A couple of
months ago, I decided to host a murder mystery party. I looked around for the
perfect game template, but couldn’t find one I liked. Most of them had long
scripts to follow, but I wanted to give my guests the freedom to ad lib. In the
end, I decided to create my own game. It ended up being a lot of fun, so I
thought I’d share it. Feel free to borrow this for your own party, or even
better, perhaps the will inspire you to write your own game!
My game sort
of morphed into a cross between a traditional murder mystery and a scavenger hunt.
Before the guests arrived, I hid various notes around the house. These
included:
Ø Investigate: Present this card to any
player. They must show you one clue of their choice. They then take ownership
of the card. (Can be reused/traded)
Ø Blackmail: You may use this card on only one person. When
presented with this card, the player of your choice must reveal to you, any new
information (gossip) they collect throughout the course of the game. (become
the player’s informant)
Ø
Form an alliance: Choose another player
with which, you will share all your personal information, as well as clues
collected. They will do the same.
Ø Psychic vision: Look into the future. Select one gameplay envelope to
read ahead of time
Ø Friendly Wager: Challenge another player. Decide between each other
how many pieces of information you want to wager and roll a dice. Winner takes
all, including the card. (Card can be reused.)
Ø Robin Hood: Take one piece of info from one player and give it to
another (not yourself)
The number of each cards
you print/hide should depend on the number of people you have invited. I only
had a small group, so I had 4 investigate cards, 2 blackmail, 2 alliance, and one of each of the others. I typed out the
card description, printed it and glued it to a rectangle of cardstock. Then I
hid them in inconspicuous places, for my guests to find.
I also hid various other
clues (or red herrings), which included, belongings to the deceased, eviction
notice, ticket to an event, last will and testament ect. Depending on your
premise, you can include many other things which elude to the murder, but not
reveal anything away too early. Photographs, newspaper clippings, birth
certificates, diagrams, maps, obituary, police reports, coded messages, ect, are all good examples
of things you can hide, which beef up your story a bit. Remember, not
everything has to lead directly to solving.
I also,
prepared 3 envelopes, which I called “gameplay” envelopes. These contained
information which progressed the arc of the story. These included the
toxicology report (overdose via syringe to the neck); a witness statement (Masked
man seen fleeing the building at 6:15); and a note from the murderer, arranging
a meeting (the note had terrible hand writing…almost as if a doctor had wrote
it). These are key pieces of information, and should be left for the last
quarter of the game. You don’t want to reveal too much, too soon.
I did not
give my guests advanced notice of which characters they’d be playing. Instead I
put the character descriptions on individual pieces of cardstock, and put them
in plastic dollar store Halloween bags. I also put pieces of costumes in the
bags. For example, I had a homemade nun’s habit (out of black material glued to
white Bristol board) in one bag, a cowboy hat in another, a doctor’s stethoscope
in another, etc. So everyone received a simple costume, depending on which bag
they chose. It was luck of the draw who they got.
Also in the
bag was small notepads and a pencil, for taking notes, and sharing information
with each other without having a neighbour over hear.
Once the
guests arrived, they each chose a bag, read their descriptions to themselves,
dressed up in the provided attire, and the game began. They were encouraged to
talk amongst themselves, in character. The hidden game pieces helped facilitate
spreading the clues slowly amongst the group.
As the host (I dressed as Skipper Seamus Bayman, the Chase
the Ace winner), I read out the following, to give the guests an overview of
what the mystery is:
Theodore Bawdy, Local
business man: Deceased
Police received an
anonymous tip at 6:42pm, yesterday evening. Upon arrival to a residence in the
city, they discovered the dead body of Mr. Ted Bawdy.
Successful
real-estate agent and owner of several rental properties across the city, Mr.
Bawdy had a direct impact on the community. As organizer of the most successful
Chase the Ace in town, he gained notoriety. However, there have been rumours
that everything wasn’t on the up and up, and there are theories that there may
be criminal ties to Mr. Bawdy’s demise.
Last seen at the
local church, where he apparently had a heated argument with Sister Mary
Swindle around 5:30 pm. He stormed out of the church hall in a huff, only to be
approached by Skipper Seamus Bayman looking for his ACE winnings, of last week.
According to eye witnesses, Mr. Bawdy strong-armed him to the ground, as he
stormed towards his car, and sped off. No word on if Mr. Bayman intended to
press assault charges.
Cause of death is
still undetermined. We are still waiting to hear back from the autopsy results.
Foul play is suspected and it is rumoured there was a witness to the event.
Police are advising the public to remain vigilant.
