A swanky, cocktail-themed board game called Murder on the Rocks hit Kickstarter on May 20, and it looks like a unique new take on the social deduction genre. The self-described "crime-solving party game" combines the limited communication of Mysterium with your standard hidden killer schtick. This cocktail of mechanics is packaged in a cocktail shaker, inside of which you'll find gorgeous cards and droppers for drink mixing.
If you hadn't already sussed it out, Murder on the Rocks is based around (and best played with) cocktails. Each player is assigned a drinks-themed character, as well as the secret role of 'innocent' or 'murderer'.
Each round, everyone will be blindfolded for the duration of a song (of your choice), and the murderer must quietly add a few drops of their 'murder weapon' dropper to another player's drink. You can choose what goes into the dropper, but it must ideally change the color of said drink, so when everyone opens their eyes, they can see who was shuffled off this mortal coil mid-dance party.
Here's where the elements of Mysterium come into play. Murdered players silently reveal illustrated cards to the living players with the hopes of hinting at the truth of the case. It's up to the living to make the connection between these cards and the murder's location, weapon, and culprit.
Players vote with chips each round to show who they suspect the most. At the end of the game, the player with the most chips is declared the murderer. Then, everyone finds out whether the killer was apprehended - or managed to escape. It's the classic social deduction game formula with an added twist.
It took us a little while to wrap our heads around the rules for Murder on the Rocks, but it's an intriguing concept for a party game. Publisher Misfit Mixers is offering a basic pledge for $32 (£24), though $72 (£54) also gets you two expansions. Deluxe versions are also available, adding a drinks book of recipes and extra backstory and/or a metal cocktail shaker.
According to the Kickstarter page, crowdfunding ends on June 20. For more murder mystery games (or more of the best board games in general), check out our guides for tabletop titles we really rate. Or, if you'd like to talk all things social deduction games, join us in the Wargamer Discord.