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.

The entirety of the event is dictated by the story created in the game. The game is a packet of, well, stuff that creates the universe in which the event takes place. This includes, but is not limited to: the world, the setting, the characters, the items, any sort of magic or sorcery, and time period. It is by this that the players and party's host know what they are doing. The game is most typically bought online in .pdf format or from a game/hobby store in a box. These days the game is more readily available online as opposed to in stores.

As I mentioned earlier in this post, there are three components to a murder mystery party: the murder, the host, and the guest.

The murder is the central point of the party - all other events stem from it. This is where the title 'murder mystery' comes from. This murder is typically of a person that is related to all other characters involved in the party in some way or another. There are, however, many games in which the murder isn't actually a murder; there are cases in which an expensive jewel is stolen or someone goes missing. This is most usually the case in games targeted at younger children, though is occasionally encountered in games for adults

The host is, well, the host of the party. The person who is hosting the party and dealing with all of the pre-planning and running of the event. As they are hosting the event, the host knows the answers to the murder as well as any other main points in the game. In this respect, they are usually not involved with the game other than announcements or are given a NPC (non-player character) to play so that they may be more involved with the game.  As they are considered the authority on all things involved in the game, they are the person to whom the players may ask questions and get unusual actions cleared (Can I arrest this player? Can I unleash a dragon into the party? Can I punch Mr. Brown's character because he spilled his wine on my costume? etc.). Their word is law.

The guest is the person invited to the party by the host, and the participant of the game. They play the role of 'detective' to solve the murder, and, depending on the game, their own mysteries. Each guest is given a character packet or sheet that determines their motives and background, and from that the guest carries out that character's desires in order to solve the murder.

The game typically ends in dramatic fashion with a large reveal of the murder's solution and the guests shouting out their character's deepest, darkest secrets. After which, everyone will go home with new lifelong friends and a great lesson in trickery under their belt. All of these things, unlike Mr. Wilde up there believes, will be talked long after dinner and throughout the rest of their lives with great accomplishment and amusement. And that, dear readers, is what a murder mystery party is.

This post's vocabulary:
Game: The event's material. Creates the universe the party is set in.
The Murder: The game's central event which everything revolves around.
Host: The person throwing the party and leading the game.
Guest: The attendees of the event who play the game's characters.


-Princessofherworld