Give us a call now: UK +44 (0)2030 112 215 USA 646-568-9880
The story so far
Christmas is well on its way and the Regent hotel is full of festive cheer.
In the hotel lobby Santa is in his grotto, packing up for the night and consuming his complimentary festive snack, and everything seems right with the world.
But it doesn’t last.
The peace and silence of the hotel is broken abruptly when one of the waiting staff returns screaming and annouces loudly to all that SANTA IS DEAD!
The line-up
Your cast play these parts, and every one of them has something to hide.
The policeman sent to solve the crime
Efficient in his own peculiar way, Ian Buchanan Clueless has an unusual method of solving crimes – he involves everyone! If anything he is more like a bungling detective than a methodical one, but it has to be said, he does get results.
Hotel Manager
Tall and melodramatic, John Dove is energetic and always mixed up in hotel business. He is dominated by his wife Phyllis, and is always saying “Yes dear” to everything she says, but doing his own thing anyway behind her back. He usually wears a suit at work, although his appearance is often dishevelled, something Phyllis is usually correcting!
Manageress and John’s wife
Efficient, precise and domineering, Phyllis is a force to be reckoned with. She runs a tight ship, bossing around all her staff and her husband. She is usually in a smart dress with her hair, if long, in a tight bun.
Waitress
Cathy Hunt is a hardworking waitress in the hotel. She has a kind word to say about everyone and tries her best to help where ever possible. She is always wearing an apron and has her hair (if long) tied back. She is a hard worker and is always bustling about and apologising for any mistakes. She is run ragged by the Doves who often give her conflicting instructions, and usually ends up doing whatever Mrs Dove says.
Waiter
In full waiting attire Peter Jones works hard every day at the hotel serving customers. He appears accident prone, but only where the Major is concerned as he is often tipping soup down the Major’s clothes.
Long term hotel resident
Elderly and awkward, Major Devizes has a charm all of his own, especially where ladies are concerned. He is usually dressed in a suit, and sports a moustache and glasses, speaking with a hoarse voice.
Long term hotel resident
In floating and out of fashion dress and with a small Yorkshire terrier (or stuffed toy dog) always at her side, Prudence Dillon is a force to be reckoned with.
How it plays
Our simplest large-group format, and a good one for a first event. Seven cast members perform short scenes, and everything your guests need is in the written clues on their tables. Nobody gets cross-examined, so the cast only have to learn their lines, and most of them are short.
What's in the box
Everything you need to run the perfect event is in the game pack. You bring the cast. Costumes and props can add to the fun, but aren’t essential.
Download it the second you pay, or have us print, assemble and post the box. Both are exactly the same game — the difference is who does the printing.
Reviews
From 3 reviews
Reviewers can earn Loyalty Points, and a discount code for sharing a photo, whatever stars they give. We remove spam and abuse, never a review for being negative.
This was such a fun mystery to solve! We wanted to put on a murder mystery dinner to support our nonprofit organization for years, and Murder in the Grotto was perfect! We had a mix of novice actors, folks who had done at-home murder mysteries, and folks who had never acted before as part of the cast. We met to rehearse 3 times beforehand. The script was easy to follow and memorize, and it kept a good pace during the night. Guests loved having clues at their tables and came ready to solve the mystery. Most tables shared their clues, but not all!! This brought so much joy to our organization and to our community - thank you Red Herring Games! This kit provides absolutely everything you need to put on a hilariously enjoyable night for all!
Being a first-timer to murder mysteries I wasn't very clued up on what to do, however the game was very well written and laid out so i soon found myself in the swing of things!! The clues where superb and it was great fun finding out new ones and swapping information with the other groups. The night was a great success! Thank you!!
Another great evening spent with a Red Herring Game. We enjoyed our first Christmas meal of the season and had some very interesting discussions on possible murderers & motives! Lots of fun swapping (& hiding) clues with other teams - once again a really good atmosphere amongst the group.
The small print
So you can ensure this is appropriate for your group. If you have specific content you are trying to avoid please do reach out directly so we can look at the game in more detail for you.
Before you buy
If you can’t find an answer to your specific question do reach out via email or phone.
Well, like everything it all depends on meal service, serving, clearing, how many times you lose guests due to smoking breaks and toilet breaks. We usually say a standard event with a three course meal will take between two and three hours. But we know how things flex when you hit a fresh audience and a new venue. If you set arrival at 7pm for a 7.30pm start you can usually finish by 10pm. But just be aware this is reliant on guests and the venue’s serving and clearing speed. If you aren’t having a three course meal, expect things to speed up. 90 minutes is a common length of time for an event with no breaks.
In addition to printing out the game materials, you will often want props and costumes for the cast. Each game requires different props. Most are easy to source. If you would like to know the essential props for a specific script then please get in touch and we will forward you the instructions documents which contain the prop lists.
