Vancouver Mysteries runs outdoor adventure games. It also has online games including Big Top Werewolf which features family-friendly circus-themed activities.
To learn about Big Top Werewolf, continue reading. To learn about the company behind it, and the company’s other games, either see our article about Vancouver Mysteries or visit the official Vancouver Mysteries website.
TIP: If you use the promo code BESTPLACES and book a game with at least three players you can save 10%. The offer is valid in 2024 for live in-person adventures as well as for online virtual games (like Big Top Werewolf).
Vancouver’s Big Top Werewolf Zoom Game
Big Top Werewolf is the latest in a series of games run by Vancouver Mysteries. Hosted by a real person (but online), the game is fun, social and played completely as a virtual event. It’s perfect for folks wanting to connect, have fun and play with distant friends and family. It’s a fun game for kids, but also for adults and mixed generations. If you like acting, laughing and being silly, you’ll love this game!
Vancouver Mysteries is a locally-owned company. Most of its games are live events where people play outdoors in the streets of downtown Vancouver. Most are for adults and children ages 12 and older. The live adventure games are a ton of fun!
Also a blast to play, but more funny than intellectual, Big Top Werewolf is different from most of Vancouver Mysteries’ other games. Whereas adventures like Secret Mission involve investigative skills and deciphering clues in downtown Vancouver, Big Top Werewolf is played entirely online. It is also recommended for people between the ages of five and 90 (so for folks both older and younger than the company’s other games).
Big Top Werewolf is a party-style game that’s light, fun, social and silly. You play it with your friends and family. It’ll have you acting, entertaining your friends and laughing lots! As the company’s website says, it has a “focus on social fun instead of difficult brainteasers.”
So long as you have a computer and know how to use Zoom (i.e. the online communications platform), or have someone in your home who can help you, you can play Big Top Werewolf.
For full details about Big Top Werewolf, see the Vancouver Mysteries website.
How Much Does it Cost?
As of the spring of 2024, Big Top Werewolf costs $25 per person for folks ages 6 and older. Younger children are free and can participate along with an adult. Games can be played with between six and 36 players.
There is also a group rate for the game. For groups of 21 or more players, the cost is just $20 per player.
Note: If you use the promo code BESTPLACES when you sign up for the game you can save 10%. The promo code is also good for other Vancouver Mysteries’ games when booking for three or more players.
What We Liked About the Game
We liked a lot of things about Big Top Werewolf. For one, it was fun. It made us laugh. There is too much serious going on in life currently. It’s nice to play something like this and have fun for a change!
Another great thing about Big Top Werewolf is the fact that it has a live host. It’s not simply an online game run by a computer program – there is a real person who leads you through the activities.
Another strength of the game is the fact that it can be played by people of all ages. Kids will especially enjoy it, but adults will have fun with the silliness too. And it’s perfect for mixed generations. It’s a unique game that children, parents and grandparents can play together, all from different geographic locations. Even people who don’t want to play or do any acting can have fun watching.
Another thing we liked about Big Top Werewolf was that, at the end of the game, participants can continue socializing. Even though the game is over and the game host leaves at the end of the hour, you and your distant family and friends can continue chatting.
In addition to being light, fun and funny, Big Top Werewolf is totally COVID-friendly. You play online, from the comfort and safety of your home. In the age of COVID-19, where people can’t socialize in person and or travel to visit one another, games like Big Top Werewolf are wonderful! We all need to interact with one another, and laugh together. Big Top Werewolf is a great way to do that safely.
What to Expect
With most other Vancouver Mysteries’ games, you can expect fun themed adventures where you have to decipher clues. They’ll challenge your brain. With Big Top Werewolf, on the other hand, you can expect fun, silliness, lots of laughter and the opportunity to practice your acting skills.
We played Big Top Werewolf with a group of 15 people. Participants ranged in age from 16 to 90. It would have been good with younger children too. The game is played in teams. We played in three teams. From start to finish, the games take about an hour to play.
For full details about Big Top Werewolf, see the Vancouver Mysteries website.
About the Game
The game starts with everyone signing in to Zoom using a link provided by Vancouver Mysteries. A real-person host greets you. The name of our host was Marty Mysterio.
Big Top Werewolf has a storyline. It takes place at the circus, and, as one might expect, it involves a werewolf (although not a scary one). Working in teams, players have to perform a number of circus-type tricks, earn points and decipher a magical spell to help the werewolf turn back into a person.
There are six tricks that members of the different teams have to perform and act out. You’ll need some props, but they are everyday items. You’ll have time to run off and find them.
During the game there are times when the game host and the players are all together. At other times teams break out into individual chat rooms (to plan, get their supplies and decide who on the team is going to do which trick).
Different representatives of each team take turns doing circus-themed tricks and competing for points against other members of the different teams. Everyone else gets to watch, laugh and be entertained while waiting for their turn to perform.
What did Big Top Werewolf remind us of? It was like a combination of a TV game show, a children’s bedtime story about the circus, and a creative talent show-type activity you might do at summer camp. It was fun, light-hearted and entertaining!
What You Need in Order to Plays
To play Big Top Werewolf you need to book a time to play and register on the Vancouver Mysteries‘ website. The minimum number of players is six.
