23 Characters

A Night at the Palace is a royal murder mystery game set in the glittering Kingdom of Ambrosia — and a celebrity murder mystery game unlike anything your guests have experienced before. A dazzling group of celebrity guests has gathered at a royal fundraising event, dressed to impress and eager to be seen. The evening promises glamour, generosity, and spectacle. The star attraction is world-renowned speaker, former astronaut, and Mr Universe winner Giovanni Romano — a man of extraordinary achievements and impeccable philanthropic credentials, scheduled to deliver a speech that nobody could have anticipated.

Nobody anticipated what happened next either.

Giovanni’s body is discovered during the fundraiser, and suddenly the glittering palace event takes a very dark turn. The guests — a glittering mix of celebrities, royals, and high-society figures — are now suspects. Each one has a secret. Each one had access. And each one has a very good reason to want the evening’s events to disappear quietly into the night.

“I loved the party! I am hooked. That dinner was one of my favourites ever.” – Lindsey Ord

This is not a passive experience. Every guest arrives as a character with a backstory, a secret, and a motive — and the investigation begins the moment the body is found. Each player must interrogate the rest of the characters over the dinner table, taking turns to reveal suspicious secrets and piece together the clues. With every revelation the atmosphere shifts, alliances fracture, and the question of who killed Giovanni Romano becomes increasingly complicated. The beauty of this game is that the drama unfolds from your guests, not from a script — the more they commit to their characters, the more spectacular the evening becomes.

The game caters for 23 guests (9 male characters, 13 female characters, and one undefined character) of varying ages — making it one of the largest and most ambitious games in the Murder Mystery Guide collection.

The fully designed printable kit includes everything you need to host a seamless royal evening: an Invitation to set the scene before the night, a Character List, an exclusive Palace Guest List, Place Cards and Name Tags for the table, Clue Cards to drive the investigation, the Order of Events to keep the evening on track, the King’s Note, and the Victim’s Speech — Giovanni’s address, the contents of which nobody will see coming.

Murder Mystery Guide games are conceived and designed in Cape Town, and played everywhere — from living rooms to luxury venues across South Africa and beyond. Every game in our collection is an original production: fully designed, largely improvised, and built for real people, not trained actors. No scripts to memorise, no experience required — just great company and a willingness to have fun. Whether you’re hosting a glamorous birthday, a corporate celebration, or a private event with a royal twist, we give every guest a role, a secret, and a reason to stay at the table.

Need inspiration? View photographs from the first party to enjoy this Murder Mystery Guide Experience.

The stories, all names, characters, and incidents portrayed in these productions are fictitious. No identification with actual persons (living or deceased), places, buildings, and products is intended or should be inferred. Please note that all event, décor, catering, printing, venue hire and hosting services are not included in this purchase; the downloadable PDFs alone are the product. Please note that Murder Mystery Guide Experiences are not suitable for children and contain themes, scenarios, characters and references that may be inappropriate for sensitive persons.