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The Terrible Castle of Baron Castaign
$49.95
Add intrigue to your next party with this murder mystery game, set in a haunted castle.
Format:
Mystery Party Kit
Setting:
A haunted castle
Time:
90+ minutes
Ages:
Adult / Teen
Players:
Something sinister stalks the halls of Shufflemore Manor…
Backstory
The Barony of Shufflemoore Woods is being plagued by wolves – or perhaps only a single wolf. The creature or creatures have been responsible for all sorts of deviltry, including the disappearance of livestock and, most recently, of Mitchell and Susannah Miller’s youngest daughter. Now, several residents of the Barony have retreated to Shufflemoore Manor, seeking the protection of Baron Castaign. Several visitors have also appeared, including a trio of wandering Gypsies and a hunter who has offered up her services in tracking down and slaying the beasts that are terrorizing the Barony.
A Reluctant Protector
This party is divided into two primary segments. During the first portion of the evening the guests arrive at Shufflemoore Manor, just as a terrible storm begins building up outside. The players in the adventure include Baron Castaign and his family and servants, villagers and common folk from the surrounding Barony, and various travelers who are passing through. Though the Baron himself is a gloomy, somber man with no love for company, propriety and decorum dictate that he must provide accommodation for those in need. With the storm gathering outside, Baron Castaign reluctantly offers to feed everyone dinner and let them spend the night.
Murder!
After dinner, the guests retire to their rooms to sleep. Shortly before midnight, they are awakened by a shriek of terror and find that the maid, Luella, has been killed in her bed, drained of all blood. Suspicions are immediately raised that one of the company is, in fact, a vampire. Now the players must use their wits and skills to find a way to escape from the castle before the monster in their midst kills them all.
Solving the Mystery
Guests must work together to identify the murderer. A terrible evil stalks the solemn halls of Shufflemoore Manor, and only the most clever and lucky of Baron Castaign’s guests are likely to escape with their lives!
There are 12 primary suspects in this mystery, however only 8 are required to play the game. The host or hostess will play the role of the Narrator, a gamekeeper and guide who is there to run the game. Read the "How To Play" section for more information on how to play an expanded game with more than 12 guests.
* = Optional character
Male Roles
- Baron Venedict Castaign: Lord of Shufflemoore Manor and the nearly forgotten Barony of Shufflemoore Woods, Baron Castaign is a somber, silent man, prone to melancholy and introspection.
- Desmond Othas: A peasant who ekes out a living cutting wood and performing rough carpentry in the Barony of Shufflemoore Woods, Desmond wears rough clothing and carries a hand axe.
- Winston Phipps: Butler and manservant to Baron Venedict Castaign, Phipps is a formidably competent and icily professional butler.
- Edgar: Caretaker and groundskeeper of Shufflemoore Manor, Edgar is an ill-kempt, lazy drunkard whose primary goal is to do as little work as possible while still collecting the pittance the Baron pays him.
- *Curtis: A Gypsy juggler and husband to Maven, Curtis is an outgoing entertainer always ready and able to put people at ease with his clever wit and well-timed jokes.
- *Mitchell Miller: A simple farmer who ekes out a livelihood in the Barony of Shufflemoore Woods with his wife Susannah, Mitchell has fallen on hard times with the disappearance of his daughter Krista. He has come to Shufflemoore Manor to petition the Baron's aid in locating his daughter.
Female Roles
- Esmerelda: A Gypsy girl and occasional dancer who travels the land with her brother, Curtis, and his wife, Maven, Esmerelda is bright and vivacious, a lively sort of person who always has a cheerful comment and smile, even for strangers.
- *Maven: A Gypsy seer and wife to Curtis, Maven is wise and mysterious. She always seems to know more about people than she is inclined to let on.
- *Susannah Miller: A soft-spoken woman, Susannah is the wife of the farmer Mitchell Miller. She has recently lost her young daughter, Krista, and is heartbroken and distraught.
- Luella: One of the maids of Shufflemoore Manor, Luella is a cheerful young woman who has aspirations of traveling to some place more cosmopolitan and compelling than Shufflemoore Woods.
