How to Host a Murder Mystery Party: Where to Buy Kits and Tips for Success
My husband and I recently got to attend a 70s themed murder mystery dinner party and it was beyond fun. (We’re on the far right in the above photo). I alone guessed the murderer correctly, but given my love for whodunnits, I would have been ashamed not to have figured it out!
Murder mystery parties usually have a theme and the guests arrive dressed to fit the theme. Don’t be shy or worry you’ll be the only one dressed up, because in our experience, people go all out with the costumes at these soirees; it’s a huge part of the fun.
As the evening continues, clues are passed around and conversation takes place in order for all the guests to try and figure out who the killer is. You’ll be assigned a character in advance, but you won’t know everything about yourself until the game progresses. You also won’t know if you yourself are the murderer! After the meal and rounds of clues are done, each person gets to guess the solution to the mystery. When the answer is revealed, you’ll find out if you were right!
Murder mystery parties have been around for a very long time. When I was younger, though, they were boxed games you purchased and played with. As with everything, the Internet now holds extra options for amazing murder mystery parties! So I’ve rounded the best options up here for you, both online mystery parties to download as PDFs, as well as the good old fashioned boxed kits. Then, I’ll give you some tips for hosting a successful murder mystery dinner party of your own!
Where to Buy Murder Mystery Dinner Kits
You can buy great murder mystery kits from several online resources that you can download, OR you can purchase boxed games. There are advantages to both, so here are the best resources I’ve found for both. Either way, you can keep the kit and repeat it years down the road (as long as you forget who the killer is, of course). The advantage of a physical kit over a PDF download is that you can pass it along to a friend to use, whereas copyright laws prohibit you from redistributing digital content in any way. So that’s just something to think about.
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Online Murder Mystery Kits to Download & Print
I love this option because it has a nice variety of theme categories to look at, including options for kids, or teens, or an all ladies party, plus options for clean mysteries. Some of these parties can be pretty racy, so if you don’t like that or are hosting a party for church friends, you can stick to the clean parties only and feel reassured that there will be no blushing from embarrassment.
With Night of Mystery, you choose a theme and download the entire kit, including beautiful printable invitations. After browsing the clean party options, I think I would personally go with “Killing for the Crown” and host a ladies only pageant themed mystery party. So fun and you can upgrade the kit for up to 20 people. The cost for these parties is very reasonable and I like that you can browse the cast, costume ideas, and more, before you even decide to purchase.
2. Playing with Murder
This company is neat because your mystery party can be tailored to all kinds of events, from 30 minute office mixers, to book clubs, to traditional dinner parties. Slightly less in price than the above company, this site also has themes to choose for either adults or teens/kids. I think I'd go with the Jazz Age Jeopardy theme if I were choosing today!
3. My Mystery Party
This site sets itself apart with customizations. You choose your party, then you can opt for a physical kit if you’d rather not download and print. You can also choose add ons like menus and clue envelopes. Like the others, this murder mystery company also offers virtual parties, which might be fun for some long distance groups. If I were going to order a boxed kit, I would for sure pick “Murder at the Poe’s Raven”, being almost as big a fan of Poe as I am of Agatha Christie!
4. Masters of Mystery
These mystery games look so fun! The website is super easy to browse and it’s hard to choose because every option looks so appealing. The games are styled like actual boxed kits, but upon further reading, I realized these are virtually delivered to download and play, so don’t be confused. These games have a modern edge by playing off titles like “Mystery at Toadwart School” and “A Scandal in Brodgerton”. So clever, and perfect for a group of fans.
Masters of Mystery lets you choose the number of guests your party is for and tells you whether or not the host gets to be in on the mystery, plus you can play with your guests via Zoom or in real life.
5. Don’t Forget about Etsy!
Etsy is a great option for digital downloads of all kinds. The perks include ease of use, easy payments and downloads, AND you have direct access to messages with the creator and seller, so you can get all your questions answered before you commit to purchasing. Here are three Etsy shops that sell digital murder mystery parties and get great reviews:
Boxed Murder Mystery Party Games
Let’s get to the physical murder mystery dinner kits! There are plenty to choose from, but here are the ones that look the best.
Talking Tables exemplifies all the reasons I think a boxed kit is the way to go! I’m a person who likes colorful things and well designed graphics, so to have all the elements of a great murder mystery party that’s not just printed on printer paper would really float my boat. The fact that they have a game modeled after Murder on the Orient Express has me sold, I’m swooning. The box says there are three alternate endings, which is pretty cool, especially if that means you can host the mystery more than once! I also think this is a more low key way to host a murder, so if you want the party without so much prep, this is a good option.
2. How to Host a Murder
These party games have been around for a long time, so many might consider this company the OG of murder mystery party games. Pick a boxed kit and you’ll get everything you need to host your murder. Because these games are older, you might get a used version and be aware that they may come with a cassette tape, so you’ll need a way to play that. It’s old school, yes, but that adds to the fun, right? If Amazon doesn’t have one you’re looking for, try Etsy or Ebay instead.
3. Murder Mystery Flexi-Party
I’m excited to include this option in the list because it’s called “flexi-party” for a reason. In these games, the murderer isn’t chosen until after guests arrive and therefore, it’s ok to have some no-shows, and it can be played with a wider variety of players. So if you have some guests that are likely to flake out, go with this brand!
Tips for Hosting a Murder Mystery Dinner Party
So you’ve picked a mystery, but now what? There are a few things that made our experience at the 70’s mystery party fantastic, so I want to share some tips for hosting a murder with you.
Give guests plenty of time in advance to plan their costumes. Everyone at our party got very into the character aspect of the game, but it was definitely nice to have plenty of time to thrift and make our outfits. It wouldn’t have been as fun if we’d had a time crunch and had to throw something together. So allow plenty of time.
Send the invitations snail mail. Even though we see the host of our party all the time, he sent the invites in the mail and it was even more fun. We also had the list of other characters that were coming and it was fun to guess which of our friends were assigned which characters.
If you want a simpler party, you can provide some props instead of pre-sending invitations and having everyone dress up. When I hosted a kids’ mystery birthday party for my daughter a few years ago, I didn’t want to stress any parents out by asking everyone to have a costume, so we gathered certain clothing items and props to fit each character, like pom poms for a cheerleader and nerd glasses for a school nerd. Then we handed out their character cards and props as they arrived.
You can ask guests to help with food. Food can be a stressful and expensive part of any party. Our host assigned each couple some of the food, telling us specifically what to bring, which helped ease the burden on him and his wife. We didn’t mind and this is a great option if you feel overwhelmed by that part.
Choose guests carefully. It will help your party be a blast if you choose guests who you know will let loose and get in character! And when assigning characters, keep in mind which of your guests might be more shy. If you have an option to cater to people’s comfort levels with your mystery game, it’s nice if you can be considerate.
Set the mood. Our host was blasting 70’s music through a speaker in the window as all of us pulled up. He had a spot with 70’s streamers and a disco ball for photos (for sure take photos!!) and he had a “Name that Tune” game planned with 70’s songs. It was all so fun and got everyone in the party spirit.
I hope this has given some of you the bug to host a fun murder mystery party!
Until next time,
Ariadne
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