Follow these steps to create an epic murder mystery and throw a party your friends will always remember!
1. Guests
A group of 10-12 works well. Consider friends who will be excited to put on an act for a couple hours- not people who might feel “too cool” to partake. The best parties are ones where everyone stays in character!
2. Setting
Consider your guests and decide on a setting that everyone will enjoy. Would all of your friends enjoy a night on a pirate ship, or would a high school prom be more fun. Cater everything to your guests to ensure a fun-filled event.
3. Victim
You need to create an imaginary victim character. All your guests will “know” the victim, and each will have a motive to kill her.
For example: The victim is Taylor Mishmash who played volleyball for the local high school.
4. Killer
Choose a clever guest who is a good actor to be the killer-nobody wants a mystery that is too easy to solve. This guest will be notified before the party that he is the killer, and will keep it a secret throughout the event. You should supply him with a list of excuses to explain what he was doing during the time of the murder.
For example: The killer is Malcolm Plywood who saw Taylor Mishmash kissing his brother after the football game. He killed her out of anger because he had loved her for years.
5. Characters
Each guest will play a different character. They should be unique, funny characters who all “knew” the victim. Get creative. Before the party, you should send each guest an information packet and include some information about the character each will be playing.
The guests will also act as detectives during the party. Each should ultimately have reason to believe that one of the other guests is the killer. Additionally, each guest should have motive to kill the victim. The more confusing, the better.
For example: One character is Tyrone Fishtank who loves to eat. He was seen yelling at Taylor Mishmash in the cafeteria when she took one of his French fries (someone could interpret this as a motive to kill). He saw a drunk Paul Pill with Taylor Mishmash the night she was killed. Tyrone was studying calculus with his friend Blanca White during the time of the murder.
6. Invitation
Send your guests a themed invitation-from a made-up police department, high school principal, or other figure that would have reason to call all the characters together. This is you.
For example: You are the county sheriff who has decided the only way to sort out the mystery is to let those involved figure it out. You invite all the characters to the sheriff’s office to mingle, and you offer a prize to whoever finds the killer first.
7. Prize
Let your guests know there is a prize for he who identifies the killer and the motive. Make this something small, but an incentive to play the game correctly and stay in character.
For example: The prize could be a bottle of wine, a hand-decorated t-shirt, or a gift certificate.
8. Information packets
Send out information to your guests before the party. Give them some time to read through the details and prepare a costume for their character.
a. General information
Include a list of all the characters and their actors. Include some information about each one’s relationship to the others and to the victim.
For example: Tell your guests that Tyrone Fishtank loves to eat and that he knew Taylor Mishmash through gym class. Tell them that he knew other characters through various activities.
b. Individual information
Each character needs to know information that either select others or no one else knows. It may help to label information as “reveal” or “do not reveal” to others. This is information about their relationship with the victim and important past events. Each should be given a schedule telling where he/she was before, during, and after the time of the murder. Those who are innocent should each have at least one alibi to prove their innocence. It will be the job of the other characters to identify that alibi to rule out the character as the killer.
For example: Tell Tyrone Fishtank that he had a crush on Taylor Mishmash and would never hurt her (reveal). Tell a couple of his close friends (other characters) that he would never hurt a fly, despite his size. Tell Tyrone that he heard Taylor Mishmash and another character fighting during gym class (this gives him a person to suspect). Tell him that he was studying calculus before and during the murder with Blanca White (reveal). Tell him he saw two of the other characters laughing near Taylor Mishmash’s house (reveal). Tell him he saw a knife near the bushes outside of her house. Remind him that he yelled at Taylor in the cafeteria the day she was killed (do not reveal).
10. The party
Welcome every character to the party and tell them to do the detective work for you-identify the motive and killer, and claim the prize. The guests should be in costume and stay in character. They may carry their information packets, but reveal only certain things that will not make them look guilty. They will talk to each other character to determine alibis and discuss motives. Ultimately there will be one character without a good alibi that has a reasonable motive to kill.
11. Accusations
Guests should use a piece of paper to write the killer and the motive. Give everyone a chance to do this at the point in the game when you think they are ready. Read the accusations and choose a winner!
