Updates: Upcoming Events and Progress

More events have been planned for the upcoming months, so stay tuned!

This Friday, October 18th, the Loyola Marymount University Animation Club will be hosting Hero Wanted, PUYDD's Legend of Zelda themed party, from 7pm to 10pm. Admission is restricted to students of the university, and admission is $5.

An application was just sent in for Hero Wanted to be an event at SacAnime Winter 2014, this January 3rd - 4th. Scheduling will take place beginning mid-November, and it will promptly be added to the calendar once we have more information. The event's forum thread will be posted here once it is available.

A date for the Daggerville murder mystery is still pending, but a review will follow promptly.

Additionally, we have been in the works of creating two new murder mystery experiences for our audiences, as well as some new graphics and features for this website. Exciting things are on their way!

Articles are running tight this time of year, due to the primary author's college course load. We are working on obtaining more guest articles for your viewing pleasure. If interested in writing an article for Party Until You Drop Dead, please visit our Contact Us page!

Thank you for your patience,
Princessofherworld

Playing Host to Murder: Murder Mystery Party Planning Timeline

Looking to host a murder mystery, but not sure where to start? Let us handle all of the tedious work so you can skip straight to the fun stuff! In this week's article, the process of organizing and preparing for a murder mystery party will be outlined to make sure that your party turns out to be as fun for you as it will be for your guests. Just a simple timeline is the key to making sure everything runs smoothly and effortlessly for yourself and your guests.

Review: Murder Mystery Dinner Theater at Zio Fraedos - Murder On the Oriental Rug

Oh no! A beloved superstar has been murdered! With many suspects and everything going horribly wrong, the detective has a tough case ahead of him. . . until the director calls cut and the real mystery begins! The scene is set by a troupe of actors dreaming of their names in lights on Broadway until they find out that their director has other ideas for them. In this twist of a whodunnit by Look Out World Events, the audience at Zio Fraedos was tasked with solving the murder of a character played by an actor. . . played by an actor?

Murder Mystery Dinner Theater at Zio Fradeos

Hello, fellow felons!

The Murder Mystery Dinner Theater at Zio Fradeo's (hosted by Look Out World Events) is coming up on June 12th (the event has a second and third date of August 9th and September 13th for those of you with busy schedules), and I finally bought my tickets! If anyone else is interested in attending a dinner of classic Italian food with a splash of intrigue and murder on the side in the San Francisco Bay Area, you can purchase tickets here.

Following the event, I will post a synopsis and review here for all to read.

Hope to see you there!

♥Princessofherworld

Murder 101: How to Be A Guest At A Murder Mystery Party

Now that we’ve already covered the basics of murder mystery parties:

what they are and the different types of games, and you know what you’re getting into by accepting that party invitation, its time to explain what happens at the parties. (And if you’ve never participated in this type of event before, it might be a good idea to go ahead and read those two articles to get more information.) Maybe you’ve never been to a party before and want to know what will be expected of you, or you’re a murder mystery vet and just want to make sure you’re doing it right, either way, we’ll cover everything you need to know about being a guest at a murder mystery party.

Important note:

This article assumes that you are not attending a dinner theater murder mystery(not sure what a dinner theater is? Read about it here). Because dinner theaters differ so much in play from the other two types, a corresponding article will be posted soon after this one.

Party Until You Drop Dead presents: How To Be A Guest At A Murder Mystery Party!

Till' Death Do We Pinterest: Easy Food Cooking for Your Murder Mystery Party

While murder mysteries are a great way to get together with your friends and family to have some fun, it cannot be denied that entertaining people has its drawbacks. Between cleaning, cooking, decorating, getting packets and a costume together, prep-word can be exhausting.

It shouldn't have to be, though! With this in mind, Party Until You Drop Dead brings you this week's post: "Till' Death Do We Pinterest: Easy Food Cooking for Your Murder Mystery Party" where we'll show you some simple ways to make feeding your guests much easier on yourself while cutting down party prep-time!

Updates Updates Updates!

Long time no see, guests!

As you can probably tell from the inactivity of my blog for the last month or so, I had either dropped off the face of the earth or the FBI had come for me because I run a blog about fake murder. Fortunately, it was neither of those and I was simply consumed with finals and preparation for my FanimeCon 2013 event, LoZ MurderMystery: Hero Wanted. And then none of my pre-scheduled posts actually posted. Oye.

Ah, well. Time for updates to get things back on track!

LoZ MurderMystery: Hero Wanted at FanimeCon 2013
After being scheduled for a time slot on friday at 9pm, I was notified two days before the event that I would be rescheduled to 4pm due to a scheduling error. Nothing was done to notify the guests of the change, so the event had to be cancelled. Thank you so much to those of you who stuck around while I dealt with all of the logistical issues! (and those of you who showed up at the old time listed on the schedule!)


Blog Carnival: Themed Parties and Crafts
PUYDD's Blog Carnival, Themed Parties and Crafts', first issue will be posted later this week!

Future Posts
Now that I have a sum of posts lined up, readers can look forward to food suggestions, informational posts, how to be a guest at a murder mystery, and . . .


Special Announcement Soon!
Now that it is summer and I have more free time, I will be working on a special treat for the blog that will translate into much content. More news will be posted shortly.


In summation, more posts, more fun, more events, and more murder! Stay tuned, this is going to be a busy week!

