...it's like TV Tropes, but LINKED DATA!
Criminal Mind Games
- 490 statements
- 93 feature instances
- 87 referencing feature instances
| Criminal Mind Games | type |
FeatureClass | |
| Criminal Mind Games | label |
Criminal Mind Games | |
| Criminal Mind Games | page |
CriminalMindGames | |
| Criminal Mind Games | comment |
The detectives are on the heels of a very unbalanced criminal who has left them a trail of clues to follow — these clues aren't meant to cover the criminal's tracks, but, for the criminal's (and the audience's) entertainment, are usually intended to be a test of their intellect, or their investigatory skills, as though the criminal wants to see if the detectives are worthy of catching him. Not only do the detectives oblige the nutter and follow his breadcrumb trail, they tend to give up all conventional routes of investigation. Usually they are the minutest step behind their quarry right until the end. Sometimes the criminal wishes to distract or trap the detectives, sometimes they want them to uncover some other truth along the way, but usually they're just being a real smartass. Sometimes the clues are hidden in the Serial Killer's Calling Card or in its gruesome souvenirs. There is often a Breaking Speech (or "The Reason You Suck" Speech) and a Kirk Summation (or "No More Holding Back" Speech) exchange between The Protagonist and antagonist some time before the climax. The criminal will often warn the investigators that there will be consequence for cheating on the game. Can overlap with Absurdly High-Stakes Game and a Life-or-Death Question. These people often enjoy wordplay. Anagrams abound, as well as sentences with a carefully designed second meaning, and proper nouns which are conveniently also real words. ("Wait a minute, does he mean Jim Trashcompacter?") Because they’re supposed to be intellectual tests, villains in Edutainment Series tend to be fond of using these, Alphabet Soup Cans style. See also Linked List Clue Methodology for a number of non-(or at least less) criminal scavenger hunts. Compare The Walrus Was Paul. Also compare Writing About Your Crime. |
|
| Criminal Mind Games | fetched |
2024-04-17T23:45:23Z | |
| Criminal Mind Games | parsed |
2024-04-17T23:45:23Z | |
| Criminal Mind Games | processingComment |
Dropped link to AliceCooper: Not an Item - IGNORE | |
| Criminal Mind Games | processingComment |
Dropped link to AxCrazy: Not an Item - FEATURE | |
| Criminal Mind Games | processingComment |
Dropped link to ConsultingAConvictedKiller: Not an Item - FEATURE | |
| Criminal Mind Games | processingComment |
Dropped link to DefiedTrope: Not an Item - FEATURE | |
| Criminal Mind Games | processingComment |
Dropped link to IHaveManyNames: Not an Item - FEATURE | |
| Criminal Mind Games | processingComment |
Dropped link to MiscarriageOfJustice: Not an Item - FEATURE | |
| Criminal Mind Games | processingComment |
Dropped link to MonsterOfTheWeek: Not an Item - FEATURE | |
| Criminal Mind Games | processingComment |
Dropped link to NearVillainVictory: Not an Item - FEATURE | |
| Criminal Mind Games | processingComment |
Dropped link to NoCelebritiesWereHarmed: Not an Item - FEATURE | |
| Criminal Mind Games | processingComment |
Dropped link to OlderThanTelevision: Not an Item - CAT | |
| Criminal Mind Games | processingComment |
Dropped link to Parody: Not an Item - FEATURE | |
| Criminal Mind Games | processingComment |
Dropped link to PlayedWith: Not an Item - FEATURE | |
| Criminal Mind Games | processingComment |
Dropped link to SerialKiller: Not an Item - FEATURE | |
| Criminal Mind Games | processingComment |
Dropped link to SpreeKiller: Not an Item - FEATURE | |
| Criminal Mind Games | processingComment |
Dropped link to SubvertedTrope: Not an Item - CAT | |
| Criminal Mind Games | processingComment |
Dropped link to VillainTeamUp: Not an Item - FEATURE | |
| Criminal Mind Games | processingComment |
Dropped link to WrongGenreSavvy: Not an Item - FEATURE | |
| Criminal Mind Games | processingComment |
Dropped link to invokedtrope: Not an Item - FEATURE | |
| Criminal Mind Games | isPartOf |
DBTropes | |
| Criminal Mind Games / int_109f7814 | type |
Criminal Mind Games | |
| Criminal Mind Games / int_109f7814 | comment |
Sherlock does this in the first season finale, "The Great Game." In a somewhat unique instance, the perpetrator is using unsolved cases as the bait for Sherlock, forcing him to dig up the truth so that his victims won't be killed. | |
| Criminal Mind Games / int_109f7814 | featureApplicability |
1.0 | |
| Criminal Mind Games / int_109f7814 | featureConfidence |
1.0 | |
| Sherlock | hasFeature |
Criminal Mind Games / int_109f7814 | |
| Criminal Mind Games / int_1463a028 | type |
Criminal Mind Games | |
| Criminal Mind Games / int_1463a028 | comment |
Law & Order: Special Victims Unit: Though the police didn't give up on traditional methods entirely. In fact, by using traditional methods, they're able to catch the perp before he can complete his intended killings, and even manage to save a victim without stooping to his level. Another episode had a copycat serial killer taunt the squad with puzzles just as the original killer had. |
|
| Criminal Mind Games / int_1463a028 | featureApplicability |
1.0 | |
| Criminal Mind Games / int_1463a028 | featureConfidence |
1.0 | |
| Law & Order: Special Victims Unit | hasFeature |
Criminal Mind Games / int_1463a028 | |
| Criminal Mind Games / int_15349fd6 | type |
Criminal Mind Games | |
| Criminal Mind Games / int_15349fd6 | comment |
Double-subverted in John Buchan's Richard Hannay novel The Three Hostages. The villain leaves a riddle for the police, in the form of a six-line poem. It's deliberately uncrackable, designed only as a distraction. But, possibly subconsciously, he laces the riddle with subtle clues, which the heroes crack thanks to a number of remarkably fortuitous encounters and observations. | |
| Criminal Mind Games / int_15349fd6 | featureApplicability |
-0.3 | |
| Criminal Mind Games / int_15349fd6 | featureConfidence |
1.0 | |
| The Three Hostages | hasFeature |
Criminal Mind Games / int_15349fd6 | |
| Criminal Mind Games / int_17024c6d | type |
Criminal Mind Games | |
| Criminal Mind Games / int_17024c6d | comment |
Often done in The Pretender by Jarod to the Centre operatives chasing him both to mock them and to leave clues that their superiors were up to shenanigans behind their backs. Done more often in the first couple of seasons... later on, Jarod simply calls them to tip them off about their employer's latest wacky hijinx. | |
| Criminal Mind Games / int_17024c6d | featureApplicability |
1.0 | |
| Criminal Mind Games / int_17024c6d | featureConfidence |
1.0 | |
| The Pretender | hasFeature |
Criminal Mind Games / int_17024c6d | |
| Criminal Mind Games / int_20b89f70 | type |
Criminal Mind Games | |
| Criminal Mind Games / int_20b89f70 | comment |
Awaken: Before killing his victims the serial killer sends warning letters to Ji-wook, using riddles and codes to describe the time, place and method of each murder. | |
| Criminal Mind Games / int_20b89f70 | featureApplicability |
1.0 | |
| Criminal Mind Games / int_20b89f70 | featureConfidence |
1.0 | |
| Awaken | hasFeature |
Criminal Mind Games / int_20b89f70 | |
| Criminal Mind Games / int_20ee1082 | type |
Criminal Mind Games | |
| Criminal Mind Games / int_20ee1082 | comment |
A Charmed Life has Light sending L a series of postcards. He also left a coded message for L in his fake suicide note. | |
| Criminal Mind Games / int_20ee1082 | featureApplicability |
1.0 | |
| Criminal Mind Games / int_20ee1082 | featureConfidence |
1.0 | |
| A Charmed Life / Fan Fic | hasFeature |
Criminal Mind Games / int_20ee1082 | |
| Criminal Mind Games / int_20f47d2e | type |
Criminal Mind Games | |
| Criminal Mind Games / int_20f47d2e | comment |
The killer in Anamorph hides an anamorph in each crime scene that depicts the next one. He also leaves messages for Aubrey. | |
| Criminal Mind Games / int_20f47d2e | featureApplicability |
1.0 | |
| Criminal Mind Games / int_20f47d2e | featureConfidence |
1.0 | |
| Anamorph | hasFeature |
Criminal Mind Games / int_20f47d2e | |
| Criminal Mind Games / int_2215552 | type |
Criminal Mind Games | |
| Criminal Mind Games / int_2215552 | comment |
In Hellraiser: Inferno, the Engineer serial killer is constantly leaving messages to Detective Joseph Thorne as he kills the people around him and leaves behind the dissected fingers of his child victim. This is because Joseph is actually both the cop and the murderer. "Hunt the Engineer and the Engineer hunts you". | |
| Criminal Mind Games / int_2215552 | featureApplicability |
1.0 | |
| Criminal Mind Games / int_2215552 | featureConfidence |
1.0 | |
| Hellraiser: Inferno | hasFeature |
Criminal Mind Games / int_2215552 | |
| Criminal Mind Games / int_22e860f4 | type |
Criminal Mind Games | |
| Criminal Mind Games / int_22e860f4 | comment |
