The name assigned to her was "Tuesday," while the other six members of her team, tasked with solving a murder mystery together, had names that spanned the rest of the week - Monday, Wednesday, Thursday and so on.
Each personality was distinct and they collaborated to piece together clues sprinkled throughout their own personal diary.
It wasn’t until “Tuesday” and her team reached the middle of the game that they realized they were actually one person split into seven personalities.
The plot continued to twist with an even larger case on their hands than expected.
This was the scenario encountered by a News reporter at a recent Richmond murder mystery game at one of many venues that host these popular, hours-long games.
Murder mystery games originated in the U.K. in the 1940s as a table game, but their popularity later spread overseas, becoming a mainstream entertainment industry in China in recent years with games that often last up to six hours.
Richmond, with its large Asian population, has also embraced this industry, and it really began to rise in popularity during the pandemic.
“It took off during COVID-19, emerging as a new industry in the in-person immersive entertainment market,” said Yuecheng Wang, manager and publisher of 101 Action. In fact, he added, its popularity has overtaken other traditional immersive entertainment industries such as escape rooms and movie theatres.
“Many people who were previously involved in games like Werewolf (a well-known party game), board games and escape room shifted to the murder mystery game industry, leading to rapid and explosive growth,” Wang said.
Not only do players come from around the Lower Mainland to play in Richmond, some come from as far away as Seattle every Saturday to play, said Elvis Yang, the owner of Ru Xi, another murder mystery venue in Richmond.
“Even though the U.S. has other murder mystery game stores, they still prefer us,” Yang said.
Currently, the largest customer base for these games consists of Mandarin speakers, he explained.
Due to the extension of Canada’s immigration policy, which allows more Hong Kong residents to immigrate to Canada, some Richmond venues plan to focus on expanding to the Cantonese-speaking community.
Wang’s store will also release about five English scripts to serve the non-Chinese-speaking community, expected to launch around mid-to-late June.
“If we could reach out to more diverse language-speaking customer groups, this industry would become better,” Wang said.
Murder Mystery Game companies expand quickly in Richmond
According to Wang's calculation, there are around 11 mainstream murder mystery game venues in Greater Vancouver, including seven in Richmond.
“I feel really happy that I could experience the latest Chinese version games in Richmond,” Eric Huang, a murder mystery player, said.
“I already played this for five years,” said Jordan He, another avid player. “It has improved my logical thinking and communications skills. It allows me to experience stories that are not part of my daily life.”
Between five and 10 players take part in each game and each player takes on a different character.
Depending on the theme, players receive different missions.
Themes range from romance to horror to “faction mechanics” which are essentially large board games, explained Wang from 101 Action. And, compared to the U.K. versions, the Chinese ones incorporate more hosting and acting elements.
For the detective-themed game, all the players work together to solve a case and find the murderer.
In the faction mechanics theme, players engage in large board games and compete against each other.
The role of the Dungeon Master is not limited to providing clues and reconstructing the plot, but also includes controlling the pace of the game, engaging player’s emotions and even acting out parts of the storyline.
With one script at Action 101, Wang serves up a meal - including appetizers, main course, bread and dessert - to align with the script, recreating the plot of a manor house dinner party.
At Ru Xi, Yang brings the content to life with various props.
“For example, we have one script that features a character with three heads and six arms,” he said.
“We created such an authentic figure to enhance the customer experience, and we’ve even bought a real ‘coffin’ to match another script.”
Murder mystery games strengthen friendships
It's common for players to spend around six hours playing murder mystery games – and some even spend up to 14 hours per game.
He and Huang are part of a group of six friends – two from Vancouver and four from Burnaby – who became fast friends four years ago playing murder mystery games in Richmond.
The six friends still meet up once a month and play as a team at one of the many murder mystery venues in Richmond.
“We often hang out together for other activities as well,” He explained.
For some players, murder mystery games are a place to vent their emotions and relieve stress, Yang noted.
Challenges faced by the industry
Richmond’s murder mystery game venues are, however, facing some industry bottlenecks, according to Yang.
“Since the pandemic ended, the (quality) requirements for murder mystery scripts are higher, and customer reliance on it is less,” Yang said.
Although his business continues to be profitable, Yang said 2024 has been a “relatively sluggish” year and some murder mystery venues are shutting down.
“This may be influenced by government policies reducing the number of international students.”
Wang also said the industry is facing copyright issues due to different copyright laws in different countries, resulting in some pirated scripts making the rounds.
“The price difference between legitimate and pirated scripts is 10-fold; purchasing legitimate scripts has become an unwritten rule among peers (Greater Vancouver stores),” Wang said.
By 2024, boxed scripts – which are sold without limitations - start at $45 per player while some scripts with distribution limitations start at $65.
The need for a dungeon master and extra non-player characters - required by some scripts - drives up the cost of playing.
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