two-keys/content/games/til-death-do-us-part.yaml

id: til-death-do-us-part
engine: story
category: murder-mystery
title: "'Til Death Do Us Part"
tagline: A Stellenbosch wedding. A perfect first dance. A best man at the bottom of the garden stairs.
estimatedMinutes: 30
difficulty: 3
players: { min: 2, max: 2 }
theme: { primary: "#b5838d", accent: "#ffcdb2", background: "#140c0e", headingFont: "Playfair Display" }
rules:
  hintPenaltySeconds: 180
roles:
  A:
    name: The Detective
    blurb: You're a wedding guest who happens to be a detective. Statements, the seating rules, the police notes.
  B:
    name: The Photographer's Assistant
    blurb: You worked the wedding. Camera files, the planner's folders, and the best man's phone.
intro: |
  **A wine estate outside Stellenbosch. Saturday, 21:30.**

  Thabo and Lize are married. The speeches went well, the lights dim, and the couple step out for their first dance.

  At 21:50, a waiter finds **Jason Pike**, the best man, at the bottom of the stone garden stairs. Everyone assumes
  champagne and a missed step. The doctor at table 6 doesn't.

  Don't let a murder ruin a perfectly good wedding. **Solve it before the cake is cut.**

  ⚠️ *Hard case: the locks give you facts. You'll connect them in the accusation.*

suspects:
  - id: kayla
    name: Kayla Daniels
    role: Maid of honour
    description: Jason's ex. They broke up badly six months ago and had to share a head table tonight.
  - id: sipho
    name: Sipho Ndlovu
    role: Groom's brother
    description: Owes Jason money. Was seen arguing with him by the bar.
  - id: johan
    name: Johan Marais
    role: Father of the bride
    description: Paid for everything. Jason's speech joked about his "dodgy property deals". He didn't laugh.
  - id: celeste
    name: Celeste Moreau
    role: Wedding planner
    description: Elegant, efficient, everywhere at once. Wears the planner team's navy dress.
  - id: marco
    name: Marco Russo
    role: The bride's ex
    description: Not invited. Turned up anyway, "just to say congratulations". Security walked him out at 21:00.

chapters:
  - id: ch1
    title: The Empty Chair
    narrative: |
      The videographer filmed the first dance, 21:32 to 21:42, with the head table behind the couple.
      Two chairs at the head table are empty in every frame. One is Jason's. Whose is the other?
    clues:
      A:
        - id: a1-rules
          title: The planner's seating notes (police copy)
          type: note
          body: |
            Head table, seats **1–5 from the guests' left** (the couple's own seats in the middle don't count).
            1. Johan sits directly next to his wife, Anita.
            2. The maid of honour is not on either end.
            3. The best man sits at the groom's end: **seat 5**.
            4. Johan is **not** in the middle seat (3). "He hates being in the middle of photos."
      B:
        - id: b1-planner
          title: More seating notes (from the planner's folder)
          type: note
          body: |
            5. The groom's brother sits directly next to the maid of honour.
            6. Anita sits somewhere to Johan's **left** (guests' view).
            7. Jason and Johan must **not** sit next to each other. Long story.
            8. The groom's brother sits to the maid of honour's **left**.
        - id: b1-video
          title: Videographer's note
          type: log
          body: |
            First dance 21:32–21:42. Head table visible throughout.
            **Seats 3 and 5 empty the entire time.** Seats 1, 2 and 4 occupied.
    lock:
      id: lock-chair
      prompt: Who should have been in seat 3?
      inputType: choice
      options:
        - { id: anita, label: Anita Marais (mother of the bride) }
        - { id: johan, label: Johan Marais }
        - { id: kayla, label: Kayla Daniels }
        - { id: sipho, label: Sipho Ndlovu }
      answers: ["sipho"]
      hints:
        - Jason is in seat 5. Johan can't be next to him, so Johan isn't in seat 4.
        - Johan isn't in 3 or 4, and Anita is to his left and next to him. So Anita 1, Johan 2.
        - "Seats 3 and 4 are Sipho and Kayla, with Sipho on Kayla's left: Sipho is seat 3."
      successText: |
        **Sipho**, the groom's brother. He wasn't at the table during the first dance.
        (Sipho, cornered: *"I was in the car park on the phone to my bank. Ask them."* His call log
        shows a call from 21:30 to 21:47. Inconvenient for a killer.)
      keyName: Place Card Key

