Murder

Playing it, from the first screen

Murder is by Studio Seufz, and Poki lists it among its skill games. The whole game fits in a sentence: you are an assassin standing behind a king, and you have to strike before he notices you.

You do that with one key. Holding Space charges your strike, and the strike lands when the charge is complete. The king, however, does not stand still with his back to you. From time to time he looks round, and if he catches you charging, you are thrown into the dungeon and the attempt is over.

If you succeed, the roles turn. You become the king, and now others are creeping up behind you. As the king you use the same key for the opposite job: Space makes you look back, and the aim is to catch whoever is sneaking up before they finish.

So the game is really about reading timing from both sides: when to push your luck as the assassin, and when to glance over your shoulder as the king. It was released on Poki in March 2019 and last updated there in July 2022.

Keys, clicks and taps

Noted on the first runs

• Do not hold Space for the whole charge on your first tries. Watch the king through a couple of attempts to get a sense of how often he turns before you commit.

• Stopping is part of the game. If you have a feeling he is about to turn, let go; a paused charge is better than a trip to the dungeon.

• When you become the king, do not look back constantly. Turning at the moment someone is mid-charge is what catches them.

• Keep a finger resting on Space rather than hovering above it. In a game this short, the moment it takes to find the key matters.

• After a trip to the dungeon, start again straight away while the king's rhythm is still fresh in your mind. A long break means reading him from scratch.

Who it sits well with

Murder suits players who like very short, tense attempts and a game they can understand in seconds. It also shows how a single rule can carry a whole game, which makes it interesting to anyone who likes small, strange ideas done well. It is a good pick when there are a few minutes to spare, and for anyone curious about how much tension one key can carry.

The less good parts

• The subject is assassinating a king. It is drawn in a cartoon style, but the game is literally called Murder and is built around killing; we would suggest it for teens and up. That is our view, not an official rating.

• Poki shows ads around its games, so there may be an ad before you start.

• There is very little variety. The same few seconds repeat, and players who want progress, levels or a story may lose interest quickly.

• Its last update on Poki was in July 2022, the oldest among the games on this site.

Questions people have about Murder

Further down the line

• 
  Guns Guns Guns →

  Another game built on short rounds you can repeat straight away.

• 
  Snake vs Human →

  Also played with a single action, click or tap in that case.