Guests who don't want a full character

By Steve Hatherley

Sometimes, not everyone wants to take a character and be fully involved in a murder mystery game. Some people are naturally shy, or may just be uncertain.

So what do you do when you have guests who want to attend your party, but don't want to play a full character?

Can they still be involved? Yes they can!

Adding characters to games

The trick for this is to find a murder mystery game setting where it makes sense for there to be other people present. Luckily there are a few obvious candidates.

Casino Fatale is set in a Parisian casino. If you set up a roulette wheel and blackjack table then  other guests play the part of "general casino guests" rather than specific roles.

Murder at Sea is set aboard the cruise liner Libertainia. Your extra guests can play other passengers (I probably wouldn't make them crewmembers though).

Hollywood Lies is set at a post-award party. The extra guests could play extra guests at the party who aren't involved in the main plots.

In Murder on the Istanbul Express, the additional guests might be additional passengers. In The Final Curtain (set at a play), they might be other members of the production (backstage or supporting actors).

What to give your additional guests

I would give the additional guests a name badge, and some simple information that they know (that can be copied from the main game) so that they can be involved just a little and try to solve the murder.

For example, for Hollywood Lies I would give them a name, a clue, and maybe a single ability. Depending on how involved you want to make them, I might give them simple roles, such as "Assistant to Mr X" or give them an objective to collect as many movie star autographs as possible.

I would also give each of the guests a small amount of in-game money - just enough for them to do something with, but not enough to unbalance the in-game economy.

Keep a spare character back

You may find that some of those who originally thought that they wanted to sit out the game, decide that they want to play.

So it might be wise to print a couple of the optional characters so that you have them to hand!

I’m Steve Hatherley, an experienced designer of interactive murder mystery games, creating and hosting them since the 1990s. I co-founded Freeform Games and Great Murder Mystery Games to bring this distinctive, character-driven style of game to a wider audience. My work—including Death on the Gambia, Hollywood Lies, and The Roswell Incident—has been enjoyed by thousands of players worldwide. I’ve also written a book sharing my approach to creating immersive, freeform mystery experiences.