Chaos & Confetti

THE PRODUCT:

In The Scarlet Envelope’s tenth adventure, Killer Wedding, players will be looking to solve the murder of a high society groom.  His body has been found at the base of a cliff during the wedding rehearsal, and all signs point towards foul play.  Can players discover who had the means, motive, and opportunity to commit the deed?

Within the envelope, players will find several physical components that they will use alongside digital clues and witness testimonies.  These virtual interviews will give investigators the opportunity to pick the questions they want to ask.  If they can gather the right information and solve the puzzles, players may just figure out what happened during the tragic night of the crime

This game does require use of the internet in order to access clues, interviews, and the answer submission portal.

Scarlet Envelope games are advertised for players 10-15 with adult supervision, and 15+ with no supervision.  Games may be purchased at either the starter or experienced level.  Each game should take about 1-2 hours.  For Killer Wedding, we took about 2 hours as a duo playing on the experienced difficulty.

OUR THOUGHTS:

Puzzles: 3.5/5 Stars

As a murder mystery that relies heavily on suspect interviews and testimonies, Killer Wedding is built on players’ need for deductive skills and close observance of details.  However, there are a number of puzzles throughout that must be solved in order to progress through the experience.

Each of the five witnesses come with a puzzle.  These puzzles can definitely be on the more difficult side* and will take a good amount of thought.  The puzzles are varied and mostly well-clued.  Both the physical and digital items are incorporated into solving puzzles smoothly.  

For those who feel stuck, there is a progressive hint system online.  While the web address is given on the directions page, the difficulty level you are playing on will determine whether or not you can immediately access it. If you’re playing on regular, the link is all you’ll need! If you’re playing on experienced, players will need to complete a small puzzle to gain access to the hints.  This can be a double edged sword.  For those who solve the puzzle, they will feel like they earned their hint and this should help to re-boost their confidence after some main-game struggles.  For those who can’t figure out the hints puzzle easily, this may feel like added insult to injury as their hardships and frustrations are only compounded.  But hey, it makes the win on experienced feel that much sweeter 🙂

The number of puzzles is a bit limited, but this should be expected for a smaller experience, and that fact is slightly balanced out by the fact that players will have plenty of other information to comb through in order to solve the overarching mystery. 

*Quick Note: We played on the “experienced” difficulty level for this game

Narrative: 3.5/5 Stars

While Killer Wedding’s narrative never gets super deep, it does a lot to enhance the storyline it does have.    

By associating items with different characters and giving every suspect two interviews, each character is given a little more dimension.  The recorded interviews also go a long way in helping create a slightly more immersive experience.  Many of the interviews will be more about confirming or contradicting each other and shining light on what players have already discovered, but that is to be expected in a deductive murder mystery.

The game does well within the confines of a shorter experience, and should give players plenty of story to dive into.  The beginning of the narrative is rather quick, throwing players right into the mix, but the wrap up narrative should tie up all loose ends and leave players with the feeling of a complete story.

Overall Fun: 3.5/5 Stars

Killer Wedding puts in a lot of effort towards trying to give players a memorable and immersive experience.  This game could have been 100% digital, but the physical components do help give a bit of a tactile feel for those who prefer one. Also, as is tradition with the Scarlet Envelope games, players also get a Spotify playlist to help set the mood.  

The production value is high and players should have no complaints about the components.  We liked the production of the interviews.  Those with recordings were well voice acted, and those without provided the fun element of getting to decide which questions were asked.

Overall, the game does a good job of blending its puzzling into the fabric of the narrative, creating a cohesive and enjoyable experience.  Though it wasn’t our favorite Scarlet Envelope experience out of those we have tried so far, we had fun and look forward to doing more in the future.  

For those who care, there will be some damage done to at least one component that doesn’t make the game 100% resettable.

FINAL SCORES:

Puzzles: 3.5/5 Stars

Narrative: 3.5/5 Stars

Overall Fun: 3.5/5 Stars

Official C&C Final Score: 3.5/5 Stars

Product Website Link – https://www.scarletenvelope.ca

Price – ​​$30CAD (approximately $23.57 USD)

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