Victim T-Shirt
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Hatter's Ball | A Murder Mystery Game
$50.95
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Hatter's Ball | A Murder Mystery Game
A Hatter's Ball murder mystery party game for 8-18+ guests, ages 14 and up due to difficulty. Characters are flexible gender, so this game may be played co-ed, all female or all male. This is the instant download version of the game - easy to prepare and host - and, you avoid the wait and shipping fees, as there's nothing that needs to be shipped. For the party ready pack, click on the link below in the helpful links section. This game was created for hosts who loved Bloodwood Masquerade Ball so much, they requested another with the same characters! The characters are jumbled up in order and placed into a new mystery for you to solve!
There are four PDF files to download with this game - a host instruction file, printable file, solution key, and an optional free invitation file. You must use Adobe Reader (free software that you can download at Adobe.com) to view the PDF file, as a PDF is an Adobe product.
Format: this is a traditional, mingling, clue-based game (downloadable version) for in-person groups. For virtually-formatted games that are ideal for video chat platforms, click here.
Gifting: the standard game license does not allow transfers, so you cannot purchase a download as a gift. For gifts, click here for gift certificates, or use the link below for the boxed version of the game (party pack).
Note: the setting of the game is the Hatter's Ball, but the characters are not inspired by Wonderland characters - they are the characters from Bloodwood Masquerade.
Helpful Links:
Host character list- Free, printable invitation
- Sample game materials
- Murder mystery prop emporium
- 6+ character Expansion pack #1 - Purchased separately
- 16 character Expansion pack #2 - Purchased after Expansion pack #1
- Boxed version - My Mystery Party will prepare your party ready kit
- Direct your guests here - the corresponding pre-game site at Your Mystery Party
Murder Mystery Synopsis:
The neighborhood socialites have touted the Hatter’s Ball as the bash of the year in the isolated town of Bloodworth Falls. Mayor Riley White has organized the event in the old Bloodwood Castle as a diversion from the scandals that have plagued the town in recent months. Of course, it’s no coincidence the ball is scheduled right before the upcoming mayoral election.
The mayor posted the invite list online, and your adversaries have already sent in their RSVPs. You’re intrigued and have decided you cannot miss an opportune moment to seek revenge on those who have crossed you in the past. Now, you are on a hunt for the perfect hat. This is where your story begins.
If you wish to host this (or any other) game for profit, you will need a commercial license - click here.
- Minimum age:
- 14+ years for difficulty
- Difficulty rating:
- Moderate, 6/10
- Gender of character roles:
- Flexible
- # of players in main game:
- 8-18 players
- Expansion pack(s):
- 6 players, 16 players
- Expandable team players:
- To 130+ players with expansion packs
- Date of publication:
- Jan, 2017
- Game license:
- Single, private use. See the game license's Terms and Conditions below.
Reviews
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pronouns are a bit of a mess
I love these games, I host big events every year where everyone has an amazing time. (People have said that the parties are the highlight of their year!) But something that I always need to edit is the pronouns in the game material. The format is currently "s/he", "him/her", "his/hers" instead of they/them/their and not only is it really hard to parse when there are several instances in one sentence, it's less inclusive. I always do a find and replace for these in the pdf and it adds extra work every time. I'm happy to do it because it makes my non-binary guests more comfortable, but a change here would make the games even better than they already are. Oh! And we always add pronouns to the name badges as well. It makes the game run a lot smoother!
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Loads of fun for a group of friends
This game was a bunch of fun with our group of 9 people. It was relatively easy to set up and by the end everyone was arguing over who they thought the killer was and defending themselves against accusations. We have already planned on doing another mystery game very soon.
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Fun and easy to follow characters but challenging mystery!
I hosted the Masquerade Ball (with the same character cast) about 6 months prior to hosting The Hatters' Ball with a different side of the family. I really liked the shared characters between the two murder mysteries. It was extremely helpful that everyone wore clothes/hats/items in their color (or color scheme -- ie. green for mint). It helps to keep the characters straight especially for the younger players, but it's really helpful for adults too! We played with a total of 13 people, but 1 optional character was assigned to a 3 year old. I still created envelopes for the 3 year old with leftover name tags from optional characters who were not cast. So, she still got to open envelops and the stickers kept her busy for a little bit during each round. Our 9 year old female guest lost interest frequently, so I recommend younger players be cast as optional characters if you want to include them. We also had a 12 year old male and two 14 year old boys who were fully engaged and enjoyed the game play. There were 8 adults varying from mid-20's to 70's. Everyone had a great time! I ordered plastic castle wall decorations that were taped to the wall. We did Pre-Game activities while eating pizza. We ate pizza right as people arrived. I have done several murder mysteries, and this is the first one that I did not know the victim or the murderer beforehand. It is very challenging to setup the game on your own without knowing, but it's possible. I used a paper cutter to cut the cards for each round. I printed the clue cards on card stock, and I used a blank piece of card stock to cover the round cards. I would pull down the blank card stock just enough to see the upper border. Then, I lined it up on the paper cutter. I did this for all 4 sides of each card. After each card was cut, I did a similar reveal (slowly move the blank card stock down until I can only see the character's name) to see whose clue card it is. I would have liked there to be more props listed that the host could have optionally chose to include such as various bottles for poison that are labeled with funny names.
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Team-building activity
Everyone had fun (even those who were skeptical) when we played Hatter's Ball at our annual department team retreat. Thanks!
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Awesome party!
The party is super fun! Great storyline! And my murder mystery was super helpful!
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looks like great fun we have not done it yet but love the character names and the colour theme
have organized game and ready to play. cannot wait! Looks great!
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Teenagers loved it!
Our group of teens had never played before. Many didn't know each other - they made friends, had fun and rolled with it. We enjoyed interacting with them. The characters really allow for meeting new people without feeling awkward. Easy costumes if you need them! Even our pups participated! Only one person guess the murderer correctly so it was engaging but not easy!!
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Fun time!
Easy to follow, characters are great, instructions are simple. The kit didn't take too much effort to assemble. Can't wait for my next party.
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Fun time had by all
Simple to follow instructions is key - and they nailed it. Easy breezy plot lines, but challenging enough of a mystery that you have to investigate it all to get it right. I have no complaints, only compliments.