I was whisked away to Arabia last night. Beth hosted a murder mystery dinner party set in a market in the kingdom of Ardalan. I was an entertainer named Nihad, with a pet monkey named Sinbad. (Terri snapped this photo. I suspect others shall surface.)
Have you ever attended a murder party? I can access a vague memory of playing a drug dealer with slicked-back hair for one of these with an old girlfriend, but that’s been 20 years ago now. Further, I’m confident the scope of this one dwarfed the other, both in the game’s design and Beth’s quest for total environmental immersion when decorating for something of this nature. (Wow, what an effort, too!)
I’m really a pretty smart fellow, but to play this game well requires a degree of mental plate-spinning of which I’m apparently incapable. It’s necessary to keep up with three or four times the amount of information than I can manage. This manifests as a) one character asks me about trading information or items; b) I put him off so I can flip through my packet and see what he’s talking about; c) I figure out I need to do what he said; d) I go back to him and say let’s do it; and finally e) he’s already gone a different way. This happened to me at least twice. (I had most of what I needed to know well in advance, but the pacing and the amount of simultaneous interaction buried me.)
It concerned me enough that I pulled Beth aside and told her I was worried my ineptitude was messing the game up, but she assured me there was enough flexibility designed in to accommodate such. (You know, I can also generate some guilt thinking about the fact that she gave me an extroverted character that I never really did enough with because I was having to try too hard to keep up!) She’ll swat that down too, because she’s gracious and she’s my friend. Then she’ll say that she just hopes I had a good time, which I certainly did. It was food, drink, and lots of laughs with folks I enjoy very much.
If we do it again, though, I think I should probably tend bar.
Thanks so much for all of the trouble and the invitation, Beth. It was a blast!
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I am very glad you came. I am sorry that you found it hard to stay in character and think at the same time. Positive that the beers and silliness had nothing to do with that. (Remind me to tell you about the moment I realized I was teetering on the edge of becoming fully incapable of running the show…)
Susan tells me that this game seemed more complex than the ones she runs, so it may have been more difficult than I should have started beginners with. All in all, everyone seemed to have a good time, and that is really the only thing that matters. I just like an excuse to play dress-up and hang palm trees from my ceilings.
I’m glad to have some corroboration from the more experienced that this one might have been a click or two up the ladder. (And hey, I stopped drinking when I realized how much of my brain I was going to need.) 🙂
It was a really good time, Beth, and I’m confident that’s true for everyone. Thanks again.