There are a few styles out there, and they’re not really competing for the same evening.

Detective case file kits are designed for individuals or couples. You receive a set of physical evidence — case files, photographs, witness statements — and work through the clues to solve the mystery at your own pace. It’s more puzzle than party, and genuinely fun if you enjoy that kind of thing. But there’s no dinner table, no characters, and no other people to accuse.

Traditional scripted box sets work for smaller groups of 6–10. Everyone gets a character and follows a script — think dramatic reading rather than full immersion. Great for a cosy night in, but you won’t get the unexpected.

Actor-led experiences are built for 50–100 people. You watch professionals perform the mystery while you eat. Spectacular for large events — but you’re an audience member, not a player.

Murder Mystery Guide games are something different entirely. Your guests don’t watch the mystery unfold — they are the mystery. Seated around the dinner table, each player receives a unique character with their own secrets, motives, and hidden agendas. What happens next is entirely unscripted. Guests can say anything they like, as long as it doesn’t contradict what’s in their Clue Cards. The drama, the accusations, the alliances and the betrayals are all real — and entirely theirs. No two evenings are ever the same, because no two groups ever are.

It depends on the game you choose — each title in the shop specifies its player count. Most games run between 12 and 24 players. Check the individual game listing before you buy to make sure it suits your group size.

Not quite. Some games open with a reading of the will — guests arrive already knowing there’s been a murder, and the evening is about uncovering who did it and why. Other games are designed so that the murder is discovered during play, which creates a different kind of opening energy. Either way, no one plays a dead body — every guest has a live, active character from start to finish.

One game worth noting: The Botanical Museum Mystery requires the host to bring along one specific prop. It’s simple and inexpensive to make at home, but it does take one extra step of organising before the night. Everything you need to know is in the host instructions.

Each game comes as a set of downloadable PDFs, professionally designed and print-ready. While contents vary slightly between games, you’ll typically receive:

— Character List
— Clue Cards
— Host Timeline
— Murder Note
— Name Tags
— Place Cards

Every player receives a unique character with their own secrets, motives, and hidden agendas. The Host Timeline walks you through the evening step by step so you always know what’s coming next. Every file is clearly labelled so your print shop knows exactly what to do with it.

A home printer works fine for some groups. For larger groups or a more polished finish, a print shop is worth it — ask for colour printing on card stock. Each pdf is labelled with print sizes so your print shop shouldn’t need to ask about how big or small to print each file.

Absolutely. Purchase the game, download the files, and pass them on. It makes an excellent gift for anyone who hosts dinner parties and wants to do something genuinely memorable.

Yes. The games are fully downloadable and work anywhere in the world. Prices are listed in Rands but your bank will convert at the current rate. Several of our games have been played in the UK, Europe, and beyond. If you would like to use PayPal to purchase the game, you must use the currency switcher (the little red tab on the right hand side) to convert the pricing to dollars first. This will allow PayPal to accept your payment.

A standard purchase covers private personal use. If you’re running a ticketed event, using the game as part of a paid experience, or hosting on behalf of a business, you’ll need a commercial licence. Contact us before your event to arrange this.

None whatsoever. Murder Mystery Guide games are designed to be hosted by a complete first-timer. There are no scripts to memorise, no acting required, and no special skills needed — just a group of people who are up for a good night. The game does the heavy lifting. You just need to show up.

Yes — and it works better than you might think, as long as you’re strategic about which character you take on.

If the game has expendable characters and your group size allows, take one of those. Expendables don’t carry secrets that need to be revealed at the right moment, which means you can focus on managing the flow of the evening, reading the room, and stirring the pot when things need a nudge — without worrying about whether you’ve played your hand too early.

One thing to avoid: don’t take the murderer role if you’re also hosting. It’s too much to juggle, and the host is often the person others look to for cues — which makes keeping that particular secret very difficult.

If the game is fully subscribed and there are no character slots left, you can still be present in the room without being invisible. Create a non-essential role that makes contextual sense — the victim’s personal assistant, the head of catering, the event coordinator. A role with a little authority gives you a natural reason to move around the table, ask questions, and prompt quieter guests to share what they know. Nobody questions why the PA is keeping things moving.

