A Taste for Wine Game, 6-8 Players Ages 18+

Played this game for a birthday dinner party with 7 friends. We loved it. The two extra characters are not suspects, but they still feel very involved in the game. It's pretty easy to follow, and not extremely obvious who the murderer is. (My biggest pet peeve with mysteries is instantly figuring it out)

"A Taste for Wine and Murder" was my first experience with a Murder Mystery Game. If you have any interest in this type of party, I would suggest you try this version first. It was purchased as a Christmas gift and later used as a surprise, mystery-themed birthday party; planning was easy and even the guest of honor was able to get into the fun without prior knowledge. The box contains Character Booklets, invitations, name-tags, Secret Clues for each guest as well as a Party Planner Booklet, a CD. The Party Planner booklet contains the rules, as well as suggestions for decorations and menus. This is a great "intro" version to Murder Mystery Parties. The game is designed for six players (you need at least six for it to work properly) and there are two addition roles for guests who are not suspects. The Character Booklets have easy-to-follow, short scripts, and the CD helps narrate the story. Each suspect is given "public information", in which they share with the group, and "private information", which is only to be revealed when asked. The Character booklets even tell you when to ask another character for more information, and when to reveal "secret clues" to the other guests. The clues are funny and creative and vary from useful information to red herrings. This allows for multiple motives and opportunities among the characters, which will keep you guessing until the "murderer" is revealed. One particularly nice thing about this version is that the "murderer" does not know he or she is the murderer until round three, which gives everyone an opportunity to ask questions and form their own suspicions. The game is broken into three "rounds" which works great if you are planning a dinner and want to play between courses. You can make it as elaborate or as simple as you would like. Homemade costumes and decorations from the Dollar Store made our party awesome. Overall: I would recommend this game to anyone who enjoys this type of party, especially to anyone who has never hosted or participated in one before. It's a fun, easy game that will have you laughing, as well as yelling out murderous accusations to your friends and family. Choose a group who will enjoy having fun, being silly and using their powers of deduction. The only drawback is that there is only one game in the box, which means that once you play it, you'll know the solution.

Everything you need in the box. However some suggestions that will make your party flow better. If you are the host, read all the players folders, listen to all the audio chapters before, don't hand out the extra clues until they should be read. The reason are as follows. It's not clear nor written when you should play the audio chapters. Its also not written or clear when a scene is over. The extra clues have to be read in a specific scene and if you hand them out, they will just open them not knowing. A recommendation for the company is to create a host guide, telling them what page they should read or actn.

I know people get deeply into costumes, decorations, menus, and so on—and obviously that's awesome—but we just had some people over for game night and decided to give it a whirl, and we had a blast. It took about 2.5 hours, and although there was a little confusion, we figured it out fairly quickly. The basic flow is: everyone reads a scripted first-person interaction; then everyone has a session where they exchange accusations and new information, which instead of being scripted is given as third-person background information, and you ad-lib the actual dialogue; then you listen to an optional but cute audio clip that sums up the info that was just exposed. After three of these rounds, everyone writes down who they think the murderer was, and accusations are exchanged. The final track exposes the murderer, but that character also knows by then that they are guilty and can read the dramatic denouement themselves. We had the vineyard theme and eight people. The two optional characters were definitely less involved, which seems to vary depending on which theme you buy. The two optionals chimed in as desired and spent the time refilling people's drinks and trying to stay ahead of the instructions. Some of the optional instructions we found a bit unnecessary (like at one point we were instructed to drag a character down to the basement, which ???), so we played them out only when it seemed helpful to get/keep people involved. There are four audio tracks on a web page (not a CD). They are labeled on the page as "intro" and "tracks 1-3", but in the instructions as "tracks 1-4", which caused a little confusion—fortunately, we figured it out before anything was given away. The murderer only found out they were guilty about 3/4 of the way through, so they didn't have to lie convincingly for most of it. It would be great to do the full costume and dinner party, but 6-8 people can absolutely just play and have a ball. The two optional characters are less involved, but are definitely optional. As long as people are game to get into character and roll with the over-the-top drama and silliness, this is 100% worth the cost.

We played with 6 people. I would not recommend playing with 8 as there are only 6 suspects. We all wore some kind of costume or prop that suited our character, some more so than others. We tried to get into our parts with accents, again, some more so than others. You want to invite people who can get silly and have fun with something like this. We started off around the kitchen island with a cocktail, guac dip and baked brie, then headed to our seats at the dining room table to look at our "booklets" and start the first round. We got a little screwed up at first and didn't follow the proper order but it didn't really matter. There are very specific instructions in the booklets telling you when to "STOP" and also letting you know what you should and should NOT reveal about your character, so as long as people can follow basic instructions, they should be able to play the game. I gave everyone a few pieces of paper for note-taking. We all scribbled furiously at first but after awhile, that went out the window. The CD narrator gives a review at the beginning of each round stating what the group learned in the previous round ... that was a help. Before we started each of the rounds (3 total, then the reveal), we went into the kitchen to re-fill our drinks and get another round of appetizers or small plates. (Our menu was all appetizers and small plates ... made it more fun than a formal dinner IMO. And easier. ) After a few drinks, it was a little harder following the instructions and remembering some of the details, but that just made things more interesting and fun .... not an issue really at all. (The person in our group who was making the drinks was very generous with the vodka.) The booklets, cd and instructions are all pretty easy to follow and the story and characters were developed well enough to make things fun and interesting. But don't expect anything super sophisticated. There wasn't a lot of room for creativity and off-script questioning but that didn't impact the game negatively in any significant way. All in all, it was a fun adventure ... something different for sure and I would highly recommend it.

