Evidence before intuition.

Misdate Bureau is a deduction game for history and technology learners who enjoy spotting anachronisms but also want to explain why an object could not belong. It rewards inspection and defensible reasoning, not visual stereotypes.

How do I close a case?

1. Read the date, place, and investigator’s brief.
2. Read each object card. It describes how the object is staged and what it is, and it never states when the object was made.
3. Inspect object construction and required systems before placing a flag. The bench gives the material and the process, power source, or network the object depends on, which is where most cases are decided. The case header counts your bench inspections, and the count is printed on the closing report; the bench is always free.
4. Choose exactly three objects, then assign the strongest evidence basis to each one.
5. A false flag or unsupported basis returns the report for revision. The case remains playable until all three conclusions are supported.

What counts as a supported basis?

The authored possibilities are material, mechanism, infrastructure, and documented chronology. Some objects accept more than one defensible basis when the research supports it. The end-of-case findings explain the selected primary basis and link to the research trail.

Where are the actual dates?

They are the reward, not the prompt. Nothing you can read before filing a report carries a date. Level two of the date clue gives a dating trail without naming the object, and the closing report states, for each anachronism, its evidence basis, when the object actually appeared, its construction, and the system it required.

What is the sealed docket?

Sealed docket is an optional hard mode on the docket home. With it on, object cards show only the object name, so every staging note has to be read at the inspection bench. The setting is remembered in this browser and does not change any case's answer or scoring.

Keyboard shortcuts

• 1 to 9 and 0 flag or unflag the object in that position.
• I inspects the object card that currently has focus; C requests the next date clue.
• Enter files the report once three objects are flagged; Escape returns to the docket and keeps the draft.
• ? opens the shortcut list from anywhere in the game.

Shortcuts are ignored while you are typing in a field or while a dialog is open. The browser back button also returns to the docket rather than leaving the site.

What is on the closing report?

The score, a file grade, a line-by-line breakdown of the time, false flag, revision, and clue deductions, the number of bench inspections you made, listed with the record rather than among the deductions because the bench is free, the par of 2,500 for a clean file, one suggestion drawn from your largest deduction, the four-step credibility ladder, your best credibility for that file, your archive streak, and the time on file. Every named anachronism carries a button that reopens that object at the bench with its date overlay, so the construction and the date can be read together. Reopen this file restarts the same case; a weaker attempt never lowers a stored best. Credentials add a case record covering files closed, best and average credibility, false flags, revisions, archive files, and streak.

Is there a walkthrough?

Your first file shows a three-step walkthrough covering reading, inspection, and defending a flag, whether you start on the case docket or the daily desk. It can be skipped, it disappears as soon as you flag an object, and it is never shown twice.

What does sharing send?

Nothing leaves the browser on its own. Copy case result opens a panel with the exact text, a Copy button, and a Copied confirmation. If the device has no share sheet and blocks the clipboard, the text stays on screen to copy by hand. It names no objects and gives no answers.

What if this browser cannot save?

If local storage is full or blocked, a banner appears at the top of the page and the case stays playable. Use Export save in desk settings to keep a copy of your progress.

What if I close the tab during a case?

Your unfinished flag set, confirmed evidence, report choices, hints, penalties, and elapsed time are stored as a separate browser draft. The docket offers Resume or Shred. A malformed draft is discarded without changing permanent credentials.

Does the daily desk use a different answer?

No. Each date deterministically chooses and shuffles one authored case. The historical answer remains the same; only its dated challenge identity and object order change. Twenty-eight dates remain accessible.

What information leaves my device?

No account or analytics are required. Credentials, best scores, settings, and unfinished work use local browser storage. Export includes permanent Bureau progress, not the temporary open-case draft. Opening an external research link follows that institution’s own policies.

Can I play without time pressure?

Yes. Calm scoring removes time deductions. Desk settings list reduce motion, high contrast marks, larger text, and sound cues, then calm scoring, then export, import, and reset. Every game event is announced through one polite live region, so a clue, a returned report, and a bench inspection are each spoken once. The archive marks every date you have closed with a filled dot and your best credibility for it.

Open the Bureau docket · Review research notes · Read privacy details