Psych: In the season 3 finale, Shawn faces the Yin-Yang Killer, who only rarely resurfaces to screw with star cops — by kidnapping a victim and leaving stopwatches and clues, with the victim dying when the star cop fails to solve the clues in time. When the Yin-Yang killer targets Shawn, Shawn gets caught up in the killer's clues, and then he realizes that is what the killer wants and pretends to give up. Eventually the killer, pissed off that Shawn isn't playing the game, comes gunning for him, and is revealed to be a very crazy-looking Ally Sheedy. One of the rare straight uses of this trope that manages to be funny: Detective Lassiter thinks the Yin-Yang Killer is testing him, specifically. He is...wrong. They do it all again the next season with Mr. Yang's partner, Mr. Yin. Who happens to be Mr. Yang's parent. This time, Shawn has Yang as an ally so he can consult her at any time, but she's so crazy that the information she provides Shawn is also concealed behind elaborate riddles. When Shawn tells her that she's making them waste their time and they need the information now, Yang gives Shawn a flat look and says: |
|
| Criminal Mind Games / int_22e860f4 | featureApplicability |
1.0 | |
| Criminal Mind Games / int_22e860f4 | featureConfidence |
1.0 | |
| Psych | hasFeature |
Criminal Mind Games / int_22e860f4 | |
| Criminal Mind Games / int_24e41891 | type |
Criminal Mind Games | |
| Criminal Mind Games / int_24e41891 | comment |
Dexter: Dexter himself does this to mislead the agents investigating his own murders. In a twist, his attempt to mislead actually helps the FBI agent to narrow down the investigation to somebody within the police department. This is because Dexter sends them a 'manifesto' for his crimes that's all over the map, mixing literary references with social commentary, religious diatribes, and crediting both Julius Caesar and Gandhi as inspirations. It's so scattershot that Agent Lundy deduces that the perpetrator has to be personally familiar with police profiling and was hoping to send them on a wild goose chase. Subverted when The Ice Truck Killer sends clues to the police, but they're really meant only for Dexter. |
|
| Criminal Mind Games / int_24e41891 | featureApplicability |
-0.3 | |
| Criminal Mind Games / int_24e41891 | featureConfidence |
1.0 | |
| Dexter | hasFeature |
Criminal Mind Games / int_24e41891 | |
| Criminal Mind Games / int_261c8d3f | type |
Criminal Mind Games | |
| Criminal Mind Games / int_261c8d3f | comment |
The Simpsons: Chief Wiggum was the "Mutton-Chop Murderer", who wanted to create a crime even Lisa Simpson couldn't solve. Played as a parody, natch. Subverted when Bart hides Lisa's report and challenges her with a series of riddles: |
|
| Criminal Mind Games / int_261c8d3f | featureApplicability |
-0.3 | |
| Criminal Mind Games / int_261c8d3f | featureConfidence |
1.0 | |
| The Simpsons | hasFeature |
Criminal Mind Games / int_261c8d3f | |
| Criminal Mind Games / int_26698c5a | type |
Criminal Mind Games | |
| Criminal Mind Games / int_26698c5a | comment |
Deliberately homaged in The Name of the Rose, right down to the perpetrator being literally named Jorge of Burgos. | |
| Criminal Mind Games / int_26698c5a | featureApplicability |
1.0 | |
| Criminal Mind Games / int_26698c5a | featureConfidence |
1.0 | |
| The Name of the Rose | hasFeature |
Criminal Mind Games / int_26698c5a | |
| Criminal Mind Games / int_2ba48a26 | type |
Criminal Mind Games | |
| Criminal Mind Games / int_2ba48a26 | comment |
Castle: In the two-parter Tick, Tick and Boom, the team and an FBI profiler hunt a killer who is obsessed with Nikki Heat, the Beckett analogue in Castle's books, and leaves clues to prove he can outsmart her. Another episode has a sniper leave behind paper dolls cut from images of paintings that point toward his next target. |
|
| Criminal Mind Games / int_2ba48a26 | featureApplicability |
1.0 | |
| Criminal Mind Games / int_2ba48a26 | featureConfidence |
1.0 | |
| Castle (2009) | hasFeature |
Criminal Mind Games / int_2ba48a26 | |
| Criminal Mind Games / int_2c15b0dc | type |
Criminal Mind Games | |
| Criminal Mind Games / int_2c15b0dc | comment |
Unfortunately for him, his daughter, Stephanie Brown, was angry at him for trying this while claiming to be reformed, and became The Spoiler, leaving clues to her father's crimes for Batman. So that's what the hell her name means. | |
| Criminal Mind Games / int_2c15b0dc | featureApplicability |
1.0 | |
| Criminal Mind Games / int_2c15b0dc | featureConfidence |
1.0 | |
| Batgirl (2009) (Comic Book) | hasFeature |
Criminal Mind Games / int_2c15b0dc | |
| Criminal Mind Games / int_2cee21d9 | type |
Criminal Mind Games | |
| Criminal Mind Games / int_2cee21d9 | comment |
Issue #6 of Untold Tales of Spider-Man had Spidey and the Human Torch working together to stop The Wizard, who left logic-based puzzles as clues to his next caper. The crime spree was The Wizard's attempt to prove that he was smarter than the Torch, but Spider-Man solved them all fairly easily. | |
| Criminal Mind Games / int_2cee21d9 | featureApplicability |
1.0 | |
| Criminal Mind Games / int_2cee21d9 | featureConfidence |
1.0 | |
| Untold Tales of Spider-Man (Comic Book) | hasFeature |
Criminal Mind Games / int_2cee21d9 | |
| Criminal Mind Games / int_30940081 | type |
Criminal Mind Games | |
| Criminal Mind Games / int_30940081 | comment |
One side mission in Grand Theft Auto V has Franklin hunting the perpetrator of a famous unsolved murder who sent letters to his victims family to gloat that he would never be caught, even sending them her severed lips on the anniversary of the murder. | |
| Criminal Mind Games / int_30940081 | featureApplicability |
1.0 | |
| Criminal Mind Games / int_30940081 | featureConfidence |
1.0 | |
| Grand Theft Auto V (Video Game) | hasFeature |
Criminal Mind Games / int_30940081 | |
| Criminal Mind Games / int_32066b8e | type |
Criminal Mind Games | |
| Criminal Mind Games / int_32066b8e | comment |
V was this in V for Vendetta to the inspectors (Nose, not Finger). He actually used the term, but in a more insulting/literal reference to Creedy. | |
| Criminal Mind Games / int_32066b8e | featureApplicability |
1.0 | |
| Criminal Mind Games / int_32066b8e | featureConfidence |
1.0 | |
| V for Vendetta | hasFeature |
Criminal Mind Games / int_32066b8e | |
| Criminal Mind Games / int_32235825 | type |
Criminal Mind Games | |
| Criminal Mind Games / int_32235825 | comment |
In Beverly Hills Cop II, this is the Big Bad's apparent modus operandi, by leaving so-called "alphabet clues" at the scene of each of his daring crimes. It turns out to be a subversion, as the clues are designed to distract the By The Book Cops' attention and set up a Red Herring scapegoat while the real mastermind escapes. | |
| Criminal Mind Games / int_32235825 | featureApplicability |
1.0 | |
| Criminal Mind Games / int_32235825 | featureConfidence |
1.0 | |
| Beverly Hills Cop II | hasFeature |
Criminal Mind Games / int_32235825 | |
| Criminal Mind Games / int_34a70b48 | type |
Criminal Mind Games | |
| Criminal Mind Games / int_34a70b48 | comment |
Batman Forever features the Riddler, who naturally toys with Bruce Wayne's mind by sending him riddles in elaborate packages. During the climax of the film, he even prevents Two-Face from executing Bruce Wayne, instead leaving him with the final riddle after kidnapping Dr. Meridian. Once Bruce recovers, he and Alfred work together to try to figure out what the Riddler's deal is, first by trying to see what connection the four riddles' answers (a clock, a match, chess pawns, vowels) have before they notice that each riddle mentions a number (13, 1, 8, 5). Using number-to-letter substitution yields M-A-H-E, but then Bruce puts the middle two numbers together to get 18 instead. That produces the letters M-R-E...Mr. E...mystery...enigma...E. Nygma. Edward Nygma. | |
| Criminal Mind Games / int_34a70b48 | featureApplicability |
1.0 | |
| Criminal Mind Games / int_34a70b48 | featureConfidence |
1.0 | |
| Batman Forever | hasFeature |
Criminal Mind Games / int_34a70b48 | |
| Criminal Mind Games / int_34d050c6 | type |
Criminal Mind Games | |
| Criminal Mind Games / int_34d050c6 | comment |
Darkwing Duck constantly suspects this happens with certain enemies. It is even weaponized by Negaduck who lampshades it by leaving ridiculously vague trails to his HQ on purpose, simply because Darkwing would never get the idea to simply look at the logo that broadly proclaims it is Negaducks hideout. Interestingly enough, while actual mind games that are supposed to keep him stuck or even killed are solved by Darkwing with ease, mock games take him forever or he may even end up never solving them despite the obvious solution being right in front of him. | |
| Criminal Mind Games / int_34d050c6 | featureApplicability |
1.0 | |
| Criminal Mind Games / int_34d050c6 | featureConfidence |
1.0 | |
| Darkwing Duck | hasFeature |
Criminal Mind Games / int_34d050c6 | |
| Criminal Mind Games / int_362874e3 | type |
Criminal Mind Games | |
| Criminal Mind Games / int_362874e3 | comment |
Captain Scarlet and the Mysterons: The Mysterons do this all the time. Somehow, despite tipping their hand every single time, they actually win in a few episodes, starting with the second. This is justified because the Mysterons have declared a "war of nerves", seeking to make the humans prone to self-destructive paranoia even if their specific plan of the episode fails... Or they're just doing this for their own amusement and the human race are unwilling contestants in some sick hybrid of Survivor and The Crystal Maze. | |
