Murder Mystery Maniacs::: Host Guidelines

Host / Hostess Guidelines

Thank you again for your interest in our murder mystery parties! Here are a few guidelines that have worked well in the past. Feel free to follow this or expand the game how you see fit.

One week before the party: Within the package you received from us, you will find a stack of papers offering the scenario and the character’s costume suggestion, and a stack of envelopes with “suspect” printed on them. Approximately 1 week before the party, determine which guest will play which character. Upon making this critical decision, fold the costume suggestion/ scenario paper and place it inside the envelope labeled “suspect.” Next, write your guests name on the line that says “Suspect Name”. Your guest will then discover who their character is, their occupation and various costume ideas. If you’re interested in having guests bring a dish to the party, administer a menu at this time and let them choose an item to bring. As Host/Hostess, you may decide to provide a main course item and beverages.

Set the stage: Decorate your location for the theme of the party. Stuff some clothes to make a dummy body (the victim). Put the body in a closet or a closed off room. Put a sign on the outside indicating the location of the crime. Have small notebooks (for note taking) for your guests as well as pens or pencils. Some of the characters may have a special talent, so offer them the opportunity to perform these throughout the night. Go to a party store for inexpensive props (a cop badge and cuffs might be a good effect to take the murderer in custody at the end of the night). Have a camera ready to capture the action.

The night of the party: We like to center our game around food, so providing appetizers or a series of courses works well. We tell our guests that they may sit at any table for any course of the meal. Between courses, we encourage people to move around and mingle (question) with the other guests. Most importantly, relax...this party is designed to run itself. It requires no special props or acting abilities, just a willingness to have fun and immerse yourself in the character. Your guests do not need to study or memorize any scripts or other information about the scenario. Here are some helpful suggestions:

Create your victim. The creation of a victim could be clothes stuffed or a chalk outline of a body to indicate a murder has taken place. Get creative with this. The fake body, or whatever device you choose, provides an added humor to your party.
After all guests have arrived and are settled, create a bang of some sort. The idea of behind this bang to clue guests in that the mystery is starting and to provide an element of surprise. Examples of a startling noise are a gun shot or balloon popping. After the bang has been sounded, lead guests to the victim.
Read the Rules: Click here to see the rules
Pass out the Character Envelopes, notebooks to record their investigations and conclusions, and a writing utensil.
Give everyone a few minutes to read their roles. Inform them that they are encouraged to embellish on the description of their character given to them. At this time, recommend that the murderer begin to fabricate clever lies to tell. After everyone has become adequately acquainted with their character, start the game.
Begin the game by announcing game’s anticipated duration. This anticipated duration is the time when guests interview one another. Generally this period of the game lasts for an hour, but can take longer if the guest count is high.
After guests have completed a satisfactory investigation, round them up and have them submit their results. Announce to them that their results should include the murderer, the motive, weapon, and opportunity. Furthermore have them put their name and their character’s name at the top of their submission.
Tally the results and announce to all guests who the murderer is and their motive, weapon, and opportunity. If you feel inclined, delegate awards to the individual who solved the murder and the guest who got into their character the best.

Tips & Tricks:

Announce in the beginning of the party how long you will play the mystery for. A good RoT (Rule of Thumb) is about an hour per 12 people. If you have more or less & would like a professional opinion on how long your party should go for, call or email one of our brilliant murder mystery specialists and they can provide some amazing insight on to creating a memorable event. I would shy away from calling before 9AM as we are just finishing our first cup of coffee & sometimes have trouble providing amazing advice.
If you have a guest cancels the night of your party? We attempt to make ourselves available the night of the party via phone @ 1.877-213-2423. If we can’t be reached, open your solution envelope, and make sure the missing guest isn’t one of your critical people.
Check out our blog for ideas. www.host-a-murder.com/blog

The Rules of the Game

Everybody is encouraged to elaborate on the character description they are given. However, nobody can lie about the details regarding a motive, weapon or opportunity, except the murderer. The murderer is the only person who can lie. If you do not have information regarding a motive, weapon, or opportunity then you must assume you do not have it.
Interview each other through mingling; do not conduct the interviewing process by sitting in a large circle. If you sit around as one large group in a circular fashion you will find that the murderer will have a very difficult time lying or spreading rumors. If the murderer doesn't have the opportunity to do those things you will find it much too easy to solve the mystery.
This game is not designed as a cooperative game, so don’t share your hard earned research with your neighbor.
During the interviewing process you will gather many clues. However, you only have to answer questions pertaining to the clues in your character description. You don't have to give away any clues that you have found, after all, the murderer may have given them to you and they may be a lie.
Upon completion of the investigation, submit written results to the host. Verbal answers will NOT be accepted
Explain to the participants that at the end of the interview period they are required to submit a written guess to whom the murderer is. Additionally, explain to them that for the mystery to be solved properly they need to link the murderer with a motive, weapon, and the opportunity. For example, if I am playing the part of Paula and I am interviewing Ryan Seacrest, I need to ask him questions relating to his role, and if his character had clues & rumors about the other people at the mystery. He doesn’t have to share information he has collected, only the information contained inside of his character envelope.
Emphasize that each guest should not only ask questions about the person they are interviewing. But also ask if the character they are interviewing has any clues & rumors about other characters in their envelope. They don't need to share information they have collected, only that in which they were provided. They can use information they have collected as a form of currency to bribe other characters for information (if both participants agree to the trade).

If you would like to hear this explained by one of the maniacs, call toll free 1.877.213.2423 or e-mail us.