Having mulled over many of the reviews for these games in choosing to finally purchase this one, I figure it's only fair I submit my opinion of how game play progressed. So some thoughts: 1- The game really should be only a 6-player affair. My husband and I chose to play the two non-suspects, since we would be busy organizing the dinner. This worked out okay, but it would have been nice for us to also have some dialogue. Also, the things we were instructed to do were completely irrelevant to the game and ultimately just served to baffle the actual players who had no idea what we were asking them to do. By the third round, we pretty much quit playing and just observed. So in regard to reviews that say it is an 8-player game, in truth, the two "additional" characters are inconsequential and WILL likely feel left out. I suppose the extra players could work for more reserved dinner attendees as you're really more of a bystander than participant. 2- This seemed a bit too scripted and cheesy. The beginning of the cd in particular for me sounded like listening to a tour guide on a boring tour where you just want them to get to the point. 3- The recommended meal was interesting. As someone who has never before eaten cornish game hen, I was curious, but in the end we ended up making our own menu to suit our needs. The meal suggestions are really just suggestions. Food is not at all necessary to play the game, but it was a nice addition to the evening. 4- It was amusing to me that at the end of play everyone accused a different character. In other words, none of us had any clue whodunnit...we all guessed, and of course, one of us was right, but solely right due to chance rather than detail. Some more clues that would actually lead you to the killer as opposed to just being a game of random information being tossed about would probably add to the enjoyability of the game. I think for a first-time experience, this was good, but it could have been better. Our party was a hit, but I think the costumes our guests brought to the table were more the reason for the success than the actual scripts and setup of the game. I would definitely try another one, but I'm hoping this isn't the best that's out there. If you're looking for a foray into the world of murder mystery parties, I'd suggest trying something else.

The universe delivered me the perfect product: a murder mystery dinner party game. A game about investigating a suspicious death. Friends... I have been training for this my entire review career. I am, after all, the sole suspect, witness, and perpetrator in the death of Gerald, my beloved red gummy bear, consumed in the pantry massacre and memorialized in every review since. I know how a guilty man thinks. I AM the guilty man. But let's talk about the game. This kit arrived with everything: invitations, clues, character roles, the works. I sent out the invitations and immediately felt the power of being a host with PRODUCTION VALUE. These weren't "hey come over Saturday" texts. These were INVITATIONS. To a WINE AND MURDER EVENING. My friends responded with a level of enthusiasm and formality our group chat has never before achieved. One person asked about the dress code. We don't have dress codes. We barely have dress. Game night arrived. My guests showed up IN CHARACTER. People who I have personally watched eat cereal for dinner suddenly transformed into vineyard owners with secrets and sommeliers with motives. Accents appeared out of nowhere — terrible, geographically impossible accents that drifted between French, Italian, and what I can only describe as "pirate." Nobody dropped them all night. I have never been prouder of anyone. The game itself runs beautifully. The clues are clever, the structure keeps everyone involved, and the mystery is genuinely twisty. Accusations flew across my dinner table. Alliances formed and shattered. My quietest friend — a man who once took four hours to admit he didn't like a movie — delivered a dramatic accusation while pointing across the table, wine glass in hand, and I realized the kit had unlocked something in him that may never go back in. And here's the thing: as the night went on and the players interrogated each other about means, motive, and opportunity, I felt... seen. Watched. At one point someone said "the culprit is someone who acts friendly but is capable of consuming the innocent without remorse," and I briefly broke into a cold sweat before remembering they were talking about the game, and not about a certain ten-pound bag of gummy bears. The parallels were uncomfortable. Gerald never got an investigation like this. No invitations went out. No clues were gathered. There were no suspects, because everyone knew. The trial was held in my heart, and I was acquitted by reason of deliciousness. So this one's for you, Gerald. Justice may never come, but at long last, in my own dining room, surrounded by friends in fake accents solving a fictional crime, I finally understood the weight of what I did. Then I had more wine and got over it. That's growth. Five stars. A genuinely fantastic game night that my friend group now demands become a recurring event. Easy to host, wildly fun, and an excellent way to learn which of your friends would absolutely get away with murder. (It's the quiet one. It's always the quiet one.) Follow for more Gerald adventures. :)

I’ve k my started planning this but I know it will be great. I love how clear the instructions are and how it lines everything out for you, the food, the music, the outfits. It is very scheduled but also free flowing. I am doing this with my family and it will be perfect

This game was clearly made is the 1990s, which led to some pretty hilarious story beats. The story is hilarious and corny. I made certain to pick friends that I knew would roll with it and it went perfectly! I made a million appetizers instead of a dinner and honestly we could have just sat around my table playing and having a few drinks. I had never done one of these before, so for a less expensive option, it was great! I won't be able to replay it, which is another reason I'm happy I spent less.

The product arrived as promised, in a hard beautifully designed box. I bought this to play with my family on Christmas Day so still waiting to see how the game will be like, but cannot wait to play it.

This is a fun way to spend an evening if you are new to murder mysteries (MMs). This is more of a 6 player game than 8. All 6 of us were new to MMs and didn’t wear costumes but still had fun with it (the wine probably helped). We had a BBQ dinner first then played the game straight through. The plot is well written but the response part of the script should have been 1st person pronoun instead of second to make more sense and give a better flow. The more people “get into character” of their assigned person, the more fun it is. Looking forward to hosting my second MM game. :)

Well put together game and makes for a fantastic gift. I only hope I get invited to the party.

My BFF and I hosted our first Murder Mystery (haven't even attended one before) and decided on this package set, as it came with everything. The party itself was terrific and everyone got into character, making it all the better. However, play through was a bit laggy for us, as there isn't really newbie directions. We did manage to get through and a few people did figure out who the killer was, and I loved the storyline(s) and the revelations throughout. Biggest downside is that it is not replayable - but pretty good for our first one.