"This may be the most special 'last lesson' of my high school years: stepping into others’ pain through role-playing, grasping the weight of the law amid case deduction, and understanding the gravity of every choice before stepping into adulthood." These were the words of Wang Chuhan after a legal-themed murder mystery game.

Wang Chuhan is a senior graduate from a high school in Kunshan City, Jiangsu Province. On June 23, 2026, she and her classmates visited the Kunshan People’s Court to experience an immersive legal murder mystery game. By drawing random character cards, Wang and her classmates each took on different roles in the script. As the plot unfolded, a story unfolded about online abuse that spiraled out of control from trivial teasing.

Murder mystery games are immersive recreational activities built around customized scripts, integrating role-play, reasoning and investigation, and social interaction. Rich in narrative and immersive appeal, they are extremely popular among young people. Reporters from Legal Daily recently learned that legal-themed murder mystery games adapted from real judicial cases have been rolled out in courts across the country.

The game Wang Chuhan and her classmates participated in was titled The Collapse of the Justice Enforcement Bureau, adapted from a criminal case involving minors engaging in online harassment.

In the script, 17-year-old Hu set up an online group called the Justice Enforcement Bureau, recruiting peers to offer tiered paid online abuse services ranging from petty verbal attacks to devastating public humiliation. Within a few months, he took on more than a hundred such orders. A junior high school student named Xiaoyu became one victim: after rumors spread online that she had cheated in exams, she was subjected to relentless cyberbullying.

Wang Chuhan drew the role of Xiaoyu, the victim. She told reporters that as each clue card was revealed one by one, she felt as if she had personally endured everything Xiaoyu went through. What stuck with her most was the silence that fell over everyone when the full truth came to light.

"The perpetrators are not simply one-dimensional villains. A casually forwarded chat log, a mocking comment made to follow the crowd, the onlookers’ attitude of watching the drama unfold, even parental neglect—any of these can push a victim to the brink of despair. At that moment, I suddenly realized that the horror of cyberbullying lies not only in the malice of the abusers, but also in the silence and connivance of bystanders," Wang Chuhan reflected.

Pan Qianyu, another senior from the same school, drew the role of a self-serving mother. In the story, although the mother noticed strange changes in her son Hu early on, she did nothing to intervene. When unexplained extra money appeared in the family bank account, she merely assumed her son was taking part-time jobs to help the family, indirectly allowing Hu to drift closer and closer to violating the law.

"As the final plot revealed, everyone present, apart from the victim, directly or indirectly fueled the online abuse incident. As a science student, my previous understanding of the law only came from textbooks and news reports. This legal murder mystery, adapted from a real case and presented through immersive role-play, let me fully experience case hearings and legal analysis firsthand," said Pan Qianyu.

The students told reporters that when reasoning reached key plot points, court police officers would step in to interpret relevant legal provisions based on the storylines. "We suddenly realized those remote, unfamiliar legal clauses were hidden right in our lines and clue cards we had just read," one student shared.

Li Shiyin, Member of the Party Leadership Group and Vice President of Kunshan People’s Court, stated that this integrated model of "game experience + real-time legal education" represents an entirely new exploration by the court in youth legal outreach, replacing one-way knowledge indoctrination with active exploration of legal boundaries.

Reporters found that courts, procuratorates and public security organs across the country have launched legal-themed murder mystery outreach activities in recent years.

In early December 2025, the Shunyi District People’s Court of Beijing held a legal murder mystery event. Relying on its "Young Legal Journalists" program and centered on school bullying, the court created the original script Campus Hidden in Mist. Young legal journalists played victims, eyewitnesses and other roles, immersing themselves in plot conflicts and learning how to use legal tools to protect themselves and others. In April 2026, the Criminal Investigation Brigade of the Beilin Branch of Xi’an Public Security Bureau in Shaanxi Province collaborated with enterprises to develop an anti-fraud murder mystery based on local real telecom fraud cases. In May 2026, juvenile procurators from the Shijingshan District People’s Procuratorate of Beijing led teenagers through the legal murder mystery Youth Shines Bright Against the Sun.

