Games of Murder, Mystery and Fun

The mystery games consist of:

1 An optional Initial Mingling (guests mix-and-mingle as they try to achieve competing objectives)

2 Audio Introduction

3 Six rounds with a semi-flexible script - and lots of room for ad-libs and embellishment

4 An optional (but recommended) Whodunnit round

5 Audio Solution

If played face-to-face, guests can play an optional mix and mingle round called the Initial Mingling when they first arrive at your house. This is a great way of finding out who is who while learning about the key themes of the party.

As everyone (naturally) has competing objectives, expect a lot of laughter.

Our optional Initial Mingling round can be made as long or as short as the hosts and guests wish - or can be avoided entirely if you choose.

If played remotely, this can take the form of a series of short video calls between different players using Zoom Breakout Rooms or Google Hangouts or just as messaging via WhatsApp.

We describe our scripts as semi-flexible as:

1 They CAN just be read word-for-word. (This might suit murder mystery game beginners, seniors or children and also some others.) Alternatively, more confident guests can take the essential information and then embellish this, reword it and ad-lib to their heart's content.

2 Guests can choose to read only the essential information (this is given in bold); alternatively, they can have fun with some of the optional repartee (non-bold).

3 Parties can choose to stick with the list of essential speakers (as shown in the left column of each player's booklet) and to ban ad-libs. Alternatively, they can let players ad-lib (some suggested ad-libs are given) and then have other characters react off-the-cuff to these optional ad-libs. (If in doubt, the golden rule is to deny everything!) 

A Few Brownie Points

1 Unlike materials supplied by some other murder mystery companies, ALL dialogue suggestions are written in the first person so your guests do not need to keep converting "tell them that you are called Whackem Will as people think you've killed a lot of people" to "Some call me Whackem Will as you think I’ve whacked dozens, if not hundreds, of hoods and saps. Applesauce! I’ll whack anyone who calls me a killer!"

2 No specialist knowledge is needed - you will not suddenly be told to "tell people about your experience of solving crimes at Scotland Yard". Instead, this information will be given to you as a dialogue suggestion when and where needed.

3 Fun catchphrases, jargon and theme-appropriate slang are sprinkled throughout the dialogue suggestions.

We have rewritten all of our mysteries to ensure that the two optional characters are fully integrated. They have both a motive and one or more opportunities. They also have dialogue suggestions for each round and a clue to read. They do not, however, have quite as many dialogue suggestions as the main characters.

Everyone knows that these players are optional as they are given in the list of speakers in light-grey italics. However, if there is more than one killer, then an optional player could be one of the murderers! 

Optional characters are ideal for guests who may or may not be able to make your shindig or for those who are shy and may not wish to participate fully.

Parties can run with 0, 1 or 2 optional/minor characters.

No. The murderer is NOT told who he or she is until the final Audio Solution is played.

The host also does not know unless they listen to this solution (or read the text version).

We suggest that guests do not look at the Whodunnit section of their booklets in advance; these do NOT state who the killer is but they do explain a few red herrings, show why a given character must be innocent and/or show who has tampered with the evidence.

Games need a minimum of 6 players to run. Most have four options:

• 6 players + 2 optional/minor characters
• 8 players + 2 optional/minor characters
• 10 players + 2 optional/minor characters
• 12 players + 2 optional/minor characters

A "6 players + 2 optional/minor characters" option can run with 6, 7 or 8 players as you wish. Therefore, you don't need an even number of guests.

The two optional/minor characters are fully integrated but are completely optional: use them or not as you wish.  Your whodunnit will run equally well with or without them.

Officially, there is a maximum of 14 players; we feel that any more and the time needed to give additional characters their own separate motives and opportunities would make the evening too cumbersome and too long.

Occasionally, hosts choose to "double-up" a character so that two people play a single character and split the lines between them; we do NOT write the booklets in this way but have heard good reports from those who have tried it.

This depends on the number of players. We charge:

• 6 players + 2 optional/minor characters = £17
• 8 players + 2 optional/minor characters = £21
• 10 players + 2 optional/minor characters = £25
• 12 players + 2 optional/minor characters = £29

This payment is a total one-off payment per game; there are no extras. We do not charge extra for each player, we do not charge extra for the decoration pack and there is no VAT.

Payment is made via PayPal. Paypal handles any currency conversions.

We do completely rewrite the pre-party booklets, party booklets and clues for different numbers of players; sometimes character roles and relationships are also changed. Therefore, each version of a mystery is classed as a different game and is charged separately.

We do strongly suggest that you check how many people wish to play (and that they are available on the date you wish) BEFORE purchase.

That said, our policy is to be as helpful and as flexible as possible. Therefore, after the initial purchase, a different version of the SAME game (with a different number of characters) can be purchased, where it is available, for a 40% reduction.

To obtain this 40% reduction, please email us via our contact form and we will email you a discount voucher; this will almost always happen within 24 hours.

As the Covid situation is so unpredictable, we also offer the other version (Online or At Home) free of charge upon request. (This exchange is offered for the same game and the same number of players.)

We will send you a voucher to purchase the other version if you request this via our contact form. Vouchers can generally be sent within 24 hours.

