Hosting a Murder Mystery Dinner Party is Fun and Easy

If you have ever played Clue as a child, you have probably thought about having a murder mystery dinner party sometime or other as an adult. They are so much fun and all over television and the movies.

The fact that there is a mystery involved tends to draw lots of people to these parties and since everybody has a common goal – to solve the mystery – everyone has a fabulous time at the party.

What is a Murder Mystery Dinner Party?

During a murder mystery dinner party, a person invites several guests to a real dinner party. There is real food involved, but sometimes people wear costumes to these parties. Depending on what you want, obviously costumes are optional, but great fun.

Once arriving at the dinner party, everyone eventually finds out (that is if they didn’t already know) that they are suspects in the murder. The only thing is, somebody is guilty and everybody wants to find out who it is.

At the same time, the guilty person knows they are guilty and have to play along. Hopefully, you will have a reasonable actor to play the “guilty one”!

There are different clues that guests have to follow in order to find the truth.

As a host, you do not in fact need to know who the guilty one is. If you plan on playing yourself, there is a often a way of not knowing in advance who the guilty one is, so you can be fully involved in the game yourself.

How to Plan a Murder Mystery Dinner Party

Many people start out on the murder mystery party by picking up a kit. These kits are widely available and contain basically everything a person would need to know for the story. The kit usually contains items for everyone, including a story about what happens and then a packet or kit for everyone containing the individual clues and things they would need to play the game.

As many people as can play, are as many people as should be in attendance at the party. Needless to say, it is important to get a firm RSVP for these things. Imagine what would happen to the party if the murderer never showed!

Prize or No Prize, These Parties are Fun

Many party kits contain a prize or a suggestion of one for the winner, but the more interesting parties usually have other prizes, like movie passes or a free dinner somewhere. It doesn’t have to be anything big, but everyone likes to win something and that could only increase the fun at your murder mystery dinner party.

Having or going to a murder mystery dinner party can be a lot of fun, but it certainly isn’t your average party. If you are planning one for you and some friends, try and only invite people of whom you are fairly certain will come and add something to the game.

Poor sports sometimes slip through the cracks, as do flakes and neither of those adds to the fun of the party.

Dinner Party Games To Keep Your Guests Entertained

Games can either make or break your dinner party.

The right games can make your party come alive as your guests compete and laugh with each other.

The wrong game can bore everyone to tears and even offend a few people.

To pick the right dinner party games for your guests, you should know how many guests will attend, their general age, likes and dislikes and anything that may potentially offend any of them.

There are thousands of games to choose from, so it’s easy to find a few that everyone will love.

This article will give you a few ideas to pick some games that will put a few sparks in your dinner party.

Idea #1: Murder Mysteries
Murder mystery games are always a hit and can be the perfect game for a few reasons.

First, they’re easy to plan. You can buy a prepackaged murder mystery for your party. Because these type of games have become so popular over the years, gamemakers have begun creating several varieties.

Second, murder mysteries are interactive. You can even have your guests dress up to play certain parts in the mystery. Third, murder mysteries encourage your guests to interact with each other. That takes the responsibility of entertaining them off your shoulders.

Idea #2: Singles Games
If most of your guests are single, there are tons of great games to get them to break the ice and interact with each other.

These types of dinner party games are also designed to get your guests interested in each other.

For example, try a fun game like “Baby If You Love Me.” Your guests sit in a circle. A player approaches another player, sits on their lap and says, “Baby if you love me, won’t you please smile?” and tries through touching, whispers, and other coy strategies to get the person to laugh. If the other person can say, “Baby I love ya but I just can’t smile” without cracking a smile, the player must approach someone else. Singles games like this are great fun for your guests.

Idea #3: Ice Breaker Games
Ice breaker games are perfect when some of your guests don’t know each other well. Often people are intimidated to talk to those they don’t know at parties.

Ice breaker games gets everyone involved.

For example, try a game like “Name That Name!” Have each guest write down the name of a famous person or character (anything from Jesse Jackson to Homer Simpson) and place the name in a bowl. Mix the names up and hand one to each of your guests.

Then, have your guests mingle using the voices and mannerisms of the name they were given.

The person who can correctly name the highest number of names wins!

You can choose to rely on games like Cranium for your party. Or, you can get creative and come up with tons of fun dinner party games that will get your guests to interact with each other and enjoy themselves.

Whether you’re throwing a dinner party for a group of old friends, singles, or people who are meeting each other for the first time, there are several games perfect for your party.