What Is Detective Board Maker and What Can You Use It For?

Updated

Detective Board Maker (detectiveboard.io) is a browser-based tool for building digital evidence and investigation boards. You pin notes, photos, and articles to a corkboard, connect clues with red string, and can share the case as a public board. It is positioned for true-crime research, story planning, tabletop campaigns, study, games, and mystery fans. The site says it is free to start and works in the browser.

How the tool works

The core interaction is simple and matches the physical "crazy wall" many people already know:

  • Pin items — notes, photos, and articles are placed on a corkboard.
  • Connect clues — red string links related items so relationships are visible at a glance.
  • Share — a board can be published as a public board.
  • Browse — a Discover section shows public boards created by others.

Because everything runs in the browser, there is nothing to install. The site's own framing is "build evidence and investigation boards online," and the workflow is built around arranging evidence visually rather than in a linear document.

What you can use it for

The site lists several intended uses, and the public boards show them in practice:

Use case What the board looks like in practice
True-crime research Case notes, people, and evidence linked by connection
Story planning Characters, factions, and plot threads mapped with relationships
Tabletop campaigns Campaign lore, NPCs, and faction ties
Study Concepts and sources arranged and connected
Games and mystery fans Puzzle or mystery boards for fun

The Discover section gives concrete examples. A Deadlock lore board outlines which characters are acquainted and how they connect to various groups. A D&D board collects campaign material. A true-crime board titled "cat mafias" presents a playful "case" with proof. A Mentalist board organizes notes from a specific episode. These show the range: from serious research to fandom and games.

When it fits — and when it may not

It fits well if:

  • You think visually and want relationships between clues to be obvious.
  • You are organizing fiction, a campaign, or a research topic where people, places, and evidence interconnect.
  • You want to share a board publicly or browse how others structure their cases.

It may not fit if:

  • You need a linear document, timeline, or formal report rather than a spatial board.
  • You require strict privacy for sensitive material — the site highlights public sharing and a Discover feed of public boards, so treat public visibility as a design feature, not an afterthought.
  • You need offline access; the tool is browser-based.

Getting started

  1. Open detectiveboard.io in a browser.
  2. Start a free board (the site states it is free to start).
  3. Add notes, photos, and articles to the corkboard.
  4. Connect related items with red string.
  5. Optionally share the board publicly, or browse Discover for inspiration from existing public boards.

If your goal is to see how others structure investigations before building your own, the Discover section is the fastest way in — it currently lists hundreds of public boards across fiction, true crime, mystery, and games.