Jubensha Murder Mysteries Coming to Buffalo, NY!

Lock and Key Escape Room is proud to announce the opening of Nickel City Mysteries in Buffalo, NY on January 16th, 2026. Nickel City Mysteries will become just the 3rd English language Jubensha shop in the United States, and the 4th in North America. Our Jubensha offerings will be titled Nickel City Mysteries. The first two games offered upon initial opening: ‘Demise of the Pocket Knight’ and ‘Time Triplet’. More titles will follow in the coming months.

Jubensha is an interactive mystery game that originated in China 10 years ago, and has spread across the country in the last 5 years. It quickly spread after the release of shows based on Jubensha like ‘Who’s the Murderer’, and Crime Scene in Korea. It gained Western notice a little over a year ago following a YouTube video by Quintin Smith at People Make Games.

In Jubensha groups of 5-10 people take on the roles of characters solving a mystery. All of them are suspects, but one of them is the true murderer. Players gather evidence and interrogate each other while the true culprit attempts to throw them off the trail. Intricate storylines combine with simple rules mechanics to create an immersive mystery game filled with hidden agendas, drama and deception.

Players start by reading a “script.” This script reveals their characters background and the events of the murder from their point of view. Following that, participants engage in a series of evidence gathering rounds to piece together the events of the murder. Once done, the players get to the final reveal, where they must vote for who they believe is the culprit.

Bookings will be open to reservations after the New Year. They can be made at this website or at Nickel City Mysteries. For more information on Jubensha and to keep up on individual title releases head over to Nickelcitymysteries.com.