No. However most of our games are formatted in rounds to allow a three course meal. The only game format which works best without a three course meal is the Multi-room format.
We have adapted games in the past to work as “mix and mingle” affairs. If you’d like us to create something special for you to allow a mix and mingle event, then please email us.
Downloadable kit
If you’ve never bought a downloadable murder mystery game on-line before, or never played one (downloadable or otherwise) and want to find out more about it, then don’t worry – you aren’t the first.
We are so confident in the quality of our games – when you buy from us you are guaranteed a great night in or your money back!
All our downloadable dinner parties are supplied with:
Printed kits
When you select the printed option – what you are asking us to do is print your game for you. Your game will arrive by post, printed, ready assembled and packaged in a box.
Printed kits are exactly the same as downloadable kits, in terms of content – it’s just that instead of you printing the game, we print the game for you and it will arrive ready to go.
If you aren’t sure whether you would like us to print your game for you – then we are happy for you to change your mind. Simply contact us after purchasing the downloadable game and we will arrange to print and ship your order to you after you make the additional payment.
Our content ratings are based on the ESRB rating scheme.
All of our games are suitable for a reading age of 10+ though they may contain language that is difficult for some children to comprehend.
All ratings are based on content NOT suitability, which means TEEN games are CLEAN games, rather than only being suitable for teenagers.
TEEN games are often games which are most suitable for mixed audiences, corporate and church groups.
It is worth noting that all our murder mystery games are rated TEEN or above as murder counts as violence for younger children. Some children younger than teens will handle the reading level of a standard murder mystery plot but parents may find the content inappropriate. Which is why we always detail the content of our games so you can make a determination of your own. If in doubt – take a look at the free sample booklet to check this is OK for your group.
It is possible for us to adjust the reading level on some games to make it possible for younger children to play – if you think you’d like this – please just email us for help.
TEEN games will contain “tame” plot lines. This can include plot lines like
MATURE rated games don’t necessarily mean the games contain explicit language, or sexual references. However the themes will be more gritty. To give you some examples:
If you are unsure which game is appropriate for your group – there are two things you can try. The first is to open up the “trial booklet” which will give you a sample character from a 6 player game. The second is to call us on +44 (0)2030 112 215 and we’ll chat to you about the content of the games and help you find the one most appropriate for your party.
Sometimes it is possible to customise and amend genders of suspects in games, but not always. This is due to plot tangles and how involved certain characters are within a game. It is best to contact us to check what is and isn’t possible if you need a different skew of genders. If it IS possible, we can explain the costs it will be to amend it ourselves. But if budget proves to be a constraint – we can send you the game in MSword so you can modify it yourself once you know it’s possible.
We can take the stress out of party planning, and put the fun back into what can be a total headache by customising a murder mystery specifically to your party!
If you have an uneven mix of male and female participants, an unusual number of guests, or even just unusual guests, or a specific celebration in mind – then we are here to provide you with a personal service that will tailor a murder mystery game to your needs.
If you are looking for something fully bespoke then allow us to talk through with you what you are looking for and provide you with a free quote.
We are one of very few companies to supply both retail and commercial products as well as event management services.
We’ve always operated an honesty policy as we know our domestic and fundraising customers appreciate the ability to access murder mystery scripts at an affordable rate. HOWEVER we can only continue to do this if commercial customers order using the correct license.
We appreciate your honesty in this matter, and have put our key points below to help you decide if you are shopping on the correct license.
If after reading this you are still unsure which format you should be purchasing – just email us or call us on +44 (0)2030 112 215.
Finally, as you’re shopping with us, we are aware that not every option is available to you depending on your planned use. If you see something you would like to run commercially which isn’t available to you (e.g. you run a guest house and want to host a dinner party game for your guests) – please don’t try to cheat the system – just call us on +44 (0)2030 112 215 so we can chat to you – we will be able to work something out.
Your order confirmation email arrives straight after you pay, with a Download your game button. It signs you in to your account on our website, where each game is listed under Downloads: click a file to save it. Your games stay in your account, so you can sign in and download them again whenever you like.
If you were signed in when you paid, they’re in your account already.
When you click a file, your computer saves it, usually to its Downloads folder. If you can’t find it, search for the file name.
If you order a downloadable kit – the kit should be available instantly on a download link – and will also arrive via email with a link for you to download it.
If you order a printed kit or accessories and elect for standard service – this is shipped 48 tracked within the UK and Airmail outside the UK.
Approx arrival times for 48 hour tracked and airmail are:
If you elect for expedited shipping – we use a Courier or Royal Mail Next Day Delivery within the UK; and a courier outside the UK.
Approx arrival times on Expedited shipping are:
More like this
Not quite right?
Answer three quick questions and we'll narrow it down to the ones that fit your group.
Murder in the Grotto!
