How to play ColdCase Escape.

Start with a room code, not a download.

Choose solo play or create a room for friends. Enter a nickname and share the private room code with up to four guests. Everyone who joins needs to be online and ready before the organizer starts. No account, email or card is required.

Inspect, share, connect.

Explore the records annex in 3D or choose the Evidence view. Inspect the desk, read the records and add useful discoveries to the shared notebook. Ask teammates to share their assigned clues. Team chat keeps the discussion in the same place as your evidence.

There are three objectives, completed in order. Solving each one makes the next available automatically for the entire team. This guide never reveals an accepted answer. If you need a nudge, ask for a hint from inside the room.

One continuous countdown.

The 15:00 countdown runs continuously through all three objectives. There is no pause between them. If time runs out, the organizer can choose “Keep investigating (unranked)” so everyone can finish with the timer showing overtime, or “Start over” to move the same team and nicknames to a fresh room.

Each hint adds a 30-second penalty to your recorded completion time. The countdown itself is not shortened by asking for a hint.

Return to your investigation.

The full Intake Room is free for everyone: all three objectives, the evidence, hints, team chat and shared notebook. You do not need an account, email address or card. Guests need only a room code and a nickname.

A room stays open for 24 hours from creation, including time in the lobby. The 15-minute investigation countdown begins only when the organizer starts. Replaying within a room does not extend its access window. Keep the same browser tab to return to your saved seat.

Keep the original browser tab to reconnect to your seat. A fresh room needs a fresh code. Read the FAQ, browse the available room or plan a team warm-up.