Characters in the 6 player game
Demi Liter – Wife of Max Liter.
In silk, satin or velvet, Demi is fond of luxury and is dressed, made-up and manicured to perfection in order to entertain her guests in style.
Bryon Case – Wine merchant.
Respectable and presentable, Byron likes to dress smartly but is never in a suit, preferring a casual jacket and trousers to give an air of relaxed sophistication.
Ava Draft – Swiss bank manager.
Punctual and with a very strict dress sense, Ava wears a smartly pressed suit and minimal make-up. Her blond plaits wouldn’t dare have a hair out of place!
Nick Blagger – Retired rock star.
In faded jeans and ripped shirt, Nick regularly forgets to shave and just sort of hangs out, man”
Phillipa Delphia – Local cheesemaker.
Delicate and dizzy, Phillipa has a hiccupping laugh and likes her frills.
Tarquin Tokay– Retired Foreign Office minister.
Pompous and aloof, Tarquin is always formally dressed in his dinner suit.
Additional characters in 8 player game
Lady Bla Bla – Celebrity.
Whackily dressed Lady Bla Bla loves anything that shows off her fabulous figure.
Monty Carlo – Racing car driver.
In leather patched tweed jacket, racing goggles and silk scarf, Monty loves his vintage cars and knows all sorts of interesting facts about motoring.
Additional characters in 10 player game
Dr Karafe – Wine blender.
White coated and with a strangely Slavic accent, Dr. Karafe is a suave mixer.
Jilly Goodblend – Oenophile.
A wine critic with an eccentric style, Jilly is tremendously popular with the public, even if her caustic commentary has a tendency to offend the vineyard owners!
Additional charcters in the 12 player game
Vinnie Dresser – Vineyard manager.
In dungarees and checked shirt, Vinnie has come straight from the vineyards.
Honor Platter – Local delicatessen owner.
Never without samples, Honor is artistically dressed to compliment her haute cuisine.
Additional Characters in the 14 player game:
Ivor Sixpack – Rugby player.
Athletic and muscular, Ivor loves a party and is an imposing man in any gathering.
Daisy Chain – Student and part-time cleaner.
Young, French and immaculately manicured, Daisy rarely holds down a job for long and is waiting to be swept off her feet by Mr. Right.
Additional Characters in the 16 player game:
Matt Finish – Painter / decorator.
In work overalls or paint-spotted jeans, Matt has a strong physique and an animal magnetism which makes him popular with female customers.
Gillian Tease – Burlesque dancer.
Curvaceous and attractive, Gillian loves her layers and is always prepared to strip off an item or two if things get too hot.
Additional Characters in the 18 player game:
Bill Deway – Self-made billionaire.
Fond of yachting, Bill has a relaxed “made-it” attitude to life and a serious sun tan.
Brigitte Bordeaux – Actress.
Ever glamorous with her off the shoulder dresses, Brigitte is an object of desire with her perfect figure and stylish dress.
Additional Characters in the 20 player game:
Mike Rosoft – Computer engineer.
A relaxed and trendy gadget lover with a slightly nerdy attitude, Mike loves to speak jargon to anyone willing to listen.
Poppy Field – Horticulturalist
With a country-girl style, Poppy is incredibly attractive, but lethal with her secateurs should any man let her down.
Happy Customer –
Full marks to Red Herring. The game itself was a lot of fun, and the personal attention that the company gave me to help resolve difficulties I had in organising my party was exemplary. This ensured that my evening was a big success. Good to find a British company that understands the value of customer service. Would highly recommend.
Happy Customer –
We held this party in the garden a perfect setting for the vineyard , as there was 14 people to organise, the tables took a bit of arranging but that was the only problem we encountered.the plot was good. the jokes and puns entertaining and the ad-libbing was hilarious. . a very good party with lots of funny accents and easy costumes to suit everyone, no one guessed the murderer, maybe a little too much of the wine tasting!
Neil Weightman –
We had a great time with A Bad Vintage during a family holiday to celebrate my parents’ 60th wedding anniversary. I played the police inspector with a terrible French accent (and we happened to be staying near Bergerac) and we had 14 other participants, including my parents playing Demi Liter and Byron Case. The character booklets were great and the format worked very well, once we got the hand of the Q&A sessions. The dialogue was very funny and everyone thoroughly enjoyed their evening. The only slight problem was that the extra characters, particularly Ivor Sixpack & Daisy Chain were pretty obviously not the murderers and the pathology report was a bit weak, but I don’t think this seriously detracted from the whole event.
Happy Customer –
Everyone had a fantastic time with a Bad Vintage. Classic murder mystery, good characters, engaging story. It was smooth, self explanatory and had a solid understandably mystery thread running through. Main thing is everyone just needs to jump in and play. The more you put in the more you get out.
We set out for a 12, then changed to 14, then 16 participants. On the day people called in sick, but it still worked and we’re getting another Red Herring soon.
In our case no one guessed the murderer, could have been the wine tasting going on, or the al a carte dinner or possibly the outrageous accents and play acting. It was solvable. Having someone playing the detective helped, it would have helped more if he’d reminded people to check they had asked all their questions and given their clues.
I’m still getting emails 4 days later. Fun!