The character descriptions each guest received individually
are as follows:
Mr. Bawdy was your landlord, but also your business partner.
You’ve been cooking some sick meth next door, and Mr. Bawdy took care of the
business side of things. But he was starting to cramp your style. You know you
can make it on your own. After all, it was your idea to use the Chase the Ace
as a way to launder the money earned from your little side business. It was
genius. You had a few of your buddies regularly buy large quantities of
tickets. You paid off a guy at Staples, who was doing the ticket printing, to
fudge up the ticket numbers and rig it so, only the ticket belonging to your
crew would be drawn. It was wicked, especially since Mr. Bawdy was in with that
savage nun, wha? She’s something else, she is. But either way, at least she was
willing to turn a blind eye, so long as the church received a “donation” for
their troubles, and you got the other cut back as clean untraceable money. It
was fool proof, until Mr. Bawdy got involved. He wanted to make it bigger. He
started to advertise, so he could not only launder your drug money, but also
turn a profit. He got greedy! It got too big. People started to notice the phony
ticket numbers and demanded they change printers. Mr. Bawdy kept saying it
didn’t matter. Enough of the tickets were in your friend’s possession that the
odds were still in your favour even without the phony ticket number. But you
knows what happened! Some feller from around da bay won it! Horseshoe up is
arse I spose. You coulda killed him! How are you going to get your money now?
You owed a few unsavoury people some money. You were really
relying on that Ace cash. Now that that’s gone, desperate times called for
desperate measures. That Marie’s Mini Mart only had the one attendant on that
night. You figured it would have been an easy target. Too bad the cops were in
the area. You ended up spending the whole weekend in lockup. I bet it was that
ol’ bat across the road. She probably called the cops on you. It wouldn’t have
been the first time. She’s always going on about noise complaints. She usually
complains about your dog making too much noise. But you know Killer only barks
at one person: Mr. Bawdy’s son, Teddy. I guess Killer knows a twat when he sees
one.
You keep to yourself. Miss puss is better company than any person
you’ve met. And you certainly wouldn’t associate with any of those neighbours of
yours. You’re certain they’re all drug dealers and that your landlord, Mr.
Bawdy, is in on it. If only you could get some proof. That would have put him
in his place, for trying to evict you. He said his reasoning was because you
didn’t pay your rent for 3 months, but it’s not your fault. He raised the rent
so high you couldn’t possibly afford it on your fixed income. You’re certain he
only did that to get rid of you. He knew, you knew too much.
It wasn’t even just about his nasty business dealings. You
knew about the mistress too. He’d bring her back to the rental across the
street for a romp in the sack, then send her on her way. Hardly true love. She
was half his age anyway. Clearly she’s only with him for his money. But then
again, you’re sure Bawdy’s wife would have a thing or two to say about that.
She’s one feisty bitch. You know she’s not letting go of her fortune without a
fight.
As much as an
inconvenience getting evicted is, you’re not sad to leave the cul-de-sac. The
kid Bawdy is always hanging around, is hardly a good neighbour. He’s always
having parties, and making a ruckus. And
that dog! He can’t control it. Once it starts barking they’ve got a job to shut
it up. You called the police on them the last time the dog started up. How can
miss puss get any peace with that dreadful beast across the road barking like
mad? Come to think of it, that was the same night they found Bawdy’s body. It
was around 6:20 or so. You must have called in a noise complaint about the dog
just before the killer attacked Bawdy. Terrifying to think you were just meters
away from where it all happened. Yes, much better to get out of this horrid neighbourhood.
Well things are not going according to plan for you. You
were up-along making that Alberta money, when one of your buddies tells you
they heard your father was making a fortune running a drug ring back home. You
had no choice but to go home, back on the rock. You and your father haven’t
exactly been on good terms lately and you knew for a fact that your father has
been messing around with some young missus. She’s clearly making a play for his
money, and if your father is making as much as your buddy says he is, then you
want to make sure you get a piece of that pie! You were determined to go home
and interject yourself into your father’s business…whether he likes it or not.
If he refuses…well you can use his girlfriend as blackmail. Your mom will kill
him if she finds out he’s been stepping out on her.
You went to the church, the evening in question, to
volunteer to help with the fall fair. (It was your mudder who made you go) The
only reason you agreed to it was because you found out Pete Reedish was going
to be there. You’re favourite pastime is giving him a hard time. He’s got no
sense of humour, b’y. He deserves it really, because he takes himself too
seriously. It would be hilarious if you’d got a chance to stick his head in the
urinal at the church hall. Little piss head! You didn’t get a chance to have
your fun though. While the other volunteers were working to set up the booths,
you were in the corner texting. Suddenly a paper airplane flew into your lap.
