‘A crazy murderer is on the loose and it’s up to you to save yourself.
Murder on the Cards is a quick playing card game with a murderer out to get you on every turn. All you have are your wits, the Save Yourself cards in your hand and (hopefully) the goodwill of the other players.
The last player alive wins and defeats The Murderer... this time.’
This little number is a cheeky, fun party game which doesn’t fail to disappoint. It’s super simple to pick up the rules and it’s one of those games that you can just pick up to fill a 15 min slot or you can play multiple games to try to defeat the murderer if you didn’t at the first time of asking. We @getintogames found that this game offered a lot of humorous moments, as you read out the cards and madly try to save yourself with the items in your hand. You do have to try to be amenable to your fellow players at points, especially if you need their help but then you can be dastardly as well by sparing yourself and giving the murderer intel that sets them off on a trail to murder your friend instead. It’s really fun to play two player but I think this game is definitely better with a higher player count adding to the intrigue and subterfuge.
Box
The box design is slick and totally in keeping with the theme of the game. The red and black really work well to indicate the nature of the game and I love the font that has been used for the game title - almost looking like something out of a film or comic book. Only downside of the box is that when it sits on your shelf, the game name is not indicated anywhere on the side. Not a big deal but just something we noticed.
Components
Cards:
47 x To your demise cards
There are three types of these cards: murder with a twist, a Deathly challenge and Save Yourself cards.
All these cards add different twists and turns to the gameplay and allow you to interact differently depending on what you draw. Murder with a twist cards allow you to involve other players. Deathly challenges involve more luck and require you often to gamble with what happens next. Save yourself cards require you to have very specific cards in order to save yourself our else you might be required to go onto life support or worse...die!
64 x Save Yourself cards
The Save Yourself cards consist of super speed, weapon, antidote, magic shield and parachute and The Ultimate. The Ultimate cards (of which there are 4) allow you to choose which Save Yourself item you need in just the right scenario. These Save Yourself cards are used to defend yourself against the murderer thwarting his efforts for another round.
6 life cards
These are your lifelines against the murderer attacking you. If you lose this then you have met your demise at the hands of the murderer - poor you!
Rulebook - pretty straight forward - very clear and concise, easy to follow and no ambiguous parts. I’d definitely say it’s a good idea to read these through once all the way through before playing and just check the rules for life support but we thought they were very clear and easy to use.
Optional Playmat
whilst not essential, and we were gifted this copy of the game along with the playmat, we would definitely recommend it. It’s not essential and you can play without it but it gives a really nice feel to the gameplay and helps everyone at the table to know where to put the cards, keeping everything nice and organised. It’s a really good quality playmat and a lovely idea if you are playing on a surface which would otherwise make it difficult to pick up cards or they would slip and slide everywhere like a wooden table for example.
Overall thoughts
Great party game especially if crime drama is your thing. Easy to pick up and play and easy to explain to people who haven’t played before. The playmat makes the game feel more than just a card game. Loved the way the cards make you interact with others and then in another round allows you to save yourself by enticing the murder to murder someone else! It’s fun, quick paced and guaranteed to get some laughs and create memories you will recall on future board game nights.
Visit the awesome team over at the website below and get your copy today.