‘Mystery at Boddy Mansion’ Has A Foot in Two Realms (Review)

When I was younger, I loved playing the board game Clue. Every time I played the game, two things were consistently true. First, I always played as Mrs. Peacock. I loved the sassy pose of her figurine, decked out in her signature fascinator hat and mink stole, and I took macabre delight in making her strut around the gothic mansion, hunting for clues in her slinky blue dress. The second truth is that I always lost. For me, Clue was more of a collaborative storytelling exercise than a game I played to win. Who murdered Mr. Boddy and how? Where? And — the question I never got an answer to — why? I was so caught up in the roleplaying that the finale of the game always came as a surprise to me.

These are some of the reasons why playing Cortney Matz’s live streamed show Mystery at Boddy Mansion: The Ghost Problem gave me Clue deja-vu. Though Boddy Mansion is not officially affiliated with Hasbro’s Clue, the mechanics and story structure of Matz’s game are immediately recognizable to any fan of Clue. But, as feels appropriate for a Zoom-based experience, Matz has created more modern characters and updated the backstory of the classic game.

Several days before the event, I receive an email from “Auntie Boddy” inviting us to a dinner party at “Boddy Mansion.” The invitation comes with a guest list assigning us all a character to play, as well as background information and a potential murder motive for each character. I play as Miss Clementine, the owner of Fruity McFireflies, a local sci-fi bookshop-slash-smoothie joint that has made a killing selling smoothies to ghost hunting tourists who have traveled to visit Boddy Mansion. Each player is instructed to decorate our spaces and ourselves in colors and costumes that match our character name. We are also told to prepare a drink, an entree, and a dessert to eat along with everyone else at the virtual “dinner party.” Lastly, we are given a character introduction to read to the group, as well as secret clues that we are supposed to share with the group at different phases of the game.

The night of the dinner party, I don my Miss Clementine get-up: a hideously shiny orange tank top found at the back of my closet and every piece of gold jewelry I own. I arrange my dinner, complete with a thematically-appropriate citrus tart, in front of my computer. I am slightly worried that no one else will be dressed up as much as I am and that I’ll expose myself as try-hard. To my delighted surprise, everyone else is similarly costumed: Lady Pearl is sipping tea in elbow-length gloves, the plant-loving Dr. Fuschia wears a flower crown, and Captain Canary has even dug up a captain’s hat and switched her background to a photo of a gigantic yacht. Beyond the costumes, each participant seems to take their pre-written character very seriously. Fraulein Blau, the local bar owner, maintains a flawless German accent the entire game, the alcoholic Mayor Molasses sways tipsily as she speaks, and Senor Verde, the dancer, punctuates each of his sentences with flamenco claps. That everyone was so invested in their character was a surprise for me. It was pleasantly surprising, but also unexpected and — if I’m being honest — a bit overwhelming and intimidating. I’ve done several Zoom-based experiences that involve a LARP element, but never have I been part of a group that was so gung-ho about it.

After introducing ourselves over cocktails, Auntie Boddy (played by Matz) explains the purpose of our gathering: to solve the murder of the mansion’s original owner, Mr. Boddy, who had died a year ago at a party we all attended. To find the murderer, we take turns sharing the clues that we had been provided before arriving. The clues range from very obvious to vague, and we have to use our knowledge of the other characters’ backgrounds to determine who the clues are referring to. Between each round, a pre-recorded video of Mr. Boddy’s ghost appears to “haunt” a specific room in the mansion, thus giving us further clues. And at the end of the last round, Auntie Boddy asks us to send her a private message in the Zoom chat guessing who committed the murder, where it happened, and, with what weapon. After everyone’s guesses are in and the murderer is revealed, we eat our desserts and vote on superlatives including best costume and best character, while rehashing some of the most fun moments of the game, including Senor Verde gracing our screens with a solitary yet enthusiastic Zoom flamenco.

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This is, in my opinion, what makes Boddy Mansion worth playing. The characters created by Matz are easy for anyone to slip into, even for the most reluctant roleplayers. And Matz herself is excellent at creating an environment that is fun and comfortable, gently encouraging players to take on their assigned personas. Boddy Mansion took my favorite aspects of Clue and turned them into an immersive murder mystery dinner party that prioritizes characters and conversation above clues; but, that’s also one of its weaknesses.

I found the actual mechanics of the game to be confusing and ultimately frustrating. The first thing was the way the clues are disseminated: clues are read to the whole group one at a time, meaning the entire group has the same information at each phase of the game. Players are allowed to ask questions after each clue is read. Some participants play coy and keep their thoughts to themselves, while other, more vocal players ask directly who a clue was referring to or share their answers with the group. I found this to be frustrating because it eliminates the sense of mystery and competition from the game. I think there is a way to share clues in a more secretive way that more closely resembles the original mechanics of the Clue board game. Perhaps there could be multiple breakout rooms or questions could be asked via private messages in the Zoom chat.

The second thing I had issues with was the presence of Mr. Boddy’s ghost. What initially appeared to be flavor for the experience in between rounds ended up being a source of key information about the murder, causing me to misunderstand the clues provided. However, I think the blame here is on technological failures, rather than Matz’s storytelling. The videos of Mr. Boddy’s ghost were shared with us via Zoom’s screen sharing feature, and lags and glitches in the connection made it difficult to tell what was happening.

As per tradition, I guessed incorrectly, which did not surprise me. What did surprise me, however, is that almost everyone else did, too. Out of 12 players, only three guessed correctly. While it is possible that the other failed detectives in my group were, like me, too carried away by the roleplaying and conversation, I think it’s more likely that they also found the clue-hunting mechanics to be confusing.

My other quibble about Boddy Mansion is that dinner was not as well-integrated into the game as it could have been. We began with a cocktail, which was incorporated into our initial introductions, but dinner just kind of “happened” in the middle of the game. I didn’t see anyone else eating their main course on camera. The dessert was not brought up until the game was over and we were voting on superlatives, and even then, I only saw a few people eating. Of course, it is not Matz’ responsibility to make people eat at specified times, but I think it could have been more clear when we were supposed to eat. Additionally, other dinner-based remote immersive experiences like Ladies of Versailles have provided signature cocktail recipes before the event. It would have been fun to have a “Mr. Boddy Manhattan” or something similarly themed to make before the dinner party.

Despite being frustrated by the game’s mechanics, I enjoyed playing Mystery at Boddy Mansion. It’s goofy, friendly fun. And in a time when everything is on Zoom, it felt nice to get dressed up and play a character who is not myself. Ultimately, whether you enjoy Mystery at Boddy Mansion will likely come down to whether you prefer roleplaying and collaborative storytelling or sniffing out clues to find the murderer. If you want to put on a costume and socialize at a fictional soiree, Matz’s production is for you. But if you’re a Sherlock Holmes-type who wants to solve the murder and win the game, you might want to skip this one. Mystery at Boddy Mansion has the potential to be an excellent experience in the future if it could balance both more equally.

Mystery at Boddy Mansion: The Ghost Problem continues on October 14. Tickets are $19.99.

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