Do you have any advice on throwing a 1920's murdery mystery party?!
I am throwing a a party for 22 of my friends and I really want it to be great! I really need help thinking of games so that we aren't mingling for the entire 3 hours! decorating!? food!? drink!? anything!?Www@FoodAQ@Com
Answers:
You're going to have such fun! The first mystery party we did was "Murder at the 4 Deuces", a roaring 20's gangster mystery- it was a blast! We had so much fun that we now do a mystery every year and are currently planning our 4th! If you haven't already bought a mystery, I highly recommend the following two sites!. The first is a link to the "Murder at the 4 Deuces" which was lots of fun as I said, but my second one was "Murder of a Millionaire" which was my first mystery from nightofmystery!.com -- I have since gone to them for all my mystery party needs!. Last year's was "Murder among the Mateys" and this year we are doing "til death to we part" The instructions make it so easy to plan (even for a novice) and the format is the most fun I've found!. Instead of a bunch of people reading off a script, each person gets a character sheet ahead of time with info about their character and how to dress!. When they arrive, they recieve an envelope which contains play money (I recomend buying play money from ToysRus- get two packs for a party that size- gangsters gotta have a wad of cash) their "objectives" for the first part of the evening (before the murder)!. This gives them a reason to mingle with other characters and really gets them into the game!. After the "murder" they get a second envelope with more objectives which keeps the party rolling!. When things start to wind down, you wrap things up and everyone gets a ballot to guess "who dunnit", record how much $$ they have, and vote on best actor and best costume!. When I send out the invites, I always add that there will be prizes for best costume and best actor or actress!. This encourages full participation- most are easily motivated!. My prizes are always theme related- for the 4 Deuces, I used a set of shot glasses with cards printed on them, a gangster dvd, etc!. I try to keep the gifts fairly cheap - like under $10 each because you'll need 3: best actor/actress, best dressed, and wealthiest player!. As for decorating and activities, I had one room downstairs set up like a casino- card tables set up with stacks of chips and decks of cards on each!. I used poker themed napkins and plates, and a locked door (master bedroom) labeled as the "house of ill repute" just to keep things interesting!. Keeping both floors open for the party helped keep things moving and flowing!. We had appetizers in the great room upstairs, a bar was set up in the kitchen, the casino was in the (emptied out) playroom, and the downstairs living room was set up as a dining room for the evening with two long tables pushed together for maximum seating!. Serving dinner takes up alot of time!. I served dinner the first time, and it seemed to take up alot of time, and I was more busy then I wanted to be!. Since then I just do appetizers and we have no problem mingling for 3-4 hours!. The mystery will last 2-3 hours and the first half hour will just be people arriving!. More tips: although you can play without knowing who the murder is, it is helpful to know in advance!. I assign characters and mail out invites with character info sheets 3-4 weeks ahead of time!. Arrange the characters in order of importance and assign the improtant ones- victim and murderer especially- to people you KNOW can be counted on!. One fateful night, our murderer's babysitter cancelled on him and his wife and we had to do some major improvising- it was a mess, but we muddled thru!. Another reason to know your characters is that some of them (though married to other characters), are actually having affairs with someone else- how awkward would it be if you didnt know that and assigned the "lovers" to a brother and sister!? Not good!. So, I am always in the know from the get go!. I still have alot of fun watching everyone else try to figure it out! Last tip- try to pick a character that makes sense for your role, in 4 deuces my hubby and I were the mobster owners of the club that was the settng for the mystery!. In Murder of a Milllionaire, I played the grieving widow while my hubby was the coniving butler (read bartender)!. Well, thats about it!. Good luck and don't worry- it will be great!!Www@FoodAQ@Com
This is the best advice ever!. Actually shoot and kill 2 of your guests!. They will really be shocked!.Www@FoodAQ@Com
