Prior to having children Hubby and I use to spend a fair amount of our free time in the pub or having dinner with friends. Then kids happened and although we do have a social life its nowhere near as hectic as it use to be. Although I am fine with that as the boys will always come first its still nice to be social. However getting a babysitter for two children both equally demanding in their own way can be tricky and expensive. Our last night of babysitting cost £40. A way to avoid this is to entertain in, yes its all about the company but sometimes its nice to do something a little different. So when I was offered the chance to review a Murder Mystery Game, I thought to myself you can’t get much more different than that!
We have done a couple of these before so I knew we would have a great night. But if you have never come across a Murder Mystery Game before then I guess you are asking what exactly is it? Basically the box contains all you need to act out a murder investigation of your own with all your guests playing a part. The best part about it, is that only the murder knows who they are. Even the hosts have no idea. I like the fact that you do not have to be a thespian to enjoy the game as you get a script for each character, which you can embellish as much or as little as you like. We were sent The Brie, the Bullet & the Black Cat a game for 10-12 people.
Brie Bullet and Black Cat is set in October 1942. You have been invited for dinner at the Official Residence of the Deputy Mayor of Casablanca. Morocco is a colony of France governed by the Vichy French regime. The guest of honour was to have been France’s greatest living mime artist. But he fails to arrive. He has been murdered and your task is to find out which of your friends is guilty
So what do you get in the kit?
- Party planner to help the host with timings and the order of play. There is even a suggestion to a seating plan and some recipe ideas.
- A character book for each character, which gives them some background to their character and their script. Plus a few little secrets they will try hard not to give away. The script has two parts a running order so you can see when you speak and then a section which is more free flow (which got a little interesting after a couple of glasses)
- Place Cards
- Invitations for the guests which include outfit suggestions
- Six secret clues which are divulged throughout the meal
- An audio CD which had four tracks, an introduction, a scene settler, summary of events and a solution to the crime
There are up to twelve guests although two of them are optional. To keep things manageable we opted to invite the ten main characters. I tried to match the characters as much as possible on their descriptions to my friends, which was quite tricky! Hubby and I were Hughes Le Grandebutte and Edith Le Grandebutte… the hosts!
To keep things running smoothly we also wanted to make sure the majority of the food could be prepared in advance. Having recently visited France and Eurocamp we brought back some Brie which we baked for a stater. Followed by Beef Bourgeon with French potatoes and Lemon Tart for dessert. It meant that the meal was easy to execute and we didn’t miss any of the secret clues. As there was ten of us we ate outside on the patio, partly because the weather was so warm but it also gave us a little bit of extra room. I would not suggest playing with less than ten as it would mean some people would have to double up on characters and I think it would get confusing.
As I had not allocated characters by couple I did not stick to the recommended seating in the planner as I thought people would prefer to sit with their partner. This didn’t make any difference to the running of the game.
On arrival we had a little French aperitif and people found their seats. I had laid the table to include each characters booklet and corresponding clue with their place name. The party planner tells you to start with the CD introduction and then everything flows from there. Its pretty idiot proof which is just as well as when there is wine flowing it needs to be straightforward. The one thing I would say is that everyone needs to be comfortable at speaking their part. They are not long parts but if you have friends which are quite timid then it could be that this is not the right game for them. Our lot liked to try to put on various accents and a couple played the game very well keeping things close to their chests!!
As more and more gets revealed it becomes obvious that everyone has something to hide. It says the running time on the game is 180 minutes. Our guests arrived at 8pm and left around 11.30pm, it didn’t feel rushed. But likewise we could have stretched it out a bit more too. At the end the CD detective revealed who the murder was. Before we pressed play I wrote down everyones suggestions and although I was no where near the truth a couple of people got it right. I don’t want to give the game away but even the murder had a bit of a surprise….
My only tip would be to make sure you read the party planner well in advance, I didn’t and we missed one of the CD sessions, not that it really mattered as we caught up at the end but I am not sure how much it impacted the story! We all had a great time and really enjoyed ourselves, its easy to manage from the hosts perspective and gives you the chance to dress up. It works really well if you have friends from different life stages and they don’t know each other that well as theres no need to awkward conversation. We will definitely be running more of these in the future as they are a great alternative to going out. You can purchase The Brie, the Bullet & the Black Cat murder mystery game for £18 from Paul Lomand Games. If ten guests is a bit many then there are other Murder Mystery Games which start from six charters plus. There are also different titles so there is sure to be something that takes your fancy, Ive got my eye on the ‘Chocolate’ one for next time.
If you would like to win your own murder mystery game Paul Lomand Games have very kindly agreed to offer the chance to one of my readers to win The Brie, the Bullet & the Black Cat. To be in with a chance of winning please enter via the Gleam application and note the T&C below.
