The Host Files: When the Arcade Became a Crime Scene

Back in the summer, I reached out to Jon at Three Lives with a collaboration pitch that had been sitting in my drafts for weeks. I knew I wanted to host Arsonist at the Arcade inside an actual arcade bar. It's not just because it made perfect thematic sense, but because Three Lives isn’t just any venue to me. It’s one of my all-time favorite places in Syracuse, nay, the world. Three Lives is the kind of place I go out of my way to stop at whenever I’m in town, whether I’m working, passing through, or just in need of genuinely good food and even better people.

I joke all the time that the food and drinks at Three Lives are so good that I barely touch the actual games. The only times I’ve 'gamed' there have been Rock Band night and the one time my group managed to win trivia. That’s how much I love their menu. I don’t go there to play, I go there for them.

So when Jon said yes, not just politely, but enthusiastically, I had that surreal moment of: Okay. This is really happening.

What followed was weeks of prep, then months of quietly sitting on the news until I was finally able to announce the event in early September. And as anyone in events knows, once it’s announced, time speeds up.

By the time we arrived for setup, the staff at Three Lives was already in “game mode.” Jon and his team didn’t just host, they became part of the mystery. Multiple staff members volunteered to step into character roles, not because we needed emergency coverage, but because they wanted to. I can’t stress how rare and special that is.

We ended up with over 30 guests filling this small but intimate venue, which, by the way, made it feel electric from the moment we started. Not every character slot got filled on paper… but you would never have known. The crowd brought the entire room to life.

People dove into action cards nonstop. Character Lara Craft’s side quests sent players off on hilarious and unexpected errands. Some players even went to play actual arcade games fully in character.

This was a family-friendly mystery, and seeing multiple teenagers, younger players, and even a grandmother with her three granddaughters absolutely thrive was one of the biggest joys of the night. I know a musical quartet came in just to have a bonding night, and they committed.

There was no hesitation. No awkward warm-up phase. They walked in ready. The characters took off running.

From the moment I saw that Jon, the Three Lives Owner himself, had signed up to play a character, I knew exactly what I had to do: he was going to be our arsonist. It was too perfect not to use.

So yes, the owner of Three Lives became the secret villain. In fact, he "burned down" his own arcade.

When it came time for the reveal, Security Guard Gina Gauntlet marched in, slapped on the handcuffs, and escorted him straight out of his own front door to a room full of cheers and laughter.

It was one of those perfect mystery moments you simply cannot manufacture.

Multiple guests asked for business cards on the spot for teen birthday parties, sleepovers, bachelorette nights, and even a teen entrepreneurship workshop idea. People didn’t just enjoy the mystery; they saw it living beyond this night. That means everything to us.

This collaboration was a personal goal, and the night made it plain: Skills Murder Mysteries will absolutely be back at Three Lives in the new year.

To Jon and the entire Three Lives team: thank you for trusting us.

To every player who showed up ready to play instead of just attending: you made this night unforgettable.

We love what we do and last night reminded us why we do it.