I’ve hosted a ton of murder mystery games and have created a lot of designs that I love to use to personalize my nights. Each time I create a new design, I realize the template online for all my readers to use as well. There’s a really nice selection building up and I’ll keep adding more when I have time to sit down and design them. My favorites are the wine labels, as I love personalizing them to each of my guests and giving them out at the end of the night. It’s always a nice keepsake of the night.
You’ll find all the templates below for you to use at your next party. They’re all designed in Canva, as that’s the easiest platform for most people to use. You’ll need to sign up for a free account in order to view the designs. There’s no reason to sign up for the pro version., and I’ll never create any online products that require you to have to spend money to use them.
What’s included in this collection
Here’s a quick overview of everything currently available. All templates were made in Canva. You don’t need an design experience to edit them, it’s all drag-and-drop.
| Template | Best for | Time to edit |
|---|---|---|
| 1920s Newspaper | Wall decoration, clue delivery, friend teasing | 15–30 min |
| Jazz Music Playlist | Atmosphere throughout the night | 0 min – just press play |
| Wine Labels | Table decor, prizes, keepsakes | 10 min |
| Party Posters | Wall decoration, character intros | 10–20 min |
| Award Certificates | End-of-night prizes | 10 min |
If you’re hosting a 1920s speakeasy game, in particular, all five will work to create atmosphere. If your game has a different theme, the wine labels, posters, and award certificates can be customised to fit almost any party.
Do I need Canva Pro to use these?
Nope. A free Canva account is all you need. Every template is built using free elements only, so you won’t need to pay anything to edit and download them. Canva takes about two minutes to sign up for at canva.com.
A few things worth knowing about Canva before you start:
- All text is editable by clicking on it
- You can upload your own photos directly into any template
- Click Share, then Download, then Save as PDF for the best print quality (or PNG if you’re sending it digitally)
- Canva works in your browser, so you can use it on computer, tablet or mobile
Template 1: Free 1920s Speakeasy Newspaper
This template works best for any murder mystery games with a period setting. The newspaper is designed to look aged for this reason. It’s also written using a dated font.
Canva comes with some free elements and images that you can add to the design (if you want), but I recommend adding your own photos. Once you’ve uploaded a photo, click on it, then click on Edit and then Adjust and move the Saturation down to -100 and it’s change your photo to black and white. It’ll now fit in nicely with the newspaper.
How I use it: I’ve used these in a number of ways over the years. Sometimes I print out a few different ones and leave them lying around the room. They’ll have funny, real stories that I’ve shared with some of the guests, but written as if they’d happened many years in the past to other people. Other times, I’ve added the plot of our current murder mystery and included it with my invitation emails.
Other uses at your party:
- Laminate and use as a placemat or table scatter
- With invitations to give guests more story context
- As a clue – take some text from your game’s evidence and add it to the newspaper
- Printed large and taped to the wall as decoration
Printing tip: Standard A4 or US Letter paper and printed in color. You can also print in black and white if you’re using off-white or cream paper.
Template 2: Free 1920s Jazz Music Playlist
This one isn’t a printable, it’s copyright-free music that I’ve created for my 1920s nights. You can use any jazz music for your murder mysteries and you’ll have a great time. However, if you intend to record parts of your night and upload them to YouTube, then it’s best to either use non-copyrighted music to avoid getting a copyright strike on your account.
Alternatively, if you don’t mind losing the chatting between characters, you can always copy copyright-free music over all the audio before uploading your video.
I do strongly recommend using music for all of your murder mystery dinner parties. It adds a lot to the atmosphere of the night, and makes it feel more realistic.
How I use it: I have a few playlists that I like. I play faster upbeat music when guests are arriving, and move onto this playlist after about 30 minutes of mingling. As the actual murder mystery starts, I use this music on repeat for the rest of the night.
