Château Hale · near Reims · Saturday, 10.15 pm

The Last Toast

A murder mystery. Speak English, ask questions, find the liar.

What happened

Saturday night, Château Hale, near Reims.

Victor Hale, the owner of the famous champagne house Maison Hale, is celebrating his 60th birthday with his family, friends and staff.

At dinner, he stood up and said: “At ten o’clock we will open a bottle of 1966, the year I was born. And I will tell you all about the future of Maison Hale.”

At ten o’clock, he raised his special crystal glass and drank. At a quarter past ten, he was dead.

Nobody has left the house. The Inspector has arrived. And one of you is lying.

How to play
  1. Get your number. The Inspector gives you a character number. Open that card only. Don’t show your screen to anyone.
  2. Become your character. Read your card in silence. From now on, you are this person. Speak only English, and speak as your character.
  3. Tell the truth about times and places. Everyone must tell the truth about where they were. Only the murderer can lie about that. If you are the murderer, your card tells you.
  4. Protect your secret. Everyone has a secret. Try to hide it. But if someone asks you directly about it twice, you must tell the truth.
  5. Unlock new evidence. During the game, the Inspector will give you code words. Type them in the evidence box to see new police information.
  6. Accuse. At the end, your table agrees on one name and explains to the Inspector who did it, how, when and why.

Choose your character

Open only the number the Inspector gives you. You can’t change it later.

Police evidence

Type the code word from the Inspector.

My notes

Who was where between 9.30 and 10.00? Write it here.

Useful English

Asking about times

  • Where were you at twenty to ten?
  • What were you doing when the light went off?
  • Who were you with?
  • Did you see anyone near the pantry?

Pushing for the truth

  • Are you sure about that?
  • That’s not what Agnes told me.
  • Can anyone confirm that?
  • I’m asking you again: what is your secret?

Deducing

  • She must have taken the medicine. (I’m sure)
  • He can’t have done it. He was in the cellar. (impossible)
  • It might have been James. (maybe)
  • Whoever did it must have known about the glass.

Defending yourself

  • I had nothing to do with it!
  • Ask her, she was with me.
  • Why would I want to kill him?
  • I admit I lied about one thing, but…
The accusation

Your table has 8 minutes to agree. Everyone says at least one sentence to the Inspector.

  1. We believe that ______ killed Victor Hale.
  2. At about ______, she/he went to ______ and took ______.
  3. Then, at about ______, she/he ______.
  4. We know this because ______ saw ______, and ______.
  5. She/He did it because ______.
  6. She/He said she/he was ______, but that can’t be true because ______.