Okay, you are ready to host a murder mystery party. Here’s what you need to do:
Make and finalize your guest list
It is absolutely essential that the people who you invite show up to the party. After all, what good is a murder mystery if the murderer can’t make it? Figure out who you are going to invite and get them to RSVP.
Usually, you want a minimum of six people and a maximum of sixteen. If you get less than six, it can be easy to figure out who is the guilty party but more than sixteen and you have too many suspects for people to keep track of. Once you’ve got your list, head on over to our Murder Mystery Kits page and pick out an option that appeals to you.
One person should be the “Party Planner” – they will know all the secrets and coordinate everything. They still have an important role during the mystery, but they know who did it. The party planner matches the guest list with the character list so you know who is going to play whom.
Next, send out the theme of the mystery (Western, Cruise ship, Film Noir, etc) and character descriptions to each invitee. These are brief little summaries of who they are so they can pick out a costume. They do not give much information, just enough to get the guest excited about the party. For instance,
“You are Henry Wallace, a second string reporter for a nickel rag like the Boston Gazette. You are used to living paycheck to paycheck but with your rotten luck lately – with that giant spider story turning out to be a hoax and that homicide that turned out to be a suicide in Lexington and now this – you fly to London on the lead of some lost Russian princess and she slips through your fingers. Now you are on your way back to the office with no big story. The editor will have your head. And then maybe your boots.”
If your friends are on social media, using a facebook event to help organize everyone can be a time saver. I highly recommend it.
Preparing for the Party
Next, prepare for the party. If it is during the dinner hour, make sure you have food for the guests – after all, solving mysteries is hungry work. Either way, drinks help smooth things along, especially for the shy guests.
It also helps if there are multiple places for people to talk – after all, if the whole party is in one living room, it is much harder to share secrets. Best to have a few alcoves or rooms where people can hide away and gossip.
Name tags can also be a huge help so guests can easily identify who is playing whom.
The Day Of
It’s finally the day of the party! Once everyone arrives, pass out their character sheets and give them some time, undisturbed, to read them over and ask the Party Planner any questions they may have. Finally, when everyone is ready, gather them together and explain the ground rules.
- Everyone is here to have fun. Don’t be a jerk.
- Feel free to call a personal time out if you need to read your character sheet and refresh your memory
- All the characters, except for the murderer, should try to be truthful but don’t be afraid to dodge a question if you feel like it.
- All the characters have secrets and there are more mysteries in each kit than just the murder – see what you can find out about all the characters!
- After an hour or two, we will gather everyone together and guess who is the murderer
After that, let everyone begin talking. As the party planner, feel free to mingle and drop rumors if the conversation seems to have dead-ended.
Finally, when people have talked themselves out, gather them together and have everyone pick out who they think is the murderer. Once everyone’s had a shot at guessing, the party planner announces who did it and every can start congratulating you on fun and unique party.
Free Murder Mystery Parties 