| Criminal Mind Games / int_362874e3 | featureApplicability |
1.0 | |
| Criminal Mind Games / int_362874e3 | featureConfidence |
1.0 | |
| Captain Scarlet and the Mysterons | hasFeature |
Criminal Mind Games / int_362874e3 | |
| Criminal Mind Games / int_3d50f874 | type |
Criminal Mind Games | |
| Criminal Mind Games / int_3d50f874 | comment |
In Hopkins FBI, the titular FBI agent's fiancée Samantha is abducted by serial killer/terrorist/cartoon bad guy Bernie Berckson, who challenges Hopkins to rescue her by following his trail of clues and uncovering the bodies of his previous victims hidden around the city. Berckson's clues make little sense, their intended solutions less so, and it's best not to dwell on the absurd amount of preparation and foresight needed to have set up his little scavenger hunt in the first place. And the ultimate payoff for all this? Berckson uses the final clue to lure Hopkins into shooting and killing Samantha. | |
| Criminal Mind Games / int_3d50f874 | featureApplicability |
1.0 | |
| Criminal Mind Games / int_3d50f874 | featureConfidence |
1.0 | |
| HopkinsFBI | hasFeature |
Criminal Mind Games / int_3d50f874 | |
| Criminal Mind Games / int_3e6c2fea | type |
Criminal Mind Games | |
| Criminal Mind Games / int_3e6c2fea | comment |
Terry Blair, a serial killer in Kansas City who was featured on The First 48 which was filming in the city at the time, called 911 to report the location of some of the bodies of his victims, which was their first indication they actually had a serial killer, and taunt the police. In an example of a real-life backfire, detectives were able to use the cell tower data to identify the area he was calling from and then the background sounds on the call to narrow it down to the street, which allowed them to home in on Blair as a suspect. | |
| Criminal Mind Games / int_3e6c2fea | featureApplicability |
1.0 | |
| Criminal Mind Games / int_3e6c2fea | featureConfidence |
1.0 | |
| The First 48 | hasFeature |
Criminal Mind Games / int_3e6c2fea | |
| Criminal Mind Games / int_3fd5d95d | type |
Criminal Mind Games | |
| Criminal Mind Games / int_3fd5d95d | comment |
One The Batman Adventures comic set in the DC Animated Universe has Batman fail to decipher the Riddler's clues; he stumbles upon the crime because he's following three other crooks who had the same target. When the Riddler realizes this, he doesn't care that he's going to jail because as far as he's concerned, he won. | |
| Criminal Mind Games / int_3fd5d95d | featureApplicability |
1.0 | |
| Criminal Mind Games / int_3fd5d95d | featureConfidence |
1.0 | |
| The Batman Adventures (Comic Book) | hasFeature |
Criminal Mind Games / int_3fd5d95d | |
| Criminal Mind Games / int_4447c168 | type |
Criminal Mind Games | |
| Criminal Mind Games / int_4447c168 | comment |
Another Note: The entire book is about trying to solve a very, very, difficult one of these. The killer, Beyond Birthday, left several clues leading from one murder to the next. None of the investigating officers could even start to decipher B's clues. Only Naomi Misora — under L's guidance — and an "unprivate" detective named Ryuzaki could help. The clues lead Naomi Misora in person to find each and every one of these clues to make sure the effort didn't go to waste. Ryuzaki ends up doing most of the work. He turns out to be the killer who placed the clues there in the first place. | |
| Criminal Mind Games / int_4447c168 | featureApplicability |
1.0 | |
| Criminal Mind Games / int_4447c168 | featureConfidence |
1.0 | |
| Another Note | hasFeature |
Criminal Mind Games / int_4447c168 | |
| Criminal Mind Games / int_444956d | type |
Criminal Mind Games | |
| Criminal Mind Games / int_444956d | comment |
Carmen Sandiego: Carmen is possibly only second to the Riddler in being known for this. She leaves the clues as a friendly challenge of wits against the Friendly Enemy/Worthy Opponent detectives. It's implied she doesn't actually want the stuff she's stealing (since she would have to be set for life hundreds of times over just to pull off the heists in the first place), and is in it purely for the thrill of the chase. | |
| Criminal Mind Games / int_444956d | featureApplicability |
1.0 | |
| Criminal Mind Games / int_444956d | featureConfidence |
1.0 | |
| Carmen Sandiego (Franchise) | hasFeature |
Criminal Mind Games / int_444956d | |
| Criminal Mind Games / int_444f7f18 | type |
Criminal Mind Games | |
| Criminal Mind Games / int_444f7f18 | comment |
Kushiel's Legacy: Used by Melisande in Kushiel's Chosen. She thinks of her attempt to gain control of Terre d'Ange as a game and Phedre as her Worthy Opponent, and so sends Phedre a hint to start her search. | |
| Criminal Mind Games / int_444f7f18 | featureApplicability |
1.0 | |
| Criminal Mind Games / int_444f7f18 | featureConfidence |
1.0 | |
| Kushiel's Legacy | hasFeature |
Criminal Mind Games / int_444f7f18 | |
| Criminal Mind Games / int_44e08ee8 | type |
Criminal Mind Games | |
| Criminal Mind Games / int_44e08ee8 | comment |
Subverted in Homicide: Life on the Street in the episode "Sniper". A serial killer draws a hangman game in chalk at the scene of each crime, with another letter filled in each time. The detectives hope that if they can guess the word, they can solve the crime. It turns out that the word is "eromitlab," a nonsense word — Baltimore backwards. The killer is simply crazy. There's nothing more to it than that. | |
| Criminal Mind Games / int_44e08ee8 | featureApplicability |
-0.3 | |
| Criminal Mind Games / int_44e08ee8 | featureConfidence |
1.0 | |
| Homicide: Life on the Street | hasFeature |
Criminal Mind Games / int_44e08ee8 | |
| Criminal Mind Games / int_46823c49 | type |
Criminal Mind Games | |
| Criminal Mind Games / int_46823c49 | comment |
William of Moriarty the Patriot's favorite kind of game. In A Study in "S", William frames Sherlock for murder to see if can wriggle his way out and find the true culprit. In A Scandal in the British Empire, he expects Sherlock to confront of The Lord of Crime and sets up an arrangement to give Sherlock proof of his identity, which Sherlock burns. In The Phantom of Whitechapel, he leaves the bodies of the Jack the Ripper killers behind and obviously murdered to see what Sherlock does about it. In The Merchant of London, he mentions that he left the legal records about the childhood trial behind to see if Sherlock would hunt them down and read through them, although Sherlock skipped that lead. |
|
| Criminal Mind Games / int_46823c49 | featureApplicability |
1.0 | |
| Criminal Mind Games / int_46823c49 | featureConfidence |
1.0 | |
| Moriarty the Patriot (Manga) | hasFeature |
Criminal Mind Games / int_46823c49 | |
| Criminal Mind Games / int_4737c653 | type |
Criminal Mind Games | |
| Criminal Mind Games / int_4737c653 | comment |
Elementary has the mysterious 'M' leaving rambling notes for the police, using letters cut out from newspapers of course. As Sherlock correctly guesses this is really a ruse to follow the police into thinking he's something he's not. | |
| Criminal Mind Games / int_4737c653 | featureApplicability |
1.0 | |
| Criminal Mind Games / int_4737c653 | featureConfidence |
1.0 | |
| Elementary | hasFeature |
Criminal Mind Games / int_4737c653 | |
| Criminal Mind Games / int_4f115950 | type |
Criminal Mind Games | |
| Criminal Mind Games / int_4f115950 | comment |
The Cluemaster was caught thanks to his own clues and went to prison, an experience which cured him — of leaving clues. Once free, he resumed his criminal activities without bothering to leave clues any more. As Robin says, "Gee, thanks Arkham!" | |
| Criminal Mind Games / int_4f115950 | featureApplicability |
1.0 | |
| Criminal Mind Games / int_4f115950 | featureConfidence |
1.0 | |
| Robin (1993) (Comic Book) | hasFeature |
Criminal Mind Games / int_4f115950 | |
| Criminal Mind Games / int_52eb7183 | type |
Criminal Mind Games | |
| Criminal Mind Games / int_52eb7183 | comment |
Subverted in Irregular Webcomic!: The heroes follow the hints, but get the wrong message. Doubly subverted in that the place they're supposed to be going to is right next door. |
|
| Criminal Mind Games / int_52eb7183 | featureApplicability |
-0.3 | |
| Criminal Mind Games / int_52eb7183 | featureConfidence |
1.0 | |
| Irregular Webcomic! (Webcomic) | hasFeature |
Criminal Mind Games / int_52eb7183 | |
| Criminal Mind Games / int_5921531b | type |
Criminal Mind Games | |
| Criminal Mind Games / int_5921531b | comment |
Persona 4 has this with the Phantom Thief, who leaves clues for Naoto after stealing her items. This is a subversion in that the Phantom Thief turned out to be Yakushiji, the family secretary and he didn't steal the items, they were simply handed to him by Naoto's grandfather, who set the whole thing up as an act so Naoto would stop worrying about the family name and remember that she solved cases because it was something she loved doing. | |
| Criminal Mind Games / int_5921531b | featureApplicability |
1.0 | |
| Criminal Mind Games / int_5921531b | featureConfidence |
1.0 | |
| Persona 4 (Video Game) | hasFeature |
Criminal Mind Games / int_5921531b | |
| Criminal Mind Games / int_5b18983b | type |
