Featured Murder Mystery Party: This Curious Case is Closed
When we think about who is best equipped to solve a murder, a group of 20 law students certainly fits the bill! Melissa and her boyfriend, a current law student, had spent months talking about hosting a murder mystery party and finally decided to take the plunge. As a first time host, Melissa was looking for a structured game with a lot of characters and decided on our vintage carnival game, The Curious Carnival. Read on for Melissa’s story on how she hosted a wildly successful and immersive murder mystery game for 20 people!
Why did you decide to host a murder mystery party? Was it your first time? Why did you decide to use Foulplay Games?
So about a year or so ago, I saw a video of yours on TikTok. I couldn’t tell you how that happened, but it intrigued me right away! I followed the account and thought how fun it might be to do someday. Fast forward to now: My boyfriend is a second year law student, and we had been talking for months about actually doing amurder mystery game, but just never got around to it. Neither of us had ever hosted or been to anything like this so we weren't sure exactly how things worked. But he started putting out the idea to some of his classmates and they all were excited about it! I purchased The Curious Carnival since it is the largest game. I thought we would invite 20 people and not all of them would come due to life and other commitments–but every single person was so into it and said they couldn't wait!
How did the game go overall?
The game was so much fun! Everyone came dressed for their part. We set up a station for everyone to get their name and money and introduce themselves, like a bar area. Then we spent some time going over the "guidelines" provided and did the first socialization where players meet each other and talk and fulfill your initial objectives from the character sheet you got prior to the start. That was about 45 minutes.
Then the murder happened, and we went from there trading, selling, and gaining information! We spent about two hours on this just because it was going so well and people were enjoying themselves.
Finally we had a station where everyone went to fill out their forms and vote on who the killer was. Then the big reveal happened and shocked most of us!
Everyone kept saying how it was so much fun, and it's still being talked about weeks later! People who couldn't make it are wanting another one so they can participate!
We love how Melissa set up stations for the different activities, which was so helpful for her guests to orient themselves and move through the mystery. There were so many special details and touches she added in as a first-time host.
Were there any extra touches you added or fun memories or stories to share?
To prepare, we got circus decorations, including an awesome photo backdrop from Amazon along with some photo props. We made a couple playlists for the ambience, one of carnival and circus music and the other with some 1910s-1920s music since that is when the game takes place. My boyfriend even picked up a birthday cake since the game involves a birthday party!
We have never heard of another group actually grabbing a birthday cake and it cracked us up to hear. If our parties give you a good reason to eat birthday cake when it’s not your birthday, then we are entirely here for it!
Any suggestions, recommendations, or tips for folks wanting to host their own murder mystery game?
My suggestions for anyone even thinking about this:
1. People really enjoyed the decorations and music to set the mood.
2. Photo booth was a huge hit and everyone loves photos to have and share. Highly recommend!
3. Everyone was having such a good time chatting that no one really got photos during the actual game. I would say that if you have a friend who maybe doesn't want to play or only wants a very minor role, maybe you can have them be the event photographer!
4. If you're nervous or unsure, don't fear, just do it! One of our attendees was anxious about acting and asked for a very small part, but he ended up being the absolute smash hit of the night and everyone said he was one of the best actors! You never know! The game is set up so that you have definite goals to guide you, and the rest is whatever you're comfortable with. Even if you don't personally know other guests, you still can interact in a fun way!
We look forward to your next big group game but are also looking at your smaller games, too! Thank you for the well-thought out scenarios with clear instructions, the support you provide every step of the way, and the little extra touches that really helped bring everything together!
The Curious Carnival was one of our first murder mystery games that we created, and it was fun to see Melissa’s fresh take and new ideas! Thank you, Melissa, for sharing your wonderful murder mystery party with our Foulplay community!
