Murder Mystery Dinner Party Kits
A murder mystery dinner party kit gives you everything you need to host a 2-3 hour mystery night for 8-20 players. You’ll have interesting characters, fun clues, host instructions, and extras, all as a printable digital download. Print Mysteries makes two dinner party kits: Shadows Over Shrouded Island, a modern-day manor-style mystery about a group of people organizing a trip to a mysterious island, and Jazz, Moonshine and Murder, a 1920s speakeasy mystery with a clever, unique points system that gets everyone invested in the story. Both are rated 5 stars and priced at $25.
If you’re new to hosting mystery dinners, check out our complete dinner party host guide first, as it covers everything you’d ever want to know. If you’re stuck at the stage of deciding on a theme, here are the most popular murder mystery themes and tips of which one to choose.
What Makes a Good Dinner Party Kit
Most murder mystery kits have a few major problems that took the enjoyment out for me. Characters are written with awkward romantic relationships that make guests uncomfortable. Roles are also split by gender, so if your group is made up of mostly one gender, you’re out of luck using that kit. Instructions are sometimes too vague, and hosts and guests end up confused.
The kits below were built to fix all of that. Every character is gender-neutral. There are no romantic relationships between any characters. The host guide is super specific and clear. We’ve written it as if it’s your very first murder mystery, so that nothing is left to chance. And when someone is eliminated as a murder victim, they keep playing on as a ghost, so nobody loses out.
Both kits also include three murders instead of just one, that are spread out across the evening. This gives three guests a chance to play out dramatic deaths, keeps the investigation moving, and gives guests fresh information to work with throughout the night.
The Kits
A wealthy adventurer named Alex Bailey has asked a group of people to help him reach a mysterious island that somehow appears and disappears on its own. Every guest accepted the invitation for their own secret reason – some good, some not. Players need to figure out everyone’s hidden motive for wanting to go the island, while simultaneously solving three murders over the course of the evening.
The host plays Alex Bailey. You will know which characters die and when, but you do not know who the murderer is. So you investigate alongside your guests. The murderer will not know that they are killer either, unless they follow the clues as well. This keeps everyone fully involved until the conclusion is read out and the murderer revealed.
The setting is in modern times and the characters are: adventurer, author, philanthropist, banker, librarian, activist, pilot, tech genious, archaeologist, historian, photographer, biologist, doctor, artist, journalist, botanist, bodyguard, park ranger, assistant and psychic.
What’s Inside
It is the Roaring Twenties and you’re inside a soundproof speakeasy where a band is playing and its full of laughter. Suddenly guests start getting killed. The speakeasy is packed with mobster-types, as well as guests with pretty dark secrets. Everyone will have to investigate to find out who is killing off guests and why. Three murders will happen over the course of the night.
The points system is new to this kit and changes the way murder mystery games work completely. In most murder mystery games, only the player who names the murderer wins. Here, every guest is scoring throughout the evening – for finding out someone’s secret, for completing optional character actions/statements (that could easily reveal your own secret if you’re not careful), and for discovering the killer. There’s a risk/reward for every action that you do, so smart players can win the game by simply using their words carefully. This helps to get everyone more involved.
The host will take on the role of the Speakeasy Owner and will have a pretty big secret of their own. Every character is simply asked to dress up in 1920s clothing, without any preference as to what they choose.
The setting is in 1920s USA during probition and the characters are: speakeasy owner, bartender, mob boss, socialite, business tycoon, bootlegger, jazz singer, charleston dancer, detective, aspiring actor, musician, cocktail waitperson, gangster, banker, hollywood star, politician, lawyer, cop, private investigator, and photographer.
What’s Inside
Which Kit Is Right for Your Group?
| If your group… | Choose this kit |
|---|---|
| Loves the 1920s, wants to dress up, or is hosting a themed evening | Jazz, Moonshine and Murder |
| Wants a competitive twist where everyone is scoring throughout the night | Jazz, Moonshine and Murder (points system) |
| Prefers a modern theme | Shadows Over Shrouded Island |
| Is playing for the first time and wants the simpler structure | Shadows Over Shrouded Island |
| Is a team-building or corporate event with mixed backgrounds | Either – both have no awkward relationships or gender requirements |
Both kits are for 8-20 players and take about 2-3 hours to play. They both include a timeline that you can follow along with as to when each murder will take place, or you can create your own.
How to Prepare for the Night
Both kits are sold as digital downloads.Your purchase, download four PDF files, and print them out at home or at your local print shop. Standard office paper works for most of the documents. But if you want it to look more professional, a guide is included as to which parts would look best when printed on cardstock, and reasons why.
Always send out invites 2-3 weeks ahead of your party to make sure guests are free that evening, and to give them time to find costumes.
For everything else that goes into preparing a successful murder mystery dinner party – food, decorations, atmosphere, etc. – check out the guides below:
- Planning your first murder mystery party – the full step-by-step preparation checklist
- 20 murder mystery party food ideas – what foods we recommend.
- 10 decoration ideas – that don’t cost a fortune
- How to create an immersive atmosphere – lighting, sound, and other details
- How many guests to invite – the perfect number of people for your event
If you plan to use a 1920s kit, our Roaring Twenties host guide has everything you need to know, including costume and playlist suggestions. And if you need even more info on our printable murder mystery dinner party games, we’ve got you covered as well.
Frequently Asked Questions
What is included in a murder mystery dinner party kit?
Print Mysteries dinner party kits include everything you need to run the night: a host guide with instructions and timeline, individual character sheets for every player, high-quality evidence cards for each murder, and lots of extras including name tags, voting sheets, invitations, and award certificates. Everything is in PDF format – you print it at home and play.
How many players do these murder mystery kits support?
Both kits – Shadows Over Shrouded Island and Jazz, Moonshine and Murder – are designed for 8 to 20 players. Eight is the minimum needed to have 3 deaths take place and have enough people left to not instanly know who the killer is.
Are these murder mystery kits suitable for mixed groups?
Yes. Every character in both kits is gender-neutral – names, clothing suggestions, and backstories work for any player regardless of gender. There are also no romantic relationships between any characters, so there will be no awkward flirting happening. Both kits work for any mix of friends, family, or colleagues.
Which kit is better for a 1920s theme?
Jazz, Moonshine and Murder is the 1920s-specific kit. It is set in a speakeasy during Prohibition, with characters including flappers, mobsters, bootleggers, politicians and socialites.
Do these kits work if someone has never played a murder mystery before?
Yes. Both kits include very clear instructions written for first-time hosts. The host guide walks you through every stage of the evening and includes a timeline that hosts can follow to have their party go off perfectly. Most hosts that have run these kits have had little to no prior experience with murder mystery dinner games.
