To say I love a good mystery is an understatement and I’m sure those of you with the "Who Done it?" mentality feel the same way.
I recently checked out our Murder Mystery kit, which has six episodes of the Hunt A Killer series. For those that are unaware, Hunt a Killer is a monthly subscription box where you receive pieces of evidence, witness statements, autopsy reports, flash drives, online resources, newspaper clippings, police reports, 911 transcripts, and any other information that helps you piece together a murder. You are working with a fictional private investigator who each month gives you the resources to eliminate a suspect. When you think you can eliminate a suspect you email in your findings which will reveal whether you're correct or not. After that, you can proceed to the next box. I followed the spirit of the game, and even though I had all 6 months of evidence and clues at my disposal, I went through each episode in order.
In the “Class of ‘98” storyline, our victim is a man named Charles who was murdered after his high school reunion. You are informed that there are nine suspects currently being investigated. The first month’s box includes a letter from the private investigator, a blacklight, a high school yearbook, a map of the city, a letter from the sheriff, an investigation waiver, some witness statements, a crime scene description, a newspaper article, and an incomplete timeline. In the initial letter from the private investigator, you also receive some online files from her “desktop” that have further clues and information.
Each month you can expect a combination of clues both from the box and online. After one or two hours with the first box, I was ready to eliminate a suspect. After emailing my findings I saw that my assessment was correct. This is more challenging than I originally pictured; there are ciphers to decode, hidden messages in items, and a lot more critical thinking skills than I imagined. It reminded me of an at home escape room with the level of clues needed to uncover.
The amount of detail really draws you into the characters and makes you incredibly invested with solving the case. Though I tackled this alone, I would suggest this for a date night or a party with friends as the additional perspectives and ways of thinking would have proven helpful with the deductive reasoning needed. You can find the Hunt A Killer: Cass of ‘98 Murder Mystery game in our catalog here. While you're there you might also want to check out one of our other game kits, Death at the Dive Bar.
