Well, like everything it all depends. We usually say a standard dinner party with three course meal will take between two and three hours if you run it with less than 12 people. Each additional character adds approximately another six minutes to the time, however beware, the more people you have the harder it becomes to keep everyone on task! And what could have been a three hour game can stretch to five. There are sadly no “hard and fast” rules as it all depends on how much fun everyone is having. We’ve rushed through a 12 player game with a youth group in two hours, but equally have played a game at home with only eight people that started at 7pm and was still going at midnight! Event scripts are easier to guess as they are more “controlled”. Typically they last three hours with a meal.

For our small group dinner party games the minimum requirements if you are downloading the kit to print at home are about 4 double sided printed sheets of paper per character, a printer and a stapler. Any props and decorative touches are left entirely up to you.

If you want the game materials to look at their best then you might choose to have access to a guillotine, thick card for the booklet covers and a colour printer.

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:

• Full instructions Each game contains information on how to use the downloaded files including details on printing etc, instructions for running the mystery itself, as well as hints and tips from previous customers.
• A guide for making the most of your theme. Including ideas for personalising your game materials, recipe suggestions, alternative menu choices, home decoration, appropriate music, and additional after dinner games/activities to compliment your murder mystery.
• Invitations. Designed for double sided printing, or for digital sending, these invitations come with a colour cover design and all the information your guests need to know.
• Easy print character booklets. All our booklets take advantage of the progress of modern printers and the progress of modern devices where you can view PDFs digitally. They are set up as “page per view” making them easy to convert into A5 booklets for printing, which also makes them easy to print out large print for those who struggle to see small print. Full instructions for how to print into booklets if your printer is an older model are also supplied.
• Script for an optional inspector. This inspector part can be taken by the host, allowing you to invite one additional dinner guest as a character if wished.
• MP3 Sound files and Video link to the optional inspector played by an experienced actor for your enjoyment. All our party kits come with an MP3 voice over, Video and printable file as standard. This allows the host to take part as a character and remain totally in the dark themselves as to who the murderer is!

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. We also include envelopes for your invitations, and seal the inspector booklet in an envelope to prevent accidental viewing.

Because we print in-house we can customise even our printed orders, so please get in touch if you need something special e.g. a name adding to the invitations for a birthday, changing the image of a game. Minor changes can cost as little as £35.

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.

You receive a complete "Party in a Box": Character booklets, Host Guide, Invitations, Evidence, and access to MP3 audio and video files for the Inspector’s narration.

6-20 player dinner party games will contain the following:

• Instructions which will include how to run your game, how to make the most of your theme, hints and tips, suggested recipes and a money off coupon towards next purchase.
• Invitations
• Envelopes for the above
• Character booklets
• Inspector booklet in a sealed envelope to prevent accidental viewing.
• Name sticker badges for your guests
• Link to the video and Mp3 files of the inspector (in the instructions booklet) so you can easily find it.

Please note postage costs are not included in the printed kit prices – these are added during check out.

The additional cost for printing (charged on top of the downloadable game price) is to cover:

• High quality colour laser printing and high quality paper.
• Collating, stapling, assembling and packaging the game materials.
• Supply of all printing, paper and assembly materials associated with the above.
• Staff costs associated with formatting, assembly and packaging the games for sale.
• Packaging.
• Insurance.

If you would like us to customise your game materials prior to printing please get in touch with us directly prior to purchase so we can identify more clearly what you would like and build in any extra charges as needed.

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

• A game with a character who has had a string of monogamous relationships, where all relationships are kept “non-sexual” for the purposes of the game e.g. someone who is two timing a girl.
• There may be mild innuendo in the booklet, but when played this could be hammed up, or toned down depending on the person acting the role.
• Alcohol may be mentioned in the game, but it will not include references to drinking to excess.
• Illegal drugs will not be mentioned within the game, but legal drugs e.g. paracetamol, anti-anxiety tablets could be.
• There will be no explicit language, however where the odd mild swear word appears in song lyrics e.g. in Murder at the Music Awards, this will still be present in the game. The word “Sex” may crop up, but not in a sordid context. e.g. a character might say “don’t mentioned the “sex” word.”

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:

• A character may have taken /dealt in illegal drugs.
• A character may reference overindulging in alcohol
• A character may gamble.
• A character may be the result of an illegitimate relationship, or is pregnant
• A character’s sexual orientation may form part of the plot or character description.
• A character may have been polygamous, or discusses relationships of a sexual nature. (e.g. having affairs)
• Other illegal behaviour, and content that you’d normally only see on TV after 9pm.

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.

You can request we adjust a 6 player game down to 5 players during the check out process. Not all our games easily adapt to 5, but we will do our best to make the game possible to play with a smaller number of guests.

Yes. Although all of our dinner party games are written with an even number of guests as standard. We can edit them so they can be played with an odd number of guests. This takes us an additional couple of days to produce your game.

On the game page, click to open the section “Have an odd number of guests?”, then choose the number of players and whether you’d like an extra male or female character. It adds a customisation fee to your order.

If you need other changes to gender ratios then do contact us. It may be possible but will affect your ability to use the pre-recorded inspector. As a general rule we cannot reduce to a ratio of male : female below 3 : 3. Any requests for custom amends DO take time. We do our best to accommodate them within 5 days, but it isn’t always possible in peak season. So we ask that you reach out first by phone or email so we can check our availability.

When you make contact we will be able to tell you whether your request is possible, what the total price will be and will be able to take payment over the phone, or provide an invoice to you to pay at your convenience.

We regret that we are not always able to alter the pre-recorded inspector speeches. Any alterations will be made to the inspector booklet, we can sometimes edit the MP3 too – but we regret we cannot edit the video inspector.

We understand how difficult it can be to organise a dinner party! Which is why, at no additional cost we will substitute your purchased game to one with a smaller number of players. However, please give us at least two working days to process a request!

If you ordered a custom printed kit – then we are happy to reprint your order, but unfortunately we will have to pass on to you the cost of reprinting your game. Standard “off the shelf” kits can be exchanged so long as the kit is returned to us undamaged.

If you expect you will lose just one couple, then give that couple (or yourselves) the last two optional characters on your game (you can check this by looking at a lower numbered game to see who is missed off). That way, if the couple can’t make it, everyone else can still come as the characters you originally asked them to be and we can easily swap the kit for you.

We can bespoke create “optional” guests with enough notice, fees will apply.

Check out this blog article for more information on how to adapt our games at the last minute.

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.

New? Not to worry! We deal with novice hosts every day.

Murder mystery evenings come in many different shapes and forms.

We retail kits for domestic/private parties, fundraising and for commercial users- and on top of all that we also event manage – so you’ve reached the “one stop murder shop!”

If you’re just looking to buy a dinner party then we have a range of DIY dinner party games.

If you are thinking of organising an event yourself for a large number of people we suggest you visit the page Choosing an event script. Which explains more about each format of large group game we stock.

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.

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:

• UK – 3-4 working days (the Royal Mail don’t guarantee 48 hours and it often enters the system at the end of the working day).
• Europe 7-10 working days
• Rest of World – 14-28 working days

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:

• UK – 1-2 working days
• Europe – 3-7 working days
• Rest of World – 3-9 working days