History Main / FairPlayWhodunnit

** In ''Literature/HerculePoirotsChristmas'', Poirot asks the butler what the date was three days ago; the butler walks over to a wall calendar and reads off 'the 22nd'; and the reader is led to conclude that there is something important about the date. However, during TheSummation, Poirot says that the whole point was to find out if the butler had ''bad eyesight''. She also plays fast and loose with the [[spoiler:"no doubles or hitherto unknown twins"]] rules, by dropping [[spoiler:''two'' hitherto unknown illegitimate sons of the victim]] into the pot although [[spoiler:the possibility of their existence was explicitly stated by their father himself]]).

* All ''Literature/EncyclopediaBrown'' mysteries are deliberately like this... but some of the "solutions" are [[ConvictionByCounterfactualClue less plausible than others]]. The mysteries also subvert the trope: Encyclopedia nearly always reveals the mystery's solution to the reader--but the challenge isn't (usually) to figure out the solution, it's more often [[SpotTheThread to figure out which clue tipped off Encyclopedia]]. The question in most mysteries is generally phrased as ''"How did Encyclopedia know?"''

* Some episodes of ''Series/{{Monk}}'', before a point where they sometimes stopped caring about the mystery aspect of the show. In the early seasons, what set Monk apart was his ability to notice important clues and details that other detectives didn't see, and he would then point them out. At that point it was often possible to put them together and solve the case along with Monk. Sometimes, clues are revealed to us before Monk even notices them.

* In the ''Franchise/AceAttorney'' games, since the focus is entirely on the clues and how they fit together, it is occasionally entirely possible to figure out who the killer is before TheReveal. This is, of course, when the mystery isn't already a ReverseWhodunnit, or CluelessMystery (usually because the true culprit is only introduced halfway through the case). The hard part, of course, is proving it.
** It gets ridiculous in the last case of ''[[VisualNovel/AceAttorneyInvestigationsMilesEdgeworth Ace Attorney Investigations]]''. Edgeworth figures out the culprit and BigBad easily, but proving exactly what happened and how it was done is such a laborious process (partly thanks to the villain’s [[spoiler:DiplomaticImmunity]]) that you're given a save point [[MarathonBoss in the middle of the interrogation]].
** The final case of ''Trials and Tribulations'' does break rule 2, but by that point the player is already familiar with the supernatural power in question and its efficacy. It also plays hard and fast with rule 10 - while the player is told upfront that [[spoiler:Iris and Dahlia]] look alike, and can easily figure out that they're twins, [[spoiler:the latter character turns out to be dead, so a TwinSwitch should have been impossible. It's only by combining these two bits of information that the player can arrive at [[DemonicPossession the solution]]]].
** ''Spirit of Justice'' more blatantly breaks rule 2, since half of the game takes place in a country that revolves around the supernatural powers introduced in the previous games. In particular, divination seances are used in court to view the victim's last moments. Also, [[spoiler: at one point, the victim's spirit is channeled in order to testify about his murder, and the ultimate linchpin for winning the final case is proving that the BigBad does ''not'' have such supernatural powers (which by the country's laws means that she has no right to the throne).]] Again, however, the player should already be familiar with the supernatural powers and anything new (such as the seances) is clearly explained.

* ''Film/KnivesOut'' is a deliberate revival of the genre that is, in fact, scrupulously fair. The only clue not ''immediately'' revealed to the audience is [[spoiler: the toxicology report that indicates that Harlan had no morphine in his system]], which is still revealed a few minutes later during TheSummation and can be intuited by factors like [[spoiler: Harlan showing no symptoms of a morphine overdose despite him and Marta thinking he's dying rapidly of one.]]

** ''VisualNovel/Danganronpa2GoodbyeDespair'' gleefully breaks Rule #6 to bits with Nagito Komaeda, whose [[BornLucky Ultimate Good Luck]] means that 'wander around and hope to stumble over evidence' is a completely legitimate strategy. Protagonist Hajime Hinata doesn't get these lucky breaks.

