Review: Hunt a Killer Murder at the Motel

Review – Hunt a Killer Murder at the Motel

Website Link – https://www.target.com/p/hunt-a-killer-murder-at-the-motel-game/-/A-82006493#lnk=sametab 

Price – ​​​​$29.99

Disclaimer: we purchased the game with our own money, this review is not sponsored. All thoughts are our own.

Product:

Hunt a Killer, known for their subscription and mail order murder mystery boxes, also offers several stand-alone mysteries that can be found in retail stores.  Among these cases is Murder at the Motel.  Here players will receive a box full of evidence that they must use to solve the case of a murdered contractor.  The hotel is full of potential suspects, but players must discover who had the opportunity, means, and motives to commit the murder.

Everything players should need to complete the case can be found within the box.    However, while not essential to the game, the hint system needs to be accessed through the game’s website.  The game is made up of a mix of types of evidence, from hotel records to police reports to locked tins and more.

Murder at the Motel is marketed for 1 or more players and is stated to take about 45 minutes to an hour.  The case is labeled as a 4/5 diamond (medium) difficulty.  As a duo, we took about an hour to complete the case.

Our Thoughts:

This is our first Hunt a Killer game, but since we’re on vacation it only seemed appropriate to solve Murder at a Motel while staying at a motel (hotel).  

Upon opening the box, we were immediately pleased to see so many components, both paper and unique prop pieces.  Confetti really liked the small turtle figurine.  The quality of the components are great and that added to the presentation and level of immersion.  The majority of the important evidence was found in the paper components.  Many of the more unique components/clues seemed to be more there for show rather than actual gameplay.  It was nice to have the extra pieces, but we would have preferred to see them get more use.    

The narrative is pretty straightforward: someone has been murdered at the motel and any of the workers or guests could be responsible.  Through the evidence available, players will discover more about the characters and what has been going on in and around the motel.  The game did a good job of filling out the cast and their personalities.  We only get to know everyone so much, but the clues do come together nicely to point players in the right directions.

Success with Murder at the Motel will depend on good deductive skills.  Players need to use the evidence to unravel a picture of the day of the murder.  Where were people and what were they up to?  There is one lock to unlock, but the majority of the case will be puzzling out information about the case before committing to an answer and opening the final solution envelope.  

The game seems to be going for an all-or-nothing final answer approach, but for those a little more cautious, the game’s online website and hint system is available.  We would like to note that the hint system is behind a password (found in the box) and also requires players to sign up for emails and promotional material.  In fact, the hints and the extended epilogue are both behind separate mandatory email sign-ups.  We definitely found that annoying.

Overall, Murder at the Motel was fun.  This isn’t the kind of game we would recommend anyone rush out for, but if you can find it at a decent price, it could be worth checking out.  The experience was good enough that we’ll most likely give the series another shot down the line.  Confetti has her eye on their Nancy Drew case.  

Official C&C Ratings:

Narrative: 3/5

Puzzles: 3/5

Overall Fun: 3/5

Total Averaged Rating: 3/5