Arsenic and Lies

Arsenic and Lies is an Agatha Christie style murder mystery set in a country manor in 1919. It does not have predefined characters, instead you will define your own characters and relationships between them in the pre-game workshop, prompted by random Secret and Relationship cards. A random player will secretly become the Killer, another player will be a famous Detective incognito.

During the game, the Killer secretly poisons a victim of their choice, who then dies while raising a toast as the clock strikes midnight. The player of the victim returns in the second act as the Unexpected Guest to stir things up even further. Before the police arrives, the Detective reveals their identity and conducts a denouement - will they find the real killer?

From the perspective of individual characters, the murder isn't necessarily the main concern - they will be busy covering up their clandestine affairs, extracting revenge on people who let them down during the War, arranging marriages of convenience or saving their beloved sisters from going to jail.

One thing not all players might like is having some aspects of their character established by other players during the game ("Remember that drunken night we spent together last summer" etc. should in most cases be accepted by the targeted player).

The tone of the game tends to be like that of a Downton Abbey episode mixed with an Agatha Christie novel. There will be safety techniques ensuring no-one gets uncomfortable.