Murder Mystery Party Kit Details
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Backstory
The guests will be playing the roles of surviving crewmembers of the wrecked pirate ship Retribution. While navigating toward a remote Caribbean island, the purported resting place of the famous Treasure of the Lost Grotto, a huge storm erupted and the ship hit a large reef, splitting the hull. The ship was within sight of the island, and nine pirates, including their leader, Captain Bartholomew Pryce, were able to salvage planks from the wreckage and use them to assist in the swim to shore. The rest of the crew perished.
Murder!
Awakening from their first night on the island—spent in exhaustion on the beach—the pirates find that the captain has been murdered, and the treasure map, which he kept on his person at all times, has been stolen!
Solving the Mystery:
Now it’s up to the guests to determine who murdered the captain in order to recover the treasure map, find the treasure, and, of course, exact pirate justice!
There are 8 primary characters in this game. Read the "How to Play" section for instructions on how to play this game with more than 8 people.
* = Optional character
- Olde Lucky, Aging Pirate: Olde Lucky has been a pirate for forty years. He’s seen a lot of action and is missing the body parts to show it. He may be going a little senile.
- Master Luftinant, Former Naval Officer: Once an officer in the Royal Navy, Master Luftinant became a pirate after a mutiny gone awry. He still maintains a certain military stiffness.
- Celine du Nuit, French Exile: Celine is a French deportee and the widow of legendary buccaneer Philippe de Berry. She uses a falsely naïve demeanor to catch her enemies off guard.
- Orphan Ollie, Cabin Boy: After losing his parents, Orphan Ollie stowed away on a merchant ship, which was subsequently captured by Captain Pryce and his crew. At only eleven years old, he is a master pickpocket.
- Ramsay Prescott, Former Privateer: Ramsay Prescott was once a crewmember on a privateering vessel, but he opted for a life of piracy after discovering the much more equitable distribution of loot amongst pirates. He always wants his fair share.
- Estella Buckham, Swashbuckling Beauty: Estella grew up in Charles Town but left home in her teens. She is quick-witted, hotheaded, and masterful with the sword.
- Sidney Sheffield, Young Aristocrat: Sidney Sheffield is the child of Baron Sheffield. Shirking noble duty, Sidney left home in search of adventure but has not yet learned how to fit in amongst pirates.
- Sawin’ Sister Sarah, Ship Doctor: Sarah was the mender of wounds, letter of blood, extractor of teeth, and remover of limbs on board the Retribution. She may also be a witch.
Extra Players
- *Investigator: If you have more than 8 players, additional players have the option of playing the role of "Investigators". In this role the players are not suspects and do not have character backgrounds but can question the suspects and try to solve the mystery along with the other players.
Our line of 30 Minute Mysteries is specially designed for fast setup and easy play. All you need to do to get started is:
- Print out the party guide
- Gather a group of players
- Hand out character sheets and name tags
- Follow the party guide instructions
Best of all, the party facilitator can choose whether they join in the game and solve the mystery along with the other guests!
Playing the Game
While this mystery has 8 primary characters, it is designed to accommodate any number of additional players. See the "Expanded Game for Large Groups" section below if you have more than 8 players.
Each of the players will be assigned a character and given a character sheet that explains who or what their character is, what information their character knows, and how their character should respond to events that occur during the game.
The game will progress in rounds.
Round One will start with the party's host or hostess reading a script that explains the nature of the mystery that is afoot. After the introduction is read, each player at the table will share a piece of information from their character sheet, and all the other players will have an opportunity to respond to that piece of information.
Round Two begins with the host sharing a clue that should shed further light on the mystery. After the clue is revealed, the players will once again go around the table, providing another piece of information and then responding.
Round Three, the final round, begins with the host sharing the last clue. The players then go around the table a final time, sharing their last piece of information and responding to each other.
By this point, the players should have learned enough information to be able to piece together a theory about who was responsible for the murder. Each player (or team) will say the name of the person who they think is responsible. The host will then read the final page of the mystery aloud, revealing the culprit. Any player or couple who correctly guessed the identity of the killer is declared a winner.
From start to finish, the entire game should generally only require half an hour to complete.
Note: As the host or hostess, there are certain times when you will be called upon to read aloud passages from this booklet. Passages that are meant to be read aloud will be clearly labeled and contained in a gray box.
What Do I Need in Order to Play?
Our 30 Minute Mysteries are specifically designed to not require very much in the way of supplies. All you really need is:
- a table to sit around (or a large playing area where the guests can sit in a circle)
- a group of players (minimum 8 people)
- a printed copy of this booklet
- a pair of scissors (to cut out nametag placards for each character)
- pencils or pens for each player
Optional:
- Scratch paper (for players to take notes on)
- Folders (to help players conceal their character sheets)
If you wish to do so, you may also choose to provide prizes for the winner or winners (any players who accurately identify the culprit). Some suggested prizes might include candy, bath and body products, homemade treats or any other small, inexpensive gift item; remember that it is possible for multiple players to win, so if you choose to offer prizes, make sure you have enough on hand!
