A cozy detective game you solve with SQL
Hollowbrook has a mystery. You have a database.
Join Inspector Fenn Bramble, a fox with a fine moustache and a finer filing system. Query the town’s records right in your browser, follow the clues, dodge the red herrings and name the culprit.
No sign-up for the first case. Nothing to install.
Inspector Fenn: Evening, partner! Inspector Fenn Bramble, Hollowbrook constabulary. Mind the tea, it's fresh.
How a case works
The Pie That Walked Away
1. Read the case file
Fenn briefs you on what happened, when, and who was about. Each case comes with its own little database: residents, keycard swipes, receipts, bus tickets, church clocks.
SELECT rider, boarded_at FROM bus_tickets WHERE stop = 'Market Cross' AND boarded_at > '21:00';2. Ask the records
Write real SQL in your browser. Check alibis, follow hunches, and watch for traps: NULLs, recycled codes, two people with one name, clocks that lie.
3. Name the culprit
When the evidence lines up, file your conclusion. Fenn checks it, grumbles kindly if you’re wrong, and stamps the case closed when you’re right.
Every answer is in the data
Fenn never asks you to type the “right” query. Any query that turns up the evidence counts, and he notices when it does: clues land in your case notebook as you find them.
Stuck? Ask Fenn. Hints come in three sizes: a nudge, the tables that matter, then the shape of the query. Never the answer itself, and every hint costs a few points of your case score.
SELECT name, seen_at, spotted_by
FROM sightings
WHERE place = 'Puddle Lane Bakery'
AND seen_at BETWEEN '21:00' AND '22:00'
ORDER BY seen_at;| name | seen_at | spotted_by |
|---|---|---|
| Dora Thimble | 21:04 | the till |
| Percival Hobnob | 21:38 | the night bus |
| Percival Hobnob | 21:52 | the till |
Six cases, one very busy town
From a missing pie to a vanished lantern, each case teaches a bigger slice of SQL. And each one is fair: an automated check proves the data points to exactly one culprit.
Coming soon · Casebook 2
Pebblecombe-on-Sea
Fenn's first holiday in eleven years. It lasts until breakfast.
Greetings from Pebblecombe-on-Sea
Fair and square
Cases 1 and 2
Free
- The Pie That Walked Away, with no sign-up at all
- The Overdue Almanack, with a free account
- Every hint, the SQL help panel and saved progress
The full case files: cases 3 to 6
One payment
- Joins, subqueries and CTEs, dates and window functions
- A finale with a twist Fenn is rather proud of
- No subscription and no ads; yours on every device
Questions from the front desk
Do I need to know SQL already?
Not at all. Case 1 starts with SELECT and WHERE, every case has a SQL help panel with short examples, and Fenn's hints go from a gentle nudge to the shape of the query. If you already know SQL, the later cases will still make you think.
Which SQL is it, and where does it run?
SQLite, running right in your browser against your own copy of the case database, so results come back instantly. Fenn peeks at each query and what it finds so he can notice when you've turned up a clue.
Can I break anything?
Not a thing. Drop every table if it makes you feel better: the Reset button hands you a fresh copy of the records.
Is my progress saved?
Yes, in your browser straight away. Sign in with email or Google and it follows you to any device.
How long does a case take?
Anything from a pot of tea to a long evening. The early cases are short and friendly; the finale is neither.
The kettle’s on, partner.
A champion pumpkin pie is missing, and the judging starts in twenty minutes.
Take the case