On it, it read, “Meet me at 100 Main St at 6:00pm. I have information about
your father’s business and how you can get your hands on his money. Cameron
Mann”. You couldn’t believe your luck. That’s the reporter from the News. If
anyone had dirt on your father, it’d be him. The more info you had, the more
you could blackmail the old man for. You snuck out of the church, and to the
house. When you got out of your car, the neighbor’s stupid dog started barking,
again! It does that every time you come around. You decided to teach it a
lesson and went over there to give it a few kicks. You got so distracted, you
lost track of time. It wasn’t until you saw your father’s mistress run out of
the house that you realized the time…6:20. You figured if she’s here, so is
your father. You didn’t want to get caught digging up dirt on him, so you just
went home.
You are the
wife of the decease. But you’re not exactly the grieving widow. In fact you’re
happy he’s gone. And after collecting the insurance money, you’re richer than
ever too. That bimbo he’s been messing around with never managed to get a dime.
Ted thought you didn’t know about her, but you have your own friends. You’ve
been sleeping with someone; a man named Blake Sheap, and he told you he saw
them together. Well now you’re free to continue your relationship with Blake,
out in the open.
Although lately,
Blake has been more distant and hardly ever around. It was a little worrisome
when he didn’t show up to the church, to volunteer for the Fall Fair. If your
husband wouldn’t come with you, you were determined to bring a “friend” to make
him jealous. But instead Blake had made you look like a fool, by standing you
up. You had to drag that oaf of a son of yours with you instead. Even he
disappeared on you before the night was over. How dare they embarrass you in
front of all the members of the Ladies Auxiliary? How undignified must you have
looked when you had to call for a cab at 8:00pm to get home, by yourself. You
could have killed all three of them.
Oh My! You wish you had never heard the name Ted Bawdy. Ever since he
started coming around there’s been nothing but trouble. You had good
intentions, but things got way out of hand.
He first came around with the idea of doing a Chase the Ace. You knew he
had a criminal past but turn the other cheek and all that. Why not trust him?
Chase the Ace has worked so well for fundraising for other churches in the
past. Why not yours too? But you slowly started to notice that some things
weren’t as they should be. There was that mess with the duplicate ticket
numbers, and not to mention the hard looking people who’ve been stopping by.
But who are you to judge? People in glass houses ought not to throw stones. As
long as the church was getting their cut of the winnings, you found it easy to
turn a blind eye to the underhandedness. After all, you can’t very well turn
down a donation for the church, even if it comes from a drug dealer. Think of
all the good you can do with that money.
Now that the game is over, you could move on with the regular church
activities. You tried to rope Mr. Bawdy in to volunteer to set up for the Fall
Fair, but he wriggled out of it, and volunteered his wife instead. In total,
aside from the regulars on the Ladies Auxiliary, you expected 4 volunteers.
Some man named Blake Sheap, who never showed up first or last; Mr. Bawdy’s son,
who spent a half hour on their phone and then disappeared; Mrs. Bawdy, who
wouldn’t know a hard day’s work if it bit her on the bum; and Dr. Pete Reedish.
It’s too bad the doctor got called away with an emergency to attend to. We
could have really used his help.
You are an
emotional wreck. You haven’t slept a wink since your Ted was attacked. Sure he
was a little grody, but he paid for everything and gave you presents, so you’re
like really going to miss him! And to think you had almost convinced him to
take his son out of his will and to divorce his wife. You were so close to
getting everything you’ve ever wanted. Oh why did he have to die so soon?
And now you’re
so worried that someone might come after you. That night was like sooooo scary!
|
You had met
up with Ted at the usual spot, to let him rub up against you for a bit.
(These nights were never pleasant, but if you just count the ceiling tiles or
something, it’ll be over before you know it. And you might get a new pair of
earrings out of it.) When you arrived, the first thing you noticed was the neighbour’s
dog was going nuts. It struck you strange because he was always pretty quiet
any other time you visited the property. You both hurried in, and as you were
walking through the door, a masked figure, wearing a black cloak jumped out
of the shadows and attacked Ted! Now Ted’s Dead!
Luckily the
figure didn’t try to hurt you. You must have been too pretty to want to hurt.
