Customer Reviews

Murder Mystery Party - Ancient Mesopotamia Archaeology Theme

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

 

 

I've hosted almost all of the How to Host a Murder party games and this one is one of the best. The characters are easy to get into, the solution is relatively solvable, and the story flows very well. If you're sensitive about the content, this one has much less "adult-oriented" themes than the other games. By the way, skip the recommended lamb recipe - it's too exotic for most tastes. Also, try playing it with a group of people who are either into acting or solving mysteries - one or two people who aren't into it can really bring everyone's spirits down. A must for actors or mystery lovers!

This is the third game in this series my friends and I have played, and it is our favorite so far. (We would rank them (1) "It's the Pits," (2) "Good, Bad & Guilty," and (3) "Last Train From Paris.") Although some of the costumes were difficult to come by, it has some great characters that don't require great acting skills. Also, this one was easier to follow and to solve than the other two we have played (half of the guests solved it), but it was not too easy. Although this game is not as "adult-oriented" as the "Good, Bad & Guilty," I still do not think I would recommend it for younger teens. Warning: this game is only as fun as the people who play it. Choose your guests wisely!

I love these mysteries so much, I can't get enough of them. I've done 4 others besides this one: Last Train from Paris, All My Children, Power & Greede, and Grapes of Frath. This one was by far my favorite. The mystery and characters were the best, and the setting was unique and well drawn out. I don't have enough praise for "Archaeologically Speaking, It's The Pits!". I do recommend going the whole 9 yards-- the more you get into character, the more fun.

I have played three different How To Host a Murder games and regardless of the 'plot' the ONLY way you will have fun is if your guests 'get into it'. Invite your most out-going, gregarious, outragous friends you have and it will be a blast. I had the good fortune of hosting my first party with college friends - most of whom were Drama Major's - needless to say, the party was a success. In fact, they were ad-libbing (within the character's boundaries, of course) so much the game took much longer than expected and half way through we 'took the characters/party out to dinner'.

Mix up your usual set of party/dinner guests and invite the ones who will 'add to the experience'. Also, Open The Box and Read The Instructions before sending out the invitations. Lots of suggestions for costumes, creating the mood, etc.

Durablity is only one star because Once you've played the game, there is no sense holding on to it - pass it on to a thrift shop or a group of friends that were NOT at the party.

Me and some friends did this murder mystery yesterday night, and i can honestly say that it was excellent. In the host guide it suggested lamb-yuck!-so we did homemade mac and cheese, ceaser salad, warm rolls, then pumpkin cheesecake and boklava, and everyone ate everything.
Nobody guessed the murderer-but one piece of advice is to explore every lead. There are a lot of false leads, and we lulled ourselves into thinking we'd answered every lead-but we hadn't.
However, there were some problems.
There were a lot of complicated things, like a trapdoor, that I didn't understand until later this morning. Go slowly, especially in the last two rounds and be very careful that you investigate carefully.
But overall, this was excellent, and i highly, highly, reccomend. It was the best in this series I have ever done. Also, pick people who know each other well, because it'll be more fun that way!
The most complicated characters with lots of stuff that was hard to understand were Conrad Iver, Hamilton Macctor, Missy, and Anne, so pick kind of smart people for those parts.
The other characters were all good, and the conceals were really cool!
Also, don't do The Duke's Descent, b/c it was really bad!
It develops good "people skiills."

I'm an avid mystery fan but this was the first mystery game I've actually played. It was fun to dress up and play the game, but my guests and I were disappointed in the mystery. I think part of the problem is that the murderer doesn't know s/he is the one until the last round, so until then it's just a matter of giving out all the information in the scripts. In the last round when all the information is out there, then there is only one person who could possibly be the murderer and everyone "guesses" it. I wouldn't play another game of this series, I'm going to try another "brand" and otherwise I think I'm going to try to make my own.

Normally these murder mystery games were under $50... sometimes even under $30 but this one is more than $200!

Sorry, but what makes this one worth 5 times more than the other in the series?