The Puzzlemaster swung open the door, hung up his coat and hat on the rack, and sat down behind his desk, holding his head in his hands.
"Whoo, boy. What a day. What a day, what a day, what a day."
He sighed deeply as he pored over the details of the case.

Most people knew him from his job running court trials, but few knew the reason why he was hired. Aside from his famed handsomeness (which has been neither proven nor disproven), he often applied his puzzle-solving abilities as a private detective. After realizing he couldn't make a quick buck off of his medical career scheme and understanding that he would have to hone his skills if he was ever going to run Puzzle, Inc. properly, he decided to go back to his investigation practice and see what he could do.
But boy, was this one ever a doozy.

With only a week to solve it before the police took over completely and he was off the case, he realized that he couldn't do it alone.
No, he'd need help for this one, and Puzzle-Bot was still missing after that incident with the fettuccine.
After pondering a bit, he slowly smirked and picked up the phone. Of course! Why not dial some of the people who had earlier been such an amazing force in court? If anybody could help him solve a mystery, they could.

"Hello...ZFR? Listen, I'm gonna need a-
...
Yeah, yeah, you can be #7."

"Guten tag. This is Maxvorstadt's place, right?
...
Oh, I'm talking to Maxvorstadt? Sorry, I couldn't recognize ya over the screaming. You really need to lay off the ghost peppers, man. Hey, I was wondering if-
...
Yeah, I'll hold."

"Bler? Get over here, smurf boy. We got work to do.
...
No, I am NOT getting Joe's Bagels to cater. The bill was so bad last time, the bailiff got repossessed.
...
No, I don't think selling copies of "Smurf Monthly" would quite make us the money we need for that.

Putting the phone back on the receiver, he leaned back in his chair in deep thought, wondering who else he should call.

Howdy folks, and welcome to The Puzzlemaster's Investigations! This game is quite similar to the "Puzzlemaster's Court" series, just with a bit of a different flavor to it, a touch more story-heavy. The rules are quite the same, except that in this game, the goal will be to determine exactly what happened as opposed to whether a defendant is guilty or not guilty. There will be, of course, the "prime suspects" hauled in by the rival policeman attempting to outwit the Puzzlemaster and his fellow detectives, colorful characters played by the GOG community.

For those of you who are unfamiliar with the Puzzlemaster's Court series, here's some links to the previous games:
https://www.gog.com/forum/general/the_puzzlemasters_court_1/page1
https://www.gog.com/forum/general/the_puzzlemasters_court_2_death_and_the_mafioso/page1
https://www.gog.com/forum/general/the_puzzlemasters_court_3_the_family_feud/page1
https://www.gog.com/forum/general/the_puzzlemasters_court_4_the_fox_in_the_dumbwaiter/page1

Here's a list of rules, shamelessly copy-pasted, and thinly edited:
1. Signups will be on a first-come, first-served basis, with some spots "reserved" for players of the previous game who've stated that they want to be notified of this one coming. An infinite number of people can play the game and anyone can join in at any time, but once it reaches 10 players, the game will commence, meaning that if you want to be part of it from the beginning, it'd be wise to sign up before it hits 10.
2. I really have nothing to put here, but I had to erase the part about audience members and I was too lazy to change the numbering. If you're reading this, say something about pollywogs so that the people who didn't bother to read the rules will be utterly confused.
3. My mysteries are quite usually some hefty stuff. You might need to take notes. You have been warned.
4. While constant activity is not necessary, you will be expected to cast your vote when the time comes. I understand that you need time to think and that life sometimes gets in the way, but if you take long enough that the game seems to be dragging, I will give the other detectives the option to speed things along without you!
5. I have somewhat of an idea that the game could be more competitive, but I'm not sure whether you folks would appreciate that or not. I'd love to hear some feedback on whether a team-based or a cooperative game would be more fun. If I get no feedback, I'll just run it like I normally do.
6. Guns, magic, mafia members, and puzzle shurikens are all allowed in moderation.

Participants:
1. kusumahendra
2. Goodaltgamer
3. Fantasysci5
4. ashwald
5. skeletonbow
6. trentolf
7. ZFR
8. deja65
9. Maxvorstadt
10. bler144

Howdy y `all. i`m in for this game, yeehaw!!!
Damn, shouldn`t have bought those cheap "American Accent" pills from that Ferengi guy!
Oh, and by the way: Is pollywogs singular or plural?

Thanks. I'm in. I'd rather no teams this time. But it might be a cool idea for the future one if you run a new one. Like ZFR vs Rest of the World. I'll play with one hand tied behind my back, to make it fair. Yes.

Interesting, the posts in here got spam-downvoted?
Unless some reputable member comes around with a reason why (i.e. the community is annoyed by the premise of the game somehow), I'll assume that NES and co. are simply spamming again (I DID lose the regular 6 rep today) like what happened with the Conversational Free-For-All thread and save the info from the OP just in case.

Edit: Nope, seems like just the normal spammers. You guys must've ticked him off pretty hard when you brought me into the positives.

so the courts are no more ?

Not necessarily.

k
if you say so

ok, count me in, sounds strange ;) (and I saw the word bier!!) Although I still don't understand part 5?

If you would dare to explain it in a bit more beerish sense that everyone would understand?

That's more directed at the people who've played the game before and know how it works.
In fact, I should probably link the court games here for those who haven't seen it before. ...that's a word?

Nice to see a new face on the team! *ominous organ music in the background*

Actually you tricked me, it is saying Bler not Bier in your OP ;)

And Bloody Americans, don't know anything about culture *grumbling in my beard* if they would have a wee bit of education they would know where bier is coming from grumble grumble grumble ;)

And yes, would be good if you could post a link, it might help.

I'll be in, Zeo!

Pollywogs remind me of Pollywags in our game, and I wish you had your computer back!!

I took Latin in high school and speak a bit of Spanish, but I can't understand a lick of German.

Bler is our resident smurf who's been in every Puzzlemaster's Court game so far and has been one of the strongest contenders.
Similarly with ZFR.

You don't?

Not sure:
Gesundheit?
Oktoberfest?
kindergarten?
zeitgeist?
hamburger?
Frankfurter?
one which always makes me laugh: pretzel!!!!!
fahrergnugen/fahrvergnügen?
blitzkrieg?
angst?

Just the ones which I saw/heard myself ;)

And as I said, even with google translate you'll be better off then with the english page, I'll try to find something in English for you ;)

EDIT:
http://www.food.com/recipe/bier-suppe-beer-soup-38782

one of the many possibilities ;)

Done.
I've heard of the rest of them, but this one is completely foreign to me.