Criminal Mind Games | |
| Criminal Mind Games / int_5b18983b | comment |
Variant: the Ghostwriter episode "A Crime of Two Cities". A cross-Atlantic trio of kidnappers is led by a nutty mastermind who insists that they commit their crimes (and communicate with each other) through trick sentences and anagrams, all of which mock their intended victim. Unlike the usual trope, the leader isn't testing the heroes. She's doing it because she's arrogant, and wants to show off how the heroes are incapable of figuring out her clever clues. | |
| Criminal Mind Games / int_5b18983b | featureApplicability |
1.0 | |
| Criminal Mind Games / int_5b18983b | featureConfidence |
1.0 | |
| Ghostwriter | hasFeature |
Criminal Mind Games / int_5b18983b | |
| Criminal Mind Games / int_5e150650 | type |
Criminal Mind Games | |
| Criminal Mind Games / int_5e150650 | comment |
In Exalted, Infernal Exalts are able to atone for their actions that displease their demonic/titanic masters by committing Acts of (Card-Carrying) Villainy. An example is "Best Enemy Recognition," in which the Infernal chooses a rival Exalt of roughly their same power level to be their Arch-Enemy, and continuously attempts to draw the Exalt so designated into their life by such methods as sending them clues alerting them to their evil deeds. | |
| Criminal Mind Games / int_5e150650 | featureApplicability |
1.0 | |
| Criminal Mind Games / int_5e150650 | featureConfidence |
1.0 | |
| Exalted (Tabletop Game) | hasFeature |
Criminal Mind Games / int_5e150650 | |
| Criminal Mind Games / int_6209d3ce | type |
Criminal Mind Games | |
| Criminal Mind Games / int_6209d3ce | comment |
Trauma Center: In Trauma Team, Sandra Lieberman locks the detective in her room with 4 phonebombs planted inside, forcing the detective to waste time solving riddles as she drives off to the airport to murder the First Lady. Naomi succeeding results in Sandra admitting defeat, but Naomi correctly guesses that Sandra has hidden a 5th bomb in the offchance that Naomi wins. She finds it in a teddy bear plushie sitting innocuously on the bed, pictured just offscreen above. | |
| Criminal Mind Games / int_6209d3ce | featureApplicability |
1.0 | |
| Criminal Mind Games / int_6209d3ce | featureConfidence |
1.0 | |
| Trauma Center / Videogame | hasFeature |
Criminal Mind Games / int_6209d3ce | |
| Criminal Mind Games / int_625e571 | type |
Criminal Mind Games | |
| Criminal Mind Games / int_625e571 | comment |
Happens fairly often on Law & Order: Criminal Intent. Goren is particularly good at figuring these out. The most significant example is one that's targeted directly at Goren. The perpetrator finds news articles about previous cases Goren had worked and uses details from those to point Goren in the direction of another suspect. Goren figures it out because it's just a little too specific to his abilities in places. Goren's nemesis, Nicole Wallace, often engages in these, especially when she knows he's on the case. |
|
| Criminal Mind Games / int_625e571 | featureApplicability |
1.0 | |
| Criminal Mind Games / int_625e571 | featureConfidence |
1.0 | |
| Law & Order: Criminal Intent | hasFeature |
Criminal Mind Games / int_625e571 | |
| Criminal Mind Games / int_691be369 | type |
Criminal Mind Games | |
| Criminal Mind Games / int_691be369 | comment |
The X-Files: Fox Mulder tends to get into these with reasonably human Monsters of the Week, such as John Irvin Barnett from "Young at Heart", Mulder's ex-mentor from "Grotesque", Robert Modell a.k.a. "Pusher", and Modell's even eviler twin from "Kitsunegari". Prior to his assignment to the X-Files, Mulder was a criminal profile and wrote the profile that got one man convicted to a death sentence. When the man claims he's psychic and can help the police find the kidnapped victims of the week, Mulder decidedly does not believe his claim, pointing out that this is the kind of game the convict would try and pull. Conversely, Scully starts believing the guy. |
|
| Criminal Mind Games / int_691be369 | featureApplicability |
1.0 | |
| Criminal Mind Games / int_691be369 | featureConfidence |
1.0 | |
| The X-Files | hasFeature |
Criminal Mind Games / int_691be369 | |
| Criminal Mind Games / int_6ada53b1 | type |
Criminal Mind Games | |
| Criminal Mind Games / int_6ada53b1 | comment |
NUMB3RS: Usually the clues require advanced mathematics to unravel, since the show's Aesop is that Math is useful and mathematicians are like superheroes — with math. "The Janus List" took this to ridiculous extremes by having a spy intentionally set up an extremely convoluted series of complicated codes and puzzles that Charlie will have to solve to get the eponymous list. It's essentially a built-in test; if Charlie is able to get through all of the layers to access the information, then he's proven himself worthy to receive it. He does, although one of the pieces ends up being figured out by Don. | |
| Criminal Mind Games / int_6ada53b1 | featureApplicability |
1.0 | |
| Criminal Mind Games / int_6ada53b1 | featureConfidence |
1.0 | |
| NUMB3RS | hasFeature |
Criminal Mind Games / int_6ada53b1 | |
| Criminal Mind Games / int_7041cf12 | type |
Criminal Mind Games | |
| Criminal Mind Games / int_7041cf12 | comment |
During the first night of the culture festival in Kaguya-sama: Love Is War, a Phantom Thief steals a bunch of balloon's from class 2-B and later leaves behind a note with some clocks on it that nobody can make heads or tails of. Fujiwara, who has long since been established as a lover of games and riddles, spends most of the second day trying to figure out it's meaning and catch the thief. It later turns out that the clocks didn't have any meaning whatsoever. Shirogane just threw a bunch of meaningless symbols together in the hopes that she would be distracted long enough for him to get his Grand Romantic Gesture for Kaguya ready. | |
| Criminal Mind Games / int_7041cf12 | featureApplicability |
1.0 | |
| Criminal Mind Games / int_7041cf12 | featureConfidence |
1.0 | |
| Kaguya-sama: Love Is War (Manga) | hasFeature |
Criminal Mind Games / int_7041cf12 | |
| Criminal Mind Games / int_7291539d | type |
Criminal Mind Games | |
| Criminal Mind Games / int_7291539d | comment |
Batman: Arkham City: Victor Zsasz and his "chase the pay-phones" challenges—Batman has to answer one phone and then glide at high speed to find the other phone several miles away, or else Zsasz's captive will die. He always puts the second phone just a bit further away every time Batman thwarts him! | |
| Criminal Mind Games / int_7291539d | featureApplicability |
1.0 | |
| Criminal Mind Games / int_7291539d | featureConfidence |
1.0 | |
| Batman: Arkham City (Video Game) | hasFeature |
Criminal Mind Games / int_7291539d | |
| Criminal Mind Games / int_74fb542e | type |
Criminal Mind Games | |
| Criminal Mind Games / int_74fb542e | comment |
Parodied on That Mitchell and Webb Look with the "Identity Killer", a serial killer whose MO is to leave multiple forms of identification at the scene of each crime. Including two separate utility bills, and a T-shirt being worn by the victim with his photo on it and the text "I WAS KILLED BY (photo)". The police still can't catch him. | |
| Criminal Mind Games / int_74fb542e | featureApplicability |
1.0 | |
| Criminal Mind Games / int_74fb542e | featureConfidence |
1.0 | |
| That Mitchell and Webb Look | hasFeature |
Criminal Mind Games / int_74fb542e | |
| Criminal Mind Games / int_7680545c | type |
Criminal Mind Games | |
| Criminal Mind Games / int_7680545c | comment |
One episode of The Nanny did this with a humorous bent. C.C.'s dog Chester is kidnapped in the park, and the crooks call the Sheffield residence with a demand of $20,000. C.C. turns the tables by going on television and offering the ransom as a reward to anyone who can capture the criminals. Fran decides that she and Val can solve the crime by using this trope—she overheard an ice cream truck playing "The Way We Were" in the background of the phone call, which points to Greenwich Village, and then notices a school on the truck's route, recalling hearing a bell ringing in the message, too. Of course, she and Val end up getting caught too, and the dognapppers put Mr. Sheffield through a series of bizarre instructions (such as looking for a key in the bottom of a YMCA's swimming pool) before he can deliver the money. | |
| Criminal Mind Games / int_7680545c | featureApplicability |
1.0 | |
| Criminal Mind Games / int_7680545c | featureConfidence |
1.0 | |
| The Nanny | hasFeature |
Criminal Mind Games / int_7680545c | |
| Criminal Mind Games / int_7aaf9e41 | type |
Criminal Mind Games | |
| Criminal Mind Games / int_7aaf9e41 | comment |
