How to Host a Murder Mystery Dinner Party at a Rental

A murder mystery dinner party suits a mountain rental better than almost anywhere else. Everyone is already under one roof, the snow is coming down outside, and nobody has to drive home. The idea is old, too: it goes back to English country-house parties where guests skulked the halls and fell “dead” on the floor.

This guide is for whoever has volunteered to run one for a group of friends or family. By the end you will know whether to buy a kit or write your own, how to cast it, what to send and when, and how to fit the game around a four course meal.

Kit or your own script

A kit usually gives you the story, the rules, the clues, costume ideas and invitations. Writing your own lets the plot mention your group and your ski week, but every word is yours to produce.

This table compares the two routes.

For a first attempt, a kit is the safer choice. Whichever you pick, start at least two weeks out so that roles can reach people in time.

Writing your own, the simple way

Work backward from the ending, and keep the plot small. Too many false trails make a reveal that nobody enjoys.

1. Decide the crime. One victim, one killer, one motive a tired skier can follow.
2. Write three true clues that point to the killer only when taken together.
3. Add two false leads, each with an innocent explanation.
4. Give every guest a secret. It should be small and it should make someone else look guilty.
5. Write goals, not lines. Tell people what they want and what they know. Scripted speeches sound stiff and leave players stuck.
6. Test it on one friend who is not coming. If they cannot solve it on paper, your table will not manage it.

How to host a murder mystery party: the casting

Confirm your numbers before you cast anyone. Hosting guides differ on the right size, since every game has its own limits, but six to twelve guests suits one rental table well. More people means a longer game.

• Match the role to the person. Give the big, loud characters to the people who will enjoy them, and hand quieter guests a smaller part with one clear secret.
• Protect the plot from no-shows. The killer and anyone holding a key clue should be your most reliable guests. Keep a spare role you can drop or add.
• Read each role with real couples in mind. A scripted affair with a friend’s spouse is not funny to everyone.
• Pair up extra guests. Two people can share one character, and a teenager makes a fine junior detective.
• Take the narrator’s chair yourself. A host who knows the ending can read the clues and keep time instead of pretending to guess.

Invitations in a shared rental

A rental adds a problem of its own: your suspects are sleeping down the hall. Send each role privately, or leave it in a sealed envelope on each pillow, so that nobody sees anyone else’s secret on the kitchen counter.

Your invitation should cover four things:

• The time dinner starts, and that the game begins with the first drink.
• The rule on spoilers. Nobody compares notes before the night.
• The dress code, sized for a ski bag. One hat, a scarf or a borrowed prop is enough. Tell people before they pack.
• A request for dietary needs, so the menu is settled early.

If you are still choosing a setting, our list of dinner party theme ideas that work at altitude offers a few that make good backdrops.

Pacing a murder mystery dinner party around the courses

Many game timelines treat dinner as one long break. A meal in courses works better, because each pause between plates becomes a round of the game. Our guide to what a four course dinner at home looks like explains the rhythm.

This table lines up each course with its part of the game. Plan on about three hours in all, and adjust the clock to suit your group.

A few details keep the game and the meal from fighting each other:

• Seat by plot, not by friendship. Put rivals across from each other, and change seats at the clue break. Our guide to dinner party seating arrangements has the basics.
• Let people eat. Never read a clue while plates are landing, and leave the entrée free of new evidence.
• Choose food that needs one hand and little attention. Chicken piccata or poached fish is easier beside a clue card than a dish that needs a knife and full concentration.
• Keep the water coming. Our guide to drinking alcohol at altitude explains why a slower pour makes sense up here.

If a table of strangers needs more help before the game takes hold, our dinner party conversation starters will carry the drinks.

Keeping the chef out of the plot

The narrator’s chair is hard to fill if you are also watching the oven. That is the best argument for handing the kitchen to someone else, or at least for a make ahead dinner party menu that leaves you at the table.

If a private chef is cooking, keep them out of the story. It is tempting to write in a suspicious cook, but a chef working to a clock has hot food to finish and cannot stop to be questioned. What helps is a short briefing:

1. Send your timeline in advance, so that each course lands in the right gap.
2. Agree on a signal. A nod from the narrator means the table is ready for the next plate.
3. Warn them about the scream. Nobody working near a hot stove wants a surprise.
4. Keep every prop out of the kitchen. Never borrow a real knife from the block as a murder weapon.

With The Mobile Chef, every menu includes a starter, soup or salad, entrée and dessert, which gives you four natural acts. Menus start from $79 per person, and pricing includes food costs, preparation, serving, sales tax and clean-up. See the menus and pricing for the full list, and check the rules for hosting in a vacation rental before the screaming starts.

Frequently asked questions