Murder Mystery – Is this classic board game a reflection of our state of mind today?

Ever played the game Murder Mystery? Well, you may not have played it as a board game, but you are actually playing one, right now.

It’s a fairly simple game. A bunch of people and one of them is the murderer. In my version, the murderer doesn’t know he or she is the murderer yet.

And you can play this game anywhere. Like say, you are shopping for groceries.

Long queue, social distancing, a bunch of people. This one is even better, every one has a mask on. The complexity level is a notch higher.

Who is playing?

7 people, including the security guard at the entrance.

Player 01 – Chinese in the house or someone from the North East. Goggles and mask on. Thinks that will make it easy for him to mingle (Does it?).  He wants to sneeze but knows better. Taking a dump in the queue is safer than sneezing in public these days.

Player 02 – White: Nobody suspects her. Confident and white.  Aren’t those nouns synonymous out here? Could be Italian, could be Kashmiri.

Player 03 – New money and the bling is on. Fitness tracker, face shield, no less.  He does travel a lot.

Player 04 – Maid: Got salary today, this morning. Does work multiple shifts – 7 houses a day.

Player 05 – South representing: Can’t really represent the south. It’s way too big. Try telling that to the folks here in the north. Its pretty binary – Dosa or nothing. And cases in Kerala and Tamil Nadu aren’t helping. So, who knows?

Player 06 – Bengali: India catches cold when Bengal sneezes. Don’t bloody say that, not right now. Actually, the Bong has no business being in this game but they want to be a part of it. Can’t avoid them, so might as well make them a part of it. And, maybe curiosity did get the better of them. Who knows?

So, who do you think is the Murderer? In this case, the infected?

Author:

Samir Limbu

Director – I Train Consultants India Pvt. Ltd.