The golden rule: the lighter your character responsibilities, the more effectively you can host. Keep yourself free to watch the room.

Plan for 1.5 to 3 hours of gameplay, depending on your group and how deep into character everyone goes. Factor in some post-game socialising afterwards and you’ve got a full evening.

The most common hiccup is a guest who drops out. Most games include both main characters and expendable characters — expendables can be removed without affecting gameplay, but main characters need to be covered. When you assign roles, give your main characters to your most dependable guests. If a main character cancels — ideally not on the day — you’ll either need to reshuffle an expendable into that role or find a last-minute replacement.

The other thing that catches hosts out is guests sitting on their secrets. Some players need a nudge to share what they know. A simple prompt works beautifully: “Does anyone have any information we haven’t heard yet that might help us solve this?” — that’s usually enough to draw out anyone who’s been holding back.

The best preparation is reading through all the materials before the night. You don’t need to memorise anything, but knowing the shape of the game means you can steer the room if things drift. You’ve got this.

You can book an optional one-hour live video call with Lisa before your event. She’ll walk you through the game, answer your questions, and make sure you feel completely confident going in. It’s available as an add-on at checkout.

If you’d like Lisa to host your Print & Play game so you can attend more as a guest than a host, drop her a message via the Contact section and she will quote you for the game, hosting, printing and travel where required.

The “How to Host a Murder Mystery Dinner Party” video is based on Lisa’s flagship game, so the details you’ll see are unique to that title. But the principles are universal — how to brief your guests, how to manage the room, when to nudge things along, how to handle the moments when the evening takes on a life of its own. Whatever game you’ve chosen, the video will make you a more confident host. Watch it before your event regardless of which title you’ve bought.

Not with the same group — once players know the characters and the outcome, the mystery is gone. But a different group? Absolutely. Each new group creates an entirely different evening because the improvisation takes it somewhere new every time.

Both work — but they create very different evenings.

Hosting at home is personal, relaxed, and often exactly the right call. You control everything, costs stay low, and there’s something lovely about a murder mystery unfolding in someone’s actual dining room.

A private dining venue takes it to another level entirely. The main practical reason is noise — the game requires guests to hear each other, and background chatter from other diners can flatten the dynamic completely. A private room solves that instantly, and offers a far more immersive experience. But beyond the acoustics, there’s something that happens when you book a space specifically for the evening: it signals to your guests that this is an occasion. They arrive differently. They commit more fully.

The other thing a venue gives you — and this is underrated — is the ability to actually enjoy your own party. When someone else is handling the food and drinks service, you’re not running to the kitchen mid-accusation or managing waitstaff while someone spectacularly throws their best friend under the bus. You’re a guest at your own event. For a Print & Play host, that freedom is worth a lot.

My honest recommendation: if the group is large, the occasion is significant, or you simply want the night to feel like a proper event — book the room.

If your budget allows for one extra touch, make it a photographer. Your guests will have gone to real trouble with their outfits and their characters — and this is exactly the kind of evening that deserves to be documented properly. Not a quick phone snap between courses, but actual photographs of the moments: the accusations, the alliances, the faces when the murderer is revealed. People talk about these evenings for years. You’ll want the pictures to match the memory.

Table décor is worth considering too. You don’t need to go overboard, but a beautifully set table signals to your guests from the moment they walk in that this is not an ordinary dinner party. It sets the tone before a single character has been introduced.

Neither is required — the game works without either. But if you’re already going to the trouble of hosting something this memorable, it’s worth making it look the part.

Print & Play games are pre-written, ready to download, and designed to be hosted by you. The characters, plot, and mystery are fixed — and with no scripts, your group brings all the improvisation. A Bespoke dinner is written from scratch around your specific guest list, with every character based on a real person in the room. Lisa writes it, designs it, and hosts it herself. If you want a completely one-of-a-kind evening with zero effort on your part, that’s the bespoke route. If you want a brilliant night you can pull off yourself, Print & Play is where to start. There is also an in-between option: you choose your favourite Print & Play game and ask Lisa to host it. In that case, reach out via the Contact page for a quote.