Each of our Murder Mystery dinner party games has been carefully crafted to involve both yourself as host and all of your guests, so there are never any “spare parts” at the party. In case of an odd number of guests, you also have the option to play the part of the inspector yourself, rather than using the Video or Audio Inspector.
Each game is available as a downloadable print at home kit, which means instant delivery to allow speedy party preparation. If you don’t like computers or printers, we also offer a printed box set, where we will box up the kit you choose and send it directly to your door.
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Running a murder mystery game
Running a murder mystery game is easier than you think. They do not need to be hosted over dinner and can be hosted face to face, or on a platform like zoom or teams.
Our murder mystery games are interactive experiences, not case file mysteries. The big difference between the two is the level of interaction between players. Our games are fun, interactive and create lasting memories. Case file games are generally solo or small group deductive pursuits which do not require anyone to take a character role.
Our murder mystery games are great experience games. They are fun for families, friends, youth groups, social clubs and corporate team building.
We stock a range of murder mystery games that are ready to download and use, and if you’ve never played one before, or hosted a murder mystery before, then our games perfect for you!
Our murder mystery games are designed with ease of use in mind. We are murder mystery game hosts ourselves, so we know what you need to make your life as simple as possible. Our games are perfect for first time hosts, and just as much fun for experienced players.
Our games come in small group (4-20 players) and large group formats (games for 20-250+). We provide detailed instructions with all our games to make planning and running the murder mystery as easy as possible, but we’re also there to help you by providing a host for your party as well, so don’t feel you have to do it alone.
As our murder mystery games are created in-house and we’re not just a reseller, we’re always available for customer support, able to help tweak a party to suit your group and we also don’t mind answering any questions, no matter how silly you may think they may be.
If this is your first time, and you have never hosted a murder mystery before then don’t worry – they’re really easy to play and you really can’t go wrong with one of our games.
As our murder mystery games for large groups all run in different ways, this page deals specifically with murder mystery games for 4-20 guests.
STEP ONE – CHOOSE THE RIGHT PARTY THEME.
Picking the right murder mystery game
First and foremost you want a murder mystery game that’s right for you and your party guests.
1. Murder mystery games often have a setting and a theme. Think about your guests. Will they enjoy dressing up, or are they going to prefer something which doesn’t suggest fancy dress?
With our murder mystery games we can often adapt the setting. This will incur a fee, but sometimes the cost is not as much as you may think. Murder at Merkister Hall is our most adapted game – and we regularly change the house name and photo on the game for just £35.
2. Look for the right characters for your group. Read the suspect list included in the murder mystery games. Can you see your friends in those roles?
If you need something a little unusual – again just ask. We create bespoke murder mystery games to order every week.
Worried about mature content? If you need to keep things a little tame as you have a family group or have topics that may upset sensitive guests, then check the content ranting on the games to avoid any offensive topics. If in doubt – just contact us for more information to check a plot.
STEP TWO – GET FAMILIAR WITH THE GAME MATERIALS
Check you know what all the components are in the murder mystery game. We provide full instructions with our games and the are EASY to use. As well as the game materials themselves we also provide invitations, a suggested menu, recipes and ideas for theming.
While you can run a murder mystery game at the drop of a hat, you’ll get a much better experience if you give your guests time to prepare for their role, and give yourself time to prepare.
If you elect to download your murder mystery game you’ll have access to it immediately to enable you to read and prepare.
If you buy one of our boxed murder mystery game kits – you gain access to the downloadable version too, but you can also wait and just have a good look through the set when it arrives.
STEP THREE – INVITE THE GUESTS
Assigning Guests:
One of the first steps in hosting a murder mystery game is to assign your guests to a character role. This is often really fun for the hosts as the read the roles and try to fit the guests to the suspects.
Our invitations contain a short bio, but if you want more information before you allocate guests for any reason, you can read the first page of each character booklet which contains the character background without spoiling the party for yourself. e.g. you might have some friends who you definitely DON’T want to be flirting with each other, this is usually mentioned in the character background, so you can avoid awkwardness by checking this first.
Sending Invitations:
Send the invitations in advance of the murder mystery game if you can. This allows your guests time to find suitable dress for the occasion.
You can decide to run the murder mystery game as a surprise. If you do this, you may decide to have some accessories or props for your guests to choose from on arrival at the party.
STEP FOUR – RUNNING THE MURDER MYSTERY GAME
All of this is covered in the instructions but we’ve put some detail below so you can check our murder mystery games will work for you.
1. As the guests arrive they should be given their character booklet and any other information required for the game.
2. Give your guests time to read the first few pages of their booklet. It explains how the game works and anything important they should know at the start.
3. Once everyone has assembled now is the time to play/read the first inspector speech which announces the murder and sets the scene.
4. The guests then introduce themselves to each other in character and the murder mystery game begins!
5. There are three rounds in our games which all run in the same way.
Everyone shares a short scripted dialogue to help break the ice, and then each guest has questions to ask, and answers they will give to questions they themselves are asked.
With our games everyone listens to everyone else. This allows for the thespians in your group to show themselves at their best and entertain the group as a whole. It also means you aren’t repeating yourself ad nauseum!
After each round you hear from the inspector again.
6. Decide whodunnit! After the guests deliver a short concluding statement each person is asked to decide who they think is the killer.
With our murder mystery games the killer is not told. This means everyone has just as much fun guessing at the end. (It also prevents people accidentally spoiling the game by revealing it by accident.) Once everyone has guessed the inspector will reveal the solution.
Need something different? This is why we are the go-to murder mystery game supplier for hosts internationally.
We can adapt our games to suit your party needs. If you would prefer a mix and mingle experience, we can create menu cards of all questions or suggest alternatives that will work for you without the need to continually repeat yourself.
The big differences between us and competitors:
1) Our murder mystery games are written by a crime writing team. They have a solution. It is not a “name out the hat” experience. There is a plot, and our games are solveable if you follow the clues.
2) Our murder mystery games are fun. They are not case file style games. They are designed as interactive experiences that will make you laugh.
3) We write all our games. This means we can support all our games, create minor (or major) tweaks and customise to order.
4) We are here to support you every step of the way. People ring us all the time, and email us daily. We try to respond to everyone within 24 hours, so if you haven’t heard anything – contact us again – the email may have gone missing in the ether.
Need Help Picking the Right Game?
We’ve done our best to order the games by theme. This will help you decide quickly which sort of theme you’d like to run. We’ve also given you the option to search by most popular, number of attendees or by rating. You can also review what people have said about the games by looking at our reviews section and pick one that way.
If you are still unsure where to start, then have a think about the guests you plan to invite first. Get together a list of your likely attendees and look through a few game titles which “float your boat”. Can you imagine your friends in those character roles? If the answer is “yes” then you’ve found the game for you!
When all else fails – feel free to call us for some advice on +44 (0)1472 348909 or email us. We’ve played over half of the games in the catalogue ourselves, and the boss has proofed every single one, so someone in the office will be able to short-cut to the right game for you.