Mystery Case Files: Huntsville

Mystery Case Files: Huntsville is an adventure-puzzle casual game developed by Big Fish Studios, and distributed by Big Fish Games. It is the first installment in the Mystery Case Files series. The game is available exclusively at Big Fish Games website. The Mystery Case Files franchise is the number one brand in casual games and has sold more than 2.5 million units to date.

Story
Mystery Case Files: Huntsville allows the player to assume the role of 'Master Detective' in order to solve a series of crimes in the small town of Huntsville. The game features a number of locations to explore as well as a collection of puzzles and other challenges.

S.T.A.I.N.
Later on in the game, one of the villains captured will have evidence that will lead to the criminal organization called S.T.A.I.N., which is behind the crimes in Huntsville. Among its members are:


 * Gertrude Goodfellow (S.T.A.I.N.'s Big Boss)
 * Darla Rudder
 * Rudy the Barber
 * Elmer
 * Doris Blevins
 * Ty
 * Eugene Needlemeyer
 * Gil T. Azell
 * Bill Larson
 * Professor Luna H. Tick
 * Vincent Gavone (mentioned to be ex-S.T.A.I.N. agent in the games seqeul, Mystery Case Files: Prime Suspects)

Ending
You discover a secret passageway that leads to S.T.A.I.N.'s boss: Gertrude Goodfellow. It doesn't look good for the old granma with a taste for knitting, not only was she caught, but, has knitted dolls of all the S.T.A.I.N. members (in their uniforms).

Gameplay
Mystery Case Files: Huntsville marked the introduction of the hidden object game - a genre of casual game development in which a player must locate a list of objects which are hidden among many other objects on the computer screen. Once a player has located all the listed hidden objects, they progress on to the next area of game play. In case a player is unable to find a required object, many hidden object games offer a finite number of hints.

Like all Mystery Case Files titles, Huntsville relies heavily on hidden object game play. Upon completing each hidden object puzzle, players return to their 'Crime Computer' where they solve subsequent puzzles in order to gather evidence and help pinpoint the thief. A player is given a limited amount of time to complete each puzzle. If the player fails to successfully complete a puzzle in this time, they must begin again with an entirely new scenario.

Mystery Case Files: Huntsville features over 15 crimes in over 20 locations. Moreover, each time the player solves a crime, they can restart and play a new scenario with new clues and a new thief.

Reception
Following its release on November 18, 2005, Mystery Case Files: Huntsville broke all previous casual game sales records by over 100%, selling over $1 million worth of digitally distributed (downloaded) copies in under three months. As a result, it moved into the top 10 sales positions on all major casual game distribution websites.

Mystery Case Files: Huntsville was initially released in as an online game download for the PC and soon after for the Mac OS. In July, 2006, Big Fish Games signed an agreement with Activision Value to distribute the game beginning in September, 2006 at retail locations throughout the United States.