In all incarnations of Batman, this is the Riddler's modus operandi; other Batman villains, like the Joker, have also done it. Lampshaded during the Villain Team-Up in Batman: The Movie, as the Riddler's colleagues eventually grow tired of him compromising their plans by leaving clues that they know Bats will inevitably solve. They try to stop him from doing so, but he fervently declares that he just can't resist and proceeds to leave more clues that eventually lead to their defeat. Ironically, he's also the only one in the film who comes close to successfully killing Batman — not once but twice! Interestingly, an early Batman story shows that the Riddler's insanity is such that he is physically incapable of committing a crime unless he leaves a clue. (His father used to beat him when he lied... so once dear old Dad was out of the way and only the consequential neuroses were left, he learned to tell the truth in extremely sneaky ways to get around them.) One The Batman Adventures comic set in the DC Animated Universe has Batman fail to decipher the Riddler's clues; he stumbles upon the crime because he's following three other crooks who had the same target. When the Riddler realizes this, he doesn't care that he's going to jail because as far as he's concerned, he won. As the series has progressed, more and more authors have focused on the mental illness aspect of Riddler's clue-leaving, giving him a severe case of OCD (which explains his compulsion to give puzzles) and narcissistic personality disorder (he has to prove that he's smarter than Batman no matter what). In one story, he tries to subvert the problem by leaving simple messages rather than riddles...but Batman discovers that Nygma subconsciously left hints to his capers in the notes that even the criminal wasn't aware of. In other words, Riddler's virtually powerless to keep himself from giving riddles. As he nearly tearfully explained in that comic as he begged Batman to send him to Arkham for help: "...I might actually be crazy..." Subverted by another Batman villain, the Cluemaster, a bargain-bin Riddler type with a similar modus operandi. The Cluemaster was caught thanks to his own clues and went to prison, an experience which cured him — of leaving clues. Once free, he resumed his criminal activities without bothering to leave clues any more. As Robin says, "Gee, thanks Arkham!" Unfortunately for him, his daughter, Stephanie Brown, was angry at him for trying this while claiming to be reformed, and became The Spoiler, leaving clues to her father's crimes for Batman. So that's what the hell her name means. In his first re-appearance, the Cluemaster had hired some goons who, knowing their boss's old M.O., left clues behind anyway. And being stupid goons, the clues were really obvious, too. The Riddler and his compulsions were parodied Dr. Blink: Superhero Shrink. The title character, a diligent and high-minded psychiatrist, managed to cure Riddler Expy "The Quizzler" of his self-destructive obsessive-compulsive tendencies — turning him into a really dangerous criminal mastermind. |
|
| Criminal Mind Games / int_7aaf9e41 | featureApplicability |
-0.3 | |
| Criminal Mind Games / int_7aaf9e41 | featureConfidence |
1.0 | |
| Batman (Comic Book) | hasFeature |
Criminal Mind Games / int_7aaf9e41 | |
| Criminal Mind Games / int_7d8eebaa | type |
Criminal Mind Games | |
| Criminal Mind Games / int_7d8eebaa | comment |
Bromwell High: One of the girls hides some illegal sweets people are looking for and composes a rhyme telling where they are. | |
| Criminal Mind Games / int_7d8eebaa | featureApplicability |
1.0 | |
| Criminal Mind Games / int_7d8eebaa | featureConfidence |
1.0 | |
| Bromwell High | hasFeature |
Criminal Mind Games / int_7d8eebaa | |
| Criminal Mind Games / int_83c29c63 | type |
Criminal Mind Games | |
| Criminal Mind Games / int_83c29c63 | comment |
In Zuma's Fear, Damian Stone kidnaps a group of bunnies that Skye is fond of and forces her to play a trivia game about him. For every answer she gets wrong, he kills one of the rabbits. Ultimately, only one of the bunnies survives. | |
| Criminal Mind Games / int_83c29c63 | featureApplicability |
1.0 | |
| Criminal Mind Games / int_83c29c63 | featureConfidence |
1.0 | |
| Zuma's Fear (Fanfic) | hasFeature |
Criminal Mind Games / int_83c29c63 | |
| Criminal Mind Games / int_84809b33 | type |
Criminal Mind Games | |
| Criminal Mind Games / int_84809b33 | comment |
In the Homicide chapter of L.A. Noire, The Black Dahlia deliberately leaves a series of clues that Cole eventually uses to track him down. Specifically, He sends the LAPD a taunting letter that contains a passage of Shelley poetry; the passage contains allusions to an LA landmark. When Cole visits the landmark, he finds a piece of evidence which links the Dahlia to a recent murder and another passage of Shelley which alludes to a different landmark. This continues until the final passage leads Cole to the Dahlia's hideout. | |
| Criminal Mind Games / int_84809b33 | featureApplicability |
1.0 | |
| Criminal Mind Games / int_84809b33 | featureConfidence |
1.0 | |
| L.A. Noire (Video Game) | hasFeature |
Criminal Mind Games / int_84809b33 | |
| Criminal Mind Games / int_869bf533 | type |
Criminal Mind Games | |
| Criminal Mind Games / int_869bf533 | comment |
In the Line of Fire: Leary becomes obsessed with Horrigan on account of his history as one of President Kennedy's bodyguards, regularly calling him to talk about his personal philosophies and motives, and leaving him clues so he can figure out when and how Leary plans to kill the new President. | |
| Criminal Mind Games / int_869bf533 | featureApplicability |
1.0 | |
| Criminal Mind Games / int_869bf533 | featureConfidence |
1.0 | |
| In the Line of Fire | hasFeature |
Criminal Mind Games / int_869bf533 | |
| Criminal Mind Games / int_86b52b7b | type |
Criminal Mind Games | |
| Criminal Mind Games / int_86b52b7b | comment |
In the movie I, Robot, the "murder" victim does this, the initial clue being his own "murder", ostensibly to reveal his secret to the hero without tipping off a Three Laws-Compliant AI with Sinister Surveillance in time to prevent a Zeroth Law Rebellion. (Yeah, the movie did something clever and subversive.) | |
| Criminal Mind Games / int_86b52b7b | featureApplicability |
1.0 | |
| Criminal Mind Games / int_86b52b7b | featureConfidence |
1.0 | |
| I, Robot | hasFeature |
Criminal Mind Games / int_86b52b7b | |
| Criminal Mind Games / int_87b55b5d | type |
Criminal Mind Games | |
| Criminal Mind Games / int_87b55b5d | comment |
The Onion: "Homicide Detective Wishes He Could Go One Case Without Having To Solve Elaborate Riddle" | |
| Criminal Mind Games / int_87b55b5d | featureApplicability |
1.0 | |
| Criminal Mind Games / int_87b55b5d | featureConfidence |
1.0 | |
| The Onion (Website) | hasFeature |
Criminal Mind Games / int_87b55b5d | |
| Criminal Mind Games / int_892aa56a | type |
Criminal Mind Games | |
| Criminal Mind Games / int_892aa56a | comment |
The Murdoch Mysteries episode "Murdoch in Toyland", in which Murdoch is left a series of talking dolls designed to give him just enough clues to reach the next one, and also to make him overthink things and miss more blatant clues. Murdoch's nemesis escapes, and returns to torment him some more by framing his love Dr. Ogden as a murderer. He also claims human love fascinates him and that he wants to see whether he could give up his life for hers. | |
| Criminal Mind Games / int_892aa56a | featureApplicability |
1.0 | |
| Criminal Mind Games / int_892aa56a | featureConfidence |
1.0 | |
| Murdoch Mysteries | hasFeature |
Criminal Mind Games / int_892aa56a | |
| Criminal Mind Games / int_8a2895c0 | type |
Criminal Mind Games | |
| Criminal Mind Games / int_8a2895c0 | comment |
87th Precinct: This is the M.O. of recurring villain the Deaf Man in Ed McBain's novels. There is a slight aversion in that while the Deaf Man sends taunting clues to the police, they seldom fully decipher them and are more likely to stop his crimes by accident than design. | |
| Criminal Mind Games / int_8a2895c0 | featureApplicability |
-1.0 | |
| Criminal Mind Games / int_8a2895c0 | featureConfidence |
1.0 | |
| 87th Precinct | hasFeature |
Criminal Mind Games / int_8a2895c0 | |
| Criminal Mind Games / int_8c6de724 | type |
Criminal Mind Games | |
| Criminal Mind Games / int_8c6de724 | comment |
In The Snowman (2017), Harry Hole declares that the killer is playing games with them - although that element, while prominent in the trailers, was apparently cut down by a significant degree as a result of the movie's legendarily Troubled Production. | |
| Criminal Mind Games / int_8c6de724 | featureApplicability |
1.0 | |
| Criminal Mind Games / int_8c6de724 | featureConfidence |
1.0 | |
| The Snowman (2017) | hasFeature |
Criminal Mind Games / int_8c6de724 | |
| Criminal Mind Games / int_8d81bb26 | type |
Criminal Mind Games | |
| Criminal Mind Games / int_8d81bb26 | comment |
Played with in one episode of NCIS. Their victim, a sailor, is found with a business card in his pocket with the blood of a murdered prostitute and a taunt that there are more murders to come. The team gears up to play games, and... it turns out the dead sailor WAS the killer. The original killer. He'd intended to become a police-taunting Serial Killer, but he was murdered before that could happen. HIS killer wasn't so kind as to leave any deliberate clues. | |
| Criminal Mind Games / int_8d81bb26 | featureApplicability |
1.0 | |
| Criminal Mind Games / int_8d81bb26 | featureConfidence |
1.0 | |
| NCIS | hasFeature |
Criminal Mind Games / int_8d81bb26 | |
| Criminal Mind Games / int_9028b82d | type |
Criminal Mind Games | |
| Criminal Mind Games / int_9028b82d | comment |
