How To Host A Murder Mystery Party
Want to do something a bit different this Halloween season? How about a murder mystery party? Most websites tell you that you can’t lose with a murder mystery party for friends, but just to make sure you have a guaranteed hit, we have a few pointers for you.
According to Instructables.com, it‘s important to start off your party idea with a theme. What books do your guests like? What movies and TV shows do they like? Do they like sports?
Once you pick the theme, it’s been to sit down and write your story keeping in mind that each guest needs to play a part. There are generally two types of stories: scripted and free play.
In a scripted murder mystery party, guests will read their lines from a prepared script. Their characters have pre-written dialogue and actions. This allows for a quick-paced game and makes sure that guests don’t miss out on any elements.
With free play, there is no set script. There might be a general outline of speaking and acting prompts, but for the most part, your guests are allowed to act however they want.
The story itself can be scripted however you like but it should have a pre-determined conclusion and the “who done it.”
Once the story is done, write out character cards for the players describing the role each has in the mystery. These cards should be simple bios outlining their occupation, characteristics of their character, clues about the murder, and connections to at least one other guest. Connections and clues will help the guests know where to start their sleuthing.
Description cards should also be made out for evidence as the guests find pieces of evidence throughout the game; a description card should be included to identify relevant props to the mystery.
Then you establish rules like staying in character, solving the mystery and you’re almost there.
Many websites also suggest having your guests dress in character and let them know who they will play before the party begins so they can create just the right outfit for the night.
MyMysteryParty.com has all kinds of ideas from invitations to props and even molded ice trays for the evening.