** ''VisualNovel/DanganronpaTriggerHappyHavoc'' generally follows the decalogue, though it toes Rule 6 as Makoto's good luck is the reason he attended Hope's Peak in the first place, and it occasionally tosses him a bone. [[spoiler: And of course, it ''completely'' breaks Rule 10; the "Junko Enoshima" who got killed early on was actually the unmentioned twin sister of the ''real'' Junko; while the notion that there ''was'' an extra student was introduced early, it was never hinted that the extra was Junko's twin.]]

** In ''VisualNovel/DanganronpaV3KillingHarmony'', the first case brutally breaks [[spoiler:rules 1 and 7. PlayerCharacter Kaede did it, and you switch to controlling the {{Deuteragonist}} Shuichi up to that point once you figure it out. You even get to recount several scenes linking apparently innocuous things Kaede did that link her to the crime.]] The sixth case [[spoiler:is a retrial of the first, in which Shuichi proves that Kaede ''didn't'' do it, retroactively passing the rules after all.]]

*** This entire trope is [[DeconstructedTrope deconstructed]] during the Question Arcs. The Anti-Mystery perspective, championed by Beatrice, is that fair-play mystery is inherently unrealistic. Only a fictional detective has a guarantee from [[WordOfGod god]] that the mystery is solvable and all the necessary clues to reach it are attainable. In the real world, there is no such thing. Perhaps testimonies and confessions are simply [[UnreliableNarrator false]]. Perhaps the culprit was meticulous enough to not leave evidence anyway. Perhaps the necessary evidence are never recovered by the detective. To expect a solvable mystery is inherently illogical, as no such guarantee exist for any living breathing detective. [[spoiler:The Answer Arcs [[DeconReconSwitch reconstruct]] all this by saying that because the reader is never really given this guarantee, they must be able to have faith in the writer and tackle the puzzle anyway, because without this baseless belief the mystery cannot be solved. Only with the trust that this question was crafted to be answered can they begin to find that answer. [[ArcWords Without love, the truth cannot be seen]].]]
** ''VisualNovel/HigurashiWhenTheyCry'', Umineko's predecessor, also has the same theme running much more quietly in the background. It is possible to figure out how things are occurring by the end end of the first half of the story, though perhaps not ''why.'' Of course, the crime may not be exactly what you've been led to believe, which may trick you into believing there has been a rules violation [[spoiler:when Keiichi goes crazy and kills his friends]].

** Rule 3: The facility everyone is trapped in does not seem like the kind of place a secret passage would be expected to be found. Despite this, [[spoiler:the big door in the Floor B warehouse serves as one. This is justified in that it's not "secret"; it just can't be opened from the inside.]]
*** [[spoiler:Alternatively, the facility itself is filled with doors with rules tied to the DeadlyGame everyone's playing, and full of puzzles and one-way-until-unlocked-from-the-right-side doors. However, the doors with rules are explained at the start of the game, and characters are [[MundaneSolution given a map]] (with one-way doors annotated) upon completion of a puzzle.]]
** Rule 4: The reason some things are given long scientific explanations in game are [[spoiler:because those explanations become vital later on, and are used for a number of "loop-hole" breakages, once again making sure that the reason the rule exists; to prevent pointlessly confusing dialogue and banter, is not broken.]]
** The presence of Alice breaks Rule 5, but she is never treated any differently than all the other characters based on her ethnicity, which is the reason the rule exists in the first place.
*** The game's updated Rule 5 (No one with extra-sensory perception or similar powers may appear) is also technically not broken; none of the time travel abilities are described as ESP, and while Clover does have some abilities, they are never once relevant.

