"The Classic Detective Game"

    Spending a rainy day indoors? Need to pass time wisely? Why not turn to a beloved board game that allows you to become a detective or a killer, depending on the draw of the deck. Is it unsettling to think about the maid in the library with the candlestick? It’s just a game that never goes as planned and even worse amateurs are trying to uncover the mystery of murder!

    So, here’s the deal: you are in an uppity mansion that Mr. Rich man Boddy has the audacity to be rich in and of course he goes and gets himself killed by someone in the house. It could only be one of the six people but which one could it be? The butler? The Professor? The Colonel with PTSD? The six unconventional characters: Miss Scarlet, Mr. Green, Colonel Mustard, Mrs. Peacock, Mrs. White, and Mr. Plum, each one with an albi as thin as ice. The house itself is another aristocratic nightmare to tackle. Nine rooms to span for a single man, now nine rooms of secrets. A house once praised for its brilliant layout now floorplans for murder. A ballroom, library and, but of course, a secret passage or two? Rooms with little purpose such as a conservatory unless one was planning to shovel body parts into potted plants. The objective of the game was simple: solve the murder of  Mr. Boddy by determining the weapon and the room but do it fast. Sounds easy, right? Prepare to become suspicious of all your fellow players and guests because someone is lying. No need to manage small talk as you slide around the house from room to room attempting to unravel the mystery. Now lets go over our suspects each with a motive heavy on its own.

    Colonel Mustard- A stereotypical military man. Horrible under pressure like any typical man of “honor” and “courage” yet sometimes he has managed peril including walking into a room with a murder weapon in plain sight. 

    Miss Scarlet- the femme fatale. Her red dress and red lipstick scream, “I’m up to something” but what exactly? She’s mysterious but where does the mystery end? Is she a scheming heiress or just another body passing a murder in plain sight?

    Mrs. White- My favorite character and the most unfortunate. The housekeeper is just trying to collect a check and likely the most competent in the room because she sees all. Was she so fed up with her job that she killed Mr. Boddy or is the wrong person under scrutiny? 

    Mr. Green- The least suspicious man in the room which probably makes him the most guilty! A man of business so does that mean he has a motive? Or is this a case of the wrong place, wrong time? How else would he have access to all those daggers on the wall.

    Professor Plum- The intellectual type. Murder in plain sight?! The least suspicious is most often the one to keep both eyes on. The guy in glasses is capable of elaborate things including murder. 

    Mrs. Peacock- She’s always bothered by something so why wouldn’t the woman who always has an issue not have murder up her sleeve. Mr. Boddy is just another rich man to be envious of and why not wipe out the competition. 

    

Each character with a role and a motive yet you have to unpack murder from personality conflict. Now the mechanics come into play. As you move from room to room you must try out combinations of weapons, rooms and suspects until you narrow them down one by one. But will anyone lie in the efforts to unpack the mystery. The most thrilling part is the accusations you get to throw at each player, “I think it was Mrs. White in the Study with the Candlestick!” You are given the power to make bold statements as a great detective in hopes to crack a murder wide open. And if you have the final guess? Take the leap of fate. Check the detective files to call one's bluff and fate. In the end, nobody wins. A murder on hand and defendant cuffed in. You and your guest are along for the  ride. Mr. Boddy will  thank you even though he did not survive.