Welcome to Guilty Parties

Welcome to Guilty Parties, the murder mystery party newsletter from Great Murder Mystery Games.

This time, I am talking about writing your own murder mystery party game.

How hard can it be?

Why write your own?

While there are loads of different murder mystery kits on the market (many of which I talk about on Great Murder Mystery Games), it can be the case that there isn’t a kit that suits exactly what you’re looking for.

Perhaps you’re looking for a kit for a specific number of people, for a specific setting, or that includes real-world information about your guests. And as you can’t find the right kit, you want to write your own.

Or perhaps you just like being creative and want to create your own murder mystery. (Creating your own murder mystery is hugely satisfying – but can also be a lot of work.)

Writing a murder mystery kit: the basics

So there are several basic questions you need to answer early on, before you start. You may already have an idea of what you’re looking for anyway...

What sort of party?

So, what sort of murder mystery party are you hosting? Dinner theatre? Rounds? Interviewing suspects? Interactive?

Each has its own structure and quirks. (For example, a dinner theatre will need a script.) However, all of them require a murder, and if you need assistance with structuring that, I recommend you read my review of Jack Pachuta’s Murder Mystery Writing System.

And if you are interested in writing an interactive game, where each character has multiple goals and solving the murder is only one part of the party, then I recommend my book Writing Freeform Larps. (A larp is a type of role-playing game, played standing up rather than at a table, and usually in costume. My book covers more than just murder mysteries, but the process it details is the one I use to write my murder mystery games.)

What sort of theme?

Where and when is your murder mystery set? A beach party? A golfing holiday? A church? The Wild West? Outer space?

Your audience may decide your theme for you. If you are planning a party for your book club, then a bookish murder mystery is probably more appropriate than one set on a cruise.

How many people?

The more people you are writing characters and backstory for, the longer it will take (simply because you will need to write more words).

Personally, I struggle to create satisfying murder mysteries with fewer than six players/suspects. (But that may just be me.)

The style of the game may affect how many people you are writing for. With dinner theatre and interviewing suspects, for example, you only need to worry about writing the suspects. For an interactive game, you need to write characters for everyone.

Do you want to sell your game?

Selling your game raises other considerations, such as whether you want to publish it yourself. If you are selling it, then you may not want to write a game that is too niche – you probably want a wide appeal. And if you want to sell it to a publisher, make sure you are familiar with their house style.

Click here to read more about selling your murder mystery game.

New murder mystery reviews

Finally, I’ve added a couple more reviews.

Christmas with the Gildmores is an Advent detective kit that gives you clues each day. Did I solve the mystery? Read my review and find out.

GURPS Mysteries is a supplement for the GURPS roleplaying full of information about creating mysteries for a game. (Or you could use it to write a story.) Read my review here.

That’s it for this time!

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