How Much Does It Cost to Buy a Custom Written a Murder Mystery Game?

We recieve an email probably 4–5 times a week, asking us how much it will cost to buy a custom written murder mystery game. So if you’re curious about costs, you’re not alone!

As you might expect, it’s difficult to give an exact figure instantly because every custom-written game is different.

Because each game is different, prices can range significantly, from £90 to £5,000, depending on what you need us to do. Sometimes we can repurpose an existing game, and minor adjustments to an already written game (either live on the website or sitting on our server from a previous customisation) is significantly cheaper than writing something from scratch.

This is why when we get asked the question we often ask for a chat on the phone or via zoom early into the process. Then we can throw some ideas around very early into the process, and give you some ideas of what’s on file that you CAN’T see, and what we might be able to do.

Anyway… what you really want to know is how much. So, here’s how we determine the cost and what factors influence it.

Factors That Influence Pricing

1. Format of the Game

The type of game you need will significantly impact costs. Some formats are faster to write than others, and how “finished” the game must be upon delivery also plays a role.
I’ve written a detailed blog on the different types of murder mystery game structures out there. You can find that blog post here: What are the differences etween murder mystery games and which will suit me best.

Time taken to write something varies depending on game, but roughly:

• Skit and Clue Games: @ 14 hours for an experienced author.
•  Dinner Party Games: @ 21 hours for an experienced author.
• Dinner Theatre: @ 40 hours for an experienced author.
• Multi-Room Games: @ 70 hours for an experienced author.
• LARP/Freeform Games: @ 240 hours for 20+ guests.

Unpolished drafts will cost less than fully formatted, ready-to-play versions.  We often provide these draft formats to other games companies who come to us for assistance writing games for their clients.

2. Number of Characters

More characters mean more writing, which increases costs. A 6-player game is cheaper than a 12-player one. Savings can be made by keeping suspects low, and adding characters who play “witnesses” so don’t need as much detail in their character background (if any).

With large groups – less is often more. It’s usually easier to have smaller number of suspects and everyone else playing witnesses, because this improves the pace and timing of a game

3. Timing and Deadlines

Short deadlines increase cost. Rush projects often require overtime, prioritizing your game over other work. Additionally, peak seasons (October–December and work over bank holiday periods) may have premium pricing.

With 6–12 months’ notice, we can keep costs as low as possible by working around other projects during slower periods.

Increased numbers of “touch point” calls, or specific requirements for sign off at additional stages, also often incur additional costs.

4. Delivery

Downloadable games are cheaper than printed sets. For some clients we also go the extra mile with wax sealed envelopes or bespoke finish. This also increase costs, but often the costs are insignificant when compared to the rest of the custom writing. So it’s worth those extra finishing touches.

5. Additional Customisation or elements

Custom elements regularly raise costs, including:

•  Commerical branding and customization: Specific themes, detailed formats, or highly tailored content require more time and effort.  Attending branding meetings, working to very specific brand guidelines, or with branding teams often incurs additional time. We have also had a number of book to game custom requests – and for those we have to set aside time to read the book before creating a game based on the material – this reading time has to be included in the quote.
• Highly bespoke content: Very personalised content that often requires of a lot of planning meetings and regular check ins.
• Props and Evidence: Creating physical items like custom clues, puzzles, or props.
• Actors or Video Elements: Facilitating the game with live actors or pre-recorded inspectors will raise the price. It’s also worth nothing that if your game is very bespoke, the likelihood is that an actor will need additional training in order to deliver your game, or someone from HQ will need to facilitate.
• Translation: We regularly work with translation companies. Costs to translate a game into another language are often the same costs as it is for us to write the game. So expect the price to double. We are always happy to work with a translator of your choice.

5. Commercial Use

If you intend to use the game for resale or repeated commercial events, a licensing fee applies. This varies based on the number of uses and the scale of distribution.

How to Keep Costs Down

Recycle an Existing Plot:

If we have a similar game in our archive, we can sometimes adapt it to your needs. Editing an existing dinner party game might reduce costs from £600 to around £90–£240.  But it very much depends on what you want as to whether something we have on file will work for you.  We’ll often know early into our discussion if something like that is possible.  If you need to keep costs down, you may want to look though ou existing games to see if something we already have might work for you.  Often we can adjust setting or gender ratio or names more easily than entire plots.

Allow More Time:

Longer lead times (6–12 months) will let us fit your project into our slower periods, utlimately lowering costs.

Choose Standard Formats:

Games built around established frameworks are more cost-effective than custom formats.

Identify your “must haves”:

What do you need in your game to make it personal. Often when there is a budget constraint in mind I’ll ask for a list of “must haves” and “Nice to haves”. We can then look at what we can do to hit the requirements, knowing other things are optional.  If tweaking an existing dinner party game for someone on a tight budget, I will often set a timer and work for as long as the budget allows. Including all the “must haves” before working through as many “nice to haves” as I can fit in within the time constraints.

**Extras That Are Worth the Investment in our opinion

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While additional elements raise costs, they really do elevate the experience:

• High-Quality Props: Changing the format of the printed materials, to switch from booklets to custom parchment, wax sealed envelopes, or just changing the look of the game with a bespoke photo  will create a memorable, immersive game.
• Live Facilitators: Hiring an experienced game facilitator ensures a seamless event. (We’ve travelled internationally for bespoke games!)
• Evidence: Everyone loves to look at something. If you have the money for real evidence or photographic evidence it’s nearly always worth the investment.

Custom writing is a collaborative process. If you’re on a budget or have specific ideas, we want to work with you to find the best solution. Some of our games can be customised directly on the website. Murder at Merkister Hall for instance can be changed to have the name of your own home, and a photo of your home for just £35 – an option you can select on check out.

If you’re looking for something bespoke – then to give you a more specific price estimate, here’s what you should provide when requesting a quote:
1. The basic concept or theme you want your game to have, and any specific requirements.
2. The number of participants and roles (e.g. you may want them all to be suspects, or you may be happy with a suspect/witness/audience split).
3. The desired format of game and level of complexity you want within the game.
4. Any specific audience considerations or restrictions e.g content you specifically want us to include or avoid.
5. Timeline for when you need the game completed and delivered.
6. Your budget range and key priorities.