Murder Mystery Party Kit Details
Backstory
The guests will be playing the roles of monsters sharing a haunted house. Every year, the monsters open their home on 213 Elm Street to the public on Halloween for a fright-filled haunted house tour. They use the proceeds from the haunted house to buy household supplies for the rest of year, during which time the house stays boarded up and we stay inside. If the townspeople ever discovered the monsters in the haunted house were real, they would certainly drive them away – or worse.
The success of the haunted house hinges on a climactic scene in the cellar, when The Thing is revealed. Advertised for hundreds of miles on every billboard in every direction – “See The Thing!” “What is The Thing? See for Yourself!” – thrill-seekers and the merely curious come from distant cities to see The Thing, and it never disappoints. Those who have seen The Thing eagerly attest that it is the scariest sight they have witnessed in their entire lives. No one seems able to describe The Thing, and they all agree: you have to see it for yourself.
Solving the Mystery:
It is the night before Halloween, and the monsters have just discovered that the key to the cellar where The Thing is kept is missing – someone has stolen it! Without The Thing, the haunted house will be a failure, the monsters’ reputations will be ruined, and they won’t have enough money to buy supplies for the rest of the year. How will they live and keep their identities secret? They have to find the key!
Murder-free and family friendly!
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
- Rex Tuttle: A mummy. Pretentious and a bit prim, Rex likes to remind everyone that he was once The Thing, and not just on Halloween - his gas station shrine was open all year!
- Lee Walker: A former mall employee, Lee was bitten by a zombie shopper last Christmas, eventually ending up at 213 Elm Street with a strange craving for brains.
- Frank Stein: A reanimated corpse, the result of a science experiment gone awry. A kindhearted simpleton, he doesn’t know his own strength. Married to Elaine Stein.
- Elaine Stein: Also a corpse reanimated in the name of science, she is the unhappy wife of Frank Stein.
- Earl King: A goblin who stands only three feet tall, he is the smallest member of the household – and also the loudest and most annoying. He is always playing tricks on his housemates and bragging about his greatness.
- Cameron Vaduva: A bewitchingly attractive vampire who wants little to do with the other residents of the house.
- Waylon Lupescu: Burly, boastful, and swaggering, Waylon is a giant of a man with bulging muscles and rough-hewn features. Every full moon, he turns into a fearsome wolf-like beast.
- Terry White: A ghost. Kind, gentle, and non-corporeal, Terry chose to move to 213 Elm Street after trying unsuccessfully to live peacefully with several living families.
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, whether your playing in-person or virtually over video chat.
All you need to do is:
- Gather a group of players
- Distribute character sheets
- Follow the party guide instructions
If you're playing in person, you have the option of printing out the hosting script and character sheets, or you and your guests may view them on your electronic devices.
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, which will often be met by a response from another player.
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, providing another piece of information.
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.
By this point, the players should have enough information to piece together a theory about who was responsible for the crime. Everyone will vote for the culprit, which the host will then reveal. Any player or couple who correctly guessed the identity of the killer is declared a winner.
From start to finish, the game typically requires half an hour to complete.
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 need is:
- Playing area
- In-person - Table to sit around or large playing area where the guests can sit in a circle
- Virtual - Video chat room (links to 3rd-party providers like Zoom included in game and below)
- A group of players (minimum 8 people)
- Access to a printer or electronic device (so you can distribute game materials)
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.
Video Chat Services
Want to play virtually? Playing With Murder doesn’t provide video chat rooms directly, but there are many different services out there (both free and paid) that you can use to remotely connect with your players. Here is a short list of some popular, free services:
Note: Playing with Murder does not provide support for the following 3rd party services.
We unfortunately can’t offer assistance or support at this time for the use of these products with our games. This list has been compiled only for convenience.
- Skype (all users need to download free app, works on mobile, macOS and PC/laptop)
- Zoom (works on mobile, macOS and PC/laptop)
- Google Hangouts (all players need a free Google account, works on mobile, macOS and PC/laptop)
- House Party (all guests must download free app, works on mobile devices, macOS and PC/laptop)
- Facetime (all users must have an iOS device to use this free app)
This game kit includes:
- Hosting guide - Guidebook that takes you through all the steps for running the game
- Character sheets - Information sheets for eight unique characters and one generic "Investigator" character
- Name cards - Printable name cards that can be placed in front of players for in-person games (optional)
- Introductory Handout - A brief description of the game that can be sent to your guests ahead of the event (optional)
- Invitation template - Printable template that can be used to send paper invitations to your guests (optional)
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8 Item(s)
- more than 2 year(s)
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Game Rating:
- Halloween was the next day so I hit the dollar store for paper plates, serving bowls did decorations. My granddaughters wore their costumes and I had sunglasses fir the investigators. Made werewolf, Frankenstein and mummy masks.
- more than 2 year(s)
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Game Rating:
- We really tried to make the decorations set the mood. We had one long table with skeletons sitting at the heads of the table. A spooky Ally way entrance into the room set the scene. Most of our guests dressed up but even those who didn’t still had fun.
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Game Rating:
We conducted “The Thing in the Cellar” in a 1820’s mansion on October 30. This mansion has a full basement, is known to have spirit residents, and we had a 6” skeleton key stolen from the house a few years ago. So the setting for this event was perfect.
I passed out the parts rather randomly, but the physical characteristics of the goblin, the werewolf, and Frank Stein matched the people who received those parts. That just added to the enjoyment of conducting the event.
I will definitely look for more activities like this from your company for future events! Thank you.
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Laura N 111 04 2022 22 04 2022 09:33 AM@WicklandM can we connect ?Reply
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Game Rating:
- Played some spooky music to set the mood.
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- stuffed mushrooms and cornbread
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The scripts were clear, the plot and clues were hilarious. It was so much fun to see my students really get into their character!
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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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