Along Came a Spider: "Gary Soneji" has a plan to kidnap a little girl as step one of a plan to kidnap the son of the Russian President, who is a classmate of hers and drags Alex Cross around with a chain of clues. Justified by the fact Someji is a massive Attention Whore seeking Fame Through Infamy - it's even extremely heavily implied that he got the idea to do his scheme from seeing the massive media circus around the Lindbergh Baby kidnapping. Soneji only has enough time to figure out that his kidnapping scheme only worked because corrupt Secret Service agents allowed it so they could profit from it (and thus not only this whole mess is gonna remain secret but the specific target he wanted for his endgame remains out of reach) and he's essentially the Disc-One Final Boss of the story before he gets a chest full of buckshot. | |
| Criminal Mind Games / int_9028b82d | featureApplicability |
1.0 | |
| Criminal Mind Games / int_9028b82d | featureConfidence |
1.0 | |
| Along Came a Spider | hasFeature |
Criminal Mind Games / int_9028b82d | |
| Criminal Mind Games / int_91e45f5 | type |
Criminal Mind Games | |
| Criminal Mind Games / int_91e45f5 | comment |
Case 3 of Apollo Justice: Ace Attorney features a case where a murder was committed to the lyrics of a song sung that night. It turns out that the events of that night, up to a point, only fit the lyrics by accident, and Trucy Wright's conjecture that there was a deliberate connection was merely a case of false pattern recognition. Only after her conjecture came up did the killer take action to force a fit with the lyrics, deliberately planting a Red Herring in the process. | |
| Criminal Mind Games / int_91e45f5 | featureApplicability |
1.0 | |
| Criminal Mind Games / int_91e45f5 | featureConfidence |
1.0 | |
| Apollo Justice: Ace Attorney (Visual Novel) | hasFeature |
Criminal Mind Games / int_91e45f5 | |
| Criminal Mind Games / int_9509d69f | type |
Criminal Mind Games | |
| Criminal Mind Games / int_9509d69f | comment |
The Five (2016): Jakob Marosi, a convicted serial killer doing life, appears to entertain himself by messing with the family of Jesse Wells and the police by falsely claiming he killed Jesse then leading them on a wild goose chase for the body. | |
| Criminal Mind Games / int_9509d69f | featureApplicability |
1.0 | |
| Criminal Mind Games / int_9509d69f | featureConfidence |
1.0 | |
| The Five (2016) | hasFeature |
Criminal Mind Games / int_9509d69f | |
| Criminal Mind Games / int_95711cbe | type |
Criminal Mind Games | |
| Criminal Mind Games / int_95711cbe | comment |
In Blood Work, the "Code Killer" leaves the number sequence "903 472 568" at his crime scenes as a taunting hint. The solution? All the decimal digits are represented except 1, and his real name is Noone ("No one"). | |
| Criminal Mind Games / int_95711cbe | featureApplicability |
1.0 | |
| Criminal Mind Games / int_95711cbe | featureConfidence |
1.0 | |
| Blood Work | hasFeature |
Criminal Mind Games / int_95711cbe | |
| Criminal Mind Games / int_9674847b | type |
Criminal Mind Games | |
| Criminal Mind Games / int_9674847b | comment |
Knight Moves: The killer in the film is engaging in a particularly convoluted mind game with the cops and the chessmaster hero where he kills various women on different locations on the island, each one corresponding to a chess move if you map it out onto a chess board. | |
| Criminal Mind Games / int_9674847b | featureApplicability |
1.0 | |
| Criminal Mind Games / int_9674847b | featureConfidence |
1.0 | |
| Knight Moves | hasFeature |
Criminal Mind Games / int_9674847b | |
| Criminal Mind Games / int_968513c4 | type |
Criminal Mind Games | |
| Criminal Mind Games / int_968513c4 | comment |
The animated version of Where on Earth Is Carmen Sandiego? has this in every episode as a Shout-Out to Alphabet Soup Cans. Ironically, at least one episode has the lead characters being puzzled when clues seem too obvious or follow an unusual train of logic. As with the games, it's Justified: Carmen is only in it for the thrill of the chase. And she WANTS to either win or lose very narrowly. It's not fun otherwise. |
|
| Criminal Mind Games / int_968513c4 | featureApplicability |
1.0 | |
| Criminal Mind Games / int_968513c4 | featureConfidence |
1.0 | |
| Where on Earth Is Carmen Sandiego? | hasFeature |
Criminal Mind Games / int_968513c4 | |
| Criminal Mind Games / int_996edf24 | type |
Criminal Mind Games | |
| Criminal Mind Games / int_996edf24 | comment |
Wonder Woman Vol 1: Right before his execution Doctor Psycho sends a note to Steve Trevor that taunts that he's going to kill Trevor after his execution and gives clues as to when and how. Even with this note he nearly succeeds in killing Steve, with Diana's speed being the only thing that saves him from the disguised explosive device when it goes off right on his desk. | |
| Criminal Mind Games / int_996edf24 | featureApplicability |
1.0 | |
| Criminal Mind Games / int_996edf24 | featureConfidence |
1.0 | |
| Wonder Woman (Franchise) | hasFeature |
Criminal Mind Games / int_996edf24 | |
| Criminal Mind Games / int_9a67b688 | type |
Criminal Mind Games | |
| Criminal Mind Games / int_9a67b688 | comment |
Case Closed: A number of episodes of (especially the longer TV specials) involve some criminal leaving a trail of clues—either because they secretly want to be caught and stopped, or because they're just Ax-Crazy. For whatever reason, many of these seem to involve bombs. One TV special had Conan and Heiji running all over a baseball stadium to try to catch a would-be stadium bomber who sent them clues via abandoned mobile phones with a specific time limit to find the next one. "Trembling Metropolitan Police Headquarters: 12 Million Hostages" involved a mad bomber who sent a clue to his next target to the timer screen of his current bomb... seconds before its detonation. A long manga story set in London had a bomber leaving a trail of Sherlock-Holmes-themed clues all over London for Conan to chase down in order to stop his next bombing. |
|
| Criminal Mind Games / int_9a67b688 | featureApplicability |
1.0 | |
| Criminal Mind Games / int_9a67b688 | featureConfidence |
1.0 | |
| Case Closed (Manga) | hasFeature |
Criminal Mind Games / int_9a67b688 | |
| Criminal Mind Games / int_9bdd8f62 | type |
Criminal Mind Games | |
| Criminal Mind Games / int_9bdd8f62 | comment |
The Abominable Dr. Phibes accidentally dropped a medallion with some Hebrew lettering at the scene of one of his crimes, which tipped the police off to the Old Testament theme of his serial killing. | |
| Criminal Mind Games / int_9bdd8f62 | featureApplicability |
1.0 | |
| Criminal Mind Games / int_9bdd8f62 | featureConfidence |
1.0 | |
| The Abominable Dr. Phibes | hasFeature |
Criminal Mind Games / int_9bdd8f62 | |
| Criminal Mind Games / int_a4a6b86a | type |
Criminal Mind Games | |
| Criminal Mind Games / int_a4a6b86a | comment |
In Code Geass, Lelouch invokes this in the Brittanian Army by publicly asking Jeremiah Gottwald if he really wants people to find out about "Orange". He then Geasses Jeremiah into letting him escape, making it look like this "Orange" was a threat that Jeremiah caved to. Truth is that "Orange" is meaningless, and Jeremiah is innocent of any crimes or conspiracy by Brittanian law, but this still disgraces him and gets him investigated. | |
| Criminal Mind Games / int_a4a6b86a | featureApplicability |
1.0 | |
| Criminal Mind Games / int_a4a6b86a | featureConfidence |
1.0 | |
| Code Geass | hasFeature |
Criminal Mind Games / int_a4a6b86a | |
| Criminal Mind Games / int_a77c0823 | type |
Criminal Mind Games | |
| Criminal Mind Games / int_a77c0823 | comment |
From Hell, being based on a real-life example of this behavior, includes the trope. | |
| Criminal Mind Games / int_a77c0823 | featureApplicability |
1.0 | |
| Criminal Mind Games / int_a77c0823 | featureConfidence |
1.0 | |
| From Hell / Comicbook | hasFeature |
Criminal Mind Games / int_a77c0823 | |
| Criminal Mind Games / int_a86b7660 | type |
Criminal Mind Games | |
| Criminal Mind Games / int_a86b7660 | comment |
One episode of Due South had this. Although Ray subverted it, when he admitted to Fraser that he was never good at solving puzzles, knowing that the villain had a mike in the car, intending to lull him into a false sense of security. | |
| Criminal Mind Games / int_a86b7660 | featureApplicability |
-0.3 | |
| Criminal Mind Games / int_a86b7660 | featureConfidence |
1.0 | |
| Due South | hasFeature |
Criminal Mind Games / int_a86b7660 | |
| Criminal Mind Games / int_a9071945 | type |
Criminal Mind Games | |
| Criminal Mind Games / int_a9071945 | comment |
The Bone Collector: (described under Film). | |
| Criminal Mind Games / int_a9071945 | featureApplicability |
1.0 | |
| Criminal Mind Games / int_a9071945 | featureConfidence |
1.0 | |
| TheBoneCollector | hasFeature |
Criminal Mind Games / int_a9071945 | |
| Criminal Mind Games / int_aaaf716a | type |
Criminal Mind Games | |
| Criminal Mind Games / int_aaaf716a | comment |
K-20: Legend of the Mask: K-20 is a Phantom Thief who is cocky enough to send messages of what he is going to steal and challenges the Akechi, the famous detective to catch him. Subverted when it is revealed that Akechi is K-20. He sent the messages so that his Akechi persona would be brought into protect against the crime and he would be at the centre of any security around his targets. | |