- Constance Castaign: The sister of the Baron, Constance Castaign is a dour and devoutly religious spinster.
- Tatanya: A hunter and tracker of some skill, Tatanya is a taciturn woman, more at home in the wild than in a baron's castle. She dresses in rugged clothing and carries a pistol, something of a novelty for a woman in this time and place.
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.
This party kit is a downloadable PDF file that you print at home. It includes the following features:
- An introduction that explains the basic principles of running a mystery-party and provides specific tips on props, menu items, sound effects, and special tips to help make your party exciting, memorable and easy to run
- Step-by-step instructions on how to prepare for your party
- A detailed party guidebook that will walk you through the event in a simple, easy-to-understand format
- Instructions on how to run the party for a large group
- Nametags and character sheets for each player – the character sheets include tips on costuming and role-playing, as well special goals and gossip unique to each character
- Fully customizable invitations, complete with RSVP cards and guest lists
- Voting sheets
- Awards for your guests
- And much more!
With your purchase of Murder in Manhattan you will also receive the following:
- Step-by-step printing instructions
- Two mp3 audio effects for use with your party
- Instructions on how to use these audio clips to best effect
Follow these steps to host this mystery:
- Each guest will each assume the role of a particular character
Mystery Parties involve a combination of improvisational acting, storytelling, and creative problem solving. Each guest will play the part of that character throughout the course of the game. Each character has specific personality traits, goals, secrets, and information, all of which are included in the character sheet; a big part of the fun is getting into character and taking on a new, exciting role.
- A mysterious Event will occur
At some point during the party, an Event will occur that will force the players to come together in order to solve a problem or unravel a mystery. Traditionally, the Event in question will be the murder of one of the characters (as played by a guest), but the parties crafted by Playing With Murder often use this basic framework to accommodate different types of Events, thereby ensuring that your guests will be surprised and entertained (even if they are veteran murder mystery party players).
- Solve the mystery!
Your guests will need to use the information that their characters know (as well as additional clues that are provided during the game) to solve the mystery or overcome the problem posed by the Event. Typically this culminates in the guests voting on the identity of the murderer, but again, different parties will have different specific goals. All of our parties also come complete with additional subgames (treasure hunts, unique character goals and special puzzles) that are guaranteed to keep the action intense and your guests motivated and focused.
Expanded Game For Large Groups
If you have extra players, there are two ways that you can accommodate everyone:
- Investigator Role – 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. Expanded Games include a PDF guide that explains how to use the Investigator role, as well as printable character sheets and name tags for anyone that is playing an Investigator.
- Multiple Groups – It is also possible to break your guests up into groups and play multiple instances of the game at the same time. The game will more or less happen the same way; the host makes announcements and each group moves their game forward simultaneously based on the host’s instructions. It’s good to have one assistant in each group to answer questions and facilitate gameplay within the group. This method provides a more intimate experience for your guests, who get better acquainted with a smaller group and participate in a more digestible story.
Please contact us if you’d like more information about how to run your party using the Multiple Groups method.
Both the standard and expanded games are included with the purchase of any game kit.
Read more about Expanded Games here
First time hosting a murder mystery party?
Visit our How to Host a Mystery Party page to get step-by-step instructions on how to prepare for your murder mystery party.
Nicole –
Headline : So much fun we did it twice!!!!
Nickname : Nicole
Menu Highlights : We did finger foods and martinellis cider so that everyone could talk in the great Hall while the "servants" served the food on platters.
Theme Highlights : We only used flameless candles for the mood. The sound clips were great. I had everyone close their eyes and pretend to be asleep while we got the murder scene ready and when they heard the scream everyone jumped.
We decided to throw a murder mystery party for fun. In looking at the many possible parties online I came across this one. It was actually not my first pick until I tried the sample button and was able to see how it was set up. I knew it would be more work but also way more fun. My husband helped me set up our whole house for the party. I was going to rely mostly on imagination but my husband doesn’t do anything halfway. The first half of the party wasn’t overly decorated just streamers across the ceiling for the great Hall and flameless candles everywhere. But we went all out with the dungeons and catacombs. We purchased skeletons and bones the day after Halloween because everything was half off. And we scattered them through my laundry room for the dungeons. The catacombs were put together with dollar store plastic table clothes, binder clips and fishing line coming down from the rafters in our garage. We also had a fog machine going in the catacombs and with only three flameless candles for light it was creepy. We also had the vampires jump out at people through the catacombs to add more fright. We had so much fun that we did it again the next weekend with my family. Everyone thought it was the coolest murder mystery ever.
