Court in the ActCourt in the Act is a historical murder mystery game set at the Court of St James's Palace, London, in the reign of Queen Elizabeth I. The guests have just arrived from the Royal premier of Master Shakespeare's latest rib-tickling comedy, Two Ladies of Venice. Now, the Queen makes merry and entertains her courtiers, guests, would-be husbands and envoys from foreign powers with a sumptuous banquet. But while all prepare to feast and frolic, dark clouds gather. The sound of war-drums is heard in the distance - and the Archbishop of Canterbury, who surely had never an enemy in the world, is found brutally murdered. Court in the Act is for 13 to 21 guests, plus one host and is published by Freeform Games. The Archbishop of Canterbury has been murdered – but by whom? The suspects include:
Of course, Queen Elizabeth herself couldn’t possibly be suspect … could she? (A slight warning – Court in the Act takes a number of liberties with history, all in the name of fun. Some of these historical characters could never actually have met… so if you’re a stickler for historical accuracy, you might want to give Court in the Act a miss. If, on the other hand, you enjoy movies such as Shakespeare in Love, then Court in the Act might be for you.) Court in the Act is an interactive murder mystery game, similar to others that Freeform Games have published, such as Way out West and All at Sea. Each guest is given a full character with a background and objectives – of which only one is solving the murder. A character’s objectives may include increasing their standing at court, trying to learn another character’s secret, spreading the word of Catholicism, marry the Queen, or just invading Britain with a massive armada. As with other interactive murder mystery games, Court in the Act suits a buffet meal or finger food (rather than a sit-down meal) so that everyone can talk quietly with each other. Court in the Act needs a dedicated host, someone to organise the game. They play the Chamberlain and read the entire game so that they can answer questions. Of course, they know who the murderer is so they can’t “play” the game in the same way as the guests. I really enjoy being the host – you know what's going on and can watch your friends scheme and plot and be devious to one another. Court in the Act is available from Freeform Games and costs £25.00.
YYou will be taken to the Freeform Games LLP website - just follow the instructions to purchase Court in the Act. You will then be emailed the location of the main Court in the Act pdf files and password (to unlock it) almost immediately. Just download the game, print it out and have a great murder mystery! By the way, if you don't want to buy the game over the Internet, the introductory pdf file provides details of paying by post. Court in the Act requires Acrobat Reader - it’s free and lets you read the "pdf" files, no matter what kind of computer you have. If you’ve got an old version of Acrobat Reader, you might want to upgrade. Click here to download Acrobat Reader. |
