News and photos

Issue No 54:
16 June 2009

Welcome to our fifty-forth PartyChitChat.

Here is our news:

• We have rewritten "Hawaiian Lunacy" so that it is about the disappearance of a real person rather than the disappearance of a mythical character. See Hawaiian Lunacy for details and samples. It is available in play format for 12 to 16 guests and in standard format for 8 to 16 guests. It is perfect for summer luau parties.
• We have created a meet and mingle version of "The Search For The Truth" for 17 to 30. See The Search For The Truth for details and samples. There is also a small standard version for 8 to 16 guests and a large standard version for 13 to 30 guests. But we would recommend the meet and mingle version rather than the large standard version as it is more interactive and better for groups of 17 or more guests because you don't have to read out clues to the whole group which can be hard to hear with such a large group. And you don't have to sit and wait for your turn to speak.

• We are working on a new scavenger hunt mystery. Please email us via info@merrimysteries.com if you would like to be notified when it is finished.
• You can now receive updates regarding Merri Mysteries on Facebook! Become a fan of Merri Mysteries today to find out when we release new kits, receive coupons, and keep in touch with us with your ideas for mystery parties!

In this issue, we have articles about:

• Our photo competition winner
• Our decoration competition.

Our photo competition winner

We had two entrants this month. The winners are:

• Shelly Egerer (USA)
• MaryJane Horn (USA).

We are commencing a new competition with a closing date of 15 July 2009 (see photos.htm for details).

Decoration competition

The winner is:

• Linda Matson (USA) (see her photos below).

We are commencing a new competition with a closing date of 15 July 2009 (see decor.htm for details).

Here is Shelly's group photo from her "Balmy Bahamas Cruise" party:

Shelly sent in this feedback about her "Balmy Bahamas Cruise" party:

"Thank you so much! The staff of the US Anaptive Recreation Center had a BLAST! I've attached a photo of all of us from the party.
Sincerely,
Shelly"

Here is MaryJane's photo of two of her guests at her "Murder Of The Great Chef" party:

MaryJane sent in this feedback about her "Murder Of The Great Chef " party:

"I am attaching pictures of the cast of characters. I say cast of characters, because we did the script like an old-time radio show with an audience. They loved it!"

Here is Linda's photo of the victim at her "Balmy Bahamas Cruise" party:

Linda sent in this feedback about her party:

"May 9, 2009, was our Murder Mystery "The Balmy Bahamas Cruise" party held at our home in New Hampshire. Since most of us have cruised before and/or been to the Bahamas, this was the perfect choice.

I took the picture of the Goombay Deck Plan, enlarged it and posted it on the wall beside the Suspects Page. Then I made signage to put up around my house. Made the deck look like a ship deck with wall posters and put "Karl" face down outside on the ground below the deck and put orange tape around him. I did the same concept out front but with the half-deflated monkey.

I greeted everyone as the Cruise Director, created Boarding Passes with assigned cabins based on the Suspects Page information. Guests went up the front steps to the ship's photographer Don.

After a picture in front of the beach scene wall border, guests proceeded inside to Tilly Song and gave her their boarding passes and she gave them their name tag.

Guests then got a "Goombay Smash" drink (found on IslandFlave.com) and went to the ship's deck outside to do the introduction of characters. I served a meal course in between each act.

We had a mystery dinner last yar for 10 people from another party provider. We all felt Merri Mysteries was better. We had 14 peoples this year - it was great to have the expandable packets. Clues for each act were great but some felt a few questions added to each act would make it more interactive. Only 2 of the 14 guessed the murderer!

Overall, it was a HUGE success and we are all looking forward to next year's.

I gave all the men "Winner" medals (from the Dollar Store) and the women crown jewels on a stick as prizes for their costumes since they were all great. The winners of the Who Guessed It got liquor nips. There will be lots of parties between NH and Massachusetts as this concept grows from our parties!"