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August 2003, Issue #10

Table of Contents

1 Featured Murder Mystery Game Review: The Disappearance of Death

2 Featured Murder Mystery Game Review: Way out West

1 Featured Murder Mystery Game Review

The Disappearance of Death

The Disappearance of Death is a Halloween murder mystery game for serious sleuths written by Jack Pachuta and available from Mysteries on the Net. The game is for 8 to 40 people.

In The Disappearance of Death, The Great Radinski, world-renowned magician and entertainer to royalty is murdered in mysterious circumstances at a Halloween costume party he was holding for his friends. The suspects are those at the party - but who killed The Great Radinski?

The suspects are:

• Gretel Auerhahn: A clock maker from Germany's Black Forest. She was at the costume party dressed as a cuckoo.
• Bertram "Budgie" Benson: An English talent agent and former music hall performer. He was dressed as a desert sheik.
• Jenny Featherstone: Radinski's magician's assistant. She lived with him in his Mystic Lake mansion.
• Gwendolyn Jones: A Welsh woman who breeds and trains exotic animals for stage and screen. She was costumed as a queen.
• Roger Quigley: An Australian whose offices are in Singapore. He claims to be an international trader and was there dressed as a pirate.
• Ivan Radinski: First cousin of The Great Radinski. He is a cellular phone entrepreneur. He came clad as a Polar explorer.
• Baroness Maria Julianna von Hofburg Schlossbrunn: A Hungarian noblewoman who accompanied The Great Radinski during his recent European tour. She was in the garb of Madame Butterfly.

The Disappearance of Death is a game for those who like to puzzle over their mysteries - and it's certainly different from both the Dinner Party games and the Interactive murder mystery games.

In The Disappearance of Death, seven guests (three men and four women) take the roles of the suspects - one of them murdered The Great Radinski. (However, the murderer doesn't know that they are the murderer - so the organiser can play The Disappearance of Death as long as they don't read the solution.)

Another person plays the part of the Chief of Police, who will lead the investigation. The other guests (up to 32 of them) will form teams of investigators trying to solve the mystery. With fewer guests the suspects can also join in with the investigation - however with lots of investigators they will probably be too busy as they will need to see each team in turn. Each investigator also receives a clue - information they can use to solve the crime.

The Disappearance of Death has full instructions for running the mystery - along with props such as a last will and testament, investigative reports and a page from the Mystic News.

The Disappearance of Death costs $37.77 from Mysteries on the Net.

Click here to visit the Mysteries on the Net site and read more about The Disappearance of Death.

Way out West

Way out West is an interactive murder mystery party game by Freeform Games for 11 to 15 people, including the co-ordinator.

It is 1884 and America's West is populated with small towns full of settlers, coming to prospect for precious metals, set up ranches and run dubious saloons. And now the railroad is coming!

Cactus Gulch is one such town. Founded 20 years ago, tonight it has a festive air as the townsfolk celebrate their 20th anniversary. However, all is not running smoothly. Land disputes, disreputable card games, strange folk from out of town and hostile Indians are all adding to a tense atmosphere...

Central to everything is Zeke Calhoun, local landowner and prospector. He owns Fat Bull Range (which the railroads would like to buy) and he's also found silver in the nearby hills (but nobody knows where). Sadly, Zeke never makes it to Catcus Gulch's celebrations - and Sheriff Able Blane has a murder to investigate.

The full cast of Way out West includes:

• Lucy Calhoun: Zeke's daughter
• Sheriff Able Blane: Cactus Gulch's reliable sheriff
• Deputy Dan Fairweather: Sheriff Blane's deputy
• Elijah Entwhistle: a travelling fire-and-brimstone preacher
• Blaise Sadler: aging saloon madam
• Kalamata Kate: a young good-time girl
• Mel Easton: city slicker and railroad representative
• Slick O'Hare: Scruffy ranch-hand for hire
• Clem Parham: city slicker and a rival railroad representative
• Doc Faraday: a notorious gambler
• Three Feathers: an Indian shaman
• Runs Like a Deer: Indian squaw
• John Paulson: the town judge
• Christy Martin: out of town storekeeper

Way out West is ideal for those who like to dress up as the game is full of saloon girls, city slickers, cowboys, Indians, and of course the town Sheriff and his Deputy. It's one colourful party!

As with other interactive murder mystery games, the final outcome of Way out West is up to the players themselves. Everyone has a character with own desires and objectives - and it's up to them to interact with the other guests and try to achieve their goals (not everyone will succeed, of course!).

Way out West suits a buffet meal or finger food (rather than a sit-down meal) so that everyone can talk quietly with each other. A 'tex-mex' meal would be ideal!

Like All at Sea and other interactive murder mystery games, the person hosting Way out West must print everything out and 'run' the game. They'll know who the murderer is, so they won't be able to participate in the same way as their guests. (Instead they will enjoy watching their guests scheming and double-crossing each other as they try to achieve their goals. I certainly do!)

Way out West is available from Freeform Games and costs GBP20.

For more information, click here to download the free introductory pdf file which includes more details - including background, a full cast list, invitations and how to pay. (The file is 79KB, so may take a few moments to download.)

--steve

Comments? Ideas? Feedback? I'd love to hear from you. Just reply to this zine and tell me what you think!

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