  - id: ch2
    title: The Last Photo
    narrative: |
      The photographer took hundreds of shots. One shows Jason at the top of the garden stairs with someone.
      But the camera's clock was never set properly.
    clues:
      A:
        - id: a2-photos
          title: Photo files near the garden stairs (camera timestamps)
          type: log
          body: |
            | File | Camera time | What it shows |
            |------|-------------|---------------|
            | IMG_2207 | 23:41 | Jason laughing on the terrace, champagne in hand |
            | IMG_2219 | **23:45** | Jason at the **top of the garden stairs**, talking to a woman in a **navy dress**, her back to the camera |
            | IMG_2231 | 23:47 | The first dance, wide shot |
            | IMG_2246 | 23:52 | Garden stairs, empty |
      B:
        - id: b2-camera
          title: Photographer's voice note
          type: transcript
          body: |
            "Ugh, I never changed the camera clock after the Dubai job. It's **two hours ahead**.
            And it was already running **seven minutes fast** before that. Sorry!"
        - id: b2-dresscode
          title: Planner's colour plan
          type: table
          body: |
            | Group | Colour |
            |-------|--------|
            | Bridesmaids (incl. maid of honour) | Sage green |
            | Mothers of the couple | Blush pink |
            | **Planner team** | **Navy** |
            | Guests | "Anything but white, navy or sage" |
    lock:
      id: lock-photo
      prompt: What was the real time of IMG_2219?
      inputType: code
      format: "HH:MM"
      answers: ["2138", "938", "938PM"]
      hints:
        - The camera is ahead by 2 hours plus 7 minutes.
        - Take 2:07 off the camera time.
        - 23:45 − 2:07 = 21:38.
      successText: |
        **21:38**, during the first dance. Jason was alive at the top of the garden stairs, talking to a woman in **navy**.
        By 21:45 the stairs were empty. Navy is the **planner team's** colour, and only one planner was working tonight.
      keyName: Camera Key

  - id: ch3
    title: The Toast Card
    narrative: |
      In Jason's jacket: his speech card. One line on the back looks oddly printed, with some letters bold and some not.
      Jason's friends say he loved "old spy stuff".
    clues:
      A:
        - id: a3-card
          title: Back of Jason's speech card
          type: note
          body: |
            **H**e**re**'s t**o** the bri**de** a**nd** **g**r**o**o**m**, **m**ay every day feel like this one
            *(Pencilled: "Final toast. 5 by 5. Thin = a, fat = b.")*
      B:
        - id: b3-bacon
          title: Jason's phone, a saved note "Bacon's cipher"
          type: table
          body: |
            Read letters in groups of five: thin letter = **a**, bold letter = **b**. Ignore spaces and punctuation.
            | Group | Letter | Group | Letter | Group | Letter |
            |-------|--------|-------|--------|-------|--------|
            | aaaaa | A | ababa | K | baaab | R |
            | aaaab | B | ababb | L | baaba | S |
            | aaaba | C | abbaa | M | baabb | T |
            | aaabb | D | abbab | N | babaa | U |
            | aabaa | E | abbba | O | babab | V |
            | aabab | F | abbbb | P | babba | W |
            | aabba | G | baaaa | Q | babbb | X |
            | aabbb | H | | | bbaaa | Y |
            | abaaa | I | | | bbaab | Z |
            | abaab | J | | | | |
            *This version has 26 separate letters (I and J, U and V are different).*
    lock:
      id: lock-bacon
      prompt: What did Jason hide on his toast card?
      inputType: text
      format: One word
      answers: ["WIDOW", "BLACKWIDOW"]
      hints:
        - "Write each letter as a (normal) or b (bold), then split into groups of five: H-e-r-e-s = b a b b a."
        - babba = W. The next group, t-o-t-h-e, is a b a a a.
        - W-I-D-O-W.
      successText: |
        **"WIDOW."** Jason's final toast was going to name someone as a **widow**. And not a sad one.
      keyName: Toast Key