Nicole –
Headline : So good we did it twice.
Nickname : Nicole
Menu Highlights : We did finger foods so that the Butler could serve everyone in the great Hall due to the size of our house.
Theme Highlights : Everyone loved the sound effects especially the scream. I had everyone close their eyes and pretend to be asleep while we set up the murder and when the scream came they were truly shocked.
Our friends wanted to do a murder mystery for fun and so that meant I was in charge. I searched for a good party when I came across this one. I read the sample and was hooked. My husband doesn’t do things halfway so he transformed our whole garage into a maze using dollar store black plastic table clothes, fishing line and binder clips hanging from the rafters. We also have a fog machine so we filled the catacombs with fog and had the vampires jump out at the guests at places. We only used flameless candles for the event to set the mood. The portcullis was made from cutting holes in a dollar store plastic table cloth. We did it with our friends and loved it so much that we did again the next weekend with my family.
Wendy –
Headline : Death in the dark
Nickname : Wendy
Menu Highlights : We just served appetizers.
Theme Highlights : We kept everything in the dark and used flameless candles. For the cards, we used props to add to the realism.
My daughter put this party on for Halloween. Everyone raved about it and begged to be invited to any others we threw (and we will). We had flameless candles, sowhen the lights went out in the beginning, we left them off and used the candles (unfortunately, that means no pictures). This really added to the mood, especially with the vampires running around at the edge of the light. Great product!
Kala –
Headline : A fantastic time!
Nickname : Kala
I hosted this party as my Halloween party this year. I transformed my entire house into a haunted mansion! With the low lighting and the help of a wolf-ish assistant, we created quite a few screams. The party went very well and everyone was eager to do another one soon!
Tim –
Headline : The party went well
Nickname : Tim
People really got into it, dressed the part, played their parts. Unfortunately they weren’t very attached to their lives and were overcome by vampires…
The only complaint I had is that the set up for the dungeon was a little unclear. A rough sketch would have helped. We ended up putting the canal in front of the entrance to the catacombs and it should have been somewhere else. We managed to work around it though.
Debra –
Headline : Transformed my home into a castle. Truly memorable evening!
Nickname : Debra
I have never planned a Murder Party before, but was up for the challenge! The instructions and ideas in your game were very helpful to a "newbie".
I cannot tell you how excited I was to plan this event. I went all out when I realized that the story line followed the layout of my home, all the way down to the wine cellar. My son, (Edgar the Groundskeeper) was able to help me with a small amount of the preparation. Conveniently, I have a bathroom in my basement just past the last tunnel. The corner shower was the perfect Iron Maiden complete with tortured prisoner and spikes.
My ENTIRE home was transformed into a Medieval Castle and my guests (my immediate family) became characters I did not know! As you can see from the picture, everyone got into the act.
I wish I had been able to take pictures of my home, however, the tunnels, etc. didn’t show well in photos.
I will gladly purchase another game down the road. It made for a truly memorable evening!
Chantal –
Headline : Party went fantastic at rented Manor
Nickname : Chantal
We just got back from our Stockland Manor weekend late last night! The party was absolutely fantastic!!
The Manor was absolutely the perfect setting for your story – it was set out over 3 stories so there were more than enough rooms to allocate to all the stages.
Following the victim’s death on the four poster bed I led the guests into another chamber so she could run downstairs and then play the role of the wolf (with full furry face mask and fur coat) outside the door which illicited a few screams when she leapt out.
The guests were all fantastic in character. I haven’t got many photos during the actual game because it was so dark but have plenty of great before and after ones.
Everyone declared it one of the best parties ever so thank you very much! If we get to rent the manor again I will definitely get another game from Playing With Murder!