to the problem, ideally reproducible from the start of that case;
• what you expected, and what happened instead.

2. How the cases work

Three rules govern every board, and they are worth stating plainly.

• Every person stands in a different row and a different column. Two people can never share a row or a column.
• Evidence is reliable. What a witness saw, and what a chair, carpet, window or piece of furniture tells you, is always true.
• In the night-desk files, exactly one quoted room claim is false. Every other suspect really was in the room they named. The suspect whose claim is false is the victim’s only companion — the killer.

Earlier cases in the archive use their own true-clue rules rather than the false-alibi claim system, so the claim rule does not apply to them.

The scene itself matters. Chairs, beds, sofas, benches and desks can be stood on. Pianos, bookcases, plants, baths, fireplaces, candles and other furniture block every square of their footprint. Carpets are ordinary floor and can be occupied. If you are unsure about an object, open the in-case ? → Scene key, or the furniture key in the main menu.

3. Learning the game

From the main menu, open Learn to play for A Key After Midnight: a genuine 4×4 case built with real clues, narrated by Inspector Vale. It walks through reading a clue, recording possibilities, using carpet evidence, ruling out shared rows and columns, and finally naming the false alibi.

Each step shows a Do this next instruction and highlights the person or tool involved. Complete the action, read the explanation, then tap Continue. If you try the wrong thing, the panel explains what to reconsider and the board stays put.

You can leave at any point. Pausing asks whether you want to keep learning or save and return to the menu, and the lesson resumes at the same step after a restart. You can skip the guide from its introduction or with the Skip button, and your regular cases are never affected by it.

4. Using hints

The Hint button offers one deduction based on what you have already placed. It never compares your board against a stored answer, and there is no reveal button — the point is to show you the next step, not to do it for you.

Depending on your board, a hint either explains the first deduction you can make, or points out a clue or a shared row or column that your placements currently contradict. When it can, it also highlights the squares that survive.

In the mobile app the hint dialog also offers an optional rewarded video that grants one extra deduction — every square still consistent with the selected person’s own evidence. Watching it is never required.

5. Notes and saves

Any square can hold pencil notes. Placing a person on a square hides its notes without deleting them; move or erase that person and the notes reappear. Erasing an empty square clears its notes.

Progress saves automatically on your device. There is no cloud save and no account, so clearing the app’s storage, or uninstalling it, removes your progress permanently.

Keyboard shortcuts on desktop: 1–8 select a person, P/N/E/W cycle their note, and Ctrl or Cmd + Z undoes.

6. Offline play

The mobile app bundles every case, portrait and piece of artwork, so it works with the aeroplane mode on. The browser version needs to load once online so it can install its offline files; after that it will open without a connection.

If progress has disappeared unexpectedly, the usual cause is that browser storage for the site was cleared, or that the app was reinstalled without a restore.

7. Getting updates

Mobile apps update through Google Play or the App Store like any other app. Turn on automatic updates in the store settings, or check the store listing occasionally.

Browser version: open the main menu → Bureau notebook & settings → Check for app updates. If an update has been downloaded, accepting it saves your progress and reloads the game.

8. About the ads

The app version carries ads from Google AdMob. The browser version and this website have none.

• A full-screen ad appears when you move on from a case you have closed. It never appears during the guided first case or during the opening story, and a cooldown stops ads stacking.
• An optional video can be watched for one extra hint. You are never required to watch one, and skipping it costs you nothing.

Where the law requires it, a consent message appears before any ad is requested, and nothing is loaded until you answer. You can review or withdraw your choice at any time from main menu → Bureau notebook → Ad settings & consent.

Declining does not change the game in any way — every case, hint and feature works exactly the same.

If an ad ever blocks the board, close the app and reopen it. Your case, your notes and your progress are saved automatically and will still be there.

Full details are in the privacy policy.

9. Installing the app

• Android: install from Google Play. You can also add it to your home screen from Chrome.
• iPhone and iPad: install from the App Store, then add it to your home screen from Safari through Share → Add to Home Screen.

Alibi is free, has no in-app purchases, and never asks you to create an account.

10. Press and other enquiries

Review copies, screenshots, press assets and licensing enquiries all go to the same address: support@alibicases.com. You will get a reply from an actual person.

Fossa Software · operated by Sondre Fosså · Norway · Privacy policy