Well, not exactly.
Brindlewood Bay has Mysteries that are defined, but also not defined, at the same time.
We’ve talked about how there is no canonical solution involved in any of the BB Mysteries. The conceit of the BB mystery system is that the players (with possible kibbitzing by the Keeper/GM) figure out the “solution” from semi-random Clues that they uncover (the Keeper decides what Clues are found, most likely from a list that comes with the Mystery write-up, as appropriate to the situation, the setting the Clue is discovered in, and their own whimsical nature) through the Theorize move, trying to build a logical construct from the Clues (including explicitly discounting Clues that don’t fit, and adding in possible assertion of facts from the players) to create a theory of the crime. If the roll on the theory (which factors in the mystery complexity and the number of Clues included in the theorizing) is a success, then the quantum field collapses and that is the solution.
This is soooooo much better than laying out explicit clue breadcrumbs for the players to hopefully find and recognize and utilize correctly to uncover the One True Scenario Solution that young Frederick Haversham killed the butler.
(Note: there is a school of play of BB where players only mark down the Clues they have found on their own character sheet, theoretically not sharing them with the other Mavens until there is a chance for a Cozy Move or when they get together to eventually Theorize. I’ve structured our Roll20 space to have a joint Clue board, because I don’t think adding more friction to that mechanism makes any sense, and I trust people to roleplay appropriate to what their characters know at a given point.)
In addition to Clues, each mystery also has a list of Suspects and Locations. This is where things get interesting, or daunting, or both, because those lists are not exhaustive. The rules make it clear that you can suspect and pin the murder on anyone in town (I suppose you could even create a theory that the murderer was an assassin no longer in town, hired by someone in Boston for reasons that have nothing to do with Brindlewood Bay); the Suspect list is just the most likely people due to proximity to the murder and/or narrative ties to the victim.
In the very first Mystery we are doing, for example, the first character the Mavens meet is someone they already know: Sheriff Wyman Dalrymple. Later Mysteries, where he explicitly shows up or plays a role all have the disclaimer "or some other law enforcement officer, if the Mavens successfully accused Sheriff Dalrymple of the murder in Dad Overboard."
Yes, you can even successfully accuse the Sheriff, if you choose to. Or the librarian. Or the guy who dresses up as a Minuteman at Memorial Park. I don’t necessarily recommend it, from a story standpoint, but you can. In fact, if you get a really cool theory, you probably should.
More important is that list of Locations, which are suggested places where the Mavens would investigate. They are sometimes, but not always, geographically contiguous – at a murder at the McHeath mansion, the locations might be the Ballroom, the Kitchen, the Coachhouse, and Mr. McHeath’s bedroom.
But, improvisationally, you might choose to go down to the basement to search for clues. Or to search Mrs. McHeath’s room, or the butler’s pantry, or the half-bath off the Ballroom. Or (assuming it’s not a “you are all trapped at the McHeath mansion because of the terrible blizzard” sort of mystery), maybe the hotel room back in town where one of the Suspects is staying. Or you might go to the Town Hall to look up some records. Or invite one of the suspects out for a drink at the cantina right on the beach.
That’s why there are a shit-tonne of Places and People in the Roll20 journal. Part of those come from some serious fleshing out of the town in the Nephews in Peril book. Some came from other mysteries set at Locations and involving Suspects that should be publicly known.
So, back to the title of this post, Brindlewood Bay is sort of a sandbox (and not just its beach). Whether it’s in the spaces between active murder investigations, or during those investigations, you can, in theory, wander anywhere you want, looking for clues, talking with people, etc. There are logical foci for your investigation – those Suspects and Locations lists – but they are not usually the only possibilities you can pursue.
Which, in theory, means a lot more prep for me than “Oh, I just need to make sure the Whaling Museum, where this week’s murder takes place, is up to snuff.” There will be some recurring characters, including (assuming he’s not doing 10-20 at the State Pen) Sheriff Dalrymple, and likely recurring places. I enjoy framing those out for use, but I’m always worried about having to make things up on the fly (or, more properly, making things up on the fly that cause problems later). But that’s me.
That BB is a PBTA game also makes things intrinsically sandboxy, compared to your typical D&D crunch. I don’t need to worry about tactical battle maps, or detailed monster stats and spell lists, but results from die rolls are also a lot more ambiguous and will require me to apply a bit more thought than “You take 12 points of piercing damage” would.
Anyway, just some maundering about game systems, flexibility, and the folly of thinking I can ever be completely prepared. Heck, I could never be completely prepared in the last D&D campaign I ran (“Wait, you’re going where next?”), so being prepared to deal with ambiguity is theoretically second nature to me, right?