Murder Mystery party that isn't too gendery?

February 5, 2022 3:05 PM

I'm organizing a murder mystery party for some 15- and 16-year olds. We've played them before, and the games sometimes can get a bit too into gender roles. Many of these teens are trans and/or nonbinary, and I don't want to have any plot points that rely on "men are attracted only to women" or "a woman could never have the strength to wield that sledgehammer" or what have you. Anyone got a game they recommend?
posted by The corpse in the library to Sports, Hobbies, & Recreation (4 answers total)

I don’t have a specific recommendation, but since you’re not getting any answers…maybe you could try a tabletop rpg? I know there are some that can be run like mysteries and plenty that are flexible about gender. There are games that are designed to be played in one sitting (“one shots”) that don’t have to be an overwhelming amount of work for the person running them. I’m getting this idea from the podcast One Shot, in which these sorts of games are played. My favorite episodes include Kids on Bikes (too complex for your event, but a good example of the medium) and F**k! It’s Dracula (which might work for your party).
posted by Comet Bug at 10:34 PM on February 5, 2022

I too don’t have specifics other than focusing on personality traits or jobs - “Joe is an electrician so he could have wired a trap” - “Emma, being an avid writer, would never have a misspelled word on their note - or would they do it on purpose?!?” or whatever.
posted by Crystalinne at 2:40 AM on February 6, 2022

If tabletop RPG is a good fit for the party, Fiasco is also a fun option.

But maybe tabletop isn’t a good fit. Is it important that they get to move around and mingle? Murder mysteries can have a nice cocktail party/dinner party vibe that you don’t get with tabletop. These options are a bit outside my wheelhouse, but you might find some good options searching for LARP one-shots.
posted by Banknote of the year at 1:08 PM on February 6, 2022

Yeah, for this we really want the cocktail party aspect.
posted by The corpse in the library at 8:40 PM on February 6, 2022