January 15, 2004
From this month onwards, Guilty Parties is going bi-monthly to give me a little more time to do the things I love - including writing more games.
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January 2004, Issue #15
Table of Contents
1 News
2 Murder Mystery Tip - Adding a Character To Your Party (Part 2!)
3 Review: Court in the Act
4 Your Questions
1 News
Valentines' Day Murder Mystery Game
Mysteries on the Net have produced a murder mystery game just in time for Valentines Day. Love Writes a Deadly Verse is a poetic murder mystery for 10 to, well, over 100 players. Two versions of the game are available - a home version and a large-group version.
Love Writes a Deadly Verse costs $37.77 for the home version or $79.77. Click here to learn more.
2 Murder Mystery Tip
Adding a Character To Your Party (Part 2!)
In issue #2 of Guilty Parties I talked about adding a character to your murder mystery game to cater for another guest. Well, I've recently been discussing this very point with someone who wanted to add a character to Death on the Gambia.
That first tip (click on the back issues link, above, to read it) covered picking a suitable character to add to the party. I’m now going to talk about what happens next – creating the character itself.
In this particular example, we talked about adding an assistant to one of the characters. The assistant would be briefed to keep an eye on their boss. (I’ll try and keep it as general as that, for those who haven’t yet played Death on the Gambia.)
Background
The first thing you need to do is write a couple of paragraphs of background. The background needs to answer two simple questions – who are they, and why are they here (ie, wherever the murder mystery game is set).
You should also try and give them a problem – a dilemma of some sort for them to solve. They might not have enough money to purchase the item they want, or they might be being blackmailed. You can look at the other characters in the game for examples.
Our assistant, for example, might be present because he (or she) has been assigned to watch their boss. Their background might state that they are young and ambitious, or maybe old and cynical. It’s up to you.
Plot
To make them fun to play, you will need to make sure they have some links into some of the plots. This means you will have to read the other characters to see how you can draw your new character in – perhaps they know a useful clue, or have witnessed an event.
This does mean that you will know the plots – including who the murderer is. That’s a necessary evil if you’re adding your own character, unfortunately. (Personally, I don’t mind knowing who the murderer is.)
In Death on the Gambia there are three or four main plots that our character can be linked into.
Who they know
You should also ensure that the new character knows a few other people – knows something about them (maybe a secret) so that they can strike up conversation. Knowing a secret about someone gives the character a certain amount of power, which they may then be able to trade to achieve their own goals.
Don’t provide information about every character, just those that your character might know something interesting about.
So in our example, our assistant knows information about three other characters, as well as their boss.
Goals
The goals or objectives section is just a summary of the character’s objectives – what are they trying to achieve over the course of the evening. Are they trying to acquire an object or win the heart of a good man – or both? They should of course be trying to solve the murder.
The goals/objectives should flow from the rest of the character. You can write them as single line bullet points, or with a bit more detail on each.
Other Characters
Because you’ve created a new character, the existing characters won’t know anything about them. To fully integrate them into the party, the other characters should know something about your new character – even if it’s only to get them talking to each other. This is easiest done by adding a snippet of information about the new character to other characters.
You should think “Who might know this character - and why?” and then tell them what they know.
You might want to keep the new character as a surprise. If so, you can put the information in a sealed envelope with “Do not open until told to” written on it.
An example
An example of an additional character is “Ginger” Roberts, the free sample character that Freeform Games have produced for their games.
Click here to download the “Ginger” Roberts pdf file.
3 Murder Mystery Game Review - Court in the Act
Court in the Act is a historical murder mystery game set at the Court of St James's Palace, London, in the reign of Queen Elizabeth I. The guests have just arrived from the Royal premier of Master Shakespeare's latest rib-tickling comedy, Two Ladies of Venice. Now, the Queen makes merry and entertains her courtiers, guests, would-be husbands and envoys from foreign powers with a sumptuous banquet.
But while all prepare to feast and frolic, dark clouds gather. The sound of war-drums is heard in the distance - and the Archbishop of Canterbury, who surely had never an enemy in the world, is found brutally murdered.
Court in the Act is for 13 to 21 guests, plus one host and is published by Freeform Games.
The Archbishop of Canterbury has been murdered – but by whom? The suspects include:
- William Shakespeare – the up and coming young playwright
- Sir Francis Walsingham – Her Majesty’s senior advisor
- Mary, Queen of Scots – a dethroned monarch
- Sir Walter Raleigh – an explorer
- Sir Francis Drake – sea captain and bowler
- Doctor John Dee – an adept and magus
- Senor Juan Futin da Greve – ambassador of the King of Spain
- And others...
(A slight warning – Court in the Act takes a number of liberties with history, all in the name of fun. Some of these historical characters could never actually have met... so if you’re a stickler for historical accuracy, you might want to give Court in the Act a miss. If, on the other hand, you enjoy movies such as Shakespeare in Love, then Court in the Act might be for you.)
