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Murder of the High Wizard
$39.95
Add intrigue to your next party with this murder mystery game, set at a college of wizards.
Format:
30 Minute Mystery
Setting:
The College of Wizards
Time:
30+ minutes
Ages:
Adult or Teen
Players:
Play with Printed Sheets or the App
Hosts have the choice of playing the game with printable documents or using the PWM Party Assistant app
View app gameplay guide
Play In-Person or Over Video Chat
You can host this game in-person or over video chat. The game is built to be run either way!
The College of Wizards investigates a shocking event.
Backstory
Your guests will be playing the roles of wizards and faculty of the prestigious College of Wizards.
Murder!
The body of High Magus Wilburton was discovered this morning. It appears he died late last night, the night of a full moon. His body was discovered by the College’s head of security, who has gathered the faculty here today to solve the murder.
Solving the Mystery:
High Magus Wilburton’s death is only the latest in a series of deaths and disappearances that have occurred around the college in recent weeks. Could it have something to do with the enigmatic artifact brought to the college by Herr Himmelmorder, or is there something even more sinister at play?
Murder of the High Wizard is suitable for 8 guests (or 8 couples), including the host or hostess. The available guests include:
* = Optional character
- Minerva Blackthorn: Ambitious and scheming, Minerva, Vice Proconsul of the College, has run roughshod over those who get in her way. Her ruthless tactics have made her unpopular, but no one can argue with their effectiveness.
- Engel Anglebright: Engel has been the Magus’ apprentice for years. Bright and idealistic, he is eager to become a full-fledged wizard.
- Julian Tagglebaum: The College’s absentminded librarian has only one concern in his life: books.
- Rebecca Redbush: The College’s antiquities expert has little patience with other people, especially those who don’t know what they are doing.
- Eria Greenbough: The College’s head of research is a micromanaging pest who never gives the researchers a break. Some claim her particular style of management has been hampering the College’s research endeavors.
- Olena Oxnard: Olena, a scholar of theoretical magic, hasn’t published in years. Her research program is in danger of losing funding, and she is under a lot of pressure to produce results.
- Rory Olembark: Only a truly skilled wizard could serve as the College’s head of security. Rory is a serious man with very little patience for small talk.
- Herr Heinrich Haugwitz: Heinrich is a visiting professor from the Kollectiv Magick. He’s been very inquisitive about every aspect of the College since he arrived.
Extra Players
- *Investigator: If you have more than 8 players, additional players have the option of playing the role of "Investigators". In this role the players are not suspects and do not have character backgrounds but can question the suspects and try to solve the mystery along with the other players.
What's Included
This game kit includes:
- Hosting guide – A guidebook that takes you through all the steps for running the game
- Character sheets – Information sheets for eight unique characters and one generic "Investigator" character
- Name cards – Printable name cards that can be placed in front of players for in-person games (optional)
- Introductory handout – A brief description of the game that can be sent to your guests ahead of the event (optional)
- Invitation template – Printable template that can be used to send paper invitations to your guests (optional)
Our line of 30 Minute Mysteries is specially designed for fast setup and easy play, whether your playing in-person or virtually over video chat.
All you need to do is:
- Gather a group of players
- Distribute character sheets
- Follow the party guide instructions
If you’re playing in person, you have the option of printing out the hosting script and character sheets, or you and your guests may view them on your electronic devices.
Best of all, the party facilitator can choose whether they join in the game and solve the mystery along with the other guests!
Playing the Game
While this mystery has 8 primary characters, it is designed to accommodate any number of additional players. See the “Expanded Game for Large Groups” section below if you have more than 8 players.
Each of the players will be assigned a character and given a character sheet that explains who or what their character is, what information their character knows, and how their character should respond to events that occur during the game.
The game will progress in rounds.
Round One will start with the party’s host or hostess reading a script that explains the nature of the mystery that is afoot. After the introduction is read, each player at the table will share a piece of information from their character sheet, which will often be met by a response from another player.
Round Two begins with the host sharing a clue that should shed further light on the mystery. After the clue is revealed, the players will once again go around, providing another piece of information.
Round Three, the final round, begins with the host sharing the last clue. The players then go around the table a final time, sharing their last piece of information.
By this point, the players should have enough information to piece together a theory about who was responsible for the crime. Everyone will vote for the culprit, which the host will then reveal. Any player or couple who correctly guessed the identity of the killer is declared a winner.
