The Roottrees Are Dead

The Roottrees Are Dead is a deduction game set in 1998. After a private jet belonging to the Roottree Corporation crashes, the Roottree Sisters and their parents are presumed dead. The family was worth over a billion dollars, and the eccentricities of their great-great-grandfather Elias mean their money must be redistributed among the rest of the family. You investigate to determine who is actually related by blood.

Investigate the family

Using a dial-up modem, you search for photos, books, articles and other evidence. You use what you find to work out family relationships and fill in the family tree. Each correct entry leaves fewer possible places for the remaining names and photos, while the evidence becomes harder and more obscure to find.

The Steam edition

The game presents its puzzle systems through a 3D living-room perspective and an enhanced interface with quality-of-life improvements intended to make solving the mystery easier and more intuitive. It also includes hand-drawn illustrations by board game artist Henning Ludvigsen, remastered music and sound effects, fully voiced cinematics, and Easter eggs and other details inspired by the late 1990s.

Roottreemania

The included mystery, “Roottreemania,” follows the Roottree family after the events of the main game. You complete a new family tree and uncover scandals, lies and infidelities behind the scenes of America’s largest maple candy empire.