Murder 101: Types of Murder Mystery Parties.

Most people who are familiar with the term "Murder Mystery Party" understand that such an event is a story-run game where participants play detective to solve the big mystery. (And if you aren't familiar with the term, you will benefit from reading "Murder 101: What is a Murder Mystery Party Anyways?". Don't worry, we'll wait here until you catch up!) However, the average party-goer may not know that "Murder Mystery Party" can be a somewhat vague description of what exactly you will spend your night doing.

Under the category "Murder Mystery Party", there are three sub-typess:

1. Interactive
2. Turn-Based
3. Dinner Theater

Blog Carnival Feature: Carnival of Video Game Bloggers

Hello, all!

Party Until You Drop Dead's post, "Murder 101: What is a Murder Mystery Party Anyways?" was just featured in the May 2013 edition of the Blog Carnival "Carnival of Video Game Bloggers" over at Gaming My Way!

Click here to see the post!


Additionally, Gaming My Way has some awesome articles featuring game reviews, tips, and funny tidbits. I am currently enjoying "How to Successfully Run a High Powered Roleplaying Game" as I work on my various to-do lists in preparation for my still-pending murder mystery event at FanimeCon 2013. It's great to see some tips from similar hobbies that can carry over into the murder mystery world! (murder mysteries are, after all, role playing games themselves!)


♥princessofherworld

Fanime 2013 Event: "LoZ MurderMystery: Hero Wanted"

With FanimeCon 2013 just around the corner, it was about time for me to turn in my panels application so that I could host another convention murder mystery panel.

However, just before turning the app in, I noticed that there was this wonderful addition to the website for "Fan Events", which allows guests to run their own non-panel format event.

Fantastic!

I submitted the application just before the deadline.

"LoZ Murde Mystery: Hero Wanted" is now pending to be a fan event at FanimeCon 2013!

Keep tuned for updates, as the date and time will be posted once I get approved!



Princessofherworld

Till' Death Do We Pinterest: A Formal Affair

Already picked out a formal murder mystery and looking for theme assistance?

Window shopping for a swanky event to get your friends together and need an excuse to re-wear that expensive ball gown you bought for that one party that one time?

Well, look no further! We've got you covered in this post with plenty of inexpensive decor, diy, or just idea fodder for your high-class event.

One of the most commonly used themes for a murder mystery party is to create a world of elegance, usually that of a fancy cruise, a Hollywood party, a charity banquet, and so much more! Formal themed murder mysteries are the perfect excuse to get all dolled up and bring out your finest silverware. From getting ready for the party together with your friends like you would before high school prom to putting on a posh accent and sweet-talking your friends with a fake $100 bill, formal murder mysteries are arguably more exciting than actually living the high life. Or, at least that's what I tell myself. ;)

You can see the complete Pinterest board (No account required!) here.

Typically formal events are defined by the use of high-class materials such as crystal, with the primary decor color being either white or black, often with an accent color of purple, deep red, silver, or gold. For this set-up, we will be using black as the primary color, and gold as the accent color. The black represents the mystery and scheming present at the event, and the gold represents the relative wealth of the characters.

Segments: Decor | Food


Decor:

Attach golden balloons to golf tees to line your guests' grand entrances.

Source: nibsblog.wordpress.com via PartyTYDDead on Pinterest

Murder 101: What is a Murder Mystery Party Anyways?

“Murder is always a mistake – one should never do anything one cannot talk about after dinner”

-Oscar Wilde

In my many days of hosting murder mystery parties, I've found that each party has a few common threads:

First, a murder.

Second, a host.

And third, a newbie who just doesn't get it.

And that's perfectly okay! Everyone has to start somewhere, and as this isn't a very 'mainstream' method of entertaining, new players abound.

As a host, however, gathering the right words to explain what exactly a murder mystery party is can be a daunting task. I've stumbled over things like, "Well, there was a murder, there's food. uh. good luck?" "Someone in the room just murdered this guy and I can't say if it was you or not but you would know if you did it unless you didn't read your packet right, but sometimes you don't know, but I'm not sure, but your goal is to solve the murder - go!" and my all-time favorite, "This guy was murdered, and READ YOUR PACKET OH MY GOODNESS. THERE'S AN INFORMATIONAL PAGE RIGHT THE-oh. There isn't? Whoops. Heh. Here, let me get you one. . ."

So, then, what exactly is a murder mystery? I shall now explain it to you to the best of my ability:

A murder mystery party is an event planned by a host, most often through store-bought game, and carried out by the guests. The guests take on the role of a 'detective' to solve the party's main mystery, usually a murder, and any other mysteries that take place surrounding it.

Murder 101: Blog Introduction

mur·der mys·ter·y par·ty:

Noun.

A social event in which people make friends by lying, backstabbing, and murdering their enemies. Usually accompanied by cheesy costumes and decor.

It was a dark and stormy night. Despite the gloomy weather, the annual Blogger Gala proceeded quite cheerily inside Google Manor. Dancing, merriment, and the finest dresses abounded, when suddenly. . . VWOOMP! the lights were cut and Google Manor was left pitch black! Curious chatter filled the air as the lights almost immediately fizzled back to their bright settings. Turning around to find the source of the noise, Lady Blogspot found quite the shocking sight - Sir Google Plus had been murdered! At Lady Blogspot's shocked screech, the event's host stepped up to the microphone. . .