From start to finish, the game typically requires half an hour to complete.
What Do I Need in Order to Play?
Our 30 Minute Mysteries are specifically designed to not require very much in the way of supplies. All you need is:
- Playing area
- In-person – Table to sit around or large playing area where the guests can sit in a circle
- Virtual – Video chat room (links to 3rd-party providers like Zoom included in game)
- A group of players (minimum 8 people)
- Access to a printer or electronic device (so you can distribute game materials)
Expanded Game For Large Groups
If you have more than 8 players, there are three ways that you can accommodate everyone:
- Investigator Role – Using this method, eight guests play the primary characters while the remainder of the guests each play the Investigator role. Players in this role are not suspects and do not have character backgrounds but can question the suspects and try to solve the mystery along with the other players.
- Teams – Each primary character can be played by 2 or more people that work together as a team. This works well if you’ve invited several couples to your event, but also works if you break up your guests into eight larger teams of 3 or more guests.
- Multiple Groups – If you have 16 or more guests, you can break them up into groups of 8 players and run multiple instances of the game on their own. This method is best for large events (e.g. fundraisers) where each table of people can play through the game independently. This method goes well with the Investigator method, which allows you the flexibility to add more than 8 people to any group.
Both the standard and expanded games are included with the purchase of any game kit.
Content Rating:
This party is rated adult/teen. There is no explicit material; the party does contain references to the following:
- Occultism
- Demonology
- Witchcraft and Magic
- Murder
Difficulty:
This party is simple to set up and can be played with minimal or no preparation.
This party is average difficulty to solve.
Anonymous –
Theme Highlights This was a virtual meeting so we had ppl dress up and some used different voices! I wish I had saved the photo.
We had a blast as always! We love playing this virtually and so many was able to get into character. Doing murder mysteries has become a fan favorite
Anonymous –
Theme Highlights This was a virtual meeting so we had ppl dress up and some used different voices! I wish I had saved the photo.
We had a blast as always! We love playing this virtually and so many was able to get into character. Doing murder mysteries has become a fan favorite
Amy Wolcott –
Headline Church Youth Group
Menu Highlights Hot cider in fancy cups
Theme Highlights Loved doing this at Halloween time!
Nice! I loved the pace of the activity. We passed it over to the youth (ages 11-17) to narrate and play out their roles. They had a great time. I especially loved when they got into their characters. I would however caution to anyone getting this game, it does mention Demons and Exorcist. It did seem a little dark for my crew. I think they enjoyed it overall. Took us 40 minutes to play with 8 characters + 3 investigators.
Amy –
Headline Great for 14 year old’s party.
Nickname Amy
Bought for my 14-year old and her friends. They had a lot of fun dressing up and getting into character. The format is easy to follow. The clues are okay. Just two pictures. All in all we’re happy with the purchase.
MSAA –
Headline We served a luncheon at our apartment complex.
Nickname MSAA
Everyone had a great time We handed out wants, hats and capes. Lots of laughter and fun!
Pinebrook Wizard Chapter –
Headline Be all that you can be, a wizard solving crimes.
Nickname Pinebrook Wizard Chapter
Menu Highlights Appetizers... drinks. Dinner tri-tip barbecue followed
Theme Highlights Email one week before advising participants to start thinking like a wizard
Family and friends gathered on our vacation by a small lake. 14 Wizards from Age Dumbledore(?) to the a very young Harry Potter(7) took their task very seriously. We were also celebrating a Wizard birthday…how fortuitous to have the birthday Wizard Hat for the occasion. As with all Wizards age is irrelevant as she did not share the number with us.
Angelivy –
Headline Perfect for a groups of teenage girls!
Nickname Angelivy
We used this for a Girl Scout troop meeting and they loved it. It was last minute so they didn’t get time to really get into their characters but my round two they were fully immersed. Every one of them has asked to do another one asap!
Bazza –
Headline Wizards celebrating at a Lakeside Lodge.
Nickname Bazza
Menu Highlights Cake and Alcohol. The cake was green - looked strange, tasted great (even though it had kale in it).
Theme Highlights Wands, hats, Harry Potter music
It was a family get-together to celebrate a 30th birthday. We hired a lakeside lodge for three nights and played on night 2. Everyone got dressed up for the occasion.
