Monday, May 30, 2005

Death Bemoans Her

Questions or comments about "Death Bemoans Her?" Please post them here.

26 comments:

Jack Pachuta said...

Hannah and Kim, thanks for your questions.

"Death Bemoans Her" was designed to for an older group. However, my experience as a chief inspector has shown that a younger audience that really likes to solve cases can successfully use these events. In my Kids Mysteries (www.kids-mysteries.com), sample questions are provided.

This isn't done in the adult mysteries because part of the challenge of solving the case is to ask the right questions to get the information that is needed.

If you have groups of girls that like to play games and use their gray matter, I think you will both be surprised. They'll listen to what went on and want to fill in the gaps with their own queries.

Expect the first couple of rounds to be a little slow. At a certain point, the light bulbs above their heads will click on and their inner brilliance will emerge. Remember, all of us are more creative earlier in life than we are before the we get older and start to over-analyze everything. Kids see these cases in a totally difference light than do adults.

I would, of course, be happy to discuss this at greater length. Just call my investigative offices at (262)377-7230.

Happy Sleuthing!

Anonymous said...

I just hosted "Death Bemoans Her" on Friday (8/19/05). We had 10 adult women and I acted as the facilitator/Chief Inspector. My group was very into solving it the mystery. They took all kinds of notes during the clues and questioning. We were on task the whole time and only had snacks and it took us 4 1/2 hours to complete it. No one guessed the correct person as the murder either. While we had a fun time, I think the overall consensus was that it was too difficult to figure out. They uncovered a lot of information about Madame Magda but still felt that it was a leap to get to the solution that was provided. I think I would definitely purchase one that was specifically written for a younger audience.

Jack Pachuta said...

Dear Anonymous,

Thanks for your feedback. I'm sorry things didn't go as well for you as it has for others. I've received overwhelmingly positive comments about the mystery - but realize each group is unique. Since customer satisfaction is important to me, I would be happy to supply you with another mystery for FREE. Please let me know which one you'd like.

Anonymous said...

I'm curious Anonymous what the age group was you worked with. I have a group of 15 that we are hosting this for on Friday. None of us have hosted a mystery before and I am concerned that we will get stuck. We planned for 3 hours...hope that will work. Anyone have suggestions?

Jack Pachuta said...

Melcha,

Thanks for your comments. Please call me at (262)377-7230. I'd be happy to share my sleuthing experience with you.

Jack Pachuta said...

Thanks for the questions. You'll be surprised at how well the clues in the packet will "prime the pump" for the event. They're designed to get people talking and interacting before the start of the formal investigation. Don't try to do too much - my experience has been that when you pile on several activities, they water each other down. Let me know how it goes.

Jack Pachuta said...

mbell, thanks for your questions. Using the system in the instructions, the event should take 2 to 2 1/2 hours. You can shorten the questioning rounds if you'd like to speee things up, but I think you'll be surprised at how fast the time will go. Have a great time.

Anonymous said...

My Red Hat Chapter did the "Death Bemoans Her" today. There were 15 of us. We arrived in character and focused as our character the whole time so that we would stay in the 2-2 1/2 hours time frame. We started with Berta welcoming everyone and introducing Madame Magda... after Madam Magda saw that someone would die she left the room... then we broke for lunch. As everyone sat down to eat, the Police Chief started the investigation. We all felt that there should have been more of a script to get it started. We didn't break into groups but stayed at the tables. This seemed to work out good for all of us. Everyone was involved (role players and investigating team).
The ladies did an excellent job of dressing for their character!!! Cher even made chocolate candies for everyone. Red Hats off to my group for the great job they did...
Queen Mum

Anonymous said...

Each year my female cousins and I have a get-together and I'm considering purchasing "Death Bemoans Her" for our annual reunion. However, I noticed that it's written for ten characters and there are only eight of us. Will that make a difference?

Jack Pachuta said...

Sabrah, thanks for your question. You can still make it work by having the "sworn testimonies" of two of the suspects who are NOT the murderer available for everyone to read. You can do that by copying a specific part of their roles. Once you purchase the mystery, email me and I'll tell you which ones to do this with. It won't be exactly the same without a "full boat," but it can work.

