How Much Should You Drink During a Murder Mystery:
Note: If you are under the legal drinking age in your region, the answer is none.
With the launch of our latest game, Murder at a Microbrewery, the question arose of how much should someone drink at a Murder Mystery? Well, this came up initially as I was writing it. I was pondering to myself while sipping my 4th or 5th whiskey, Hemingway’s apocryphal methodology where one would “Write drunk, edit sober.”
Sometimes you need to balance your alcohol consumption.
Now, my writing process aside, this made me think about the times I had played in some of these Murder Mysteries, and at what point did the experience suffer because I had drank too much? My friends would say “Never.” but I would have to disagree. The nature of these games requires being very social particularly with people you may not even know. So, of course, a tiny bit of social lubricant is pretty standard. However, I have on more than one occasion discovered that I use that as a crutch and find myself coming in a bit too hot before the midpoint of the game. This should be avoided especially if alcoholism isn’t written into your character. Even if it is, you still want to remember the night I assume.
So, I have created this small guide to service you if you are wondering…
Sometimes you don’t need to balance your alcohol consumption.
Different Roles and Drinking in a Murder Mystery Game:
Are you the murderer? If yes, then drinking should be mild but enough to keep your nerves about you. You have to keep your head on swivel in this role.
Is finding the murderer key to your character? If yes, then much like being the murderer yourself you need to be calm and constantly investigating. Keep drinks to a mild level to keep your head clear.
Does your character not care about finding the murderer but does have lofty goals? If yes, then this opens up a lot more possibilities. Feel free to socialize and drink more, but always keep your eyes on the prize.
Have you accomplished all your goals? Drink away, time to celebrate! Unless you want to make some new goals for your character…
Do you have an obvious side character? Just incorporate functioning alcoholism into their character and drinks ahoy!
Do you want to divert attention from your character? Pretend to be drunk and fake fall asleep. In your sleep pretend to have a vision of the killer and point to someone else. This has worked. If it works, have a drink for real.
If you are an alpaca, you should not drink alcohol…
Are you the host? If yes, I can say from experience then don’t go overboard unless you have someone able to take over because you forgot what game you were playing.
Are you not the murderer, but everyone thinks you are? You can drink and accept your fate, or you can pretend to drink and start accusing people and pointing fingers. This becomes a tricky situation, but I find that muddying the waters with allegations is the best bet to remove suspicion from you, though it likely will help the real murderer get off as well.
Well, these are some of the core scenarios but there are more, for sure, which I will discuss in Part 2 of How Much Should You Drink During a Murder Mystery?
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