Tank –
Headline Murder of the High Wizard neighborhood hit
Nickname Tank
Menu Highlights Pizza and munchies
Theme Highlights Played Wizard type music on smart speakers
Held a block party in my house to get to know some new neighbors. It was a great time. People let their guards down, had a blast, and even some figured out who dun did it! Would recommend doing it again.
Tank –
Headline The Murder of the High Wizard was a hit
Nickname Tank
Menu Highlights Pizza and munchies
Theme Highlights Played wizard type music on smart speakers.
Tonight I held a block party to get to know some new neighbors. it was a huge hit. everyone enjoyed themselves, let their guards down, and some even figured who dun it!
Queen Leaf –
Headline Fun way to get together virtually
Nickname Queen Leaf
Everyone seemed to have a good time, though there was a little confusion about how much everyone was supposed to read. Some players felt like they should read their character text at the top aloud to everyone, while others felt like that was a bad idea (giving too much away).
This is the second game from here we’ve played, so based on both experiences, I would suggest:
– Adding character introduction text that the characters say to the group (instead of the host introducing them)
– Creating more important visual clues (no one felt these added anything to the game)
Overall, I think we had more fun with the original one we played (the Christmas game), because it was easier to dress up and get into character, but this was still a good time.
Mary P. –
Headline Awesome Wizard Party! Fun virtual Birtday Party.
Nickname Mary P.
Menu Highlights We had Pumpkin Pasties, butterbeer, and chicken pies. we used the unofficial Harry Potter Cookbook recipes. Also had some chocolate frogs.
Theme Highlights We all dressed up in costumes, used props including wands and books. We decorated the house to match the wizard theme. Awesome Wizard
We played Murder of the High Wizard as a virtual adult birthday party. It was a fun way to be able to get together safely. It felt like we were all sitting around the table together. It was easy to run the party ourselves. We dressed up and decorated and had theme dinners together(virtually). We embellished our characters a little and all had such a great time we are ordering another mystery. I give thumbs up to this for sure!!
Courtney –
Headline Fun!
Nickname Courtney
We wanted a special birthday celebration, and thought given the virtual nature of the event that this would be a fun activity. We had a great time and it was an easy-to-use kit, where everyone could be equally involved.
[email protected] –
Headline Fun Family Zoom Events
Nickname [email protected]
Our family has completed 3 Murder Mysteries over the past 4 months. We typically have 6-12 family members join in every Saturday for various “Zoom Game Nights”. We love to add in some fun with our Murder Mystery nights. Our family has a number of creative personalities and their improv adds to the fun.
Laura –
Headline Wizards and Wonder at the College
Nickname Laura
Menu Highlights Magical Meatballs Spell Filled Spirals Fantastic Fruit Wands
Theme Highlights We did this during the pandemic and had items such as wizard wash (hand sanitizer) and magical masks (face shields) as part of the party. We stayed outdoors and built in a scavenger hunt and a silly string battle. The kids loved being detectives and the adults played the roles. Fun was had by all.
We played Murder of the High Wizard as part of a 10 year old birthday party with adults and kids.
Laura K –
Headline Magical Fun Birthday Event
Nickname Laura K
Menu Highlights We interwove the 30 min murder mystery with wizard themed party games including a potions class where the kids made slime and had to describe their potions "magical powers", a scavenger hunt, a silly string battle and a magical creatures creation class with some paper animal imagination.
Theme Highlights Kids all wore capes and wands. Some adults dressed their role, others did not. it was a small house party with wizard themed decorations.
Kids Birthday Party
Jaspas –
Headline Halloween Party
Nickname Jaspas
Our outdoor club met for a halloween party. The kids had a great time. Between the great names of the characters and figuring out the mystery.
pplanner24 –
Headline Spooky office party
Nickname pplanner24
Menu Highlights Ghost cupcakes with vanilla frosting and mini chocolate chip eyes Crescent rolls in the shape of bones Spooky forest pudding cups
Theme Highlights Wizard hats Spooky music playlist off of youtube
Bought this game for an Office Halloween Party. We had eight people volunteer to be characters and gave them their character sheets a week before the event. Everyone got pretty into it! We bough wizard hats and other accessories for the event and had spooky treats and a drink with dry ice.
The game was a little long and it was a little awkward just going around in a circle; we were trying to keep it to 30 minutes and didn’t mingle much, but it still took about 50 minutes to complete. I think if there were 5-6 characters instead of 8, it would fit better into 30 minutes. All in all it made for a fun party!
