MURDER ON MANSION HILL

In Murder on Mansion Hill, players act as psychic mediums trying to determine how the owner of the mansion was killed, in what room, and with what item.

 

Pre-game phase

Before playing, the group starts with a hands-on design phase. Each team decides which rooms within the run-down mansion they want to make, and then collage those rooms using images from a selection of pre-gathered assets. The GM guides players through this process, making sure everyone is moving at the same pace so players don’t feel rushed and have time to ask clarifying questions. Then in the last step, players write down two descriptive words for each room they made. 

 

Preparation phase

Images used in the collages also determine which cards are used in the game. The GM identifies which images are in use, locates the corresponding card from a general bank, and then places that card in the playable deck.

 

There are five types of storycards – places, items, characters, actions, and descriptions. The GM deals one place card to a single player on each team, and does the same with an item card and action card. These cards become each player’s clue card and can’t be shared with others. The GM then shuffles the deck and deals out five cards for each player’s hand, as well as two Poltergeist cards, which are like chance cards that can mess with the other team. Then the game is ready to play! 

 

Play phase

To get the bottom of the spooky mystery, players move their avatars around the mansion while sharing what their character is up to. While describing what your character is thinking and doing to the group, you want to tell a story that aligns with the cards in your hands and the collages on the board. For example, if you have the story cards witch, cauldron, and basement, and a room that includes green smoke, you may say something like, “Because I’m a slimy toad creature and I feel at home in the basement, I walk down the stairs. There I find an old witch hiding among the shelves, stirring a smoking cauldron full of green smoke. I don’t want to ask her about the master’s disappearance because I’m pretty sure she’ll make a stew out of me.” 

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How does telling stories lead to uncovering clues? Recall that each player has a secret clue card that contains the answer to one piece of the murder mystery. When the narrator says a word related to a card in a teammate's hand, that teammate is overtaken by his physic powers, which triggers a clue-giving round; The teammate rolls a die to determine how he must hint at his clue to his team, such as by writing a riddle or drawing a picture. The team has 60 seconds to guess the clue or the round moves on. Another way to trigger a clue giving round is to use all the cards in your hand. Once a team correctly guesses all three parts of their murder mystery, they win by crafting one final sentence describing what caused the master's ultimate end.