Customer Reviews

How to Host a Teen Mystery: Barbecue with the Vampire

5 star:		(27)
4 star:		(7)
3 star:		(2)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

Although the age range starts at 12, my daughter's 10th birthday was a huge success with this game. It is very complex, but all eight of the kids really got into the finest details. None of them solved it before the solution was revealed, but had a great time playing the characters and anlyzing the information anyway. From start to finish, including playing through dinner, they needed 4 1/2 hours, and even then I was pushing them along a bit. Be sure to allow enough time for the guests to discuss the mystery as much as they'd like. The downside was that they got into it so much that two of the kids had nightmares about vampires afterward! We did the decorations along with the theme, and I (Mom) dressed as a vampire to add to the atmosphere. With take-out barbeque served, this was the EASIEST, most fun birthday party I have ever done - and my daughter says that it was her favorite party ever. She wants to do the other one, and it's so easy that we'll do it this spring without the excuse of a birthday. Perfect for kids who are into mysteries - this group also loves fantasy such as Harry Ptter.

When I hosted Barbecue with the Vampire for my friends ages 15-17, I found that all of us were instantly plummeted into the plot of this unique game. The characters were complex and my guests portrayed their roles well, dressing in intriguing costumes that fit in perfectly with my basement that had been transformed into a vampire's lair. We had a lot of laughs and did a lot of thinking. My only complaint was that the solution was really complicated and no one solved the mystery correctly. This game is well thought out and challenges the players to be attentive to the smallest detail. I would recommend this game to anyone who likes pretending to be someone else, solving problems, and scary movies.

An overwhelming success at my daughter's eleventh birthday party. The difficulty level was challenging but manageable for the 11-year-old guests. They all came imaginatively dressed for their pre-assigned roles, we had the room decorated like a spooky castle, daughter and I played our roles right from the beginning, and the weather cooperated by adding a clap of thunder as people arrived! Appropriate food was prepared by dad at the bbq. It took a lot of management by mom to keep everything on track but the kids had the best time ever, guests asked for information to order the other game in the series for their parties.

Hi everyone! I am 14 years old and I was looking for a fun game for my party. My dad had a murder mystery game that seemed really fun, and it got me into looking for a teen mystery game. I found "Barbeque with a Vampire." I invited some friends over and we had a blast. Even if your guests dont wear a costume for their role, its still a lot of fun. No one knew who the vampire was in the end, but most of us had suspected him/her at one point of the game. My friends and I are definately going to play "Hot Times at Hollywood High." It really keeps you thinking of every possibility at all times. It was really well planned out. I'd definately recommend this to someone.

I remember my thirteenth birthday party being one of the best birthday parties I had ever had. My mom and I ordered the game and after looking at the kit became really excited. The kit came with everything you needed; a map of the town, player manuals, clue books, party ideas, food ideas, and more. I invited seven of my friends and the party was a blast. The table was set and everyone had a notebook to record clues. The costumes people wore were great. We had a fun time deciphering the names, for example 'Howie Bledsoe' was 'how he bled so'. We quizzed every character, drilling them for their clues during courses. It was a lot of fun figuring out who commited the murder, the ending was a surprise. To this day I still remember how much fun my thirteenth birthday had been.

This game made for an easy and very entertaining birthday party for my 12-yr-old son and his friends. We got a lot of compliments from the kids who attended and their parents. The game allows for a great amount of flexibility in terms of setting, food, decor, or lack thereof. Although the game specifications say that you need to have 4 girls and 4 boys, one of the female characters (Robin O'Positive) and one of the male characters (Killian Killagan)can be played as either gender, so you can have a 5/3 split with either gender in the majority. The costume suggestions were easy to follow and could be done minimalistically--everyone who came to our son's party had worn some degree of costume, which helped the kids keep the characters straight during the game.

"Take-out" rotisserie chicken with BBQ sauce and snack-sized jelly-filled sponge cakes from the grocery store are good party fare to go with the vampire theme. An adult moderator is indispesible for keeping the game moving and for re-speaking any clues that are mumbled or spoken too softly for the whole group to hear. Our group of 11-14 yr-olds finished the game in four hours, which included breaks for lunch, birthday cake, and gift opening.

I have gotten both "Barbecue with the Vampire" and "Roswell that ends well" for my 14th and 15th birthday parties. I must admit that both are exalent and have the guests talking about it for years (yes that's right years!) but Roswell that Ends Well has a much better story line.

Earlier reviewers suggested this game is fine for kids who are only ten or eleven years old. I'd say it's probably a much better game for somewhat older kids, though, following the manufacturer's suggested age range ("for Teens").

We played it at my son's eleventh birthday party, and it wasn't bad, but the kids really required a lot of adult pushing to keep them moving (as two parents, as they dropped their sons off, said they had to be back only three hours later, not quite enough time). Further, even "gifted" kids at age eleven had some difficulty in reading aloud (my son was the only one who had no problem with this), though they're fine with reading silently, and one child turned out to not be a strong reader at all. Eleven year olds also fail to ask many of the sorts of questions they should ask, so much of the interesting "concealed" information was never revealed.

All in all, the game would be better for age 13 and up, not age 10 or 11. (Not the manufacturer's fault!)

It was a reasonably inexpensive way to keep a bunch of kids entertained for several hours, but it was exhausting for the parent who had to lead them through it!

Durability has to be rated a single star, since you cannot play the game twice, and the paper map did not survive the party snacks. That's to be expected, though, not really anything to complain about.

A few weeks ago a group of friends and I played this game. We're all in our mid to late 20s. For me and a couple of others it was our first murder mystery but the majority were murder mystery veterans. We all loved it!
Best of all the conclusion makes sense! When you think about it, it's completely obvious that person is the murderer without it being a complete give away.

[We played another one this past weekend (different company) which was not as successful. The murderer was so obvious no one guessed it could possibly be them and a great deal of the dialogue was pre-scripted]

Discovering everyone's little secrets just adds hilarity to the game. Of course, keep in mind that you can only play the game once. Hang the map some where so it doesnt get messed up during the game.
At first glance 25 bucks seems expensive for a game you can only play once but I guess you'd spend more on that on movies or another form of entertainment.

I highly reccommend this game to people of any age looking for an evening of fun.

My friend bought this and set it up for a party on haloween. I was Robin O'Positive (actually her evil twin, Robin O'Negative) and I thought it was the coolest thing ever! I was scared weeks after and everyone there had a blast! This is the best thing you could ever do for a party! Words can not explain how cool it is to play! We're thinking about buying the Alien one for a Luau party on the last day of school. I loved playing this mystery!