Peril at the Edge of the World is a globe-trotting murder mystery adventure from the ominous-sounding Murder by Post. The company, known for its vintage aesthetic, creates murder mystery games set solely between 1920 and 1950. To date, they have released four games.
Two of us played this game which took us just over two hours to complete. It is worth noting that had we been more relaxed about using the hints we likely would have finished it more quickly.
No special equipment is required, aside from a pencil and paper. The game can be played entirely offline, however, once you have the answers to all the questions you are invited to go online for the final reveal. Most of the pack is recyclable.
Players: 1-6 // Age: 14+ // Playtime: 1-2 hours // Difficulty: 4/5
First impressions
The game is beautifully packaged and delightful to open. It arrived with an exquisite handwritten thank-you note that made us both smile; this is part of why I love buying games from independent creators. Opening the box revealed a vintage map of the world on the inside of the lid and the game components neatly wrapped in blue tissue paper.
Inside were four passports, three labelled envelopes and an instruction card. The card gave a breakdown of the questions that we needed to be able to answer to ‘complete’ the game, and attached to it was a newspaper clipping that set us on our way. Beneath the numbered envelopes was a blue one labelled ‘Hints & Solutions’; we kept this to one side.
Story
Peril at the Edge of the World is set in 1929:
“Although the legendary journalist and pioneer Nellie Bly passed away seven years ago, her legacy is alive and well. She continues to inspire the next generation of globetrotters by setting her nieces and nephews a thrilling challenge to race around the world. But in this new era of financial distress, the race becomes a fight to surviveā¦”
Overall we enjoyed the story, which had lots of twists and turns. Incorporating the travel element into the game added a different dimension, as often murder mysteries are set in one main location. The historic setting also brings with it a special charm! It was fun to unravel the connections between characters and attempt to work out who had been murdered and why.
Our one criticism is that we would have liked to have known a little more about each of the characters. The information we did have was fairly superficial, although some of the postcards gave a little more insight. As criticisms go, wanting more of something isn’t bad at all.
Gameplay
We began by checking out the main suspects. The decision to present each of the characters through their passport was inspired. It felt in keeping with the setting and was a believable way of conveying information such as date of birth, hair colour etc. The passports also included a photograph of the character and these looked very authentic.
Opening each of the numbered envelopes in number order we found colourful postcards, luggage tags, newspaper clippings and more. There was so much attention to detail here and the quality was great. It is important to check all of the items carefully. We put some back in the box once we thought we had finished with them, but this was a mistake as they were key to solving additional puzzles.
With the evidence spread out in front of us, we got down to the business of solving a murder. There was a fairly even spread of deduction and puzzle-solving required to discover answers to the nine key questions. Some puzzles were signposted more clearly than others and some required using items more than once. We used our sleuthing skills to piece together the evidence – this required some code-breaking, logic and carefully looking for hidden details.
Difficulty & Hints
The game was quite challenging and we did have to use some hints. The difficulty level was clearly labelled as 4/5 so I can’t say we weren’t warned! Murder by Post does offer games with lower difficulty ratings should you want to try an easier one first.
We appreciated that the hint system was entirely analogue, particularly given the period in which the game is set. The blue ‘Hints & Solutions’ envelope contained a folded card with three hints per question and a scratchcard-style solution page at the back.
One issue we encountered was that if we had a specific item/puzzle in the box that we needed a hint for (e.g. a telegram), we had to scan all of the hints on the page to see where it was mentioned. This potentially risked reading hints for other puzzles we didn’t want spoilers for. It didn’t ruin our experience overall but could be improved upon.
Verdict
Peril at the Edge of the World
Summary
Peril at the Edge of the World is a lovingly crafted murder mystery that combines adventure with intrigue as you speed across the world to unmask a killer. The vintage design, historical setting and global scope set it apart from other murder mystery offerings. It is beautifully packaged and would make an exquisite gift.
The game has a higher price point than some, but this is likely due to the quality of the components included in the box. Given it took us just over two hours to complete, we felt it was still good value for money.
We thoroughly enjoyed playing this and would recommend picking up a copy for your next game/date night!
About Murder by Post
Murder by Post is a UK-based company founded by Oliver and Natasha. They carefully craft vintage play-at-home murder mysteries set between 1920 and 1950.
Their other games include Murder at Pettifog Hall (a country house murder) and The Vanishing Professor Vanderkopf (a postcard murder mystery).
