Case 1

How to solve it

1. Read the brief, then explore the tables of suspects and evidence
2. Answer 5 questions in order. Each one narrows down the suspects
3. Stuck on a question? Use Reveal Answer and keep going
4. The last question names the killer and closes the case

About this case

Based on Murder on the Orient Express (Agatha Christie, 1934). A wealthy American passenger is found stabbed twelve times aboard a snowbound luxury train. Every suspect has an alibi. Every alibi is suspicious.

What you'll practise

This is a beginner-friendly case. To solve it you'll use:

• SELECT + WHERE — to filter suspects by case ID and retrieve specific columns
• ORDER BY — to sort suspects and events chronologically
• BETWEEN — to filter events within a specific time range
• Multiple conditions with AND — to narrow down suspects by location and time

The database

You'll query 2 tables: suspect_info and events. The suspect_info table lists all passengers aboard the Orient Express—their names, roles, alibi locations, times, and relationships to the victim. The events table records actions taken during the night of the murder, tracking who did what and when.

The tables and their columns are shown next to every question, so you never need to memorise them.

Difficulty

Beginner. Suitable if you know what SELECT * FROM table does. Questions progress from simple filtering to combining multiple conditions with AND and time-based filtering with BETWEEN.