| Criminal Mind Games / int_aaaf716a | featureApplicability |
-0.3 | |
| Criminal Mind Games / int_aaaf716a | featureConfidence |
1.0 | |
| K-20: Legend of the Mask | hasFeature |
Criminal Mind Games / int_aaaf716a | |
| Criminal Mind Games / int_aad197d5 | type |
Criminal Mind Games | |
| Criminal Mind Games / int_aad197d5 | comment |
Criminologist Himura and Mystery Writer Arisugawa: The culprit behind the three "Study in Vermilion" cases deliberately goes out of his way to get Himura involved, seemingly out of a desire to challenge Himura. This leads into the Orange Tachibana case, where the culprit sets up an elaborate ruse to frame Mutobe and challenge Himura's skills. Of course, it then turns out that Mutobe was the true culprit and framed himself to throw off suspicion. His reason for getting Himura involved was his jealousy at his crush, Akemi, holding Himura in such high regard. The ABC Killer leaves envelopes challenging both the police and Himura to try and catch them before they're able to kill a person for each letter of the alphabet. It's revealed at the end that it wasn't actually the killer leaving the envelopes, but a reporter who wanted to rope Himura into the case. |
|
| Criminal Mind Games / int_aad197d5 | featureApplicability |
1.0 | |
| Criminal Mind Games / int_aad197d5 | featureConfidence |
1.0 | |
| Criminologist Himura and Mystery Writer Arisugawa | hasFeature |
Criminal Mind Games / int_aad197d5 | |
| Criminal Mind Games / int_b07691db | type |
Criminal Mind Games | |
| Criminal Mind Games / int_b07691db | comment |
Mouse (2021): Jae-hoon leaves a message for Mu-chi at a murder scene then phones him after a press conference, both times to taunt him. Then he gives Mu-chi a challenge: figure out how Jae-hoon chooses his victims, and the child he's kidnapped will be released. Fail, and the child will die. Mu-chi answers the question correctly... and is rewarded by seeing his brother murdered on live TV. And Jae-hoon kills the child anyway. | |
| Criminal Mind Games / int_b07691db | featureApplicability |
1.0 | |
| Criminal Mind Games / int_b07691db | featureConfidence |
1.0 | |
| Mouse (2021) | hasFeature |
Criminal Mind Games / int_b07691db | |
| Criminal Mind Games / int_b1d391c2 | type |
Criminal Mind Games | |
| Criminal Mind Games / int_b1d391c2 | comment |
The Many Arrests of the Phantom: In the original version, the Phantom Thieves film a video calling card in front of the Diet Building. The police attempt to use this to track down their identities, unaware that the video was actually filmed in the Metaverse. | |
| Criminal Mind Games / int_b1d391c2 | featureApplicability |
1.0 | |
| Criminal Mind Games / int_b1d391c2 | featureConfidence |
1.0 | |
| The Many Arrests of the Phantom (Fanfic) | hasFeature |
Criminal Mind Games / int_b1d391c2 | |
| Criminal Mind Games / int_b3454ebd | type |
Criminal Mind Games | |
| Criminal Mind Games / int_b3454ebd | comment |
In the Starsky & Hutch episode "Bloodbath", Starsky is snatched by a cult whose psychotic leader is in prison; he gives Hutch just enough cryptic clues to track Starsky down in the nick of time. | |
| Criminal Mind Games / int_b3454ebd | featureApplicability |
1.0 | |
| Criminal Mind Games / int_b3454ebd | featureConfidence |
1.0 | |
| Starsky & Hutch | hasFeature |
Criminal Mind Games / int_b3454ebd | |
| Criminal Mind Games / int_b5a34d15 | type |
Criminal Mind Games | |
| Criminal Mind Games / int_b5a34d15 | comment |
Switchback: The killer started writing LaCrosse taunting letters when he began hunting him, along with leaving clues and later kidnapping LaCrosse's son. In his last letter, he left clues on how to catch him that take a long time for LaCrosse to figure out. | |
| Criminal Mind Games / int_b5a34d15 | featureApplicability |
1.0 | |
| Criminal Mind Games / int_b5a34d15 | featureConfidence |
1.0 | |
| Switchback | hasFeature |
Criminal Mind Games / int_b5a34d15 | |
| Criminal Mind Games / int_ba99af8f | type |
Criminal Mind Games | |
| Criminal Mind Games / int_ba99af8f | comment |
John "Jigsaw" Kramer does this in Saw II, having abducted Eric Matthews' son Daniel and left him with numerous other victims — including Amanda Young, a previous survivor of his games — in a house filled with death traps, and is recording the whole thing, which becomes useful when Eric and a SWAT team show up to arrest him. John says the son will be returned alive and safe if Eric just has a conversation with him, but the house is also filling with nerve gas that will kill everyone inside in two hours. Daniel is locked in a safe in John's lair, and the recordings were already made, unlike the team's impression that it was live. Everyone other victim in the house is already dead apart from Amanda, and when Eric shows up to the house thinking he'll find Daniel, Amanda reveals that she's John's apprentice, and the whole thing was a revenge scheme of hers because Eric once framed her for a crime and ruined her life. It ends with Amanda leaving him to die in the Bathroom from the first film. | |
| Criminal Mind Games / int_ba99af8f | featureApplicability |
1.0 | |
| Criminal Mind Games / int_ba99af8f | featureConfidence |
1.0 | |
| Saw II | hasFeature |
Criminal Mind Games / int_ba99af8f | |
| Criminal Mind Games / int_ba9a9454 | type |
Criminal Mind Games | |
| Criminal Mind Games / int_ba9a9454 | comment |
Se7en, although that was all part of a Thanatos Gambit. | |
| Criminal Mind Games / int_ba9a9454 | featureApplicability |
1.0 | |
| Criminal Mind Games / int_ba9a9454 | featureConfidence |
1.0 | |
| Se7en | hasFeature |
Criminal Mind Games / int_ba9a9454 | |
| Criminal Mind Games / int_c52af402 | type |
Criminal Mind Games | |
| Criminal Mind Games / int_c52af402 | comment |
The Murders: The Theme Serial Killer who Kate pursues in "Stereo" turns out to have already been stalking her, delivering various clues as to his identity and location. | |
| Criminal Mind Games / int_c52af402 | featureApplicability |
1.0 | |
| Criminal Mind Games / int_c52af402 | featureConfidence |
1.0 | |
| The Murders | hasFeature |
Criminal Mind Games / int_c52af402 | |
| Criminal Mind Games / int_ca160ddb | type |
Criminal Mind Games | |
| Criminal Mind Games / int_ca160ddb | comment |
Point of Succession has B leaving behind various clues and puzzles in order to irritate L throughout his search for the escaped criminal. | |
| Criminal Mind Games / int_ca160ddb | featureApplicability |
1.0 | |
| Criminal Mind Games / int_ca160ddb | featureConfidence |
1.0 | |
| Point of Succession / Fan Fic | hasFeature |
Criminal Mind Games / int_ca160ddb | |
| Criminal Mind Games / int_cac1f772 | type |
Criminal Mind Games | |
| Criminal Mind Games / int_cac1f772 | comment |
CSI: Occurs with vastly more complex clues than usual. It happened with the following: Paul Millander (prop artist who enjoyed taunting Grissom), the Blue Paint Killer (likewise), Nicky's kidnapper at the end of Season 5 (who did it to prove a point), and the Miniature Killer (who only left clues because of an involuntary urge due to psychosis). Arguably, the Strip Strangler was amused at the police and FBI's feeble attempts at capture, but was meticulously neat and planted fake evidence rather than leave any. | |
| Criminal Mind Games / int_cac1f772 | featureApplicability |
1.0 | |
| Criminal Mind Games / int_cac1f772 | featureConfidence |
1.0 | |
| CSI | hasFeature |
Criminal Mind Games / int_cac1f772 | |
| Criminal Mind Games / int_ccf875f7 | type |
Criminal Mind Games | |
| Criminal Mind Games / int_ccf875f7 | comment |
Criminal Minds: In "The Fisher King", an unsub mostly just wanted to send them on a quest. Some of the team worked on it like a normal case, some of the team followed the breadcrumbs. The trail of breadcrumbs solved the case, and not following the rules nearly got one of the BAU killed. In "Masterpiece", the clues lead to a trap. Luckily, they figure that part out in time. The unsub in "Unfinished Business" who seems to be partly based on the Zodiac Killer and on the BTK killer Dennis Rader, who also left letters. The only Zodiac thing was that Rader's letters just taunted the police; he never left cryptic clues in them, though he would announce that he had chosen his next victim. |
|
| Criminal Mind Games / int_ccf875f7 | featureApplicability |
1.0 | |
| Criminal Mind Games / int_ccf875f7 | featureConfidence |
1.0 | |
| Criminal Minds | hasFeature |
Criminal Mind Games / int_ccf875f7 | |
| Criminal Mind Games / int_cdae0b41 | type |
Criminal Mind Games | |
| Criminal Mind Games / int_cdae0b41 | comment |
In Forever a human heart is left on Hanson's desk in "The Frustrating Thing About Psychopaths" and the killer leaves a clue as to his next crime at each crime scene (A black dahlia is left at his Jack the Ripper homage, and a piece of stocking left at the Black Dahlia scene hints he's going for a Boston Strangler next.) | |
| Criminal Mind Games / int_cdae0b41 | featureApplicability |
1.0 | |
| Criminal Mind Games / int_cdae0b41 | featureConfidence |
1.0 | |
| Forever (2014) | hasFeature |
Criminal Mind Games / int_cdae0b41 | |
