If youve not hosted a murder mystery party game before Kevin Hayes Jersey , the experience can appear to be a bit daunting. It really isnt as difficult as it may first appear ?murder mystery games are very easy to host. But until youve got a one or two under your belt, these few tips should make your life a bit easier.
#1 Getting Started
Take your time. The games themselves are quite wordy and require some time to absorb. You dont need to memorise everything, but it certainly helps to know where everything is. So take your time. Print everything out and read it at leisure. You dont need to understand everything immediately ?so skip over anything you find confusing and come back to it later.
At some point youll need to start preparing the game. Youll need envelopes for each character J.T. Miller Jersey , into which you will put the character background and whatever rules are required. Thats usually two or three sheets of paper, plus possibly some item and ability cards. I usually re-read the characters as I stuff the envelopes ?it reminds me of who they are and what clues and abilities they start with.
Youll probably find it useful to have a full set of the game notes to hand as well. So having stuffed the packets, youll need to print out another set in case you need to refer to something during the game itself.
I like to have everything complete (envelopes stuffed and packed Mika Zibanejad Jersey , invitations sent) at least a week in advance of the party. That reduces the likelihood of last minute rushes. They still happen, but with most of the preparations already complete, I find that last minute rushes are easier to deal with.
#2 Casting
There are two ways to cast a murder mystery party game. You can either cast in advance Mats Zuccarello Jersey , or do it on the day. Both have their strengths and weaknesses.
The big advantage of casting in advance is that your guests can prepare for the role. They can find appropriate costumes and props and help contribute to the atmosphere of the game. The main disadvantage is that if someone that you have given a critical character to (say, the murderer) cancels at the last minute, then you need to recast. And that may mean that someone has a quite inappropriate costume for his or her new part.
If you decide to cast on the day Henrik Lundqvist Jersey , you should encourage your guests to dress in an appropriate style. This may mean that you lose a little atmosphere, but does mean youre not relying on anyone particular.
A third option is to combine both. Tell some people in advance which characters they will be playing, and leave some to the last minute to cover all eventualities.
Then theres casting itself ?how do you actually decide who gets which character? Theres no hard and fast rule for this as nobody knows your friends the way you do. I have both cast characters on an entirely random basis and according to who was turning up. Both seem to work.
(You could of course ask your guests what sort of character they would like ?but then you run the risk of someone being disappointed when you cant Ryan McDonagh Jersey , for whatever reason, cast them in their preferred role.)
I dont recommend sending out the whole character background in advance. If you do that, you run the risk that your guests (particularly close friends and partners) may actually start playing before the evening! They may well accidentally give away secrets ?and unintentionally spoil the evening. You also have an even bigger problem if someone drops out ?you cant give their character to someone else (because they know things about their first character) so you would need to try and find an extra person from somewhere.
#3 Catering
First things first ?while some murder mystery parties are designed around a sit-down meal Throwback New York Rangers Jerseys , some are not. Instead, the players need the freedom to move around the room, to skulk in corners and to talk privately with one another. They cant do that if they are sitting down having a three-course meal.
If you do want to provide a meal Custom New York Rangers Jerseys , you really have two options. The first is to provide the meal in advance. Invite your guests early, feed them and then (during coffee) hand out their characters. The problem with this is that dinner parties Ive been to drag on into the evening. And Ive rarely wanted to do anything other than digest afterwards. Having a sit-down meal in the middle of a mystery game doesnt work either ?it breaks the atmosphere and forces someone into the kitchen and away from the game.
The second option is to provide finger food ?slices of pizza, a cold buffet Authentic New York Rangers Jerseys , sandwiches or whatever takes your fancy. Finger food is ideal ?it can be prepared in advance (with minimal effort in most cases) and the guests can "graze" at their leisure. You could also ask your guests to contribute to the meal to help you with the workload.