17 Best Murder Mystery Games & Tips for a Thrilling Party in 2024
If you’re on the hunt for theme party ideas like a Halloween murder mystery party or you’re looking for something with a bit more flare for an adult birthday party idea, this list of murder mystery games will stop you dead in your tracks.
If you’ve come this far in your search you might be wondering, what are the best murder mystery games? Are there any good mystery games? How to do a fun murder mystery party?
Well, from learning how to host a murder mystery party to pulling off a banger murder mystery birthday party, you just need to remember a few important steps.
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How to Host a Murder Mystery Party
According to Our World in Data, social interactions are essential to our health and happiness. Painting, crafting, going out to eat and exploring the world outside your front door with friends or family are all great activities to connect with those you love.
However, after a while, they might get old. Shake up your hang and solve a thrilling murder mystery.
To host a murder mystery party there are three factors you must consider before playing:
Choose Your Game or Make Your Own
The first decision you need to make when hosting a murder mystery party is whether you are going to play a murder mystery game kit or if you’re going to craft your own from scratch. If you’re hosting an intimate get-together it may be fun to create a game from scratch!
You can tailor the characters to your friends and even include inside jokes. If you’re planning a larger get-together, it may be easier to stick to a kit.
Murder mystery game kits come with all the pieces you need for gameplay with a drop-dead plot and imaginative characters.
Pick a Theme
To pick the right game for the occasion you’ll need to pick a theme. This is important because your guests will need to know what kind of costumes to wear and what storyline to expect.
Invite Your Players
Of course, you could send out a mass text... but that’s no fun. Tailor your invitations to your theme by using a free online invitation generator or do it the old-fashioned way and send them out via snail mail!
17 Best Murder Mystery Games & Party Ideas
1. Murder Mystery Virtual Game Nights
Many of us have friends and family scattered all over the globe. Luckily, murder mystery games can be played virtually. Playing a murder mystery murder mystery virtual game night is an easy way to connect with the ones you love even if they’re miles and miles away.
Murder mysteries are known to make some of the best team building games, and these virtual game nights are perfect for remote teams to work together to solve the mystery as they bond and get to know one another.
2. Masters of Mystery Games
Dive deep into another dimension with a Masters of Mystery murder mystery game kit. This murder mystery party kit has everything you need for hosting an in-person or virtual dinner party.
You can host up to 20 players, and they come in a wide variety of unique, fun themes, like Masquerade, Wizarding World, James Bond and more.
In this Masters of Mystery review, the kits are praised for their imaginative gameplay and great team building capabilities. Try one out today and enjoy a murder mystery game online or in person!
3. Murder Mystery of the Month Subscription
If you’re not sure which murder mystery games at home to play, consider signing up for the Mystery of the Month subscription.
With hundreds of murder mystery board games out there, a monthly subscription will open your world to a variety of hard-to-solve mysteries, cryptic puzzles and larger-than-life characters.
4. Excite Your Inner Thespian
The Full House Theater murder has left the town shocked and puzzled — can you figure out who did it? The At Home Murder Mystery: Theater Edition is perfect for the thespian and their fellow theater lovers. Get into character and get cracking before someone else gets hurt.
5. Cold Case Files
Channel your inner detective to solve murder mystery party case file games. If you’re a fan of true crime podcasts or documentaries, then murder mystery board games with a bit of depth and thrill will get your blood pumping.
Murder mystery party case files are fun for an intimate gathering or a large get-together, so give one a try no matter the occasion.
6. Invite the Team
Often, we spend just as much time with our work family as we do with our actual family. If you’re looking for ideas for team building games or a holiday work party, murder mystery games are your ticket to being the talk of the office.
Not only are these creitical-thinking games exciting, but they require teamwork and collaboration to find the game-ending answer.
7. Take It to Broadway
Perfect for ages 13 and up, Broadway murder mystery games are fun for the whole family and a great addition to your murder mystery games at-home collection.
Narrated by an original cast member of Hamilton, this murder mystery game would make the perfect gift for any Broadway fan.
8. Host a Murderous Birthday Party
If you’re looking for things to do on your birthday or if you’re throwing a pal a party, consider making it a murder mystery birthday party.
A murder mystery party is a great activity that will get everyone talking and laughing as the whole group will have to work together to solve the birthday mystery.
If you’re planning this mystery from scratch, consider making the gameplay tailored to the birthday person's personality.
9. Hunt a Killer Box Set
Offering unique gameplay and story-driven narratives, the Hunt a Killer franchise is a king in the world of murder mystery games.
Hunt a Killer murder mystery game kits and Hunt a Killer: Curtain Call — Complete Season Box Set offer between 2-10 hours of game time so if you’re looking for a single night of gaming or an ongoing gaming experience, a Hunt a Killer murder mystery party kit has just the game for you.
10. Holiday Specials
Make murder mysteries a part of the holiday festivities. From a murder mystery Christmas party to a Halloween murder mystery party, these games make great gifts for good times.
11. Wild West
Put on your cowboy boots and get into character! The Wild West makes a great theme for a murder mystery game as it’s as campy as it is fun.
Plus, it’s a theme that can be easily pulled off if you’re putting a game together from scratch.
12. Family Game Night
For the crime-solving pros, test your skills by hosting a murder mystery party for the whole family. If you’re tired of the same old holiday traditions, family get-togethers, or the usual family game night games, make things a little more mysterious.
These games can be played with as many characters as you’d like, making them the perfect activity for a get-together big or small.
13. Era Themes
A murder mystery dinner party can make for an unforgettable game night. Take it up a notch with an era theme like a 1920s murder mystery game. With all the glitz and all the glamor of the Jazz Age, a 1920s murder mystery party is a lavish theme that your friends won’t stop talking about.
With so many themes to choose from, you could host a new game night every week if you wanted to! Become a rock 'n roll star with a 1950s theme or become a disco delight with a 1970s theme.
14. Download Templates Online
There are plenty of free or cheap murder mystery games perfect for a murder mystery dinner party or a murder mystery party at home.
Learn how to create your own from scratch with a group of friends or check out easy, printable templates online.
15. Critical Thinking in the Classroom
Believe it or not, murder mystery games can also be educational tools! From games that involve solving algebraic equations to literary murder mystery games, the whole class will work together to solve to the end.
16. Mysterious Date Night
Start small if you are wanting to learn how to host a murder mystery party. Murder mystery games make for a tantalizing date night for two or a double date idea with friends!
Many games only require two people in order to play so light some candles, lay out some snacks, and enjoy a night of intrigue.
17. Become British Royalty
Take a trip over the pond for a murder mystery party at home. Uncover the secrets of the royal family and “plot, plan and plunder” with the British Royals murder mystery game.
Murder mystery games make for great birthday party activities, Halloween party ideas, date night escapades or family-fun get-togethers.
Murder mystery party case files, murder mystery party board games and murder mystery party kits all share one thing in common: they’re flat-out fun. So give them a try with friends or family and make mysterious, lasting memories.
For even more fun party ideas, check out other experiences happening on Classpop!
