Editorial Review: Those who just can't put down a good murder mystery novel are perfect candidates for this game. Eight people live out the best crime novel, and each better hope that their spouse or colleague isn't the killer. This episode, from the very popular game series that's been around for almost 15 years, is played out in an English country manor. All that's required is a host and a group of guests with imagination and a sense of ghastly fun. The game is very thoroughly planned out--from the cassette tape describing the details of the murder to the guest invitations and player manuals. For first-time players, the rules are quite specific, which will be helpful. Break one and the suspense is over! (Not recommended for children under 16) --Lynne Sampson
Loved it! I have done a Murder Mystery in the past, but no one else had and we loved it! You must have a group who will dress up and act up. No one guessed the killer.
Very fun evening! My husband and our friends really enjoyed this murder mystery dinner pasrty set. We have done others in the past, and this one has been the best so far. After reading many of the negative reviews, I feel that those players must have seriously lacked creativity! It will be as much fun as you put into it. If you dress up, try to use accents and decorate, you will have a blast!!!
Not the best out there This is the third How to Host a Murder game I have participated in, and by far not the most enjoyable. The facts were vaque, and the motives unclear. When it came to making accusations, every character was a fair guess. It was fun, and my guests had a good time, but as far as the plot went, there are better ones. I suggest The Maiming of the Shrew. Outright halirity...
Choose the Right Guests This was the first murder mystery game in which my 30-something friends and I had ever participated. Overall, the night was a hit. But much preparation is required on the part of the host for it to be a success. We actually did a few things which I believe made the evening a success: 1) I invited friends that were more extraverted and would "ham" up getting in costume and acting out their parts; 2) I talked to others who had played the game before and got a sense of how the rounds were to be played. I then gave a "role play" to my guests of how the "rounds" were to be acted out; 3) We had a gift certificate as a prize for the winner whose accusation best matched the solution; 4)I changed the schedule from the instructions and started the party earlier in order to serve dinner earlier and not have hungry guests; and finally 5) we did not play a "round" at dinner, but instead took a break and just had regular conversation to break up the evening. I do agree that it's not as clear as one would expect as to "who done it." However, this was because much of the facts which the game instructs each character to try to conceal will remain concealed unless those characters are pressed for information by the others. The game instructs you not to lie, just to try to conceal certain facts. I recommend telling your guests to phrase questions requiring only "yes" or "no" answers (a "cross-examination" method) in order to get those facts out. For example, rather than saying, "Why were you meeting with the gardener at 4pm?" instead you could make an inference and ask, "Isn't it true that you met with the gardener in order to conspire to murder the decedent?". I hope this review is helpful.
Bring an Extra Bottle of Wine, Leave Brain at Home We have played several of these games. ...The reason people have trouble figuring the murder out is because the designers of the Watersdown Affair trick the players. We had to apologize for the evening to our guests. The How to Host a Murder games are not nearly as witty (in terms of language or literary and historical allusions), entertaining, or logical as the games produced by other companies. The designers use transparent red herrings to mask poorly thought out motives and clumsy methods. With the How to Host a Murder series, it is impossible to form a hypothesis and actually test it out with questions (which is the point and the fun of mystery games) because players are forced to answer "I don't know" to many, many questions. By keeping whodunit a secret from the murderer until the game is over, the designers had to leave open the possibility, in any player's handbook, that that player could be the murderer. Therefore, everyone's character must be ambiguous. This means that you can't embellish your character (another aspect of mystery games that make them fun) without risk of taking it in the wrong direction. If you know your parameters (you did it; you didn't do it -- some games by other companies even provide clues about how to act), you can form a coherent story about yourself and truly get in character. The How to Host a Murder approach prevents people from forming coherent stories about themselves, let alone others, and no one can really piece together what happened and why. If I wanted a game that involves chance guessing, I'd be playing Battleship.
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