Murder Mystery Game

Live role-play dinner-party puzzle — each guest is assigned a character, one is a murderer, and the rest must deduce who through the evening.

🌤indoor

What is Murder Mystery Game?

Murder mystery games are live role-play dinner-party puzzles with roots in 1930s British parlour play (and Agatha Christie novels). Each guest is assigned a character in a pre-written scenario, one of whom is the murderer. Over an evening (usually 2–4 hours across 3 acts, each timed to a course of dinner), players stay in character, share clues, interrogate suspects and try to solve the murder. Commercialised as How to Host a Murder (1985); Murder Mystery Company runs professional versions worldwide.

Quick facts

Category

Escape & Immersive

Type

Team sport

Players

6–20

Where played

indoor

Country of origin

🇬🇧 United Kingdom

Estimated origin

1930s British parlour game; commercialised How to Host a Murder 1985 (US)

Olympic

No

Popularity

global

Sources & provenance

Last verified 2026-08-24.verified