One of us is a murderer.
The terrifying thought fills your head. There’s a corpse in the next room, and one of your fellow diners put it there. As the evening progresses, you learn disturbing secrets about everyone, and you’re forced to confess to a few yourself. You all have motives for the crime, but who committed it?
Fortunately, it’s just a game.
Photo courtesy of AMC / 照片：AMC提供
Murder mystery games are multiplayer role-playing games designed to be played over the course of an evening. The concept likely originated with “wink murder,” an amusing pastime that became popular in the early 1900s. In this game, a “murderer” kills victims by winking at them while a detective tries to identify them before everyone dies. Things got more sophisticated with the wildly popular board game Cluedo, published in 1949. Here, players are guests at a house party and examine clue cards to figure out who assassinated their host.
A murder mystery game takes these elements and expands them into a full role-playing experience. Participants are assigned characters prior to the evening and are encouraged to dress in appropriate costumes. Settings like 1930s Hollywood, Mafia gatherings, or Victorian England are popular scenarios. During the game, players are given additional instructions concerning what evidence or secrets they may disclose. In this way, all the clues are slowly revealed as the players work out the solution. Along the way, they have fun betraying, deceiving and arguing with each other. Murder mystery games make for memorable evenings that leave people eager for another go.
「我們其中一個人是兇手。」
這個恐怖的念頭在你腦中盤旋。隔壁房裡有一具屍體，是其中一位與你同桌共餐的人將它放在那裡。隨著夜色漸濃，你得知每個人令人不安的秘密，而你也被迫坦白了一些自己的秘密。你們所有人都有犯罪動機，但人到底是誰殺的？
幸好，這只是一場遊戲！
劇本殺（謀殺之謎遊戲）是設計成在一個晚上內進行的多人角色扮演遊戲。這個概念可能起源於「眨眼謀殺」，一項在西元 20 世紀初變得流行的趣味消遣活動。在這個遊戲中，一名「兇手」透過對受害者眨眼殺害他們，而一名偵探則試圖在每個人都死之前辨識出他們的身分。隨著西元1949年極受歡迎的桌遊《妙探尋兇》推出後，情節變得更加複雜。在這款遊戲中，玩家們是一個家庭聚會的客人，透過檢驗線索卡來找出是誰暗殺了他們的主人。
劇本殺將這些元素擴展成一個完整的角色扮演體驗。參與者在晚會前被分配角色，並被鼓勵穿著合適的服裝。像西元1930年代的好萊塢、黑手黨聚會或維多利亞時代的英國等場景都是受歡迎的情境。在遊戲中，玩家會獲得有關他們可以透露哪些證據或秘密的附加提示。透過這種方式，所有線索都會在玩家解謎時慢慢被揭發。在此過程中，他們以背叛、欺瞞和互相爭論為樂。劇本殺讓人們度過難忘的夜晚，讓他們渴望再玩一次！
MORE INFORMATION
corpse n. 屍體
multiplayer adj. 多人遊玩的
originate v. 起源；開創
pastime n. 消遣；娛樂
assassinate vt. 暗殺；行刺
Mafia n. 黑手黨
scenario n. 場景
Key Vocabulary
1. murderer n. 兇手；殺人犯
The detective successfully identified the murderer by examining the evidence left at the crime scene.
那名警探透過檢查犯罪現場留下的證據成功地辨識出兇手。
2. disturbing adj. 令人不安的；使人焦慮的
The horror movie had many disturbing scenes that left the audience terrified.
這部恐怖片有許多令人不安的場景，讓觀眾感到恐懼。
3. wink n. & v. 眨眼（示意）
Ben gave me a wink to indicate that he was just joking.
班對我眨了眼，表示他只是在開玩笑。
The magician winked at the audience before performing his incredible trick.
那名魔術師在表演驚人的魔術前對觀眾眨了眨眼。
4. detective n. 偵探；警探
The jealous wife hired a detective to follow her husband around the city.
那位愛吃醋的妻子僱用一名偵探在城市裡四處跟蹤她的丈夫。
5. participant n. 參加者；參與者
The game show’s participants were all determined to win the US$1 million prize.
這場遊戲節目的參賽者都決心要贏得美金100萬元的獎金。
6. assign vt. 分配；指派；把……歸屬於
I’ve assigned Flora the task of preparing and presenting the proposal; I think she’ll do a great job.
我已分派準備與報告提案的工作給芙蘿拉；我認為她會做得非常好。
7. gathering n. 聚會；集會
The town’s annual festival is a lively gathering of people celebrating local traditions.
該鎮的年度慶典是人們一起慶祝當地傳統的熱鬧聚會。
8. evidence n. 證據
We could not find any evidence to support the victim’s claim that someone had broken into her house.
我們找不到任何證據來證實受害者關於有人闖入她房屋的說法。
9. disclose vt. 揭露；透露
The politician disclosed his assets to the general public, claiming he had nothing to hide.
這名政治人物向大眾公開他的資產，聲稱他沒有什麼好隱瞞的。
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