Murder in Prague: a Shopify storefront and a Next.js game app
A Shopify storefront that sells a physical detective kit, paired with a Next.js companion app where buyers play a chaptered murder mystery with saved progress.
The product problem
Murder in Prague is a cinematic murder mystery played at home from a physical kit. The box holds case files and evidence, but the investigation also needs suspect interviews, calls, texts and guidance on which file to study next. Those moments belong on a screen. The product therefore has two jobs: sell and ship the kit across Europe, then give each buyer a place to redeem their copy and play.
The delivered scope
The storefront runs on Shopify, with theme work and advertorial pages for its blog. The companion app is a Next.js and TypeScript application on a subdomain. It plays chapters of video interviews, phone calls and text messages, then asks the player to name the killer. Game content is managed in Sanity. Supabase handles accounts and saved progress, and a mobile-only step continues part of the game on a phone.
Designing for a game played across sessions
An investigation is rarely finished in one sitting. Saving the player's position in each chapter means it can be paused and resumed rather than restarted. For a similar product that combines physical goods with a digital experience, the handover deserves its own design: how a buyer moves from purchase to the app, how access is checked, and what the app remembers between visits.
What shipped
A Shopify storefront selling the detective kit, connected to a Next.js companion app with accounts, saved progress and chaptered cinematic gameplay.
Visit the project ↗Industry scopes for a new US project
Kenosha, Wisconsin · Craft-kit companion apps
For Kenosha craft-kit publishers connecting physical kit editions to approved chaptered instructions and saved companion-app progress.
Kenosha, Wisconsin · Craft-kit companion apps: scope and discovery questions →Athens, Ohio · Heritage scavenger-hunt companions
For Athens, Ohio heritage-experience teams connecting approved clue editions, optional hint reveals and saved progress in a physical-to-digital companion.
Athens, Ohio · Heritage scavenger-hunt companions: scope and discovery questions →Ventura, California · Self-guided visitor story apps
For Ventura visitor-experience teams connecting printed stop references to approved mobile story content and maintained public destinations.
Ventura, California · Self-guided visitor story apps: scope and discovery questions →Santa Fe, New Mexico · Museum visitor companions
For Santa Fe museum and cultural-experience teams developing a chaptered visitor companion with curator-approved media and a clear return journey.
Santa Fe, New Mexico · Museum visitor companions: scope and discovery questions →Sioux Falls, South Dakota · Game companion device handoffs
For Sioux Falls game publishers carrying one chaptered web-companion session into an intentional phone-only story step.
Sioux Falls, South Dakota · Game companion device handoffs: scope and discovery questions →Reno, Nevada · Physical-game storefronts and companions
For Reno physical-game publishers connecting product presentation, storefront purchase and a digital companion's entry journey.
Reno, Nevada · Physical-game storefronts and companions: scope and discovery questions →Boston, Massachusetts · Physical and digital game products
For Boston game publishers scoping playable chapters, managed story content and returning-player progress in the web companion.
Boston, Massachusetts · Physical and digital game products: scope and discovery questions →
Nordic industry services
Service scopes for teams serving Sweden, Norway, Denmark and Finland, grounded in published work and proposed first-release checks.