Does the game use real crimes or real people?
No. The mysteries are fictional and deliberately low-stakes. External links on the method page support archival-reading practice, not the case narratives.
Reading-room finding aid
How to investigate without guessing
Foliofathom is a free detective game for readers who enjoy quiet deduction and primary-source literacy. This guide explains how to open each record, compare sources that disagree or copy each other, pin the evidence that carries a theory, and submit a cited conclusion. Every person, institution, event, and document in its eight cases is original fiction.
Read for purpose before detail
Open at least three records. Check who created each item, its intended audience, provenance, reliability note, and date. Search and record-type filters narrow the file; the order button reads Timeline order and switches to Sorted by date while it is active, changing presentation, not interpretation. The three theories stay sealed until you open your first record.
Test whether two sources are independent
Bookmark two records to place them in the comparison tray. The tray reports date distance, shared index terms, a plain independent-creators verdict, and an authored production-chain assessment, and the result card counts how many comparisons you made. Records from the same office are marked as shared, records created by different custodians are marked as independent, and missing lineage is reported as uncertain. A repeated detail is useful, but repetition inside one production chain is not independent corroboration.
Pin what establishes the theory
Evidence pins are citations, not a collection of everything interesting. Select a theory only after the readiness checklist confirms enough reading and at least two pins. A correct answer with an incomplete citation chain does not close the file. After a rejected submission the readiness list adds a free fourth line naming the kind of record still uncited, without naming the record itself; only the archivist nudge does that.
Use the post-finding audit
After a finding, Foliofathom prints the par score for a first-pass finding beside your own, names one thing to try next, shows the exact spoiler-free text before you copy it, separates decisive citations from contextual ones, and explains the interpretive thread connecting related cases. Replaying a box keeps your local notes and reading desk available for closer analysis.
Practical questions
Do hints reveal the final option?
No. Three graduated nudges move from a reading strategy toward the decisive relationship. Each nudge reduces the case score.
What is saved?
Preferences are listed in one order in every game here: reduce motion (which follows your system setting), high-contrast marks, larger text, then export, import, and reset. Completed cases, scores, daily results, annotations, bookmarks, evidence pins, settings, achievements, attempt records, and unfinished desks are stored in this browser. There is no account. This site counts page visits through Cloudflare: it sets no cookie, it cannot follow you from here to another site, and nothing from your play is part of the count.
How do I move progress to another browser?
Use Export progress in Index, then import that unmodified Foliofathom JSON file on the other device. Import replaces the current local desk only after the file passes validation.
Does daily play change campaign mastery?
No. Daily reading rooms have a separate seven-day archive. They provide repeat practice without unlocking or rewriting the campaign collection. Each of the seven archive tiles shows a filled dot and its filed score on a day you played.
Can I work without a mouse?
Yes. Slash jumps to the file search, T switches timeline order, H opens the next nudge, and the question-mark key opens a full shortcut reference that is also linked beside the evidence board.
Where can I compare past findings?
The box list has a local reading record listing your recent findings with score, mastery, citation count, and nudges used.
What does the browser back button do inside a case?
It returns to the box list rather than leaving the site, and the unfinished desk stays available to resume.
What if this browser runs out of local storage?
Reading continues in memory and a notice explains that the desk will not be saved until space is freed. Findings already filed are untouched.