The night of the comet
Sierra Espuña, May 1910. The Earth passes through the tail of Halley's comet and the observatory's director is found dead at the foot of the dome staircase.
- Expert
- 1–10 players
- 75–90 min
- Ages 14+
The story
A deduction case to play at a steady pace. The Earth's passage through the tail of Halley's comet, on the night of 18 to 19 May 1910, is real; the observatory, the characters and the crime are made up.
May 1910. The newspapers say that the tail of Halley's comet carries a poisonous gas and that tonight the Earth will pass through it. In the villages people are buying “anti-comet pills”; at the Collado de las Ánimas observatory, high in Sierra Espuña, Don Ignacio Valcárcel laughs at the fear and prepares his photographic plates.
For the occasion he has brought up to the sierra his wife, his son, his assistant, the parish priest of Alhama and a distinguished guest: Don Adolfo Ribera, of the Madrid Observatory. At dinner he announced that next week he would take to the Academy of Sciences “something that will cause a great stir”.
At six in the morning, Ramón, the caretaker, found him dead at the foot of the tower's spiral staircase. Everyone says he tripped in the dark. The judge from Totana will arrive at two in the afternoon and sign it off as an accident unless someone proves otherwise.
What awaits you
Mode
Deduction
Search places, question the suspects and piece together what happened. The accusation is put to a group vote.
Goal
Uncover: culprit, how he died, and why.
Difficulty
Expert
- 3 hints per game
- 2 accusation attempts
On Enigma Oculto
Just released: no stats yet.
Content warnings
- A violent death, without explicit details.
Characters
5 suspects. Listen to everyone: not everyone tells the truth.
- Adolfo RiberaAstronomer at the Madrid Observatory55. Trained in Germany. Famous since 1908 for discovering a comet that bears his name. An old friend of Don Ignacio.
- Elvira MontesThe observatory's assistant34. She calculates orbits and takes the photographs. Don Ignacio took her from a teacher-training school in Murcia and taught her all she knows.
- Julián ValcárcelDon Ignacio's son29. He studied Law in Madrid without finishing. He comes home whenever his money runs out.
- Consuelo OrdóñezDon Ignacio's wife57. From a good Murcia family. She has spent thirty years living on top of a mountain for her husband's telescopes.
- Father Anselmo GilParish priest of Alhama63. He came up the mountain at Doña Consuelo's request, to calm her about the comet.
- Ramón FerrerThe observatory's caretaker50. He lives in the lodge by the gate and does rounds all night with a lantern. He was the one who found the body.
6 locations
The dome
The tower staircase
The photographic darkroom
The library
Don Adolfo's room
The master bedroom
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