** Rule 9: This game's {{Deuteragonist}}, Phi, appears to regularly keep important information from Sigma. However, [[spoiler:it's eventually revealed that [[SubvertedTrope this is not the case]], as Phi shares any pertinent info she may have, and any time she dismisses how she got this info with "IJustKnew", she really ''did'' just know.]]
*** Since you pair up with different characters, and follow different character routes, most of the characters end up as the "Watson" at some point. For one example, [[spoiler:Tenmyouji and Quark keep quiet about the Facility being on the moon, ''and'' being set 45 years later than most players expect. They've been told if they talk, [[JustifiedTrope they'll be killed]], but due to the game's copious amounts of [[{{Foreshadowing}} foreshadowing]], it's possible (though difficult) to guess/work out some details ahead of time.]]
** Rule 10 is broken when [[spoiler:K's mask is removed to reveal Sigma's face. However, the fact that they look identical never plays into the story and is explained at the end.]]
*** Further, the specific wording of "unless we have been duly prepared for them." is followed too. [[spoiler:Depending on [[AnachronicOrder the order you get endings]], either Luna route or Dio's ending provides a reasonable explanation for K looking exactly like Sigma. That is, K is either a robot or a clone respectively.]]
** ''VisualNovel/ZeroTimeDilemma'', the sequel game to ''VisualNovel/VirtuesLastReward'', also plays with the rules, especially Rule 1: Zero II is [[spoiler:Q - but the name Q isn't referring to the little robot boy, but the elderly, allegedly disabled man who's been sitting just out of frame the entire game]]. This character's existence is foreshadowed, and really perceptive players can pick up on it, but the game doesn't introduce this character to the audience, making it incredibly difficult to guess who Zero is.

* Most ''Literature/SherlockHolmes'' mysteries are not really fair, if only because Dr. Watson (the narrator) is not as observant as his colleague. It bears mentioning that [[DirectLineToTheAuthor Watson is usually writing these up after the fact]]. He ''could'' give the reader the clues--Holmes himself professed a preference for a didactic style of write-up that would be something like this trope--but arguably intentionally averts the trope in order to play up Holmes's brilliance, as well as for the continuity of the narrative. If Watson's powers of observation had been greater, it might be true that his normal narrative flow might well play the trope straight.

** The first few Sideshow Bob episodes were this kind of story. Later on, the writers abandoned the mystery angle because coming up with them proved too difficult.

* Scott Turow's ''Film/PresumedInnocent'' delicately scatters its clues amidst character development and the trial plotline -- all the reader needs is in the text.

* Donald J. Sobal's other series, ''Literature/TwoMinuteMysteries'', was similarly deliberately fair-play (and similarly not always plausible).

* ''{{Franchise/Danganronpa}}'' usually follows these rules, as the protagonist is deeply involved in the investigation, and you use evidence discovered during investigation in the trial. Rule #5, of course, is an exception, since all characters are Japanese.

* ''{{Franchise/Danganronpa}}'':
** ''VisualNovel/DanganronpaTriggerHappyHavoc'' generally follows the decalogue, although rule 6 [[spoiler:(and 10 later on)]] is broken in a number of scenes. However, one of the cases is unpredictable before the trial happens, and in another, there's not enough information to conclusively answer it at all.

* ''Series/StarTrekDeepSpaceNine'': [[GirlOfTheWeek Arissa]] asks Odo if he's worked out who the killer in the book was. He says "by the third page." Either he's just that good or the book's just that bad.

** "The Demon of Labyrinth Inn" plays by the rules aside from Rule 2: a consequence of [[TheLostWoods the Woods]], which are filled with all sorts of ghosts and monsters. It also skirts Rule 3: while the Labyrinth Inn is filled with shifting walls and secret rooms, they're only a hindrance to the characters in the present day and didn't factor into the murder itself.

** The final case of ''Trials and Tribulations'' does break rule 2, but by that point the player is already familiar with the supernatural power in question and its efficacy. It also plays hard and fast with rule 10 - while the player is told upfront that [[spoiler:Iris and Dahlia]] look alike, and can easily figure out that they're twins, [[spoiler:the latter character turns out to be dead, so a TwinSwitch should have been impossible. It's only by combining these two bits of information that the player can arrive at [[DemonicPossesion the solution]]]].

