A Murder in Five Acts is a storytelling game for ideally 4 or more players, one of whom will take on the role of Narrator and another will assume the duties of a Recorder. All of the creative elements of the game are provided by the imagination of the players. As a result, it is helpful, but not required, for the players to have some familiarity with the genre of Golden Age mysteries such as those written by Agatha Christie. It is from her works that all the conventions and structure are taken.
The Murder is structured into five Acts, resembling the form of a play. Within each Act will be several Rounds, where the narrator will ask a question of the group and each player will take a turn to provide an answer, or part of the answer. Players are encouraged to work with other players previous contributions to build a more creative and cohesive narrative.
The Set Up:
The players sit in a circle, for example around a table. The players will choose a classic Christie character and develop it through the questions that the narrator asks them to consider. Each player is given a small pad and pen to write down their own personal answers. The Recorder has a larger sheet for reporting on the general outlines of the story. The Narrator starts the rounds by asking the question for that round and eliciting the answer for everyone to hear. The Narrator and Recorder will also play a character.
A Token is used to identify the player where the round begins. This Token should be suitable for the mystery story being told, such as a scarab beetle, a letter opener, a goblet, or a candlestick. In addition it can be helpful for the Narrator to have access to a d20 die to roll when a random number is required.
Finally, it is also appropriate for each player to have a small shot glass or sherry glass with wine to be sipped at the beginning of each Act.
General Standing Rules for the game
1. There are no wrong answers. The wilder the better.
2. Short and Sweet. Answers should generally be directly relevant to the game play. There is no need to spend long minutes agonizing over the perfect answer.
2. Support, don't Squash. Subsequent answers should support others stories that have already been introduced. Introducing elements that directly contradict something already stated is considered to be "Squashing" and is considered bad form. If there are any emergent or inadvertent contradictions introduced into the play, it is part of the narrative for the players to reconcile them before the story is complete.
Gameplay:
The Narrator and the Recorder administers the setup, and the Talisman is placed in the hands of the player to the Narrator's right. That person will be given the chance to respond to the question for that round first, and then the person to their right will offer an answer and so on around the circle counter-clockwise. When the round is over, the Talisman will pass to the next player on the right, again proceeding counter-clockwise around the circle. That new holder of the token will have the chance to provide the first answer on the next round.
Typically, the question will be asked and a few minutes will be allowed to lapse while the player consider their answers and write them down on the detective's notebook in front of them. After a few minutes, the Narrator will call for the answer and follow the order established by the token. The players should refrain from just calling out their responses, but should wait for the order to reach them.
Act 1
Round 1: Introductions The narrator will read the first three character types from Agatha Christie's cast of characters. for the first player. Then read the next three characters from the list for the next player and so on around the circle. The players must choose the answers for the following and write them down in their detectives notebook:
- Choose one of the types
- Give the character a name
- Write down one thing about that character that is common knowledge
After 5 minutes, following the order set by the token, each player introduces their character
Round 2: Connections. Now that all the characters have been introduced, choose one other character that your character has some kind of ongoing interaction with. It could be a family relationship (child, parent, spouse), business partner or co-worker, old army buddy, former patient. This is not a secret association but one that could be identified with a reasonable amount of research. (Secrets will be uncovered later).
Round 3: Aura. Determine for your own character what kind of Aura they have. Are they good or evil or morally gray, sunny or gloomy, bright or dark or shadowy.
Act 2
Round 4: The House. The Narrator outlines a few basic parameters for where the story will take place. It could be a remote country house on the river, or a stern wheeler traveling the Mississippi. Then each player will contribute one detail of the house to complete the setting.
Round 5a: Setting. The narrator asks each player to think of a number between 1 and 12. The recorder records all the numbers as they are returned and determines the average. That average is multiplied by 10 and added to 1900 to decide the year in which the mystery is set. (for example. the average of five numbers is 6, so the story is set in the 1960s.)
Round 5b: The Older Time: The narrator asks each player to think of a number between 1 and 20. The average is the number of years prior to the current time when an ominous event happened.
Round 6: The Ominous Event. This is something tragic that everybody knows about but no one talks about. Examples from Christie: 10 years ago two little girls were kidnapped and never seen in the village again; 2 years ago the cruel old lady was murdered and one of her sons was executed for it; last year the colonel received a poisoned pen letter and committed suicide. The current events must relate to this ominous event in some way. Each player takes a turn to describe what the ominous event was.
Act 3
Set Up: The narrator rolls a d20 randomly and uses the number to select an unused character from the Cast of Characters. If the exact one is being used by a player, use the next one closest to it. The narrator reads out the character and provides one pivotal detail to their arrival that evening. Maybe the lawyer brings an important document, but he doesn't say what it is. Maybe the Doctor has an important vial of medicine carefully packed in a traveling case, but again no details are provided; Maybe a former maid or cook or other domestic staff shows up carefully clutching an album of old photos, but she doesn't let anyone look inside; the Vicar arrives bringing a historic and holy relic made of gold but only offers the barest glimpse of it: the specialist engineer arrives with a rolled document case rumored to contain design plans for the newest fighter aircraft.
The next morning, the narrator tells everyone, that character has been murdered.
Round 7: The First Murder. Each player contributes one detail about the murder. This can include the room where they were murdered, the murder weapon, any other clues about the murder scene, and what happened to the actual item that they were seen with when they arrived.
Round 8: The Secret. Each player reveals one secret that another character knows about them, or that their character knows about someone else. Ideally, this secret should involve the Older Time or the murder victim.
Act 4
Round 9: The Confession. Each player should tell us why their character is the murderer. Tell us how it was done, using the clues provided in Round 7, and tell us why, incorporating all the details you've created and referencing the Older Time as well as the current time period.
Act 5
Round 10: What Really Happened. Together, all the players have to do their best to reconcile all the differing stories into one coherent narrative, incorporating the design of the house, the ominous events of the Older Time, and the secrets and relationships of all the characters. One or more of the characters can be identified as the real murderers.