Murder mystery parties are fun for all people as most of us have a little drama inside and if we do not it is even funnier to stretch out side of the box. There are a variety of ways to produce a Murder Mystery party. I recommend a small home type party with up to 20 people, you can buy a box game or kit which is a great way to have a seamless and exciting plot, write your own script and story (tricky, but some people are up to it) , or hire a professional company to come into your home and perform (can be expensive!). I recommend a home party where you and your friends are the actors. This type of small home party can be tons of fun and is also relatively inexpensive.
Make sure that you only invite people to your murder mystery party who are going to become really involved in the fun. Everyone present needs to play their parts enthusiastically. They don’t have to be wonderful actors, just willing to forget their inhibitions and pretend to be somebody else for a few hours.
Host a Murder Mystery Party: The Kit
The host/hostess of the party purchases a kit there are many to choose from! The kit includes a story about a murder that occurs either during the course of the dinner or before the party even begins. There are a specific number of characters in the story to match the size of your group, with background information, costume instructions and a package of clues for each one. Murder mystery kits can be purchased “off-the-shelf” or custom designed for your group.
Host a Murder Mystery Party: Writing your own Script
There is much more flexibility in writing your own script. You can plan it for the exact number of friends that you want to be involved, and make it perfect to your desired theme of the party. There is a great article on how to write a murder mystery party script at this link here. Happy writing if this is your cup of tea! It is important to make sure that there are multiple suspects but that only one can possibly fit all of the clues! Guests should spend there time discovering the truth by evaluating the clues and asking questions of there fellow players to piece it all together.
Host a Murder Mystery Party: Inviting the guests
Give the invitations out at least six weeks prior to the event, especially if it is taking place at a time when fancy dress is in big demand e.g. New Year.
Host a Murder Mystery Party: Assigning Characters
Once you have received firm RSVP’s from your guests it is time to assign charecters. This is an important step in ensuring the success of your murder mystery party, your guests need to be willing to ham up there roles. You know your friends and know who would like a ‘leading’ role, and who would not. Someone who is shy might have trouble participating, especially if you’re hosting it for a larger group. There might be a ‘character’ who is also a wall flower, be sure to give the guests characters that they can play and enjoy, everyone will have more fun if everyone is comfortable with there roles. It is also not a good idea to give the ‘social butterfly’ ‘life of the party’ friend a ‘wall flower’ role as they will find it boring.
Once they have been assigned give the roles out to your friends. Make sure that each character has their own background of jobs, affairs, marriages, places lived, etc. So the characters could fit in with the clues. Encourage all guests to keep their characters a secret, even from partners or spouses! This really gets the party off to a better start if everyone is surprised at the last minute and no one has an advantage over the other players.
Host a Murder Mystery Party: Costumes
Costumes do not need to be difficult or expensive, there purpose is helping to set the mood. Most costumes can be patched together from thrift stores, your friends closet, and everyday items. The more outrageously you and your guests dress up, the greater the potential for leaving your inhibitions behind at the door. Check with your friends 2 weeks in advance to see if there is anything that they feel that they need to complete there costumes and help if you can. Also it is important that you provide any props that are critical to the plot line.
Host a Murder Mystery Party: The Dinner Style
Some Murder Mystery Party Kits have a specific number of ‘clue sets’ that are to be handed out over the course of the evening. If this is the care with your kit or script it is recommend that you base the number of courses for your meal on the number of scenes in your murder mystery. You’ll have that information when you receive your kit. Present the clues in between each course and spend about fifteen minutes per scene revealing the necessary information to one another with each person attempting to act in character.
Some of these kits or scripts are designed for cocktail parties and the guests are expected to walk around and interact throughout the evening. If that is the case with your script then it is recommended that you provide cocktails, snacks, appetizers, and/or a buffet meal.
Some hosts/hostesses chose to have a buffet style meal regardless of the type of script available so that the host/hostess can fully participate in the fun. If you are running back and forth clearing dishes and setting out new courses you will miss out on some of the intrigue and subsequently some of the fun.
Host a Murder Mystery Party: The Decorations or Theme
Many plots take place in a specific country or time period. If that is the case with your mystery decisions about decorations can be simplified if you stick to the theme. If it is in France – serve French food and have decorations that mirror the era in France in which it is set. If it is in Spain – serve Spanish foods and apply the appropriate decorations etc… Some of the box kits have suggestions for menu and decoration choices. If your mystery does not come with a theme, then you can be as creative as you wish!
Host a Murder Mystery Party: Keep the Party Moving
As host/hostess you are responsible to keep everything moving smoothly. It is all too easy for people to forget that the main purpose is to solve the mystery.
First, let the guests get to know each other by circulating and asking questions, you should give out name tags (with the character name) and assist your guests with introductions if they are not previously acquainted to the ‘Dread Pirate Robbers’ even if they are husband and wife. Of course it is also important for you to stay in character if you are playing a role so do the best you can.
Over the course of the evening you should hand everyone additional clues to their own character and the murder which they will need to reveal to the rest of the guests. With some kits the host knows who the murderer is, if the host has written the script that is a given, in other kits it is kept a secret even from the host and revealed through the dinner clues. Do not be in too much of a hurry to hand out the new clues allow everyone to get acquainted with there current clues – usually this means a set of clues every half hour or more.
Here is one way that an evening might transpire:
7:00pm Meet and Greet
7:10 Offer refreshments while guests mingle
7:40 Offer first set of clues – guests will spend the next 30 minutes bribing, cajoling, and sharing information
8:10 Offer second set of clues
8:20 Encourage eating of buffet while guests mull over these clues
8:50 Final set of clues
9:20 Guests solve the murder – guests usually want to talk for an hour about the clues and the murderer even after he is unmasked so don’t expect your house back till after 10:00pm.
If the murder happens at the party instead of before than the first set of clues may need to be delayed – don’t look at the clock look at your guests and move things along at there pace!