Anonymous said...

Dear Mr. Pachuta: I belong to the Junior League of Jacksonville, which is a volunteer organization of women who are committed to volunteerism and raising money to assist charities that benefit women and children. A couple years ago I purchased “Death Bemoans Her” for the new members of the Junior League that year as a mixer and ice-breaker. We had a blast! It has since become a tradition that all the newcomers go to the “Death Bemoans Her” icebreaker and play along. It is always a hit and it really helps people to get to know each other. I actually do the party in two groups, one in my living room and one in my family room, so I can have 20 ladies, and I have a prize for the group who solves it first. They all dress in character and the prizes are boxes of chocolates.

I was able to keep the party moving along and the line of questioning on track by reading through the whole packet (including the ending) and if they were getting off track, I would steer them back on topic. The whole thing takes about 2-3 hours. I highly recommend it, especially if you can have a facilitator who knows the ending to make sure all the necessary clues are presented.

Anonymous said...

I am hosting this mystery in late january '08. my group is a group of African American women and I adapted the script to have Madame Magda be Carribbean...seemed farfetched to have her hail from Hungary. I also replaced the photo of her with that of a black woman. I have not read the end but have read everything else and I don't think my changes will cause a problem. Your thoughts, Mr. Pachuta?
Also I have hosted several freeform mysteries and actually like that format best. This seems to be a little freeform and a little staged. We'll see how it goes.

Jack Pachuta said...

Thanks for your comment, nanagolfer. Please make sure that when you modify the mystery, you alter ALL of the roles. Remember - the plot is like a row of dominoes. They all must fall in the correct direction for the mystery to work. If one falls in the wrong direction, the entire pattern is affected. Let me know how it goes.

DeborahDeal said...

Can anyone provide some questions for the investagors to ask?

Jack Pachuta said...

Dear Deborah,
Not to worry. By the time you get to the questioning part of the event, you will have created so many loose ends that the questions will take care of themselves - this comes from a chief inspector who's been doing this for over (gulp) a quarter of a century.

Anonymous said...

I have had three woman cancel can you do the party with less then ten? If so how?

Anonymous said...

Help! I am hosting Death Bemoans her tomorrow and one my guests just cancelled.
What do I do with her role?

Anonymous said...

I'm considering purchasing Death Bemoans Her for a group. Do the scripts need to be given with the invitations, or when they arrive for the party?
Thanks,
Kr

Jack Pachuta said...

Thanks for your question. Although I recommend sending out roles in advance, if you have an extra 20-30 minutes before the "investigation" begins, you can hand them out that night. Be sure to give the suspects enough time to feel comfortable with the information.

Anonymous said...

This was my first murder mystery party either as a participant or a host. It was a lot of work, but everyone had a great time. However, several guest commented that they didn't know what to ask and thought sample questions would have been helpful. We didn't solve the mystery correctly although we got what I thought was the trickiest part. All in all, it was a lot of fun, but not the best story or maybe best company to use for the first timers.

Unknown said...
This comment has been removed by the author.
Unknown said...

I am hosting this mystery at a dinner for about 40 ladies ages 60-80. Will the women not having a role all be detectives?

Anonymous said...

I am considering using this mystery for a group of 7th grade girls. They are GT learners and are mature. Would this still be over their heads?

Anonymous said...

i too am considering this for a young group of girls. is there anything inappropiate in the content?

Jack Pachuta said...

Thanks for your questions. Nothing in the content would be a problem. My mysteries are no worse than PG-13. Keep in mind, though, that many adult groups have found the mystery to be "challenging." It has one of my most-intriguing and intertwining plots.

So, the decision is really up to you. If your group has girls who really likes to put on their thinking caps and examine all clues, they could have a great time. If they just want to be passive players, it could be a bit much.

Hope that helped.

Jack

Luci Love said...

I hosted "Death Bemoans Her" this past week and it was so much fun that my guests are clamoring for another one soon. Your directions are so well written and easy to follow. This is the third time I have used one of your plays without any difficulty what so ever. Thank you.

I would attach a photo of the group, but do not know how or what the HTML tags are for.