Expanded Game For Large Groups
If you have more than 8 players, there are three ways that you can accommodate everyone:
- Investigator Role - Using this method, eight guests play the primary characters while the remainder of the guests each play the Investigator role. Players in this role are not suspects and do not have character backgrounds but can question the suspects and try to solve the mystery along with the other players.
- Teams - Each primary character can be played by 2 or more people that work together as a team. This works well if you've invited several couples to your event, but also works if you break up your guests into eight larger teams of 3 or more guests.
- Multiple Groups - If you have 16 or more guests, you can break them up into groups of 8 players and run multiple instances of the game on their own. This method is best for large events (e.g. fundraisers) where each table of people can play through the game independently. This method goes well with the Investigator method, which allows you the flexibility to add more than 8 people to any group.
Both the standard and expanded games are included with the purchase of any game kit.
A Pryce in Blood is a 26-page downloadable PDF file that you print at home. It includes the following features:
- An introduction that explains the basic principles of running a 30-Minute Mystery
- A detailed party guidebook that will walk you through the event in a simple, easy-to-understand format
- Nametags and character sheets for each player - the character sheets include special goals and information unique to each character
- Step-by-step printing instructions
- And much more!
Result filter:
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- Ownership
- more than 2 year(s)
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Game Rating:
- Dried fish (goldfish), boiled sea water (bottled water), ye old rope (red vines), and buried treasure (chocolate coins in a treasure chest)
- The invitation set the mood, plus encouragement to dress like a pirate.
- more than 2 year(s)
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Game Rating:
- No menu since we did a virtual game. Some people added to the fun with bottles and steins like pirates would use.
- I added virtual backgrounds, had players change their name on the screen to match their character. A powerpoint to give visual clues, and music in the background. Sent out a formal invite in their emails, and posted pirate things in the chatrooms the week before to build interest and keep them thinking about the event.
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Game Rating:
- Just good wholesome fun!
- I used music from the Pirates of the Caribbean movie to set the tone.
- more than 3 year(s)
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Game Rating:
- more than 3 year(s)
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Game Rating:
We had a surprise 40th Murder Mystery dinner for my sister.
We had the kids join us, youngest was 6, and because the game was fairly quick, the kids stayed engaged for whole game. We would have liked a more of a scripted dialogue - it did jump around a bit. I would recommend that the host not play the game, but rather read the whole thing through before hand in order to steer the game in the right direction.
- Our table had shells, ropes, chocolates gold coins, candles etc.
- more than 4 year(s)
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Game Rating:
We timed the party so it midday for us and the start of the evening in Germany.
It was excellent - everyone enjoyed the nuances of the characters. We had quite a bit of laughter.
Because the characters were not evenly gender split we had fun adding a bit to the story line to make the characters fit our group.
- WE did not have food because it was virtual
- Encouraged the players to wear costumes.
- more than 4 year(s)
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Game Rating:
We are looking forward to our next event!
- We served "treasure maps" (fruit roll-ups) & "gold nuggets" (cheese puffs) out of a treasure chest!
- We outlined a skeleton on the floor to set the mood & provided costume accents for each guest.
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Game Rating:
- On Zoom, we had all pirate dress up and have props. We had pirate music playing prior and after to our event. We actually ran two sessions. The hosts and pirates all used backgrounds for our pirates and set up a PowerPoint to illustrate our story, as we went along. We also created a fun email invite to send out to advertise our murder mystery for the corporate event
- more than 4 year(s)
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Game Rating:
- Cake with pomegranate filling for a spill over blood effect.
- Party was in full swing, assigned guest shrieked there had been guest murdered. Suspects were named and sat to "explain". We had props and decorations to support pirate theme.
- more than 4 year(s)
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Game Rating:
- "everything red"
(virgin) Bloody Mary's, red wine, sprite w/grenedine
Caprese Salad
Spaghetti Bolognese and/or lasagna
Red Velvet cake with cheese cake frosting and red letters written on it: Murder Mystery
- The table was set in the roaring 20's style and some pencils and little booklets for writing down details, we had Spotify play 20's music and some family members dressed up as their character.
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Game Rating:
- Change Zoom background (think pirate background), wear costumes, change Zoom name to reflect your character, talk in character
- more than 5 year(s)
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Game Rating:
- 9 people served at my Mom's retirement community dining room.
Performed the 3 rounds before the 3 courses - Nautical themed wardrobe accent items like belts, scarves, hats, an apron.
- more than 5 year(s)
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Game Rating:
- more than 5 year(s)
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Game Rating:
- Snacks
- more than 5 year(s)
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Game Rating:
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Party Sound Effects
Each of our full length Mystery Party Kits* comes with its own music and sound effects to help bring the game's story to life.
Example Sound File
Download the music (included in kit) and play it as MP3's or burn it to a CD to play in your home audio system when you host the murder mystery dinner party.
*Audio not included with 30 Minute Mystery games
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