Template 3: Free Murder Mystery Wine Labels
Custom wine labels were only available as paid downloads when I first started hosting games, so I had to create my own designs. The templates I’ve created work for any type of party. You can duplicate designs and then edit each version with new details. I like to simply add guests names to the bottles and thank them for joining. It’s a nice keepsake for when they go home.
Three ways to use them:
As decor: Add fun names to the bottles, like “Blood Red Blend” or “Suspicious Sauvignon”.
As clue carriers: Print clues or evidence related to the game on the bottles and see who notices it – if anyone
As prizes: They’re already set up with the words “Best Detective,” “Best Guess,” and “Best Dressed”, so they’re easy to print out, stick on a bottle of wine and give away as a gift to the winners.
How to apply them: You can print on adhesive paper, if you have any. If not, print on normal paper and simply glue them on. The original wine labels can be taken off by soaking the wine bottle in some soapy water. Dry the bottle off, and appy the paper from center pushing outward to avoid bubbles.
Template 4: Free Murder Mystery Party Posters
The posters are one of my favorites. I’ve always been giving away poster templates but with the last update, I added old movie posters to it. I was hosting a party and really wanted to add some inside jokes into the decorations without guests noticing them immediately. So I made a bunch of old-timey movie posters and changed the title of each movie to include guests nicknames.
I’ve created a variety of themed poster templates that cover the main use cases I’ve found through running these nights: character introduction posters, era-appropriate wall art, and bar-area decorations. All of them are editable in Canva.
What’s included:
Wall posters: There’s a variety of different wall posters that would fit in most themes. You can customize them any way you like before printing them. Posters were a lot more popular back then than they are nowadays.
1920s film and bar posters: There’s movie posters as I’ve mentioned, as well as some bar posters that would fit into any speakeasy theme. You can add your own speakeasy name to any of the posters, or your address.
Printing tip: They’re all designed to be printed on A4 or US Letter paper, in color.
Template 5: Free Murder Mystery Award Certificates
Award certificates are given away at the end of every game. They’re usually for the best dressed, best guesser and the best detective. Most kits do come with award certificates (at least they should), but I didn’t like the designs from some kits and wanted more options. I’ve made them in different sizes, dimensions and styles, so you won’t have much work to do to make the perfect award certificates for your next party.
For more ideas on prizes, check out the top 10 prizes for your murder mystery party guide sticks to a pretty low budget.
→ Get the free murder mystery award certificate templates here
Frequently asked questions
Do all of these work with any murder mystery game?
The wine labels, posters, and award certificates are theme-neutral and can be edited to fit any game. The newspaper and music are designed specifically for 1920s speakeasy themes. The newspaper will still work with other 1930s and 1940s themes.
If you’re looking for a 1920s game that has a unique points system that’ll keep everyone interested the whole night, check out Jazz, Moonshine and Murder. It’s our 1920s murder mystery dinner game that we put our heart and soul into.
Do I need to credit Print Mysteries if I use these?
No. These templates are free for personal use. You don’t need to credit us and there’s no branding on any of them.
What if I’m not confident editing in Canva?
Canva’s editing interface is very simple to use. You click a text field, type your content, and you’re done. To add images, simply drag them into the design. There’s almost no learning curve for basic text edits. There are tons of YouTube videos that can show you how to use every single section of Canva.
Ready to start planning your party?
These are just some fun templates that I enjoyed making. For everything else that you need to know about these games, our complete guide to hosting a murder mystery dinner party has you covered.
And if you’re decorating for a 1920s theme specifically, our 1920s speakeasy decor guide has some budget-friendly ideas that we use.
And if you’re still trying to choose a game, the murder mystery kit buyer’s guide walks through exactly what you need to look for before buying anything.
Sherwin has been creating amazing murder mystery case files since 2023 – and he has no plans to ever stop. His cases have earned rave reviews from players around the world, and he’s since expanded into full murder mystery dinner party games. With 10 years of experience under his belt creating digital products, he brings a sharp eye for design and detail to every crime scene he builds.
