When guests don't turn up
What do you do if one of your guests doesn't turn up?
Well, obviously you spurn them.
Seriously though, if you've cast your murder mystery in advance and one of the critical players (say, the murderer) fails to turn up - you've got a problem. Or if you're playing a game with a set number of guests, then you need everyone to turn up otherwise you can't play the game.
Personally, I think that failing to turn up is rude and can spoil the evening for everyone else. Of course, there are occasions when it can't be helped, and this is what you can do to minimise the damage.
First, ensure that everyone knows that it's important that they turn up. If you are running a game that doesn't have any flexibility in numbers, then especially emphasise that.
Second, you might want to think about a "standby" - someone you can call on at the last minute. For example, sometimes I have someone help me run the games - if necessary they can stand in (particularly if they don't know the details).
Third, if you are running a game with "core" characters and "additional" characters (such as The Auction, which has 12 core characters and 28 additional ones) then try to ensure that you have at least 13 guests so that if one drops out, the party won't be spoiled.
Fourth, if you are casting a game like The Auction in advance, you could leave a couple of the additional characters uncast. That way, if someone critical doesn't turn up you have someone who can take over the role. (They might not have the exact costume, but at least you can run your murder mystery game!)
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Article by Steve Hatherley. Find out more about hosting interactive murder mystery games for your friends and family at http://www.great-murder-mystery-games.com.