MrLucas –
Headline Fun, a little scary, whodunit made zero sense
Nickname MrLucas
11 year old daughter’s birthday party. The materials were well done, instructions were straight forward for an adult to follow. However the 10 and 11 year old girls need a little help, as it was not always clear to them when they should read their responses, so we had to help them a bit.
Most of them got into it, and had fun. But replied to their mothers that it was scary. They did not seem scared at the time, but I think a few of the younger ones were scared by the reveal of the murder. It came out of left field, IMO and had a pretty dark tone, compared to the rest of the game’s story to that point.
Replay value is low, as the game is geared towards one particular person as the murderer (no randomly selecting the murderer and branching dialog like other murder mysteries I have done with adults.) Once you know whodunit, there is no point in playing it again. Also as I stated there were plenty of red-herring clues to other suspects to throw you off the trail, but even in hindsight I’m not sure how anyone would have concluded who the real murder was, so it feels there could have been a better job of balancing the clues with who actually did the deed.
alumni –
Headline FUNN!!!!
Nickname alumni
A fun social event for a group of friends
Ashe –
Headline 5th birthday
Nickname Ashe
This was an excellent half hour of fun and laughter. Everyone including had a blast.
Jackie –
Headline Murder of the Last Names!
Nickname Jackie
Once a month my daughters Venturing Crew does a fun activity. We chose Murder of the High Wizard for our March meeting. This was very easy to organize and play. The team had a great time. Everyone kept cracking up over the last names of the characters, which made things very interesting.
ShannonA –
Headline A lot of fun, recommend!
Nickname ShannonA
Menu Highlights Halloween Office Potluck
Overall the game was a lot of fun. There were a few hick-ups in getting started . We picked a 30 minute game which stated there was no prep needed and quick setup, however I would prepare better next time and allow each of the characters to have some time to review their characters. Once we got started, the game moved very smooth and was a lot of fun.
LisaMomoftwo –
Headline Students tackle the Murder of the High Wizard
Nickname LisaMomoftwo
Halloween Class Party for 5th grade students-The Murder of the High Wizard-the crime was NOT solved!
Students really enjoyed the mystery and intrigue as party of their Halloween party.
Because of the 3 rounds of clues, all the students were able to participate. We gave the character assignments the day prior in order for student teams to work together and get in character.
Brendan Sullivan –
Headline Absolute. Blast
Nickname Brendan Sullivan
Menu Highlights We made a zombie meat tray and other Halloween delights to go with the theme.
Theme Highlights The kids loved the scavenger hunt and we added trivia for the adults so there was a balance in tokens
We had 40 guest of all ages. We hosted a harvest day party and decided to do a murder mystery for something different. Everyone absolute loved it. The story line was great, and flexible so we could add other harvest day activities in the mix for extra tokens. we had so much fun we will make this an annual event. I loved how we incorporated decorations like the scare crows into the scenario.
Melissa –
Headline Fun quadruple date
Nickname Melissa
Menu Highlights We just popped just frozen appetizers in the oven along with the usual chips, juice,and m&ms.
Theme Highlights We didn't use props or costumes. The whole point was to get some busy parents on a date for a few hours without the commitment of lots of time or energy. That's why we chose the 30 minute one. I've also used the full party kits and decorated and done a themed menu and had costumes. It's so fun, but sometimes you need a spontaneous fun night and this kit fit the bill.
We planned our date a week ahead of time and didn’t plan anything beyond printing one of these mysteries out and bringing some snacks. It was easy to print out at the last minute and read the instructions. One sad thing was that my printer printed the last page first, so when I checked to see if it was printing correctly, I caught a glimpse of who the murderer was. So sad!
We had a good time teasing the librarian about his books, and weeks later we still ask him if he ever found them. The characters were fun, but the names gave some people some trouble remembering them.
The group was divided at the end over how "easy" it was to deduce the murderer. Some thought it was too obvious, and the others agreed that you SHOULD be able to deduce who the murderer was based on all the clues; that it SHOULD be obvious.
TFuesh –
Headline Entertaining
Nickname TFuesh
Used in a class to teach deductive reasoning, the students really got into the characters and the theories they came up with for each round were both amusing and insightful.
Everyone enjoyed it. Great job!
Vivian –
Headline Social Group activity
Nickname Vivian
Used this for a social therapy group of adolescents with Asperger’s and high functioning autism. They thoroughly enjoyed playing and had to use lots of language processing and problem solving skills which we’ve been working on. Hope to play another one real soon!