In times of online games where players around the globe are only connected virtually it’s refreshing to stumble upon a nice table game where real friends gather at the dining table enjoying a lovely evening together. Involving an expedition to the Peruvian jungle, a murder mystery and some great Peruvian dishes in my book only makes it better. And this is Expedition of Death by Culinario Mortale, a murder mystery dinner game and a good excuse to invite a few friends over for a Peruvian themed dinner party full of excitement, intrigue and surprises.
Background story of Expedition of Death
The players are part of an expedition in the Peruvian rainforest looking for the remains of the Moche culture, an advanced South American civilization that preceded the Incas and has hardly been studied. Over the past few days, they found countless small vases, tools and other artefacts, so they knew they were on the right track. Then, late one afternoon, they discovered the tomb of the royal priestesses. Jackpot! Another milestone in the career of Mary Stonerock, UK’s youngest professor of archaeology.
But while the excavation team is busy celebrating their success, Mary is found dead at the entrance of her tent. As it takes a few hours until the police get to the remote excavation site, it’s up to the players to solve the mystery. What happened? How could this expedition have ended so tragically?
How to play Expedition of Death
Each player slips into the role of one expedition member, which he or she is introduced to beforehand. There are:
- Gustavo Navarro (63) is the Director of Culture for the San Martin region, a typical Peruvian politician and old-school macho
- Alberto Navarro (30) is Gustavo’s son and dreams of performing as a singer of Peruvian folk songs.
- Thomas Rider (34) is the research assistant of the late Professor Mary Stonerock’s and writing his thesis. He is Tanja’s boyfriend.
- Tanja von Ebenwald (30) is the daughter of a noble family. She organized the excavation and is Thomas’ girlfriend.
- Christian Webber (30) is a model student, handsome and sometimes arrogant. Until recently he was involved with Ruth, but now is Eve’s new boyfriend.
- Ruth Valentine (27) is ambitious and beautiful. She always sought recognition from the late Professor Mary Stonerock.
- Eve Sparrow (28) is Christian’s new girlfriend. She is currently backpacking through South America and has been visiting the camp for the past ten days.
The objective of the game is to find out who murdered Professor Mary Stonerock. The only thing known at the beginning: it’s one of the people sitting at the table. During the three rounds of the game, each take around 30 to 60 minutes, all players receive various clues about the course of events and the other players including their dark secrets. Exchanging information and working through the puzzles, players reconstruct different periods of time from the evening and in the end might be able to put all the pieces together, solve the crime and hand over the right suspect to the police.
Why you should play Culinario Mortale’s Expedition of Death?
Expedition of Death is a highly interactive game for 5 – 7 players located in Peru. The game is available in English and German. There are only a few rules (so players can jump right in) and no pre-prepared dialogue; you won’t find a cheesy detective moderator. The focus is on working through the puzzles together, exchanging information and discussing the events to find the murderer of Professor Mary Stonerock.
Next to the thrilling story line, Culinario Mortale offers the host of the dinner party suggestions on decoration, typical Peruvian dishes, and even a Peruvian themed playlist. Each player receives a detailed description of their character and is encouraged to embrace it completely, including, if desired, fitting costumes and attitude.
So, if everyone joins in, Expedition of Death is a really fun game where you together with your friends are catapulted to Peru and have to get creative, use your brains and sometimes improvise to solve the mystery together. A great dinner or party game.
Highly recommend!
Where to get Expedition of Death?
At the moment Expedition of Death is available
- in the UK on the Culinario Mortale website or on Amazon UK
- in Germany on the German Culinario Mortale website or on Amazon Germany
- in the United States on Amazon US (within the next few weeks)