He or she just ran past you and out the door. You were left just staring at
Bawdy’s body. Gross!! Once you got a hold of yourself you ran out the door
and to your car as fast as you could. When you got back home you called the
police and left an anonymous tip. You didn’t want to leave your name, because
a) there’s a killer on the loose, who knows there was a witness and b) Ted’s
wife doesn’t know about you. All you told the police was that you had seen a
cloaked figure in a mask, with a weapon, fleeing the building around 6:15,
and hoped they’d go investigate.
|
|
You are a reporter for local news, but you are
currently going undercover to try and get an exposé on the dirty dealings of
Mr. Ted Bawdy. You are going by the alias Blake Sheap
You know that
Bawdy was conducting a major drug operation and you suspected the Chase the Ace
was a cover for something. But what? You’re sure that shady nun has something
to do with it too.
While
disguised, you managed to make friends with Bawdy. Unfortunately, you made one
missed step. You started sleeping with his wife behind his back. Somehow Bawdy
found out and confronted you. He threatened violence, and told you to sleep
with one eye open. Rather than sit around waiting for Bawdy to get you, you
decided to take the offensive. You took martial arts classes and are ready for
a fight. When the time is right you were going to attack Bawdy, before he gets
a chance to attack you. At least then you’d have the element of surprise in
your favour. But now it looks like someone has beaten you to the punch
(literally).
You heard the
news while you were on set for the news. Your bosses asked you to present a
special news bulletin and there it was. Ted Bawdy, dead. Well this story has taken a turn. But you’re
not giving up. You’ll find the truth or your name isn’t Blake
Sheap…errrr…Cameron Mann!
Keep this
secret: YOU ARE THE KILLER!!!
Alibi: You were signed up to volunteer at the church, but
called in and said you had an “emergency”. As a doctor no one would question
it. Feel free to elaborate or lie when
asked to reveal clues about yourself.
You had a hard
time growing up. You were a bit of a nerd and kids at school used to pick on
you. Worst of all was Teddy Bawdy Jr. He made your life a living Hell! It got a
little easier after graduation when he moved up to the mainland. You got your
degree and opened your own health clinic. You were finally starting to feel
good about yourself, when low and behold who should show up, back in town, but
your childhood tormentor. And he picked up, right where he left off. It was
embarrassing to be a grown man and yet feel powerless against his belittlement.
The final straw was when he gave you a swirly whirly in the Sobeys bathroom
after a cooking class a couple evening’s ago. You decided the world would be
better off without that scumbag.
You sent him a
note, telling him to meet at one of his dad’s apartments. You implied you had
some information regarding his father’s activities and how he can get his hands
on his fortune. You knew that would be enough to peak his interest. All he
cares about is money. You signed it from Cameron Mann, the reporter from the
local news. Everyone knew he’d been snooping around Bawdy Sr.’s business.
You set the trap and then
waited in the dark with a syringe full of barbiturates. It will look like an
overdose. There is just one snag. You didn’t realise that this was also where
Bawdy Sr. and Helen Earth met to hook up. When the door open you sprang forward
and jabbed the needle into a neck, and ran! You realized too late that it
wasn’t Bawdy Jr you attacked. It was his father Bawdy Sr! And even worst, Ms.
Earth saw the whole thing! There goes your plan to make it look like an
overdose. Now you’re going to have to shut her up before she talks to anyone.
Your challenge: Sometime through
the course of the evening you need to dispose of the witness. When the
opportunity is right, give Helen Earth the victim card. But be careful no one
sees you. You don’t need any more witnesses!
VICTIM
(You
are now dead! Sorry ‘bout it!)
|
And that is the gist of the game. The best part of creating
your own, is you can make it personal, and you can add as many players as you
need, for the number of guest you have. This format worked really well for my
friends and I, and I hope it has inspired you to create your own murder
mystery.
Tips when
writing your story:
- Come up with a premise first. To make it more
personal, try using current events, inside jokes, or topics you know your
guests will be interested in.
- Give every suspect a motive. Everyone gets a
motive; some people had the means to do it; but only one had the opportunity.
- Put in lots of Red Herrings to distract from the
truth. Muddy the waters at the beginning to create intrigue.
- Create at least 2-3 sub-plots. Breaking the
suspects into different storylines that involve the deceased, will give your
characters links to each other, and assist conversation.
- Be Theatrical. The more over-the-top, the more
fun you’ll have.
- Include a smoking gun (the clue that points to
the guilty party). For me, it was the note, arranging a meeting. Do not reveal your
key piece of evidence until at least 75% of the way through the party.
- Give every suspect a whimsical name; age; relationships
amongst each other; contact with the victim; motive; etc
- Make sure that no one suspect can have enough
info to solve. The story needs to be like a pie. Each player gets one piece of
the pie. To solve the mystery, the players must extract knowledge from each other.
- Keep in mind your timeline – When was the body
found? Time of death? Who was where, when?
Good luck, and Happy Sleuthing!
