The Ashworth Affair — A 1920s English Country House Mystery • 8–12 Players
Congratulations on choosing The Ashworth Affair — one of our most beloved mysteries. This guide contains everything you need to run a seamless, dramatic, and utterly unforgettable evening. Read it in full before your event, and keep it close on the night.
The Ashworth Affair is set in the autumn of 1923 at Ashworth Manor, a crumbling English country estate in the Cotswolds. Lord Edmund Ashworth has been found dead in his locked study, a glass of poisoned brandy at his side and a forged will on his desk. Every guest at his weekend house party had reason to want him gone — and every one of them is lying about something.
Your role as host: You are the narrator and referee. You do not play a character. Your job is to keep the evening moving, manage the clue rounds, and deliver the final reveal with maximum drama. This guide tells you exactly when and how to do each of those things.
Dress the part. A host in period costume sets the tone immediately and signals to guests that this is a fully committed experience. Even a simple waistcoat and pocket watch goes a long way.
The following characters are included in this mystery. Each player receives one booklet. Assign characters before the event and keep assignments secret until guests arrive.
For groups of 8–9, remove Thomas Graves and Miss Arabella Voss first (their clues are redistributed — see the Clue Redistribution Sheet included in your full kit).
The following schedule is a guide, not a rigid script. Adjust timing based on your group's energy and pace. Most evenings run 3–3.5 hours including dinner.
Guests arrive in character. They may open their Character Booklets and begin reading their background, secrets, and objectives. Encourage mingling — this is when alliances form and suspicions begin. Do not reveal any clues yet.
Gather all guests. Read the Opening Narration (below) aloud. This sets the scene, announces the murder, and explains the rules of the evening. Keep it theatrical — pause for effect, make eye contact, let the silence land.
Guests are seated for dinner. Distribute Clue Set A — one card per player, face down. On your signal, all players flip their cards simultaneously and read them aloud to the table. Discussion, accusations, and denials follow naturally. Allow 30–40 minutes for this round.
Distribute Clue Set B. These clues are more specific and begin to narrow the field of suspects. Players may now make formal accusations — they must state the suspect, the method, and the motive. Allow 20–30 minutes.
Each player writes their final accusation on the provided ballot card (included in the kit). Collect all ballots before reading any aloud. This prevents last-minute copying.
Read the Reveal Script aloud. This is the dramatic centrepiece of the evening — take your time, build suspense, and enjoy the reactions. Announce the winner (most correct answers on their ballot) and award the prize.
Characters may now break character and discuss the evening. This is often the most enjoyable part — players reveal their secrets, explain their strategies, and relive the best moments. Serve dessert and enjoy.
Read this aloud to your guests at 7:45 PM. Italicised text is for your delivery notes only — do not read it aloud.
(Dim the lights slightly. Wait for silence.)
"Ladies and gentlemen. Welcome to Ashworth Manor. I am afraid the occasion for your gathering this evening has taken a most unfortunate turn.
At half past six this evening, Lord Edmund Ashworth was found dead in his locked study. The door had to be broken down. He was seated at his desk, a glass of brandy at his right hand, and a document — which I shall not yet describe — before him. The physician has confirmed that the brandy was poisoned.
(Pause. Look around the table.)
The local constabulary has been summoned, but the roads are flooded and they will not arrive until morning. Until then, we are all confined to the Manor. And until then, the matter of Lord Ashworth's death falls to us.
Each of you was present in this house tonight. Each of you knew Lord Ashworth. And I suspect — I strongly suspect — that each of you is keeping something from the rest of us.
(Pause again. Let it land.)
You will find, in the envelope before you, certain information about your own history with the deceased. You are free to share as much or as little of this as you choose. You are free to lie. You are free to accuse. But I warn you — the truth has a way of surfacing, even in the darkest of houses.
The game begins now. Lord Ashworth's murderer is in this room."
Read these rules aloud after the Opening Narration, or print them on a card at each place setting.
⚠ SPOILER — Do not share this with players.
The murderer is Miss Cecily Drummond, Lord Ashworth's private secretary.
Cecily had been embezzling small sums from the Ashworth estate accounts for three years, using her access to the ledgers to conceal the discrepancies. Lord Ashworth had recently discovered the irregularities and confronted her privately the morning of the party. He gave her until Monday to confess to the solicitor, Mr. Finch, or he would do so himself.
Knowing that exposure would mean prison and social ruin, Cecily obtained potassium cyanide from the Manor's darkroom (Lord Ashworth was an amateur photographer) and introduced it into his evening brandy during the half-hour window when the study was unattended between 6:00 and 6:30 PM.
Method: Poison (potassium cyanide in brandy)
Motive: Concealment of embezzlement
Opportunity: Sole access to the study between 6:00–6:30 PM
The forged will found on the desk was planted by Col. Reginald Ashworth — separately, and after the murder — to redirect suspicion and claim a larger inheritance. He is guilty of forgery but not murder.
That's fine — they still need to identify the correct method and motive to win. Encourage them to keep their accusation private until the final ballot. If they announce it publicly, other players will simply agree with them, which reduces the fun. Gently remind them that a formal accusation must wait until the ballot round.
If the absent player is not the murderer, simply redistribute their clue cards to adjacent players and note that their character "retired early with a headache." If the absent player is the murderer (Miss Cecily Drummond), reassign that character to another player and give them the Character Booklet to read quickly before the evening begins.
Introduce the optional "Locked Room" challenge: ask players to explain how the study door was locked from the inside if the murderer left through it. The answer (a simple latch mechanism described in Clue B-7) adds another layer of discussion and buys 15–20 minutes of excellent debate.
Absolutely. The timeline works equally well as a cocktail party format. Simply compress the investigation rounds to 20 minutes each and serve canapés throughout.
At the end of the evening, tally ballots as follows:
Maximum score: 8 points. In the event of a tie, the player who submitted their ballot first wins.
A small bottle of champagne, a mystery novel, a magnifying glass, or a "Master Detective" certificate (included in your full kit) all make excellent prizes. The certificate is personalised with the winner's name and the case they solved.