Murder Mystery Games for Parties, Game Night and Solo Sleuths

What murder mystery games are

A murder mystery game gives you a crime, a list of suspects and a way to find out who did it. That's the whole family resemblance. After that, the boxes split into very different evenings.

The listings on this page all call themselves murder mystery, whodunit or mystery-party games. That's the rule for being in the table above. Inside that rule, I count three kinds:

• Hosted party kits. Everyone plays a character. You talk your way to the answer.
• Case files. A box of evidence. You read, compare and argue your way to the answer.
• Detective board games. Clue and its editions. You move, ask and cross things off a sheet.

The right one depends on how many people you have, how old the youngest is and whether your crowd likes to perform or to puzzle. Some people want to wear a hat and an accent. Some want a notepad and silence. Both are welcome. They just shouldn't buy the same box.

The three kinds of murder mystery game

Murder mystery party kits

A murder mystery party game turns your dinner into the crime scene. University Games describes its Murder Mystery Party kits as a party planner with recipes and decorating tips, invitations and envelopes, character booklets, name tags, clues and host instructions. Each guest gets a character. Everyone is a suspect. You question each other, dig up secrets and improvise until the murderer is exposed.

In our data, that's two kits from University Games: A Taste for Wine and A Slice of Murder. Both list 6 to 8 players and ages 18+. A Slice of Murder is also marked adults-only on its listing. The publisher's page for A Taste for Wine sets the scene at a California wine-country tasting, with a vineyard owner who has been missing for six years.

What this kind needs from you:

• A guest list that hits the minimum
• Invitations sent ahead, so people know their character
• A host willing to keep things moving
• A table, food and about one evening

It's the only party I know where the guest list and the suspect list are the same piece of paper.

Case files and evidence boxes

The second kind is a stack of evidence instead of a cast list. In our data, that's two cases from Lucky Egg: MMC Area 51 and MMC Times Square. Both list 1 to 10 players and 150 minutes. The listings count the evidence: 47 pieces for Area 51 and 40 for Times Square.

That 1-player minimum is the big difference. You can work a case file alone on a quiet night, with a partner, or spread it across a table for a group. There are no roles to cast and nobody has to act. Your job is to read carefully and connect things.

A case file is homework you assign yourself, and then thank yourself for.

Detective board games

The third kind is the one most people grew up with. In our data, that's Clue Classic Edition from Winning Moves and the Clue Vintage Bookshelf Edition from WS Game Company. Both list 3 to 6 players and ages 8+, and both are tagged as mystery games.

Hasbro's Clue rulebook (product 00045) lays out the idea. Three cards go into a confidential case file at random: one suspect, one weapon, one room. Players move through the mansion, make suggestions and see who can disprove them. When you think you know all three, you make one accusation. If you're right, you win. If you're wrong, you're out of the running, though you still show cards when others ask.

The random case file is why Clue replays. The answer is different every game. For the full rundown of editions, see our Clue page.

A kids' mystery party

MindWare's Bella's Mystery Party: The Case of The Stolen Buckle sits a little apart. Its listing calls it a mystery-party game and does not mark it adults-only. The listing doesn't give a player count, age or play time, so I can't tell you more than that. Check the box before you plan around it.

What to look at before you buy a murder mystery game

Player count, especially the minimum

Read both ends of the range. A party kit at 6 to 8 players doesn't work with 4 at the table. A Clue edition at 3 to 6 doesn't work for a couple on a Tuesday. The Lucky Egg cases at 1 to 10 are the most flexible boxes here. Count your likely guests before you shop, then count them again the week of the party. A cast-based kit with one empty chair is a story with a missing chapter.

My one opinion for this page: buy for your usual group size, not the biggest number on the box. A party kit is built around a fixed cast, so the minimum is a hard floor, not a suggestion. If you can reliably get 6 adults around a table, a party kit works. If you can't, the case files or Clue will get played and the kit won't.

Age on the listing

The ages in our data run from 8+ for both Clue editions to 18+ for both University Games kits. The 18+ is about content and setting, and it matters for a mixed family gathering. Read it before you put the box on the table, not halfway through the first round.

Two listings in the table don't state an age. The table shows a dash there, and I won't fill it with a guess.

Play time

Only the Lucky Egg case files list a time: 150 minutes each. That's two and a half hours, so start before dinner, not after dessert. Clue doesn't have a fixed length. The game ends at the first correct accusation, so a sharp table finishes faster than a chatty one.

For a party kit, plan the evening around the meal and the story. The University Games listings don't give a time, and I'd rather leave the field blank than invent one.

Evidence and contents count

On case files, the content count tells you how much reading is in the box. Area 51 lists 47 pieces of evidence and Times Square lists 40. More pieces means more to sort, compare and pass around. For a big group, that's good: everybody gets something to hold. For a solo player, it's a longer night.

Party kits list their contents by type rather than by count: booklets, invitations, name tags, clues. Clue lists suspects, weapons and rooms; Hasbro's rulebook names six suspects, six weapons and nine rooms.

Adults-only flag and theme

A Slice of Murder is marked adults-only on its listing. A Taste for Wine lists 18+ and, going by its title and setting, is built around a wine tasting. If your group includes teens or folks who skip wine, read the theme along with the age.

Edition and resale stock

The two Clue boxes differ by edition. Winning Moves lists a classic edition. WS Game Company lists a retro or vintage reissue, and its listing is marked as resale stock. Same game idea, different packaging and seller situation. Check who's selling before you buy.

Who should skip murder mystery games

Skip the party kits if your group doesn't enjoy performing. Every guest has to stay in character, answer questions and bluff a little. A table of quiet puzzlers will be happier with a case file.

Skip the case files if nobody in your house likes reading a lot of small documents. Forty-plus pieces of evidence is the game. If that sounds like a chore, it will play like one.

Skip Clue for a household of two. It lists 3 players minimum. And skip the 18+ kits for any group that includes kids, even if the kids are the best detectives in the family.

Marisol's take: "Evidence is only evidence if you write down where you found it. Otherwise it's a story you're telling yourself." She said this about survey stakes, but it fits a case file better.

Setting up a murder mystery night

A few practical notes, from the boxes and the rulebook:

• Send invitations early. Party kits include them because guests need time to read their character.
• Clear a big table. Case files spread out fast. Evidence on the floor is evidence nobody reads.
• Keep a notepad per player. Clue comes with a detective notepad, and Hasbro's rulebook mentions ordering more.
• Decide who hosts. A party kit needs someone running the evening. A case file can be run by everyone.
• Read the age line once more. Then set the table.

One more thing that isn't in any rulebook: put the snacks somewhere that isn't the evidence pile. Nobody solves a case faster with salsa on Exhibit 12. (That's a house suggestion, not a rule.)

Murder mystery games vs other mystery games

Murder mystery games are a slice of a wider deduction shelf. A few neighbors on this site:

• Clue: the classic detective board game, all editions
• Mysterium: a cooperative ghost story where one player gives picture clues
• Outfoxed: a cooperative whodunit for younger kids
• Social deduction games: find the liar among the players
• Party games: bigger groups, lighter rules

If your group liked the case file but wants to work together, Mysterium is the next step. If they liked the role-play but want it shorter, social deduction games give you the accusing without the costume.

Pick the kind first. The victim will wait.