The first aspect of throwing a murder mystery party is choosing which party to throw. You can buy them at any store that sells board games. Pick a party that has a theme you think you will enjoy. You can also pick a party that doesn't have a theme and give it a theme, such as superheroes.

One of the biggest things about planning a murder mystery party is that you have to make sure that everyone is going to be able to make it. Check the box to see how many players you will need for the party. You have to make sure that you have the right number of people for players. This means that it is often more safe to call people before you mail the invitations to make sure that they will be able to make it. Once you have a verbal confirmation from people for a certain date and time, then you can send the written invitations. Most murder mystery parties have the invitations already with them.

Choose enthusiastic people to attend your party. You want people who will get in character and have a good time. Only one person who is too cool or too bored or too scared to participate can bring the caliber of the game down. When you invite people, you can even say, “I knew that you would love to play this game because you are such a theater-person,” or salesperson, or enthusiastic participant or love to dress up.

If you get a secondhand murder mystery (from a friend or a garage sale), you can make your own invitations on the computer to send out. Remember to include the character name and proposed costume, as well as the date, time, and location on the invitation.

Now that you have the right number of people coming to your party, you just need to sort out some logistics for the party. You will need a place (you can use a table or a living area) that has seating for everyone. You might also need a cassette player or a cd player. Check your game. Don't forget to organize the food and drinks too!

Read through the instructions once before your guests arrive. Make sure that you understand how the game will go. Often, there is some scripted dialogue, followed by some discoveries or admissions, and then some time for accusations. This will happen more than once. There is often also time for unscripted dialogue that is still in character. Don't read through the character booklets. This will spoil the mystery which will spoil the fun for you.

Greet everyone in character and by their character name. Have nametags for everyone so that you can remember each person's assumed name. Create inventive reasons that somebody might have committed the murder, and make it up as you.

Murder mystery parties can be a great way to have fun. It's an excuse to dress up, to get together, and to have a blast. Planning the party is simply elementary, my dear Watson.