How to Throw Murder Mystery Game Party
When it comes to murder mystery parties, you should have in mind that they can go in numerous directions and depend on multiple factors such as complexity of story, theme, number of guests and many more.
A first and most important factor is to pick a perfect theme that will provide enjoyment to your guests. Therefore, you have to think about a number of people that you wish to invite as well as their interests.
You should create a list and write down each idea in bullet points so that you can determine whether it would be exciting or not.
Think about their interests such as movies and shows that they like to watch, do they like sports, and when you list all interests, you will be able to identify similarities between them. You can also find boxed or downloadable murder mystery game to reduce the hassle of doing it yourself.
It is crucial to eliminate ideas that will not appeal to your guests based on characters and choose the theme based on collective interests.
Write a Compelling Story
You can use already established murder mystery narrative while drafting or think everything from scratch. Everything depends on your preparation time. If you wish to save money and increase your creativity, we recommend you to do it yourself because it can be fun.
Of course, beforehand, you should learn how to do it. When it comes to these types of stories, you can choose the two most common types: free play or scripted game. If you create a scripted murder mystery party, everyone should read lines that you prepared beforehand.
They will have written dialogues as well as already established action, which can be exciting. This will create a fast-paced game and make sure that everyone stays in the element. Of course, the level of enjoyment depends on your writing skills.
On the other hand, if you choose a free play alternative, you do not have to create a script, but only an outline of acting and speaking prompts. However, for most times, others can act the way they want and change the idea of the story as the party goes further.
This will create a more exciting game that will give your guests a sense of control as well as creative involvement with how they will play their character or solve a particular mystery.
Whatever you decide to choose, you should know that the decision should depend on what you want to achieve and with whom you are playing at the same time. Both possibilities can be exciting and fun; everything depends on you as a game master.
You should click here to learn more about murder mystery stories in general.
The actual story can feature numerous details that you can implement inside, and it does not matter how many of them you decide to include because you have to connect them entirely and create motivation for the entire narrative.
Character descriptions can have false accusations as well as red herrings, but all shreds of evidence that you wish to add should be connected with the solution.
The main reason for that is because it can get overwhelming and confusing as time goes by, which is why you should think everything through.
If you wish for everyone to enjoy, you have to think about simplicity as the general rule. The more you host these parties, the more you will be able to make them complicated.
In case you are writing your own mystery story, you should implement these elements:
- Introduction – This is the story that you will read to your guests before they start introducing themselves with characters you planned for them. It should be based on the murder context and feature necessary information that everyone should know about their character’s involvement in the storyline.
- Description Cards for Characters – Each character should have a straightforward biography that will describe their characteristics, occupation, clues to the murder as well as connection with other guests and personalities. Clues and connections are the most critical factors that will help them determine their involvement.
- Evidence – These description cards should provide your guests with evidence throughout the game; for instance, it should be connected with the storyline and help others identify and solve the mystery.
- Solution – This is what you will read when the guests start to reach their conclusions about the murderer. Remember that the answer should be derived from characters and their stories as well as evidence that you implemented beforehand.
Rules That Everyone Should Follow
During the game, it is vital to stay in character all the way. This is an important rule because it will affect all people that are participating. If you are a host, you should encourage this by creating a character for yourself as well.
It means that you should add something specific such as accent, and interact with prop specific for a particular character. At the same time, you should refer to your guests by their character names.
You can create an additional incentive for your guests to stay in character by giving them negative points and consequences if they break from it. It can be wearing a dunce cap when breaking a character or placing a few coins into a jar.
The relevant rule is to follow the scrip all the time. Each guest should have confidential information that could be shared only at specific times during the game. Therefore, you reveal information when time is right so that you can handle everything.
Check this guide: https://m.wikihow.com/Host-a-Murder-Mystery-Party to learn how to host a murder mystery party with ease.
Conclusion
Being a game host is not a simple activity because you have to think about everything and avoid being tedious and dull along the way. At the same time, it is much better to experience being a character first and see how experienced game hosts act before you become one.
That way, you will be able to get first-hand tips on how to create meaningful excitement and enjoyment for your friends and family as well as other guests.
It is vital to prepare yourself thoroughly so that you can provide to your friends a time of their lives.