On game day, you play on your computer using Zoom. You don’t need to be a power user of Zoom, but you do need to be familiar with the platform.
In addition to friends and family to play with, other things you’ll need are a pen and paper to write things down on. Whoever books the game will also need a credit card when making the reservation.
Things to Consider
Under normal circumstances, you can use Zoom on your computer, tablet or phone. Because you need to see things on the screen in the game, however, and the bigger the screen the better, to play Big Top Werewolf you need to do it on a computer. It’s not impossible to use a tablet or phone; it’s just not nearly as good.
When playing with other people from within your household, you can use the same computer or different computers. Young children and less technologically-adept folks might want to play with a partner on the same computer. If playing with more than one computer, to avoid sound issues and feedback, you’ll have to play in different rooms. Or, if sitting right beside someone else, two people can play on separate computers with the sound turned off on one of the devices.
For full details about Big Top Werewolf, see the Vancouver Mysteries website.
Who is Big Top Werewolf For?
Anyone can play Big Top Werewolf and have fun. It has a circus-theme, so it’s especially appealing to children. It’s a great game for a children’s birthday party where young friends want to play a fun game together but can’t meet in person.
Big Top Werewolf is also terrific for multi-generational family fun, where children, grandkids, cousins, aunts, uncles, parents and grandparents can all play together from different locations across the country (or even elsewhere in the world). Adults looking for some silly fun will also enjoy it, with or without children.
In addition to families and children, Big Top Werewolf is also popular with corporate groups looking for a fun reason to get together socially. Vancouver Mysteries has had great feedback so far from businesses using the game for team building and social activities.
Other Vancouver Mysteries’ games like Secret Mission, Crime in Downtown and Heroes & Villains are for adults and youth ages 12 and older (or kids ages 8 and up with the family version of the Heroes & Villains game). These games are for people who like escape rooms, solving riddles and using their brains. They also involve a fair bit of walking. Big Top Werewolf, on the other hand, is for people who want to play a light-hearted, family-friendly game where you have to act and be silly.
Big Top Werewolf Video
Below is a promotional video about the game from Vancouver Mysteries. It’ll give you and idea of what the games are about and what to expect.
Tips & Advice
Below are some extra bits of information to help you make the most of your game experience.
TIP #1: You’ll save 10% if you use the promo code BESTPLACES when you sign up for the game. The promo code is also good for other Vancouver Mysteries’ games when booking for three or more players.
TIP #2: Big Top Werewolf is played in teams. If there are just six players you’ll be divided into two teams. Teams are divided randomly by the game host, so by Marty Mysterio in our case. If two people are sharing a computer, they’ll be on the same team. If your best friend doesn’t end up on your team, don’t worry. Teams only hang out together for a short time. For most of the game everyone is all together.
TIP #3: If you like escape rooms, adventure games, super heroes, spy stories and murder mysteries, then be sure to also check out Vancouver Mysteries’ other games. Secret Mission, Crime in Downtown and Heroes & Villains are all played in the streets of downtown Vancouver. Vancouver Mysteries has other games too including The Case of the Hotel Detective which you can play at home, in your hotel room or other indoor spaces within the Lower Mainland.
Technical Tips Regarding Zoom
Below are some additional tips regarding the game’s technology.
TIP #1: You need to be familiar with Zoom to play Big Top Werewolf. You don’t have to be an expert, but you do need to know how to log in, activate your video and use the mute button. The game master can help a bit if anyone has minor challenges. Young children can also play with an adult on the same computer, or less tech-savvy players can play with a partner from within the same household.
TIP #2: The game takes place online like a meeting does on Zoom. You can see and hear everyone on your computer screen. Zoom can be used in Speaker View or Gallery View. With Big Top Werewolf, you play in Gallery View. That way you can see everyone at the same time, but as smaller images. When you need to see someone on the large screen, the party host will let that happen automatically.
TIP #3: One of the contests in the game involves a member of your team doing some “magic.” You’ll want to see that person on your full screen when they perform their trick.
Other Information
To learn more about the online circus-themed game, and to book your time, click Big Top Werewolf.
To learn about adventures you can play in person in the streets of downtown Vancouver, see our main article about Vancouver Mysteries or check out the following:
- Secret Mission – a game where you and your friends get to be secret agents. (For ages 12+.)
- Crime in Downtown – a game where you get to be a detective and solve a cold case murder in Gastown. (For ages 12+.)
- Heroes & Villains – your chance to be a superhero, run around the Coal Harbour neighbourhood, and save the world from the infamous Muck Monster. (For ages 12+.)
- Heroes & Villains (Family Version) – similar to the regular Heroes & Villains game, but appropriate for a slightly younger audience. (For ages 8+.)
To learn about other Vancouver Mysteries’ games, check out the following:
- The Case of the Hotel Detective – a pop-up mystery game where you and your friends play in person and the materials are delivered to your door (wherever that might be within Metro Vancouver).
- Black Skull – an online murder-mystery game with a pirate theme. It’s great for between 6 and 12 adults players (ages 14+).
- Super Trivia – another one of the company’s online virtual games. This one is like a game show with its own game show host.