Mysteries
The Magpie Files: The Masquerade
The Magpie Files, case 1 of 3 — free to play. All Hallows' Eve, 1926: a masked ball, a Harlequin who shouldn't be there, and the Ashcombe emeralds gone from the library. Each case stands alone. Read it aloud, then accuse someone — in secret.
- ~20 min
- 3–10 people
- One device, or phones
- Free
- Teens and up
Play The Magpie Files: The Masquerade now — free
What it feels like
The Magpie Files. Case one. All Hallows' Eve, nineteen twenty-six. Ashcombe Hall is lit from cellar to attic, the band is playing, and every face in the room is hidden behind a mask. In the library, seven emeralds are waiting on black velvet. By midnight they'll be gone... and someone will have left a feather.
How to play
- The story comes in four parts. Each is read out loud by someone different — everyone else just listens.
- Between parts, the screen gives the table something to argue about. Every clue you need is in the story.
- At the end, everyone accuses in private: who took the emeralds, and where they are now.
- Then the solution is read out, with every clue and where it was hiding.
Scoring: 3 points for naming the thief, 2 for finding the emeralds.
What you need
3 to 10 people and one phone, tablet or laptop to pass around — or everyone on their own phone in a room. Nothing to download, no accounts. The best lines can be sealed into your group's Almanac and come back in later games.
