Time Limit: 20-30 mins. The event begins with a Wayground quiz consisting of 10–15 questions based on fundamental and intermediate concepts from DBMS and SQL. The quiz tests participants' understanding of relational databases, SQL queries, database concepts, and related fundamentals. The results of this quiz can be used to determine the teams qualifying for the main Murder MystiQL investigation round.

• The quiz will consist of 10–15 multiple-choice questions.
• All team members may participate in the quiz as instructed by the event organizers.
• Participants must use the designated Wayground platform to submit their answers.
• Each question will have a specified time limit.
• The quiz will test DBMS and SQL concepts.
• The number of teams qualifying for the investigation round will be decided by the organizers based on participation and event capacity.
• Any form of unfair means or external assistance may result in disqualification.

If teams have identical scores in the Wayground quiz, the time taken to answer the questions may be considered as the tie-breaking criterion.

Time Limit: 1-1.5 hrs. Qualified teams investigate a fictional murder case through an interactive platform containing the case story, database schema, one clue per level, optional hints, and a query terminal. Teams use SQL and logical reasoning to solve each level and unlock the next. Hints carry a time penalty, while incorrect submissions result in a submission lock and additional time penalty. A live leaderboard ranks teams based on their effective time.

• Teams will receive a SQL cheatsheet and relevant database schema.
• Each level contains one clue and requires a correct answer to unlock the next level.
• Teams may execute unlimited queries; query execution itself has no penalty.
• An incorrect submission causes a 1-minute submission lock and adds 5 minutes to effective time.
• Using a hint adds a predefined time penalty to effective time.
• The event will be proctored using full-screen mode, tab-switch detection, window-focus monitoring, and other browser activity checks.
• Unauthorized external assistance, applications, websites, AI tools, or attempts to bypass the platform are prohibited.
• Answers, scoring, penalties, and level unlocking will be validated securely on the backend and will not be exposed to the client.
• Attempts to manipulate the database, application, timer, scoring, or leaderboard may result in disqualification.
• Effective Time = Actual Time + Wrong Submission Penalties + Hint Penalties.
• The team with the lowest effective time will rank highest.

If two or more teams have the same effective time after completing the investigation, a Wayground quiz consisting of 5 DBMS/SQL questions will be conducted as the tie-breaker. The team with the higher score in the tie-breaker quiz will be ranked higher. If the tie remains, the faster response time in the tie-breaker quiz may be considered.