October 15, 2003
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October 2003, Issue #12
Table of Contents
1 News
2 Hints and Tips - Fund Raising with a Murder Mystery Game
3 Your Questions
1 News
New Xmas Game for Serious Sleuths
Mysteries on the Net have a new game due for Christmas this year - I Saw Mommy Killing Santa Claus which is for 6 to 30 people. As with their other games, I Saw Mommy Killing Santa Claus involves several suspects with the rest of the guests trying to solve the mystery.
I Saw Mommy Killing Santa Claus isn't quite ready yet, but click here to find out more on the Mysteries on the Net website. (You'll need to click thorugh to the Order Form and then to "Holiday Mysteries".)
2 Hints and Tips - Fund Raising with a Murder Mystery Game
Murder mystery games are great for fund raising - whether it's for the church roof, a textbooks for the school or just for your favourite charity.
Here is a selection murder mystery games that you might want to consider for a fund raiser. I've selected games that are for more than 30 people (because you want to raise lots of funds!).
Some of the companies have conditions over using their games for fund raising - I've included those where appropriate.
If you like the sound of running a murder mystery game as a fund raiser idea, your next step should be to read more about the game and download the introductory pdf file (if that game has one) to check if that game is suitable for your guests.
You might also want to review the tips for large games in Guilty Parties #4.
Murder Mystery Games Ltd
Murder Mystery Games Ltd publish St Cakes, a murder mystery game for 40 to 200 players that is perhaps the most suitable fund raising game (as it is huge). As well as solving the murder there are other challenges to do to keep all 200 guests entertained. You can download the introduction to St Cakes here.
Their other games include:
- The Auction - a modern day game for up to 40 players. Read more about The Auction here.
- The Last Gasp - a Victorian game for up to 40 players.Click here to download the free The Last Gasp introductory pdf file.
Tailor Made Mysteries
Large games from Tailor Made Mysteries include:
- Death on the Mound (Up to 50 characters)
- The GreekTragedy (Up to 86 characters)
- Storm Survivors (Up to 33 characters)
- The Case of the Missing Matchmaker (Up to 44 characters) Valentine’s Day version available
- The Luck of the Irish (Up to 50 characters)
- Celebrity Celebrations (Up to 100 characters)
Tailor Made Mysteries have no special requirements when their games are used to raise funds.
Mysteries on the Net
Mysteries on the Net produce games for serious sleuths - the emphasis is much more on solving the murder in these games and guests are split into teams to try and solve the murder. They have no specific requirements when using their games as a fund raiser.
Their larger games include:
- Death in them thar hills Set in 1880, the large-group version of this caters for over 100 guests.
- The Disappearance of Death A Halloween game for up to 40 people.
Click here to go to the Mysteries on the Net site and learn more about their games.
Freeform Games
Freeform Games require that you list their website and state that the game belongs to them on your promotional materials when using the games as a fund raiser idea. The only large game they have is All at Sea, which is for up to 33 people. Click here to read more about All at Sea.
Dinner and a Murder Mystery Games
Dinner and a Murder Mystery Games have no specific requirements for using their games for fund raising. Their games include:
- Murder at the Four Deuces is for up to 20 people, but Dinner and a Murder Mystery Games also produce two packets of ten extra characters that can be added to their games so you can run Murder at the Four Deuces for up to 40.
- Class of '57 is a modern day murder mystery game for up 32 people, but includes both of the extra character packets mentioned above.
Click here to go to the Dinner and a Murder Mystery Games website.
3 Your Questions
The sorts of things you have been asking recently. You can find out more details about the particular games at Great Murder Mystery Games.
If a game is for 14-40 people, does it easily allow you to leave out characters if you only have (say) 20 people?
Yes, if you have 20 people you use the first 14 and then the next 6. The game explains which ones they are.
Is it possible to send out invitations by email for All at Sea?
Yes, it is possible. All at Sea's introductory pdf file has all the information that your guests will need in advance - the invite, background, cast list and costume information. Unfortunately you can't split out those pages from the order form (because it's a pdf file you can't change it) but there's nothing secret in those pages and so your guests can see them.
The same goes with all the games by Freeform Games and also Murder Mystery Games.
I would like to run murder mystery games commercially - how do I do that?
If you want to run Murder at the Four Deuces (or other games from Dinner and a Murder Mystery Games) commercially, all you need to is buy the game itself and then buy the $20 commercial licence each time you want to run the game commercially.
If you want to run other companies' games commercially, you should contact them directly. (Go to the sites via the links on my website.) Let them know that I sent you!
We are hosting a party for 20-40 people and we are having problems tracking down any games locally. If we order a game from you, how long would it take to get to Seattle from the UK? How much is shipping?
Most of the games on my site (including all of the games for 20-40 people) are available over the internet (from the publishers - you don't buy them from me) - so it's pretty much instantaneous and there's no postage!
In Murder at the Four Deuces, how much organisational work is involved during the game by the host? Is it just a case of handing out the character information and switching out the light at the right time? Or do I have to spend the whole evening over seeing events?
In Murder at the Four Deuces the host doesn't need to do much work during the game. There's some organisation to start with (including inviting everyone and printing everything out), but once character envelopes have been handed out and everyone is playing (including the host if they want) then there isn't much apart from things like turning out the lights at the appropriate time.
The game comes with full instructions on what to do and how to play it.
Do you have a suggestion for a good clean script for about 40 church people who are new to murder mystery games?
I always find it difficult to answer these sorts of queries because I don't really know what a church group finds offensive or not. And given that these games include a murder (or two) and therefore a fair amount of illegal and immoral activity (after all, you need to have a few suspicious suspects) - are they appropriate or not? I can't tell.
However, the "cleaner" games include Class of '57 and some of the Tailor Made Mysteries (you will need to click through to their site to find out which are their "good clean family fun" games).
I am thinking about organising a 1920s murder mystery dinner for 5 to 8 players - can you recommend a game?
Unfortunately, 5 to 8 players is a really awkward number - 5 is a little too few for most murder mystery parties. If you can make sure that you can get 8, then you might want to look at games like The Final Curtain (set in 1926) or some of the Mysteries on the Net.
That's it for this time. Have a great party - and tell me all about it!
--steve
Comments? Ideas? Feedback? I'd love to hear from you. Just reply to this zine and tell me what you think!
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