The Roottrees are Dead brings its acclaimed genealogy mystery to mobile on November 5

The Roottrees are Dead will launch for iOS and Android on November 5, bringing one of recent years' more unusual detective games to touchscreens. The setup begins with a private plane crash that kills members of the extremely wealthy Roottree family and leaves a gigantic inheritance without an obvious destination. Players are tasked with reconstructing the family's genealogy and determining exactly who can legitimately claim a piece of the fortune.

Rather than handing out glowing footprints or objective markers, the game sends investigators into a deliberately old-fashioned information hunt. A simulated early internet, books, photographs, articles and other documents contain fragments of evidence that must be cross-referenced and fitted into an increasingly complicated family tree.

Small details that initially appear irrelevant can suddenly solve several relationships at once, making the process feel closer to genuine research than following a conventional adventure-game checklist. The early-internet setting also gives the mystery a distinctive identity: this is detective work performed with a dial-up modem rather than a magical smartphone that already knows everything. Mobile is a natural home for a game built around reading, searching and connecting information, particularly on tablets.

The November launch gives puzzle fans a chance to discover why an enormous inheritance and a family tree can apparently be every bit as dangerous as a room full of monsters.