Voting?

Had some feedback from a new customer the other day complaining that a murder mystery they went to (not one of our's I should point out) had no firm solution. Apparently at the end of the night the audience voted as to which solution was more likely to be the correct one!

Is this for-real I asked myself? Apparently so!

Well, what a cop-out (no pun intended). Surely the whole point of a murder mystery is to pit yourself against a murderer? To work out through superior sluething ability WHO committed the crime, WHY and HOW? And to feel proud of yourself when you actually achieve this? I would have thought so! Have you ever heard of Scotland Yard taking a vote as to the best suspect in an enquiry? I certainly haven't!!

And this is why ALL our mysteries have a solution. We don't do "first past the post voting", we don't allow the cast to lie - they have to tell the truth, and it is up to you as detectives to work out who did it.

Each mystery has only ONE correct solution - although there are usually several red herrings (again no pun intended) to throw you off the scent.

So if you've been dissappointed yourselves by a performance similar to what this customer described to me - then check us out at Red Herring Games!

We don't just kill people - we're professional assassins!

East Africa - Our response to the crisis.

Each month Red Herring Games gives 10% of all money taken through the site to charity.

We often donate to New Tribes Mission, but this month we have sent money towards the Tearfund Africa appeal in response to the critical situation there.

We've all seen the news and know that the drought in East Africa is the worst it's been for 70 years. What shocks me the most is that charities like Save the Children are struggling to raise 40 Million to respond to the crisis, but the euro lottery will give someone 100 Million this week. Is it just me, or are we willing to give more money with a billion to one chance of winning something rather then give money with a 100% chance of saving a life?

Rant over. But do check out the Tearfund appeal. Even if you can only donate a small amount of money - if we all give a £1 then they'll have more money then the lottery this week and there'll be food for everyone!

What makes us different?

I'm often asked what the difference is between Red Herring Games games and the boxed games you can buy from the high street stores like WHsmiths.

If you just look at contents, then yes, it appears we're the same... but our biggest selling feature ISN'T the quality of our games (surprisingly).

No - the main thing that makes us different from these high street competitors is something you can't actually see by looking at box contents.

The easiest way to illustrate it is by telling you a short story.... So, are you sitting comfortably? then we'll begin...

Person A, we'll call her Mavis for easiness sake, walks into a store. She picks up a boxed game from the shelf. It's for 6-8 players. It has an even mix of male and female and a theme she likes the look of. She reads the back, she reads the sides, she even (rather cheakily when no one's looking) slits open the cellophane wrapper and opens the box to look inside. However... in spite of all her snooping she still has questions.

Are the optional characters still involved in the plot?
Does the murderer find out they killed the person at the start of the game?
Is there a part better suited to her 10 year old?
Is there some dubious content in there that won't be appropriate for her kid's friends?
What happens if one of her guests drops out at the lat moment, can she still play?
Can she use it with a different ratio of male to female?
How long will the evening take?
She's never done one before, so can she speak to anyone to get help?

She walks to the check out assistant and poses some of the questions to her. Sadly all she gets in response is "I'm sorry love, I don't know."

Guess what - WE DO!! We know all our games back to front. We can help with any queries and we are often adjusting them at the last minute for our customers.

Unlike the boxes in the shops we're here every step of the way, and we'll speak to you even before you buy a game! Just get in touch! We're here to help.

New Game Releases!

This last month has seen two new mystery game authors join our team. The large group versions of their first games are now both active on site and the small group versions of their games will hopefully be live by the end of July (we're just getting the voice overs recorded now).

Both games are packed with wit and I'm sure they'll be hot favourites with our regulars.


The Jolly Rogered - by Tracy Latham

Avast me hearties!

Diamond White, a 17th century galleon belonging to Captain Crooke, has just returned from its adventures, laden with precious treasures.

Celebrations, however, have been sadly cut short. When the Captain’s wife returned to their room at the Ship’s Inn she found her husband had been stabbed through the heart with his very own hook! The hook replaced the Captain’s right hand, lost following an accident involving the ship’s cannon and a drunken bet – but that’s another story!

It would seem that the late Captain was not as respected as he thought, but then his name was rather apt. The big question is, who hooked the crook??

Stiffen Very Carefully - by Michelle Crowther

Listen very carefully; this is ‘Night Owl’ calling...

It is wartime in occupied France and in the sleepy village of Vieuxvion, café owners Ronné and Ethel Tartine are trying to keep the Germans happy while secretly helping the Résistance.

However, all hell breaks loose when the body of an RAF pilot is found at the café. It looks suspiciously like murder, but who did it and why was the pilot holding a (German?!) sausage?