The Mysterious Package Company - "Body of Evidence - Best Served Cold"

Photo above is property of The Mysterious Package Company

Company: The Mysterious Package Company

Game: Body of Evidence - Best Served Cold

Country: Canada 🇨🇦

Language: English

Type of Game: Tabletop Games 📬

Genre: Murder Mystery

Date Played: January 2, 2024

Difficulty (based on 3 players): 5/10

Size of Team: Unlimited (Ages 15+)

Time: Unlimited (Suggested 2+ Hrs)

Price: $55,00 CAD

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When a famous chef is found dead on the night of his restaurant’s reopening in the storage freezer, the Thornhill PD are desperately in need of some answers. As a well known coroner you are being asked to review Christian LeClair’s body and case to provide a second opinion by the head commissioner. The answer lies within what truly happened that day leading up to his body’s discovery in La Promesse and you know people are hiding secrets…time to dig deep and find out why!

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When the game arrives you will be created with a clean, matte cardboard box with the title emblazoned across it. Inside, there is an official internal memo to get you started, a police badge to remind you you are on the job, and a notepad and pen to help keep track. There is an instructions pamphlet that was an absolute joy to open up thanks to the detailed paper crafting of this company.

Once you feel ready to begin the game you will have three case files to explore in order that contain witness statements, police reports, news clippings, evidence bags to assist you in understanding and uncover what happened on this day. A coroner’s handbook and evidence cards are the last thing to set aside as you unveil, peeking out from the body bag, is the paper corpse of our victim. It is at that moment you realise this game means business.

I continue to find the level of detail in MPC’s games to be quite high and the amount of work that is obvious in the mix of paper styles, the design of the corpse, and even the instruction manual really draws in the player. It compliments the immersion that comes with uncovering the story so well.

Photo above are property of ESCAPETHEROOMers

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“Body of Evidence” is a murder mystery style game that mixes deduction alongside tactile body examination to help narrow down the suspect pool. Following a more linear structure, you are tasked with completing the game file by file. After you open your file you can begin examining the clues, reading the case notes, and when you feel ready you can open up the Coroner's Report which will prompt you to answer two questions after you complete different stages of the autopsy (ie. cutting open the body). The answers will direct you to one of the evidence cards and if the answer is correct it will match the pinboard lines across the card. It is important to note your task isn’t just to answer these questions as they will help you solve the murder but they will not provide the answer directly. There is an official timeline sheet for you to fill out that tracks the movements of the different suspects leading up to the murder. Filling this out will help the most.

After you have completed all three case logs, the coroner’s reports, and can answer the final questions you can open the “Case Closed” red envelope which has an epilogue to finish up the story and provide a filled out copy of the timeline for you to check out.

My advice while playing is to focus on the suspects and the timeline earlier on so you don’t need to spend too much backtracking. The evidence cards slightly mislead if you aren’t following the narrative closely (there are many reasons a body could have a bruise). Once you have the time line going you will feel more confident exploring and don’t be afraid to go back and review information!

Note: This game does not have a hint system but the evidence cards provide an answer checking system. Essentially if your chosen answer doesn't match you know you are wrong.

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“Body of Evidence” is a murder mystery style game with no puzzles per se but a series of deductions and problem solving activities. I found the deduction element of the game to be fun as you’re cross checking testimonies of characters and their whereabouts. In this regard I recommend this game to groups as it gives you a chance to break up the suspects and debrief what you learn. I felt the cluing was well done here.

One thing I will note is cutting open the paper cadaver is TRICKY. I recommend either being willing to just tear it open or to have a small scalpel type blade to help yourself. Even with the perforations it was hard to crack things open. Once inside the level of detail was engaging. I did wish the autopsy would give more towards solving but it was well scaffolded and added a new element to this game that none other had.

Photos above are property of ESCAPETHEROOMers

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Overall MPC’s first instalment in the “Body of Evidence” series boasts a new level to deduction games that engages audiences and immerses them more actively in the investigation. I found the story to be really well done and the ease of the information coming meant no one ever felt overwhelmed. The ahas as we put the pieces together had my group devouring this game in about two hours and we can see both new and experienced players being delighted by the macabre of this game. I look forward to seeing how the next installment continues to elevate this series.

Photos above are property of ESCAPETHEROOMers

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(If you do decide to try this game, please remember to let them know that you heard it from"ESCAPETHEROOMers"!)

Disclosure: We thank The Mysterious Package Company for providing us with a sample of their game. Although a complimentary experience was generously provided, it does not impact our opinion on the review whatsoever.

#JillianRaymond #AtHomeGames #TablettopGames #PuzzlesByMail #MurderMystery #TheMysteriousPackageCompany #Canada