Murder Mystery Weekend Party Game

October 1999. A company has been staging murder-mystery weekends in country-house hotels since 1986, and this weekend there are thirty paying guests at Fenwick Hall. Saturday's set piece belongs to the man who writes them: at ten past nine the effects man dresses the wound, locks the library door and leaves him lying on the floor to be discovered at half past. He has done it forty times. At half past nine the guests come in and scream, and there is a round of applause, and he does not get up.

🎭 THE TWIST THIS ONE IS BUILT ON

He wrote the murder. He chose the room, the hour and the locked door, and he made himself helpless for twenty minutes on purpose — because he had rewritten the entire weekend as a reconstruction of something real, and he wanted to sit in the audience and watch one person's face.

👤 6 CHARACTERS, EACH WITH A REAL SECRET

• The lead actress, twenty years the face of this company and three seasons past her fee

• The effects man, who made the wound and had the last hands on him

• The new one, twenty-six, hired into a vacancy nobody will explain to him

• The ex-wife, who does the costumes, the books, and typed both drafts

• The hotel's manager, whose diary depends on this company surviving Monday

• The co-owner, who does the bookings, the rates and the money

⚠️ Best played by people who have been to one of these. Your guests are the company that runs them, and every alibi at the table is "I was being somebody else at the time".

🖼 FULLY ILLUSTRATED — NEW EDITION

• 12 painted character portraits, one on every character sheet

• A "Meet Your Characters" page so your guests can see the whole party at a glance

• A painted cover of the library as it was found that night

Nobody hands out a plain sheet of text any more. Your guests get a face to play.

📄 WHAT YOU GET (instant download, 22 pages)

• Host Guide — how to run all three rounds

• At a Glance — the whole game on one page

• The Tangle — who is covering for whom

• The Story — read aloud to open the night

• 12 Character Sheets — secret, alibi, heart & leverage

• Clue Cards for Round 2 and Round 3

• Accusation Sheet — one per guest

• Printable Invitation

• ★ Full Solution — every clue explained

🎲 HOW IT WORKS

1. Buy → download instantly (no item shipped)

2. Print at home — A4 and US Letter both included

3. Hand out the sheets, read The Story aloud, play three rounds and vote

👥 4 TO 12 PLAYERS

6 is the full game. At 4 or 5 the host guide tells you exactly who to drop and which clue card to move. Up to 10, extra guests arrive as paying guests of the weekend — they question, they vote, they can win.

⏱ 90-120 minutes · Teen & Adult · No host required to sit out — nobody’s sheet names the killer, so keep the last two pages sealed until the vote.

🖨 Print at home on plain paper. Nothing to cut out except the clue cards. No app, no batteries, no pieces to lose.

❤ For personal use only. Digital product — nothing is shipped.

★ GREAT FOR ★

Dinner parties, game nights, girls’ nights in, birthday celebrations, Halloween gatherings, and evenings when a group of friends wants something to do together — small groups and large.

★ QUESTIONS PEOPLE ASK ★

Q: Is it hard to host?

A: No. The host reads one page aloud and the evening runs itself.

Q: Do guests need to act?

A: Not at all. Everyone reads their own sheet and answers questions.

Q: Can the host play too?

A: Yes. The solution stays sealed until the final reveal.

Q: How many people?

A: Works from 4 to 12. Spare roles simply sit out.

Q: Do I print everything?

A: Only the sheets for your guest count. A4 or US Letter.

Q: What if we get stuck?

A: Every kit includes a host guide and the full solution.

★ PLAYERS, TIME AND HOSTING ★

Players: 4 to 12 — spare roles simply sit out

Length: 90 to 120 minutes

Hosting: easy — the host reads one page aloud, and no guest needs acting experience