How to play

The format

The format of this murder mystery party is a “mingle” mystery, which means that rather than sitting around, reading in turns from a piece of paper, everyone is up and mingling around, questioning each other to piece together the clues and solve the mystery. There are a total of 8 suspects and everyone else is an investigator, but everyone, including suspects, will be questioning the other suspects to find the killer.

It’s a true investigation, where everyone has to individually form a theory about the killer, their motives, who had the means, and who had the opportunity to commit the murder. Try to eavesdrop on conversations between other investigators and suspects… someone may be chasing down a theory you haven’t thought of or be investigating clues you haven’t yet discovered. On the other hand, beware of others trying to eavesdrop on your conversations!

You can read through the list of suspects here to find out more about the other characters.

Your goal

Your goal is to find the killer (even if the killer is the character you are playing!) and conceal your own motives as best as possible while still following the rules (outlined below). Ideally, you will be the only one to outsmart the others to find the killer! You want to identify the red herrings and rule them out as suspects, ask questions that will make other suspects give up their “hide” information (their secrets), and try to deflect suspicion away from yourself.

Your “clues”

You are receiving your “clues” (suspect guide) before the party so you can familiarise yourself with your character and what they know. Some people like to memorise their information, but this is in no way mandatory.

There will be a printed copy of your suspect guide available for you on the day of the party.

Your suspect guide contains:

• Details about your character that will be shared with everyone attending.

• Your ‘Share’ information: details that can, and should, be blurted out to anyone who comes your way and is usually about other suspects, your alibi, etc. The ‘share’ clues push suspicion onto other suspects and away from you, and needs to be circulated as you speak with people.

• Your ‘Hide’ information: details that should be kept as “close to your chest” and concealed as much as possible - without lying.

The rules

There are only 3 rules that you MUST abide by or the mystery will not work.

1. Don’t make up information about the other suspects.

   • For example, unless your Share information says “You saw Joe Jones kill the victim”, don't say it!

2. Don’t lie about your Hide information.

   • So, if your Hide information says “You were running down the dark hallway at the time of the murder”, and someone comes to you and says, “So­and­So saw you running down the dark hallway at the time of the murder”, you can't say “No, I wasn't”, “I don't know”, or “Maybe, maybe not...”.

   • If you are asked about something that is in your Hide information, you must answer, and answer honestly. However, whenever possible, try to disclose your secrets only to the person asking, even if that means telling them to meet you in private or slipping them a note.

3. You must share your Share information.

   • There's always one person who thinks they're going to be cool by playing the “tight­lipped” Suspect. No matter how many people ask them questions about things they saw, they won't share their Share information. Here's the thing about Share information: It's designed to be used so that you can place the blame on someone else and deter suspicion from yourself. It also contains information vital to solving the mystery.

   • Now, having said all that, you CAN be vague. An example of this is “Where were you at the time of the murder?” “I was in the hallway.” You don't have to tell them you were actually in the hallway with the victim. Wait for them to ask you “Were you alone?” Let the investigators work for it!

“I have nothing to say about that”

Sometimes, participants will get REALLY into it and come up with off­the­wall questions. If you are asked something totally out there, something not remotely related to anything provided to you in your Share or Hide information, simply say “I have nothing to say about that”. The other participants will be informed in the Announcement of Murder that this phrase means they are on the wrong track, but saves the awkwardness of having to break everyone's concentration to explain that there is no information about what they're asking. This phrase definitively tells the investigator that you aren't just being vague, but that you genuinely don't have the answer they're looking for.

The killer doesn’t know they’re the killer

The killer doesn't know they're the killer, so you can be entirely honest with the material you have without worry about letting something slip that you shouldn't.

This allows all Suspects to be completely honest with the information they receive, and allows all players to piece together the mystery equally.

Costumes

Costumes are very much encouraged for everyone taking part! Your Suspect Guide has some suggestions for how your character may dress, but these are not mandatory… just have fun with whatever you feel comfortable in.