How to Host a Murder Mystery Party

Six to twelve plays best. Under six there aren't enough suspects to keep it interesting, and past about fourteen the quiet characters get lost.

• 6 to 8 players: every character can be central to the plot.
• 10 to 14: give the extras smaller parts with one good secret each, or put two guests on one character (the twins, a married couple).
• 20 or more: run it as teams of detectives on the same case, with a handful of guests playing the suspects.

Keep one or two optional characters in your back pocket, for the RSVP that comes in late and the one that drops out the day before.

Kits are the easy road: a fixed cast, character booklets, clues and a solution, usually for six to twelve players. Pick one that matches your headcount and lets you add or drop a minor character.

Writing your own takes an evening or two and pays off in inside jokes. A workable mystery needs four things:

• A victim everyone had a reason to dislike. It can be a character who never appears, or the host.
• A motive for every guest, so suspicion spreads around the room instead of settling on one person by round two.
• One murderer, and a way to prove it: a detail only they could know, or a timeline that only works for them.
• Clues that point both ways, released a few at a time, and a red herring or two for the overconfident.

Joinue doesn't come with a mystery. You bring the story; Joinue handles the casting, the secrecy and the release.

The theme sets the costumes, the music and the menu, so pick it first. A few that never get old:

• 1920s speakeasy: flapper dresses, pinstripes, cocktails in coupes.
• The country manor: tweed, pearls and a butler who, for once, didn't do it.
• Old Hollywood: gowns, tuxedos and a director with enemies.
• Murder on the high seas: a cruise ship, a captain, a lot of white linen.
• A wild west saloon, an 80s prom or an office holiday party, for a group that would rather laugh than gasp.

Costumes don't have to cost much. Suggest one or two pieces per character (a hat, a prop, a color) on the role itself, and most guests take it from there.

Casting is half the fun and most of the success.

• Give the big parts, the murderer included, to guests who enjoy the spotlight and can keep a straight face.
• Give shy or first-time players a character with a clear goal and a short list of things to say.
• Don't make a couple each other's motive unless you're sure both will find it funny.
• Ask before you assign. A question on the invite (big part or small one, anything you'd rather not play) saves a lot of guessing.

A good character card fits on one screen: who they are, how they knew the victim, what they're hiding, what they want tonight and what to wear.

On Joinue that is the card: a character, a backstory, secret objectives and a costume. Draft the whole cast first and assign it as RSVPs land. The same private cards run a Secret Santa draw and the pick order for a White Elephant.

One to two weeks before the party. Guests need time to find a costume and read their character, but not so long that they forget who they are.

• Two to three weeks if the theme needs a real costume (1920s, a masquerade, anything with a period hat).
• One week for a casual night where a prop and an accent will do.
• Send everyone's role at the same time, so nobody gets a head start and nobody feels like an afterthought.
• Remind people a few days out. A backstory read once three weeks ago is a backstory forgotten.

Joinue covers the last two. Release sends every card at once. For the three days before the party, guests using the app see theirs on their home screen as a reminder.

A murder mystery falls apart the moment the murderer's card shows up in the wrong place. The usual leaks:

• The group chat, where one guest asks a question about their secret and now everyone knows they have one.
• Printed packets on the kitchen counter, where the early arrivals can read them.
• Roles sent one at a time, so the last person works out who's who by elimination.
• Guests comparing cards in the car on the way over. Ask them not to, and call it a rule.

On Joinue each card goes to one person, the release goes to everyone at once, and only the hosts see the whole cast. The board shows who has opened theirs, including guests who answered from the link.

Most murder mysteries run in three or four rounds (some kits call them acts), each a stretch of mingling and questioning with something new revealed at the end.

1. Arrivals. Everyone comes in character and introduces themselves in a sentence or two.
2. The murder. The host announces the victim, at the start or after the first round.
3. Rounds of questioning. Guests interrogate each other and chase their objectives, and the host hands out new clues between rounds.
4. The accusation. Everyone writes down who did it and why, or says it out loud.
5. The reveal. The murderer confesses, with a monologue ideally, and the host walks through how the clues added up.

A dinner party puts the rounds between courses and suits 6 to 10 guests in one conversation. A cocktail party is standing and mingling, which suits a bigger group and makes a whispered alliance much easier.

If cooking for twelve sounds like its own crime, make the dinner a potluck. Leave room at the end for awards: best costume, best performance, best wrong accusation.

Joinue doesn't schedule clue drops. Keep them in numbered envelopes, or post each one to everyone as an announcement when the round ends.