Court in the Act is an interactive murder mystery game, similar to others that Freeform Games have published, such as Way out West and All at Sea. Each guest is given a full character with a background and objectives – of which only one is solving the murder. A character’s objectives may include increasing their standing at court, trying to learn another character’s secret, spreading the word of Catholicism, marry the Queen, or just invading Britain with a massive armada.
As with other interactive murder mystery games, Court in the Act suits a buffet meal or finger food (rather than a sit-down meal) so that everyone can talk quietly with each other.
Court in the Act needs a dedicated host, someone to organise the game. They play the Chamberlain and read the entire game so that they can answer questions. Of course, they know who the murderer is so they can’t “play” the game in the same way as the guests. I really enjoy being the host – you know what's going on and can watch your friends scheme and plot and be devious to one another.
Court in the Act is available from Freeform Games and costs £25.00.
4 Your Questions
I was recently asked a few questions about interactive murder mystery games by a journalist - here are my answers.
What attracts people to murder mystery weekends, parties, etc.?
I think there are a number of elements that make murder mystery parties so appealing.
First there is the intellectual challenge of solving a murder and a mystery. The parties give people the chance to be Inspector Morse, or Miss Marple, or Poirot.
Second, crime fiction is very popular, and murder mystery games obviously appeal to fans of authors such as Agatha Christie and PD James.
Third, a murder mystery is an excuse for a party – it’s a chance to meet friends old and new.
Fourth, it’s an excuse for dressing up. These days there are all too few excuses for dressing up, and murder mystery games (which are often set in the past and are the perfect opportunity for wearing plus-fours, chokers, bowler hats and other items of apparel from yesteryear) can fill that hole.
There are probably other reasons, but those are the ones that spring to mind first.
What goes into planning a murder mystery? Time involved?
If you’re buying a murder mystery game to host yourself, I normally recommend allowing at least two weeks to prepare. In that time you’ll need to familiarise yourself with the game (being careful not to read whodunit of course), send out invitations, arrange for catering and deal with any the last minute problems that might occur.
Things that you need to think about when planning a murder mystery game include:
Catering. Are you going to have a formal dinner, or a casual buffet? The more interactive the game, the more people will need to talk quietly to each other and the more appropriate a buffet meal will be. I always provide plenty of soft drinks as murder mystery games involve lots of talking and can be thirsty work.
Casting. Who plays which role? What do you do if someone drops out at the last minute? I try to cast as late as possible so that my options are open.
Venue. You will need a venue large enough for the game you are running. There are games that you can run yourself varying from 6 up to 200 people, so you can find a game to suit the number of guests.
Safety. You want your party to be memorable for the right reasons - not the wrong ones! Spend some time thinking about safety and fix those bare wires and trip hazards before someone has an accident.
Suitability. Some of the murder mystery games have drug references, so you need to think about the suitability of the game for your guests. Some groups are very conservative and you may need to bear that in mind when picking a game.
Writing a game, of course, takes a wee bit longer!
Do you follow the same format? If so, what keeps it interesting?
There are at least three distinct formats of murder mystery party game that you can run yourself, so there’s lots of variety. The three formats are described on my website www.great-murder-mystery-games.com.
My personal favourite are interactive murder mystery games. In these each guest is given their full background at the start of the game (and yes, the murderer knows that they “dun” it). As well as solving the murder, they usually have other goals and might want to get as much money as they can, or someone might be blackmailing them, or they may have to recover some documents that might incriminate them.
The wide variety of goals makes each interactive game very different.
Are professional actors mandatory?
Not at all.
The organised murder mystery events often have professional actors to help with the plot and to play suspects and victims. In the parties that you run yourself, all the characters (suspects, detectives and the occasional victim) are played by the guests.
Certainly, some characters are more suited to more extrovert and flamboyant guests, but professional actors certainly aren’t required.
Do the audience/participants ever influence the outcome, despite a strong script?
Oh yes. In an interactive murder mystery game the guests decide themselves how to approach and achieve their goals. They won’t all be successful (because many goals will be mutually exclusive) but it does mean that the outcome for each character is largely in their own hands.
In some games this even means that the victim might be different depending on how the guests play the game.
In this sense, interactive murder mystery games don’t have a strong script. They have a timetable of events, but how the party goes is largely up to the guests.
Is every audience member usually involved?
In an interactive game each guest (and the organiser) has a character. Interactive games don't really suit an audience – they’re much more fun to play than to watch.
Who knows whodunit?
In an interactive murder mystery game the murderer knows. The organiser might also know, depending partly on the game and partly on how good they are at not reading the solution! (I have a bad habit of reading the solution anyway, so I usually know who the murderer is when I run a game.)
For those who have never experienced a murder mystery, how would you describe it?
Interactive murder mystery games are a chance to leave the drudge of everyday life behind, dress up and become someone completely different for an evening.
You will test your wits and try and solve a murder – and you might have other challenges and objectives to solve.
But most of all, a murder mystery is a party that you and your friends will be talking about for months after!
That's it for this time. Have a great party - and tell me all about it!
See you in March!
--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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