The Pharaoh Rises in Suffolk

by Steve
(Yorkshire)

In September 2007 my friend Tony (wearing the pith helmet, above) celebrated his 40th birthday by hiring Bruisyard Hall in Suffolk and filling it with friends. As part of that celebration I ran Freeform Games’ Curse of the Pharaoh for him.

As some of the guests were leaving early (and because there were other things planned), I ran the game on Saturday morning. This wasn’t completely authentic, but it didn’t seem to matter. As we were also playing in the main sitting room rather than a desert tent, the change in time of day was immaterial! Imagination goes a long way, I’ve found.

We played with seven players and as I knew who was coming I cast everyone in advance. I also brought the final two players just in case there were some last minute players, but alas it was not to be.

Most of the players have played these games before – in fact, most of them have played a lot of these types of games before. (I had just one new player.) As a result, I shortened the timetable a bit because I was certain that they would tear through the plots at breakneck pace – and that’s exactly what happened.

My favourite moments were Sir William “negotiating” with the gathering locals (“Look you chaps, clear awwf!”) and the excitement generated when it was revealed that one of the characters had a “pet” scorpion. But in the end the murder was solved and the evil plot foiled.

It’s a bit of a shame that we couldn’t play with more people as I think it benefits a larger group – and I certainly wouldn’t want to play it with only six players.

Click here to learn a bit more about Curse of the Pharaoh.