Has anyone been to a murder mystery party?

[ABCeasyasdohrayme]

I have just decided for dds birthday I'm going to do a murder mystery party.

I'm either going to do a rocky horror theme or a phantom of the opera theme but I have no clue where to start. If it comes down to it I'll buy one online and change it up a bit to fit my theme.

I know I have to get the characters set and write a bit of a script which shouldn't be too hard but how do I get the clues in there? Just give one person each a clue? Leave physical clues? A bit of both?

Any help would be greatly appreciated as I've never been to one and have no idea what I'm doing at all 🤣 I always try and plan something a bit different and was struggling a bit until I came up with this idea.

I have 2 weeks to plan it all as well, nothing like a looming deadline to make me panic 🤣

TIA

I've hosted a couple of times, we've just bought the kits. You could change the characters to fit your theme but the scripts and character names are very pun based so it would be a pain to change it all. I'd just buy one to suit your theme. They're good fun.

Hmm… How old is your DD? And is this a family party or for similar age friends?

Tbh I’ve done a couple of MM dinner parties with adult peer groups which have been brilliant fun. I’d hesitate to do them with kids though. Because everyone needs to be on the same page. It’s no fun and doesn’t work if guests don’t join in…

I did do a child-appropriate themed mystery party treasure hunt for kids though. Set up clues around the house, DH dressed up as a ghost, prizes for everyone, themed party games after. And they really enjoyed it.

Dd will be 15 so it will be me and her siblings and a couple of friends, 6 or 7 in total.

Everyone is up for it, and will get outfits to match the theme when I decide which one it will be.

I always do something a bit different on their birthdays and dd loves whatever I plan usually.

Maybe buying a kit is the way forward, it will give me a bit of a guide as to what to do at least.

I've hosted one but I used a kit. It was good fun and everyone (adults) entered into the spirit.

What do the kits contain? Is it a full explanation of what to do with characters and scripts?

They're really good fun - IF everyone involved is comfortable and willing to enter into the spirit of it. If you were shy/introverted/self-conscious, it could be a bit of a nightmare.

We dressed up, decorated the room, did themed dinner courses and music etc.

I would buy a kit as they're quite complicated- I think trying to work it all out yourself would be a nightmare. There are lots of different kits but they tend to be character notes, secret info for all the characters, things to read out, little films etc to play at various points.

Yes, you get all the information in the kit, and how to do it. I think you can buy them for different numbers of people attending.

There's usually a 'murderer' and a 'detective' in the cast. The murderer finds out right from the start that they are the villain, and of course have to keep it quiet. Nobody else knows. Everyone else gets instructions about who they are and what character they are playing.

I've been to several, and they are good fun as long as people play by the rules. DH turned out to be the murderer last time!

I’ve done it with a kit, it was really good, I love that kind of thing. As pp said, everyone has to be up for it, or it falls a bit flat.

The host had a rules card and revealed different clues throughout the night so you couldn’t work it out in the first 5 minutes.

I imagine it’s quite a lot of work if you are doing it yourself.

I did one for my 17th birthday (which was 20 years ago, so not sure of boxes are quite the same). We got a 70s themed one in a box. I gave people a bit of info about their characters in advance so they could plan costumes and decorated with some of my parents old posters, bean bags etc, put on appropriate music. When they arrived we all read a bit of character info and some secrets. Then there was a cd with a bit of info about the murder. As far as I remember there were 4 rounds of discussion where we all got more secret info and ideas if what to ask each other, and just tried to get into character. I think we'd planned the meal so we had a round of discussion then starters, another round of discussion then the main course etc. At the end we guessed the murderer and revealed all our secrets. My parents helped with sorting/serving the food so I could just enjoy the game with my friends. Really good evening - hope you find something that works for your DD.

Thanks everyone. I just ordered an online one, and am now going to transform it into a rocky horror scripted theme. Just ordered a load of themed decorations too, no rocky horror ones but plenty of red lips and red and black ones. I shouldn't have left this until the last minute

Should be fun, hope dd loves it.

How old is your dd? The kits are not suitable for under 18’s.

@MyDcAreMarvel

How old is your dd? The kits are not suitable for under 18’s.

Why not? I'm sure they vary and you would have to check the contents but the one I did would have been fine.

Shes turning 15, the one I bought was for 13+ and I'm adapting it at the moment.

Lots of them were 13+ I didn't see any for over 18s only.

We loved doing these at uni. There was a group of 10 us who took turns to host every couple of months. We bought the kits. They came with chqrxter descriptions, clues, partial script if required, some had DVDs of a 'detective' who interrupted the dinner to investigate. They were brilliant fun. But much better when everyone could get a little bit drunk!