By Mary Lee Ferrin

When you decide to host a murder mystery party there are some things you should look for:

• First and foremost is to stay away from scripted games. These allow no imagination or spontaneity and play more like a board game. For true enjoyment your guests need to feel immersed in the world your chosen game has created.
• Look for a theme that you think your guests would enjoy. My bestseller is Murder at the Four Deuces, which takes place in 1920′s Chicago. The reason this game is so successful is very simple and something many people don’t think about. Men are usually the first to balk at participating in this type of event. When told that they will be playing a gangster they become excited about the idea. They get to play powerful characters. It also allows them and the other guests to be bad, without actually being bad. It is exciting to be able to unleash our normally suppressed tendencies without suffering any guilt. Something we don’t want to do in real life, but relish doing in a make believe way. So whatever game you do decide on it is a good idea to choose one with good strong characters for the men.
• Look for a game that is easy to host. Most of the good games are purchased and downloaded from the Internet. There is too much to them to include in a box. This does not mean that they have to be hard to host. I operated a murder mystery theater before I developed the Dinner and a Murder game system. I knew how important it is to be able to have easy to follow instructions. The night of the party the last thing a host/ess needs is to have to scramble around trying to run the game, while making sure all the guests are happy, food is served, cleaning up.
• You get my point. A good game will have very few hosting duties associated with the game allowing the host to participate as a character also. If the host guide reads like a technical manual move on.
• Do not purchase a game that does not have an introductory file that you can read before purchasing. All games are not created equal. There are good ones and bad ones out there. You do not want to take a chance on harming your reputation by hosting a bad murder mystery party. If a site cannot give you a partial glimpse of the actual game then they are very likely hiding something.
• This introduction should contain the host guide and other details about the game that will give you a good feel for how it will work.
• While you are at the web site also look for customer comments. Of course we all know that they are not going to post negative comments on the site and could in fact make up comments. If you only see one or two line comments be leery. Customer comments can also give you great ideas for throwing your own party. I am constantly amazed by my customers creativity.
• Murder Mystery Game Kit Contents: A good kit will have everything you need to play the game. You should not have to go out and purchase elaborate props. It should have invitations, host guide, characters & evidence at the least. Game money is a plus that adds a whole new dimension to the game experience.
• Either the kit or the web site should also give you party theme ideas. Everything from menu, decorations, hairstyles, music & costumes can give a host very good ideas for their party.
• If your kit does not contain certificates you can design some yourself. It is always nice to be rewarded in the game for solving the murder, best costume, best actor etc… Certificate paper can be purchased at an office supply store and is very inexpensive.

Written by Mary Lee Ferrin owner and writer of Dinner and a Murder Mystery Games. Visit our web site at Dinner & A Murder to learn more.