** In ''VisualNovel/TheGreatAceAttorney'', the second case, which involves a man being killed during an experiment to test a teleporter and being found dead at his destination, the possibility of the victim having a twin brother is brought up, although Prosecutor van Zieks rules it out. The actual explanation is more complicated but does not break the rule.

* Though TheReveal of the true nature of The Entity abducting people in ''WebVideo/AtopTheFourthWall'' is shocking, Linkara points out that there have been numerous clues spelling out what's been happening all along, and the true identity of the culprit: [[spoiler:It's Nineties Kid... or rather, Missingno, the glitch Pokemon, masquerading as Nineties Kid]]. Lewis later notes some people actually figured out the mystery and correctly guessed the nature of The Entity using some of the below clues before he published the ''Spider-Man: Planet of the Symbiotes'' video.

*** "The path you should have never crossed - [[spoiler:It is very hard to accidentally trigger the Missingno glitch. You have to do it purposefully.]]

*** "And all while you're reminiscing" - [[spoiler:A further hint that its source would be something people would be nostalgic for.]]

* Though TheReveal of the true nature of The Entity abducting people in ''WebVideo/AtopTheFourthWall'' is shocking, Linkara points out that there have been numerous clues to what was happening all along, as well as its true identity: [[spoiler:It's Nineties Kid... or rather, Missingno, the glitch Pokemon, masquerading as Nineties Kid]].
** Nineties Kid has been substantially creepier and weirder than usual for months. [[spoiler:Because Missingno can never perfectly copy a Pokemon, being full of errors and impossible stats.]]

* Though TheReveal of the true nature of The Entity in ''WebVideo/AtopTheFourthWall'' is shocking, Linkara points out that there have been numerous clues to what was happening all along, as well as its true identity: [[spoiler:It's Nineties Kid... or rather, Missingno, the glitch Pokemon, masquerading as Nineties Kid]].

** The poem associated with the Entity gives away the whole game if though through properly. Linkara admonishes himself for not taking time to consider it better.
*** "Beneath the sea beside the flame" - [[spoiler:Cinnabar Island, the location associated with the Missingno glitch]]

*** "The bones of Hell you cannot tame" - [[spoiler:Two possible glitch Pokemon manifest as Aerodactyl and Kabutops fossils, which cannot be properly used as Pokemon.]]

*** "And all while you're reminiscing" - [[spoiler:A further hint that its source would be something people would be nostalgic for]]

* All ''Literature/EncyclopediaBrown'' mysteries are deliberately like this... but some of the "solutions" are [[ConvictionByCounterfactualClue less plausible than others]].

# [[ScaryMinoritySuspect No Chinaman must figure in the story.]][[note]]This was not a case of racism, despite the ValuesDissonance of the now-offensive but generally obsolete term "Chinaman". This was in fact an admonition ''against'' something considered both racist and clichéd even then: the YellowPeril villains, {{Magical Asian}}s, and {{Inscrutable Oriental}} characters prevalent in dodgy crime fiction at the time, most notably Literature/FuManchu. The modern American equivalent would be a ScaryBlackMan or a {{Middle Eastern terrorist|s}}. Regardless of the time period and the ethnicity involved, the point remained: the TokenMinority was automatically either the culprit, or played for the rest of the story as a RedHerring.[[/note]]

* The second [=DLC=] for ''VideoGame/TheOuterWorlds'', "Murder on Eridanos," appears to play this straight: you're investigating the death of a famous starlet and are allowed to interview several of the potential suspects and investigate clues. However, it's impossible to solve fairly, since it breaks [[spoiler:rule #10. The dead woman is actually the starlet's secret identical twin, a possibility which you're not even allowed to guess.]]