Murder mystery party tips for guests

Planning to attend a murder mystery party?

These tips help you get the most out of the experience.

From preparing your costume and arriving on time to understanding how interactive gameplay works, these tips ensure you dive in with confidence. Learn how to pursue your character’s goals, capture great photos, and stay safe while playing.

Whether you’re solving the crime or secretly playing the murderer, there’s advice for everyone.

If you want to fully enjoy the intrigue, drama, and fun, explore the full set of tips and discover how to elevate your murder mystery party experience.

And if you're hosting?

If you're hosting a murder mystery party, you might want to email the link for this page to your guests so that they can browse these tips at their leisure.

Playing a murder mystery game

Tips for playing a murder mystery game

Preparing to Play: What to do before you start playing - including costuming and turning up promptly.

How to Play an Interactive Murder Mystery Game: The basics of playing an interactive game.

Goals and Objectives: Tips for achieving your goals and objectives.

Photographing murder mystery parties: Some advice on taking photographs at your party.

Playing the murderer: Tips for when you play the murderer at a murder mystery party.

Safety: Tips for safety while playing a murder mystery game.

Solving the murder: Tips for solving the murder at a murder mystery party.

Deep in conversation in Death on the Gambia

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
—has been enjoyed by thousands of players worldwide. I’ve also written a book sharing my approach to creating immersive, freeform mystery experiences.