Murder-Mystery games

July 10, 2009 9:55 AM

If you wanted to host a murder-mystery weekend (like the ones hosted at Mohonk Mountain House) is there a way to do it without buying an online-murder mystery package?

Are there free online murder mystery scenarios that might take up a whole weekend? (I've played ones that last an evening and cost about $40, but the goal here is free and takes a whole weekend to solve.)

I guess I could try to write my own scenario. But I'm not that smart and I know there would be holes.

posted by pipti to Sports, Hobbies, & Recreation (8 answers total)

My folks threw a murder mystery party for my confirmation class when I was in the 6th grade, but since there were almost three times as many people as roles, my parents just wrote extra characters in. They only had to make slight modifications to the plot. I imagine you could easily modify a pre-existing one to make it longer or add more people. I know you said you don't want to write it, but tweaking one that's already around and writing one from scratch are a lot different, labor-wise.

Good luck!
posted by solipsophistocracy at 10:43 AM on July 10, 2009

You could just take a normal murder mystery play like Death by Chocolate by Paul Freed, for example, and adapt it. I'd imagine that's how the genre evolved. You're technically supposed to arrange for licensing somehow to make a "public" performance of it.
posted by XMLicious at 10:46 AM on July 10, 2009

Oh, you know what, though? If you wanted to be a goody two-shoes as far as the royalties stuff goes, if you found an out-of-copyright play on Google Books you could perform it for free or even release your adaptation of it. The basic guideline is that anything from before 1923 is out of copyright as is anything from before 1963 where no one filed for renewal. This online database lists copyright renewals, but just for books, though, and I don't know if plays would necessarily fall under books.

Google Books unfortunately sometimes still blocks you from reading things even if they aren't copyrighted. But on occasion, once you find the title and details of something on Google Books you can find it in its entirety elsewhere on the net.
posted by XMLicious at 10:54 AM on July 10, 2009

Check with your local community theater groups, writing groups, adult learning centers, etc., and see if anyone would be interested in writing a murder mystery game that you could "beta test" for them. It might be a good incentive to say that the writer is invited to the party to see how it goes.
posted by xingcat at 10:54 AM on July 10, 2009

Response by poster: oh, I love the idea of taking a normal murder-mystery play and just adapting it--can you think of others? Ten Little Indians springs to mind...and that's it.
posted by pipti at 11:07 AM on July 10, 2009

The lamest Murder Mystery I ever hosted was one of those ones that came in the box. It was too complex and made no sense, and was ultimately really unsatisfying. The best ones were the ones I wrote, even though I didn't get to participate in quite the same way. Create characters that cater to the people you're inviting and put together a dinner party around the theme.

For example, I once had a party that was supposed to be a wake for a dead millionaire, and I was the "executor" of his will. His will pitted the characters against each other in order to win his fortune. I can't remember if they were supposed to figure out who killed him or whether he was a a spiteful old coot who made them do crazy things/challenges for points (and for everyone else's entertainment.) But it was really, really fun. The invitations were made up to look like obituaries. Also we had a fake coffin on the table, and a tape recorder with 45 minutes of silence pre-taped and then a ghostly voice would come on with instructions, timed for exactly half-way through dinner. Also it's fun to enlist the help of neighbors who come by in character, bearing clues. Have fun with it, be creative-- it's way more fun than reading off the little cards that come in the mass-produced box versions of How to Host a Murder.
posted by np312 at 11:21 AM on July 10, 2009 [1 favorite]

I have a friend who used to throw murder mystery parties for a living. He wrote most of his own material, and would often tailor the roles to the level of participation each guest wanted. (Some people are happiest being "extras", while others want to have a minor role, and others really want to get into the meat of the playacting.) His most successful productions were ones which he had written and refined and re-staged at least three times. People seem to never do exactly what you think they will do, no matter how hard to try to cover every circumstance.

Your best bet would be to take an existing set (or two or three) and examine how they work, and then make modifications which work for the group you will be using for the event. A murder mystery weekend with a bunch of golf buddies will be decidedly different from one attended by one's D&D friends.
posted by hippybear at 1:22 PM on July 10, 2009

Ages ago, a friend threw a Murder Mystery party with a boxed kit. Advertise on Freecycle/Craigslist; maybe someone will have one. Or go to the Library, there's likely a how-to book, and I'll bet a librarian would enjoy helping you find it.
posted by theora55 at 12:34 PM on July 11, 2009