All murder mysteries are written for adults but some may also be suitable for teenagers or older children. This depends on parental judgement, however, and there is an Age and Sensibilities section within each mystery where we list everything that may (possibly) cause offence.

A few general notes:

• We never use bad language.
• We never use sordid or explicit details so even those mysteries where affairs are alleged and denied can generally be played with your Great Aunt Agatha or the local vicar present. (For example, if an affair is alleged, someone might claim they saw the characters going into the same hotel room or kissing etc. No further details need be given - although parties are free to be as explicit as they wish in ad-libs.)
• There is minimal violence - the homicide happened beforehand and we try to keep the details far-removed from everyday life. Any threats are comical ones. *
• Innuendos, if any, are extremely mild (and optional) and "smut" is kept to a minimum - although feel free to add in whatever details you wish!

Note that "Is Santa Slayed?" is written for both adults and families.

*With any murder mystery, people's reactions can depend upon personal experience and so the method of killing is given in the Age and Sensibilities section. An early mystery (Murder in the Naughty Nineties) did use a hit-and-run as the homicide method, although the "victim" is soon found to be less than sympathetic and the mystery is very light-hearted.  Our upcoming Wild West Murder Mystery will involve guns and shootings - it's hard to imagine the Wild West without! Other mysteries, however, deliberately use less common methods of killing - for example, electrocution in a giant disco ball.

We believe our game kits supply everything to ensure your evening goes with a swing.

1 For the Host 

• Host instructions - separate instructions for At Home and Virtual events
• A backup copy of the Audio Introduction and Solution  
• Optional award certificates for best solution, costume, acting, food and decorations
• Tips for Running a Virtual Murder Mystery Party (video call version only)

2 Pre-party Information to Send to Guests

Editable invitations in Word. (We supply different invitations for At Home and Virtual games.)

Pre-party character booklet for each player that fits neatly onto 2 sides of A4 - or that can be viewed electronically. Each character booklet contains:

• Brief "newspaper" articles give bite-sized introductions with a few small photos to add visual interest
• Brief character bios with suggested catchphrases and mannerisms, fancy dress costume suggestions - and that "secret you will lie to protect"
• List of suspects and non-suspects - grouped into their relation to the victim
• Initial Mingling objectives plus optional dialogue suggestions 

3 Party Materials

• Audio introduction and solution (with printable backup); we pay for professional voice-over artists to record these and then mix with music or other background sounds to keep guests interested.
• Party character booklets contain instructions, prompt cards for rounds, accusation sheets, optional whodunnit round that gives more information than the brief audio solution
• Attractive clues
• Certificates for the best solution, actor, costume and (optionally) food and decor

4 Optional Decoration Packs

• Lots of theme-specific, in-house-created decorations that you can print to provide easy decorations for your house. Examples are posters, internal house signs, external house signs and, sometimes, bottle labels and other relevant decoration printouts.
• Advice and tips on how to create your own theme-specific decorations are given under the Decorations tab of each mystery
• Online games also have a Tip Sheet for decorating the space where the camera will focus. You can - if you wish - send this sheet to your guests together with the Decoration Pack.

In addition, the "Running Your Murder Mystery Party" section of each game has tabs for Decoration Ideas, Food Suggestions and a costume overview - as well as information specific to the theme.

Sample party materials are available at the bottom of each mystery game page.

View Host Instructions for Virtual Party

View Host Instructions For At Home Party

View Sample Pre-Party Booklet

View Sample Invitation - At Home Parties

View Sample Invitation - Virtual Parties

View Sample Party Booklet

View Sample Clue

Sample Audio Introduction

We can sell to any country that does not make us pay VAT for downloadable products.

We currently sell to the UK, USA, Canada, Australia, New Zealand, South Africa, Isle of Man, Jersey, Guernsey, Singapore, Norway, Switzerland and Gibraltar. These countries appear on the Country/Region dropdown list of permitted countries on the Checkout page.

All mysteries are sold for you to download and then host yourself on a day of your choosing. Maple Mystery Games do not host parties for you.

While some companies do provide professional actors to host an event for you, most people prefer to self-host an informal gathering with friends, family or work colleagues. This is also significantly cheaper.

Yes, we are happy for you to use them for your own personal work party PROVIDING THAT you do not charge people for this event.

For clarity, if you are running a work social for your own personal colleagues and are not charging them, then you may use one of our games the same as if you were hosting an evening for your friends or family.

If, however, you are a company that charges others for organising events, then this is classed as commercial use and is strictly prohibited. For example, we do not allow hotels, pubs, guest houses etc to use our games for their events; we do not allow companies to use our games to hold team building events for other companies etc.

Yes. Most definitely. The instructions are clear and most customers happily host their own evening after reading the Host Instructions.

That said, if you have any queries before or after purchase, please email us via our contact form; we tend to reply to emails as soon as we receive them, weekends and evenings included (although we do take time off to eat and sleep!). We can also be available by phone 9 - 5.30 Monday-Friday.

We do not pay for reviews as that would lessen the credence of all of our wonderful customers who have been kind enough to leave us reviews on our site.

If you upload two photos with your reviews, however, then we will send you a £10 voucher to spend on any of our other whodunnits. There is no time limit on the voucher.