Manuel Garand is the creator of viral puzzle book sensation Murdoku. With two books published and at least two more in the works, Manuel has big plans for the series. Fans of logic grids and murder mysteries are sure to find these puzzle sets highly addictive, with the challenge ramping up as you progress. In this interview, Manuel talks about where the idea for Murdoku came from, how he responds to player feedback, and reveals the titles of the next two instalments in the series. Enjoy!
(Meet Your Maker is an interview series featuring creators of puzzle and mystery games and experiences from across the globe. We aim to shine a spotlight on both established creators and those who are just setting out on their journey. Stay tuned for more interviews coming soon.)
Please can you introduce yourself?
I’m Manuel Garand, 40 years old and father of two young sons. I’ve worked as a real-time stenotypist previously, and I’ve been an aspiring game designer for a long time, passionate about games from the moment I could hold a Nintendo controller.
How did you get started in puzzle design?
I can’t remember when I started; I built so many prototypes over the years, mostly for puzzle video games! For example, for a long time I tried to create a game inspired by Minesweeper with an archaeology twist. Many failures and hard lessons, all of which ultimately led to Murdoku.
Do you recall a particular experience with puzzles that ignited your passion?
I discovered a long time ago the logic puzzle Haunted Mirror Mazes invented by David Millar, where you need to place vampires, zombies and ghosts on a grid, each being reflected differently by the mirrors. This whole idea of taking abstract logic puzzles and adding theme and flavor to them blew my mind. It opened up my imagination about what other spatial puzzle games with a theme could be invented.
Where did the concept for Murdoku come from?
For a long time, I had this ambitious project of making a murder mystery roguelike video game, where you would need to reconstruct every suspect’s whereabouts at every hour on the night of the murder. One day, I thought ok let’s simplify everything; let’s just create a 9×9 crime scene grid in Photoshop, one person per row and per column, each suspect has a clue, and see what happens. Murdoku is the “failed” version of this previous dream project.
How did Murdoku get from an idea to being picked up by a publisher?
I made my first Murdoku puzzles in 2020. Back then I called them “murder mystery puzzles”. Everyone who tried the game seemed to love it, even people who weren’t into logic puzzles, which made me realize there was something special there. Then I created a webpage (murdermysterypuzzles.com) where I published free downloadable puzzles regularly. I also coded a tool to help me iterate and test these puzzles more quickly.
My puzzles had very positive reactions, and with the popularity of puzzle books during COVID, this seemed like a slam dunk, so I pitched the book concept to countless publishers and literary agents, but none saw the potential. This rejection almost made me give up the entire project, which I abandoned for a year.
By pure luck, Jim Bumgardner, also known as KrazyDad, found my website, reached out to me, and gave my contact to Francis Heaney, the editor at Puzzlewright (Union Square). I was quite lucky that these two people saw the potential back when no one else in the industry did.
Why was it important that this is a full-colour book, and was this something you had to push for due to the extra cost?
Yes! As the creator, full-color was essential to this vision of a premium puzzle book that takes inspiration from board games. I am extremely grateful that my publisher immediately understood the appeal of a full-color book, back when black and white could have felt like the safe choice in this category.
Can you walk us through the design process for your puzzles?
I start with an interesting idea for a location. Most puzzles revolve around one key logic step, for example: “at some point, we’ll find out that A and B can only be together in the kitchen, which means that C can then only be in the bedroom”. Then I’ll try to build everything around that core idea, adding steps before and after. In the end, it’s more craft than science; it comes down to a lot of iteration and testing.
You are credited, along with Valentyna Bezdushna, with responsibility for the characters. Did real people inspire any of these?
The vast majority of portraits are done by Valentyna, who’s incredibly talented. She’s been involved in this project from the very beginning. Much of my family is featured in one puzzle or another. For example, my sister Ariel is the woman holding a French bulldog on the back cover.
Some puzzles have subtle winks to movie characters. Or sometimes fans bring up a game or movie reference they think they saw in a puzzle, which is a total coincidence… but who am I to disagree?
Volume 2: Back in Time shakes up the format, with changes to the themes and gameplay mechanics. Why was it important to make these changes?
I need to have fun creating these puzzles, and I want the experience to feel fresh for the reader as well, so book 2 injects a lot of depth into the game. A lot of this inspiration comes from how board games handle new expansions and content, adding scaffolding on top of the core mechanics.
Blocking out the occupied squares for Volume 2 was a very helpful improvement. Was this change due to player feedback?
Fun story: the note grids were a last-minute inclusion in book 1 thanks to Francis, the book editor, who suggested we add them. Back then, I imagined that everyone would just write on the grid itself and no one would use these note grids. Oh, was I so wrong. Seeing now how every single reader is using the note grids, blocking out the occupied squares seemed like a much-needed improvement.
Most of Volume 2 was done before Volume 1 was released, so Volume 3 is the first book where I’ll get to apply much of the feedback received so far. I’ve learned a lot about which wordings or clues tend to confuse readers, and Volume 3 should improve on the overall difficulty curve.
Are there any elements of creating Murdoku that people may find surprising?
Often, coming up with a unique idea for the location and a good template for the grid itself is the hardest part! I always want the locations to make visual sense, so a living room must look like an actual living room, with one TV and many chairs.
Do you have ideas for similar concepts?
I have a million ideas for games of all kinds, but converting a good idea into an actual polished game is 99% of the job. Murdoku is really taking all my attention at the moment, and I’ve still barely scratched the surface of what Murdoku can be.
Why do you think there has been such a surge in the popularity of puzzle books?
There’s a big “getting off the screen” trend, where people are looking for new, engaging analog experiences. I also think some of it has to do with the tremendous popularity of board games and even escape rooms.
Are you strictly a puzzle setter, or do you enjoy solving them too?
I used to greatly enjoy solving Battleship Puzzles (Bimaru) with my wife; we would often compete to see who would solve them faster. The concept of having a list of things we need to place on a top-down grid was fascinating to me. I really enjoy Nurikabe too. Frankly, unless there’s some kind of grid or spatial element involved, I’m not that great at
solving puzzles!
Lately, I discovered Dragonsweeper by Daniel Benmergui. It’s an incredibly fresh and clever spin on Minesweeper with a surprising amount of depth, again adding some flavor to a classic. I love it!
There are two volumes of Murdoku on the market; are any more books on the way?
Yes, Murdoku Volume 3: Around the World is coming out October 27th, featuring 80 unique locations. This will include a new feature: some cases now have multiple crime scenes, and you’ll need to figure out which crime scene each suspect was at. Then Volume 4: Beyond the Grave, which will be horror-themed, is coming out next year!
Thank You & Free Puzzles!
Thanks to Manuel for taking the time to answer my questions; he’s a very busy guy! I’m still working my way through Volume 2, but I can’t wait to get my hands on the next instalments. Murdoku Volumes 1 and 2 are available to buy now in most book stores or online; Volume 3 is also available to pre-order.
You can sample Murdoku online right now by visiting the official website, where you’ll find a whole selection of free puzzles to solve. It’s a great way of getting a feel for how the puzzles work before you order the books. Puzzles are updated weekly and range from very easy to expert level!
Find Murdoku online
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