I always wanted to attend a murder mystery party but unfortunately the opportunity never presented itself. On my 26th birthday I decided that if I ever wanted to go to a murder mystery party, I had to make it happen. I had tremendous fun searching for the party I wanted to host from among the hundreds, even thousands, of the party packs that are available. Party packs can be bought at game, party, and toy shops. You can also usually find them in second hand charity shops or being sold second hand online. You can buy them on eBay and there are many e-commerce stores dedicated solely to murder mystery games. You select whatever interests you. Games can be for four up to forty players. However, I recommended keeping it simple by limiting it to 8 to 12 members. You want to invite enthusiastic people who are willing to jump into character and dress for the part. I am lucky enough to have an exciting bunch of friends and family who really get into the game.
Once you have the game and a bunch of people in mind it is time to get creative. To start with you need to check that everyone is free and reserve the party date. Next you need to assign characters to each party member and send them an information pack regarding their game role. The instructions included with the game will guide you about what needs to be done and when. You will send each person an invitation along with a description of their character, which will instruct them regarding background and costume information. I remember when I hosted my first party my guests got super excited when they received the invitation. The majority of them had never attended a party like that before and they were enthusiastic about trying something different and exciting.
The next part is the planning. I love organising and cooking, so hosting parties is a lot of fun for me and I make every effort to host grand events. For my first party, I hosted an event with a Titantic theme and served a 12 course meal! I actually researched details about the Titantic and came across a menu, so I simply based my own menu around that. I researched etiquette from the time and wrote a list of rules to give to each passenger. Then I found some music appropriate for that era and played it for the background music. It is the little details that make the experience more authentic and enjoyable. I asked the guests to bring either champagne, red wine, port or white wine so that it cut the expense down for me. For my second party, the theme was Alice in Wonderland. Instead of serving a meal, I opted to serve theme appropriate fairy bread, sandwiches, tarts, cakes, cookies, and pies. For my party, I made everything from scratch, but you don’t have to go to that much trouble unless you just feel like it. One option that works well is to ask each guest to bring a dessert or dish. Just use whatever system works best for you. Hiring a costume can be expensive so if money is an issue for you (or your guests) then use clothes that you already have, shop at a charity store or borrow a costume from someone that you know.
Game instructions are usually very detailed, and they will even show you how to create dialogue pamphlets for each character. There is also evidence and also clues for the party and for the solution; the solution should be put in a sealed envelope and hidden away out of sight. So, all you need to do is follow the instructions and have a good time. You do want to be certain that the game you have chosen is age appropriate. If kids or teenagers are coming then you might need to choose a younger game. I specifically chose games for adults only and they were quite scandalous!
Murder mystery parties are fun for many reasons. It is a lot of fun to dress up in a character costume. It is nice to play the role of someone different. It is great to be surrounded by fun and interesting people. It is nice to drink good wine and eat good food. It is fun to put your brain to work to analyze the clues and solve the murder mystery. Your guests will walk away from the evening raving about what a good time they had and you will probably feel a sense of satisfaction in knowing that you made it happen!