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The Comet Vintage
Murder mystery dinner for 8 to 12 people on an old wine estate on the Moselle
- Players
- 8–12 players
- Duration
- approx. 4 hrs
- Difficulty
- Tricky
- Recommended for ages 16+
- Cast: 3 male, 3 female, 6 any gender
- 4 optional roles
- Host plays along
Content notes: Death by suffocation (matter-of-fact, not dwelt on), Alcohol, Money worries and debt, Adultery, Family secrets
One-time purchase · digital download (PDF)
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Exempt from VAT as a small business under § 19 of the German VAT Act (UStG) – no VAT is charged.
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What's it about?
A rainy Saturday evening in late October at Altenbrunn Estate on the Moselle. Konrad von Altenbrunn has invited guests, neighbors and household staff: at 10:30 p.m. he means to open the last bottle of Comet Wine, pressed in the year of the Great Comet. Over dinner he announces that he has something to tell everyone afterwards. He never gets the chance. At 10:19 p.m. an alarm shrills in the cellar, and Konrad lies dead in the fermentation cellar. A rockslide has buried the riverside road, and until morning nobody leaves the estate.
You play the people who were at Altenbrunn that night: the family, the staff from cellar and kitchen, a neighbor, and guests from the world of fine wine. Every character saw or heard something, and every one has a reason not to say everything at once. Over three rounds you compare times, routes and five documents. At the end each player makes an accusation, and then the sealed Solution is opened.
This case is hard. Several people had a motive and an opportunity, and no single clue points to the answer at the end. Solving it takes patience: you lay statements and minutes side by side until they fit. The host plays too, because the Host Guide contains no solution.
The kit comes as a Print version with a Role Booklet for each character, which you print and fold yourself, and as a Digital version in phone format for sending out. Both contain the same case.
What's included
- START HERE and Host Guide (without the solution), with a Prologue and two Events to read aloud
- Floor Plan of the manor house, courtyards and cellar
- 12 Role Booklets with an Intro and three Rounds
- 5 props with an overview
- Accusation Sheet and sealed Solution
- Sealed instructions “If someone is missing” for 8 to 11 people
- Print pack: Host Guide and all Role Booklets in one file, to print in a single run
- Digital version: the Intro and each Round as a separate file, ready to send
The characters
Henrike von Altenbrunn
Lady of Altenbrunn Estate, hostess of the evening
Henrike has run the house, the books and the guests of Altenbrunn for thirty years, while her husband Konrad lives in the cellar. Tonight she has counted the candles, seated the guests and read every speech beforehand. She is the hostess of the opening of the Comet.
Viktor Ahrendt
Construction entrepreneur and wine collector from Cologne
Viktor made a fortune with parking garages and hotels and spends it again on old bottles. He came from Cologne this afternoon and has already mentioned several times what his cellar is worth.
Jakob von Altenbrunn
Son of the house, young vintner
Jakob is supposed to take over Altenbrunn one day and only came back from a season in New Zealand on Tuesday. Jakob wants stainless steel instead of oak barrels, labels without a crest, and a father who lets a sentence finish.
Kai Brenninger
Insurance appraiser (art and wine)
Kai appraises paintings, watches and wine cellars for an insurer and has insured the Comet bottle for tonight. Kai holds a clipboard as if it were something to hold on to.
Sascha Dorn
Sommelier for the evening (certified)
Sascha pours tonight, decants, and is to open the Comet bottle at half past ten, with a hand that must not shake. Sascha can tell a vintage by its scent and a guest by the glass.
Dr. Ilka Feldhaus
Wine chemist, head of a testing laboratory
Ilka tests wines for everything that doesn't belong in them and writes the minute next to every measurement. Konrad invited Ilka to take a sample of the Comet Wine after the opening; the meter case is waiting in the vault.
Jo Kessler
Wine critic and wine author
Jo is the best-known voice on old Moselle wines, with a column, television appearances and the book “The Night of the Comet.” Jo has known Altenbrunn for years and pulls out the notebook all evening long.
Toni Lehnert
Cellar master at Altenbrunn for 35 years
Toni knows every barrel at Altenbrunn by its sound and Konrad since the first day of apprenticeship. The machines of the old wine press have left Toni hard of hearing; anyone who wants something from Toni has to say it twice.
Elsbeth Rauen
Vintner from the neighboring estate
Elsbeth works the vineyard sites right next to Altenbrunn, has done so for sixty years, and has knees that can't manage a cellar stairway anymore. She and Konrad have been quarreling since both of them could walk.
Luca Reinhold
Viticulture apprentice, second year at Altenbrunn
Luca learns the trade from Toni and helps with serving and clearing tonight. Luca is everywhere and noticed by no one.
Mika Sandor
Cook for the evening
Mika has cooked for the big evenings at Altenbrunn for three years and dreams of a restaurant of Mika's own in the old press hall. Tonight's menu is saddle of venison, quince and Riesling sabayon.
Leopold Wendland
Auctioneer, owner of the Wendland Auction House in Cologne
In forty years Leopold has brought more famous bottles under the hammer than anyone else in the country and has a story for every one of them. His auction house in Cologne carries his name. He arrived as early as Friday to look over the cellar at Altenbrunn for a catalog.
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