Loveday Brooke in the Mystery of the Black Bag

When you receive your mystery box in the mail, it’s time to start planning your party! Get started by brewing a cuppa and leisurely perusing the newspaper. Then, when you are ready, cue up the audio play and listen until you hear the cue to pause. Now, you can open your first evidence envelope and examine the clue at the same time as the detectives. Jot down some notes, discuss the details with your team, and then when you’re ready, hit “play” to resume the mystery. See if you can follow the twists and turns of the mystery and match your wits against literature’s most brilliant detectives!

Our experiences are designed for 1-6 users. If you are planning for a larger party, you might consider choosing “extra tea” from our add-ons menu.

8-80! Our mysteries are designed to be multi-generational; there is something to appeal to any age group. We’ve set out to create an activity the whole family can come together to enjoy. 

While the experiences aren’t written specifically for kids, because of the interactive nature, younger players can have a blast looking for clues. We’ve known families with children as young as four who have played the games together (we can’t promise that the 4-year-old did much mystery-solving!) Are you asking yourself if your child has the attention span for this mystery? Here’s some information that might help you decide:

• The audio play is about an hour in length, but it is broken up into approximately 10-15min segments that are punctuated by opening an evidence envelope and examining the clues.
• The casebook has pages to take notes and draw pictures of suspects, which is a great way to keep a child engaged while listening.
• The newspaper is not just a world-building element, it’s also full of humorous stories, ads, and (spoiler!) even clues. Searching its contents can keep a person entertained for hours.
• Our episode-specific webpage gives you access to the audio play, drink recipes (including mocktail variations) and some additional resources to help keep people of all ages engaged and solving the mystery.

Adults, lest you think this is TOO child-friendly, we can promise that the content and difficulty level of the mystery are written to an adult level. The mystery should be interesting and challenging enough to engage you. And if you’re still dubious, may we again suggest our curated cocktail recipes? They should do the trick.

Sure! To simply replay the audio, you can download the audio play and listen to it as often as you’d like, with or without the clues.

To regift or replay with the clues:

• Put the evidence back in the envelopes and reseal the stickers (or, tape the envelopes shut and write the evidence letter on it). Do the same for the “The End” envelope. Return them to the box.
• Refold the welcome letter and newspaper and put them back into the box with the clues.
• Regular notepaper can be used if you are out of blank pages in the casebook.
• If you drank all the tea, more is available on our website, and also at Adagio. Find our teas there by searching the name of the blend.

For regifting, it’s up to you whether you want to pass on the souvenirs and world-building elements!

We offer a companion downloadable ebook for both Loveday Brooke in The Mystery of the Black Bag and Sherlock Holmes: A Scandal in Bohemia, which we eagerly provide at no extra charge so that deaf and hard-of-hearing detectives can fully participate in the adventure. These e-books are located on the webpage that you will be provided with after purchasing your selected story.

Please feel free to contact us with any questions!