How to Plan a Murder Mystery Party

Murder is a crowd-pleaser. It may sound odd, awful, or both, but its true. No party involving murder will ever be dull. However, as guests generally don't like to be killed we must find an alternative. Here I will show how to use a murder mystery game with the guests as the suspects.

My first time hosting a murder mystery game made me fall in love with the concept. I had to throw a party for a friend who hated birthdays but loved acting and nostalgia. What better way to celebrate than with a murder?

Unfortunately for me, I am extremely cheap. I did not want to spend $200 just for the instructions. So I wrote my own game. This was both challenging, time-consuming, and extremely fun!

The Free Step-by-Step instructions I used can be found here: http://www.murdermysterypartygame.co.uk/murder-mystery-blog/2015/7/7/write-your-own-murder-mystery-game-part-1-ideas-and-introductions

While buying can be a real time saver, it's just not as fun. You can't customize it at all. I matched each of the personalities of the guests to their characters. For instance, one of the guests was a drop-dead gorgeous French girl. I have a joke with her that everyone hits on her all the time (which is often truer than not). While she is pretty, she is also kind and values people for their personalities. So I made her character a gold-digger so that she could do what everyone does to her all the time. While many games might have a gold-digger, I also was able to create each line of her character sheet to contrast her completely. With a pre-made game, you don't get to have private jokes!

With this type of game, the theme is one of the most important elements. Coming second only to characters.

The theme determines the story, the costumes, and the set-up.

For my party, I chose a 1920s theme because the birthday girl absolutely adored "The Great Gatsby" along with the time period. Costumes might be a little difficult for the guests so I sent a link for easy instructions to the guests.

Keep the theme when planning your party! Don't use Wendy's forks when holding a fine dinner. The more detail you put into your scene, the more excited your guests will be. The more character the guests have, the more fun!

Try to keep the guests as separated from modern life as possible. Stepping into the room should be like stepping out of a time machine. Unless it's a modern party of course.

For instance, I use an old chest or crate to hold any evil modern contraptions that may distract from the game. Nothing will pull someone out of character more than a cell phone beep. For the next two hours, an apple is a fruit and a computer is a person.

Set a time! I usually choose two hours. However, this is completely up to you! The time will vary depending on how many people there are. 50 people will take a much longer time than 5 people will. As the host, your job is to keep the people on track. I keep a dinner bell to signal the end of the round. Here is a sample schedule:

Round 1 Introductions and small talk (30 minutes)

The Murder happens. . .

Round 2: People Investigate (1 hour)

Accusations. . .

Round 3 Confessions (30 minutes)

Don't be too strict on time though, if people are bored then switch rounds. If everyone is having a blast allow more time.

What are you as the host? Well, that depends on the setting. For my setting, I was the victim's daughter who called everyone together. That way, it would make sense for me to be running things. In this game, I wouldn't want to be a hobo off the streets. That would make no sense. Your game needs to have a little logic at least!

Have fun! Yes, its cliche, but its very true. It's so easy to be completely bombarded by details that you and your guests won't have any fun. Let the guests socialize and have (fake) conflicts. Let them enjoy being someone new, even if that someone knew turns out to be a murderer.