Featured Murder Mystery Party: A True Crime Terror!
First-time Foulplayer, Andrew, met us at Norwescon and played in one of our pop-up games (and even won best performer!). He decided to host his first murder mystery party for a “house con” and chose our true crime-themed murder mystery game, The Wych Elm, and we loved hearing all the fun stories from the night. Check out our interview with Andrew below for tips and tricks on how to host your own murder mystery party!
Why did you decide to host a murder mystery party? Was it your first time? Why did you decide to use Foulplay Games?
This was the first murder mystery event I've ever done. It was part of a small roleplaying convention, and I picked a murder mystery because I thought that several of the gamers I knew would enjoy it. I picked Foulplay Games and chose The Wych Elm after playing WANDERSTAR at NorWesCon and having a huge amount of fun playing a game myself!
How did the game go overall?
I hosted the Wych Elm at a house con, and it was a huge success! Everyone had fun mingling and pulling each other away to try to have private conversations. Our Constable even turned the kitchen into his interrogation spot. Only one person correctly guessed who the killer was. Several people asked me to run another one next year, so I'm looking forward to it!
Were there any extra touches you added, or fun memories or stories to share?
Ironically, as I was handing out characters, someone jokingly pointed at their friend and said "I bet you're the killer!" Said friend was, in fact, playing the killer, and the one person who guessed right was not the friend who accused him! The youngest player also ended up playing the oldest character, Liege Cobham which was fun to see.
Half the fun of a murder mystery party is seeing your friends and family in different roles than you are used to seeing them in your daily life! We love hearing these stories of folks getting to know their friends in a whole new way.
Any suggestions, recommendations, or tips for folks wanting to host their own murder mystery game?
One thing mentioned was that several people wished they had gotten a character list in their folder, to help them keep track of the characters they didn't have connections with. I also made my own nametags with string lanyards, written in large font so it was easier to determine who someone was from across the room.
This is a great reminder to let us know any tips or tricks to improve your hosting experience! In this case, it is a great idea to print extra copies of the character list and give them to your guests or post the character list where everyone at the party can review it. All of our games also include name tags for you to print and hand out to your guests.
Thank you Andrew for sharing your experiences hosting the Wych Elm! Have you hosted a Foulplay murder mystery game and would like to be featured? Send us an email at foulplaycompany@gmail.com to share your party and receive a special gift from us for your support!