  - id: ch4
    title: Uncle Leon's Wedding
    narrative: |
      Jason's phone has an album called "UNCLE LEON". His uncle married in 2019, died eight months later,
      and his new wife vanished with his savings.
    clues:
      A:
        - id: a4-police
          title: Police description of Celeste Moreau (taken tonight)
          type: report
          body: |
            Female, about 40. Dark hair in a chignon. Navy planner's dress.
            Small tattoo on the **inside of her left wrist: a swallow**. Says she's "been planning weddings for six years".
      B:
        - id: b4-album
          title: Jason's album "UNCLE LEON", wedding photo, 2019
          type: photo
          body: |
            *Leon Pike, beaming, beside his bride "Claire". She's raising a glass with her left hand.
            On the inside of her wrist: a small **swallow** tattoo.*
            *Jason's caption, written last week: "Found her. She's planning Thabo's wedding."*
    lock:
      id: lock-tattoo
      prompt: What links the planner to Uncle Leon's bride?
      inputType: text
      format: One word
      answers: ["SWALLOW", "TATTOO", "SWALLOWTATTOO", "ASWALLOW", "THESWALLOW"]
      hints:
        - Compare the police description with the old wedding photo.
        - Look at the left wrist.
        - The swallow tattoo.
      successText: |
        **The swallow tattoo.** "Claire Pike" and Celeste Moreau are the same woman: she married Jason's uncle,
        and when he died she disappeared with everything. Jason recognised her and was going to say so in his final toast.
      keyName: Swallow Key

finale:
  type: accusation
  prompt: The cake is coming out. Make your accusation before anyone cuts it.
  maxAttempts: 2
  questions:
    - id: who
      label: Who killed Jason Pike?
      options:
        - { id: kayla, label: Kayla Daniels }
        - { id: sipho, label: Sipho Ndlovu }
        - { id: johan, label: Johan Marais }
        - { id: celeste, label: Celeste Moreau }
        - { id: marco, label: Marco Russo }
      answer: celeste
    - id: how
      label: How?
      options:
        - { id: fell, label: "He fell, drunk, nobody did anything" }
        - { id: pushed, label: Lured to the top of the garden stairs during the first dance at 21:38 and pushed }
        - { id: poison, label: Poison in his champagne }
        - { id: carpark, label: Attacked in the car park }
      answer: pushed
    - id: why
      label: Why?
      options:
        - { id: ex, label: A bitter break-up }
        - { id: money, label: An unpaid debt }
        - { id: speech, label: Humiliation in the speeches }
        - { id: widow, label: "He'd recognised her as the woman who married and robbed his uncle, and was about to expose her" }
      answer: widow
  successEnding: |
    Celeste straightens a centrepiece that doesn't need straightening.

    "Six weddings a month. Nobody looks at the planner. And then the best man looks at my wrist and goes pale."

    At 21:38, while everyone watched the first dance, she asked Jason to "help with the sparklers" at the top
    of the garden stairs. He told her he knew. She pushed.

    **Case closed.** The cake gets cut. Lize says it's the most memorable wedding in family history. 💍🔑
  failEnding: |
    The wrong person is led out past the dessert table. "Claire" collects her fee and moves on to the next wedding.
  reveal: |
    **Celeste Moreau** pushed Jason down the garden stairs at **21:38 during the first dance**, because he'd recognised her
    (the **swallow tattoo**) as the **"widow" who married and robbed his uncle** and was about to expose her in his toast.