The Brie, the Bullet & Black Cat Murder Mystery Game
- Competition is open to residents of UK aged 18 or over
- There is no cash alternative offered
- The winner will be drawn at random and receive The Brie, The Bullet and The Black Cat Murder Mystery Game
- The competition will close on 31st July at 11.59pm, the winner will be notified through Twitter
- The Winner will be asked to provide an email address and full postal address
I have some other giveaways running at the moment so please check them out in the Blog Giveaways Page above.
Have you ever been to a Murder Mystery Party? How did you find it?
If you’ve liked this post please follow me on my social media channels:
Mudpie Fridays: Twitter | Instagram | Facebook | Pinterest | LinkedIn
65 Responses
this sounds really interesting. I love the idea of a good murder mystery and with food and friends even better. If i ever try this I’ll be sure to read all the instructions well in advance as advised.
Certainly sounds entertaining and good fun -havent been to one of these in years
That looks like a lot of fun. We have resorted to entertaining at home due to baby sitters. I’ve never done a murder mystery game so one to consider.
Wow, well this sounds quite good. I do love a good murder mystery. Totally addicted to Cluedo when I was younger, it was the thrill of knowing who did what to whom!!!
I’ve only ever been to one before, we did it for New Years Eve one year and had so much fun. It’s a great idea for when you can’t get a babysitter and want to catch up with friends. A lovely way to mix food and fun x
Wow, yes 40 for babysitting is outrageous and I can see why entertaining at home is much more appealing. I’ve never been to a murder mystery dinner and evening but I have always fancied them and this looks a wonderful kit to get your sorted for so much fun. Mich x
I have seen few bloggers reviewing this game and they all think it is fab! I think I may have to purchase it myself!
Looks like a great game, and looks like you all had a fab night riewing it xxx
This looks a fabulous game, i am sure it would be very entertaining for everyone involved and great fun
This looks great fun for us older kids(ahem)
would love to win
That looks like a lot of fun.
Great Giveaway
I’d love to do one of these! Thank you for the great review.
Wonderful giveaway, would be so much fun to play with friends
This is something that my husband has wanted to do for ages. One for the Christmas List….
great giveaway looks a fun game
I love this sort of thing ! what fun
This looks so much fun! My parents had loads of murder mystery dinners!
this looks likeso much fun!
this looks fab, we’d love it!!
looking like good fun
would love this! looks fab!
I love Murder Mystery Games! Or rather I say that – but I’ve never had chance to partake in one, it’s just something I’ve always wanted to do. Sounds like you had a great time!
I love murder mystery games I have went to a few with my friends they are so much fun
Looks great for the family
Love this type of game. Will be enjoyable to play.
looks a great game, thanks for the chance
A slightly different and very appealing giveaway.
This would be great for when the family visits on Sundays.
love a good murder mystery
I’ve done a few of these before and they’ve had me crying with laughter, would really love to win and recreate the fun 🙂
This game sounds entertaining and great fun!
This looks like a lot of fun. I love murder mystery games
Thank you for the competition
This would be fun to do with our friends now we’re too old for the parties we used to throw!
Sounds a great game. Thanks for the giveaway
Lovely giveaway thank you
this looks great thankyou very much
Perfect for our family games nights
I haven’t but I would love to I love mysteries and watch them on TV play point and click adventure games
Love to win this great prize
Thanks for the opportunity
Lovely giveaway thank-you
Looks fun to get everyone round
this looks like alot of fun! i have a simoiar game called ddath by chocolate but never actually played it!
I played a murder mystery game with colleagues once. We had a good laugh dressing up in character. I was a Spanish lady. dddddddddddddddddddddddddddddd
oops. I leaned on the keyboard.
Looks like a great game
THis sounds like great fun, I would love to try it.
Looks like fun, we love murder mystery games so would like this
Great competition. Thanks.
Great for a home dinner party
Sounds like good fun, thanks for this giveaway.
This looks a really great game
Looks like a good game
this sounds like fun
Looks a lot of fun!
This looks great fun. I’d get everyone round to play this.
You can’t beat a good murder mystery game
This sounds like great fun!
I love murder mystery
yes please!
I’d love to give something like this a try; sounds like really good fun.
I’ve only played one of these once but it was so much fun. I’d be self conscious to play it in front of strangers but with the family it would be a great night.
We played this with a group of friends on our 25th Wedding Anniversary. We planned it meticulously. Everyone joined in the spirit of the game and spent time on dressing appropriately but perhaps the wine was a little too free flowing and several of our guests were incoherent before the end, which spoilt it a little. None of us have any idea who the murderer was so we thought we would play the game again. However, it sseems that I’ve lost Clue 1 . Perhaps it got thrown out with the serviettes. This renders the game useless. Does anyone have any idea where I can get hold of Clue 1? I’d be so grateful