"We have noticed that murder mystery games, a hugely popular social activity among teenagers, naturally feature role immersion, logical reasoning and team collaboration—qualities that align perfectly with the experiential, interactive learning advocated by legal education," said Lu Siyuan, Third-level Principal Staff Member of the Publicity and Education Section in the Political Department of Shunyi District People’s Court.

What standards govern the writing of legal murder mystery scripts?

Peng Juan, Judge Assistant of the Administrative Tribunal at Kunshan People’s Court and the creator of The Collapse of the Justice Enforcement Bureau, introduced a four-step workflow adopted by the court for script development.

"First, Case Extraction: Centered on a chosen theme, we extract core legal relationships, disputes, defendants’ motives and judicial logic from typical real cases, stripping redundant details and retaining plot frameworks with the greatest legal education value. Second, Script Development: Building on mature legal drama texts accumulated by the court over years, we embed suspense and reasoning elements, transforming facts into story missions and moral dilemmas for characters. Third, Legal Review: We audit all legal application, sentencing circumstances and rules of evidence in the script to eliminate legal errors. Hint cards and clue cards are placed at pivotal plot points to design interactive segments that let players absorb legal knowledge as the story advances. Fourth, Script Trial Reading: After drafting, we invite student representatives of the target age group to test the game, adjusting plot pacing, clue density and legal knowledge integration based on feedback to guarantee playability, educational value and age appropriateness," Peng Juan explained.

"The legal murder mystery scripts we develop mainly target minor legal education. Their plots revolve around legal risks and real dilemmas primary and secondary school students may face on campus and in daily life, focusing on typical issues such as school bullying and online rumors," Lu Siyuan said.

Lu Siyuan added that script creation at Shunyi District People’s Court adheres to five core dimensions: expanding the cast size to accommodate more student participants; crafting layered character arcs with complex personalities and motives; grounding the story in familiar campus settings to boost immersion; weaving multiple legal issues into the plot to deepen educational value; and embedding on-site legal interpretation sessions, where judges analyze character conduct, corresponding legal provisions, legal consequences and rights protection approaches to guide students from emotional experience to rational legal awareness, helping them truly grasp legal boundaries.

"As an innovative format, legal murder mystery games constitute a valuable breakthrough in legal publicity and education. They combine educational substance with entertaining experience, effectively improving public legal literacy," said Zhou Lina, Professor of Law at the School of Cultural Industry Management, Communication University of China.

She explained that legal murder mystery games serve as an innovative upgrade and supplement to traditional one-way outreach methods such as lectures. Immersive participation strengthens practical legal awareness, translating abstract legal provisions into tangible behavioral logic. The format improves memory retention and practical application of legal knowledge, guiding participants from merely memorizing clauses to recognizing the value of the rule of law, fostering a social habit of turning to the law to resolve disputes and cultivating intrinsic respect for the legal system.

Nevertheless, Zhou Lina pointed out that as legal-themed murder mysteries grow in popularity, many commercial entertainment venues have rolled out scripts with legal elements, bringing notable hidden risks.

"To fit game pacing, some commercial scripts simplify judicial procedures including litigation, court investigations, evidence presentation and cross-examination, which may leave players with one-sided, distorted understandings of the law," Professor Zhou warned. Plots involving violence and criminal acts may inflict negative psychological impacts, especially on minors; storylines touching on sexual assault, cyberbullying and school harassment can even leave lasting psychological trauma on participants.

To address these risks, Zhou Lina recommended that commercial legal murder mystery venues strictly implement the requirements of the Circular on Strengthening the Administration of Script-Based Entertainment Venues. Operators must uphold core principles: education first, entertainment secondary; professional and factually accurate legal content; age classification and categorized scenarios. All scripts must guarantee precise legal facts, correct clause application and authentic judicial procedures. Differentiated scripts should be developed for audiences of varying ages, with strict limits on pornographic, bloody and violent content.

"The law does not only punish evil; it safeguards every ordinary person’s right to be seen and respected. May we all carry the law in our hearts and hold hope in our eyes as we move forward," Wang Chuhan said at the end of the activity. (Outlook New Era)