| Criminal Mind Games / int_cfaa9974 | type |
Criminal Mind Games | |
| Criminal Mind Games / int_cfaa9974 | comment |
Funky Squad: In "The Carnival is Over", an unknown criminal leaves a series of mocking messages and cryptic clues for Funky Squad, including a clown doll with a knife through its head. | |
| Criminal Mind Games / int_cfaa9974 | featureApplicability |
1.0 | |
| Criminal Mind Games / int_cfaa9974 | featureConfidence |
1.0 | |
| Funky Squad | hasFeature |
Criminal Mind Games / int_cfaa9974 | |
| Criminal Mind Games / int_d1fbbb23 | type |
Criminal Mind Games | |
| Criminal Mind Games / int_d1fbbb23 | comment |
In the Shoestring episode "Mocking Bird," a mugger calls Radio West after each attack to leave taunting messages about Eddie's inability to catch him. | |
| Criminal Mind Games / int_d1fbbb23 | featureApplicability |
1.0 | |
| Criminal Mind Games / int_d1fbbb23 | featureConfidence |
1.0 | |
| Shoestring | hasFeature |
Criminal Mind Games / int_d1fbbb23 | |
| Criminal Mind Games / int_d4222dba | type |
Criminal Mind Games | |
| Criminal Mind Games / int_d4222dba | comment |
The Batman (2022): The Riddler in this version of the Batman mythos is a particularly manipulative and cruel take on the character. One of his first riddles starts with providing a lengthy ciphered document and a clue for a few letters using a very dark pun about the mayor, who he murdered. Then, when those letters are highlighted on the ciphered document, it forms the word DRIVE, leading to the mayor's garage of fancy cars, where a USB drive is tied to the mayor's thumb with photos of the mayor with a mysterious girl outside a Mob-owned club - and a program that uses Gordon's email to send them to all of Gotham's journalistic outlets, and keeping them so distracted dealing with all this stuff that they don't think to ask where the photos were taken from, which would have led them directly to his hideout. Later riddles are similarly elaborate, and macabre puns keep making appearances. In an unusual twist, the riddles aren't there to see if Batman is worthy of catching him; it's because he thinks Batman is a kindred spirit and is, in a messed-up kind of way, trying to connect with him. | |
| Criminal Mind Games / int_d4222dba | featureApplicability |
1.0 | |
| Criminal Mind Games / int_d4222dba | featureConfidence |
1.0 | |
| The Batman (2022) | hasFeature |
Criminal Mind Games / int_d4222dba | |
| Criminal Mind Games / int_d544be2a | type |
Criminal Mind Games | |
| Criminal Mind Games / int_d544be2a | comment |
The Mad Butcher of Kingsbury Run, the unidentified killer behind the Cleveland Torso murders, taunted Cleveland Public Safety Director Eliot Ness (yes, that Eliot Ness) for his inability to catch him by leaving two of his mutilated victims outside Ness' office window, which he somehow managed to do undetected. The prime suspect in the case, who Ness had personally interrogated but could not prove anything against, also sent Ness a series of taunting postcards while in a mental institution after the end of the killing spree. | |
| Criminal Mind Games / int_d544be2a | featureApplicability |
1.0 | |
| Criminal Mind Games / int_d544be2a | featureConfidence |
1.0 | |
| TheUntouchables | hasFeature |
Criminal Mind Games / int_d544be2a | |
| Criminal Mind Games / int_d6eb7846 | type |
Criminal Mind Games | |
| Criminal Mind Games / int_d6eb7846 | comment |
Lampshaded in The Replacements: | |
| Criminal Mind Games / int_d6eb7846 | featureApplicability |
1.0 | |
| Criminal Mind Games / int_d6eb7846 | featureConfidence |
1.0 | |
| The Replacements | hasFeature |
Criminal Mind Games / int_d6eb7846 | |
| Criminal Mind Games / int_d9c602eb | type |
Criminal Mind Games | |
| Criminal Mind Games / int_d9c602eb | comment |
Spoofed in the South Park episode "Chickenlover": the titular animal molester always left a message at the scene of the crime. The clues turn out to be really, really obvious... but Officer Barbrady is illiterate, and thus, he can't read the messages. After forcing himself to painstakingly learn to read through children's books, he eventually manages to find and arrest the culprit... who turns out to be a bookmobile driver who was trying to encourage Officer Barbrady to confront his illiteracy, even though there was no way he could have known about it before he molested the first chicken. Barbrady then celebrates his new found literacy by beginning to read books...starting with Atlas Shrugged, which he regarded as such utter garbage that he decided he would never read again, making the bookmobile driver's whole plan null and void. |
|
| Criminal Mind Games / int_d9c602eb | featureApplicability |
1.0 | |
| Criminal Mind Games / int_d9c602eb | featureConfidence |
1.0 | |
| South Park | hasFeature |
Criminal Mind Games / int_d9c602eb | |
| Criminal Mind Games / int_dd3fe595 | type |
Criminal Mind Games | |
| Criminal Mind Games / int_dd3fe595 | comment |
Barbrady then celebrates his new found literacy by beginning to read books...starting with Atlas Shrugged, which he regarded as such utter garbage that he decided he would never read again, making the bookmobile driver's whole plan null and void. | |
| Criminal Mind Games / int_dd3fe595 | featureApplicability |
1.0 | |
| Criminal Mind Games / int_dd3fe595 | featureConfidence |
1.0 | |
| Atlas Shrugged | hasFeature |
Criminal Mind Games / int_dd3fe595 | |
| Criminal Mind Games / int_df3a0b37 | type |
Criminal Mind Games | |
| Criminal Mind Games / int_df3a0b37 | comment |
The game Ripper, based on Jack the Ripper. But in the future! | |
| Criminal Mind Games / int_df3a0b37 | featureApplicability |
1.0 | |
| Criminal Mind Games / int_df3a0b37 | featureConfidence |
1.0 | |
| Ripper (Video Game) | hasFeature |
Criminal Mind Games / int_df3a0b37 | |
| Criminal Mind Games / int_eec5a4b2 | type |
Criminal Mind Games | |
| Criminal Mind Games / int_eec5a4b2 | comment |
The Bone Collector (originally a book) has a killer who leaves clues at each murder scene relating to his next crime. Upon further investigation, it turns out that he has been killing and leaving clues for ages but no one was smart enough to notice. | |
| Criminal Mind Games / int_eec5a4b2 | featureApplicability |
1.0 | |
| Criminal Mind Games / int_eec5a4b2 | featureConfidence |
1.0 | |
| The Bone Collector | hasFeature |
Criminal Mind Games / int_eec5a4b2 | |
| Criminal Mind Games / int_ef177c11 | type |
Criminal Mind Games | |
| Criminal Mind Games / int_ef177c11 | comment |
Subverted on Monkey Dust when a serial killer becomes entangled in a furious game of cat and mouse with a police detective. The thrill of the chase is blown when the serial killer accidentally falls asleep in his car at the crime scene after killing a man: blood stained and with weapon in hand. Disappointed that it ended with such an anticlimax, the police detective decides to let the killer go. Only to be then killed by him. | |
| Criminal Mind Games / int_ef177c11 | featureApplicability |
-0.3 | |
| Criminal Mind Games / int_ef177c11 | featureConfidence |
1.0 | |
| Monkey Dust | hasFeature |
Criminal Mind Games / int_ef177c11 | |
| Criminal Mind Games / int_f15f622e | type |
Criminal Mind Games | |
| Criminal Mind Games / int_f15f622e | comment |
MacGyver (1985) had an escaped criminal foe who went as far as to call him with math equations that would yield a clue when solved. | |
| Criminal Mind Games / int_f15f622e | featureApplicability |
1.0 | |
| Criminal Mind Games / int_f15f622e | featureConfidence |
1.0 | |
| MacGyver (1985) | hasFeature |
Criminal Mind Games / int_f15f622e | |
| Criminal Mind Games / int_f2041376 | type |
Criminal Mind Games | |
| Criminal Mind Games / int_f2041376 | comment |
Charmed: A group of demons perpetrates a series of attacks using an Alice in Wonderland theme. The justification is that the Charmed sisters have recently faked their own death, and the demons have a theory that they are still alive and won't be able to resist investigating murders if there's a fairytale theme to give it that extra captivating interest. | |
| Criminal Mind Games / int_f2041376 | featureApplicability |
1.0 | |
| Criminal Mind Games / int_f2041376 | featureConfidence |
1.0 | |
| Charmed (1998) | hasFeature |
Criminal Mind Games / int_f2041376 | |
| Criminal Mind Games / int_f4e799ee | type |
Criminal Mind Games | |
| Criminal Mind Games / int_f4e799ee | comment |
In Burn Notice, Gilroy leaves clues about his identity to Michael this way. To quote Television Without Pity, "either someone is setting up Mason Gilroy, or Mason Gilroy thinks he's the fucking Riddler." | |
| Criminal Mind Games / int_f4e799ee | featureApplicability |
1.0 | |
| Criminal Mind Games / int_f4e799ee | featureConfidence |
1.0 | |
| Burn Notice | hasFeature |
Criminal Mind Games / int_f4e799ee |
The following is a list of statements referring to the current page from other pages.
Copyright of DBTropes.org wrapper 2009-2013 DFKI Knowledge Management. Imprint. - Thanks to Bakken&Baeck for hosting. Contact.
Copyright of data TVTropes.org contributors under Creative Commons Attribution-Share Alike 3.0 Unported License.
Copyright of data TVTropes.org contributors under Creative Commons Attribution-Share Alike 3.0 Unported License.