Murder Mystery Case Files for Game Night – Setup, Rules, and Tips

By Sherwin Clary Reading time: 9 min

A murder mystery case file game night works best with anything from one to four players, and it takes between two and fours hours to complete (depending on the case). One player usually reads out witness statements and interrogations out loud for the group, and evidence is passed around and viewed individually. If you want more information about what case files are and how they work, start with our complete guide to murder mystery case files.

I don’t just enjoy making these case file, I also love playing them myself. I’ve played them alone and in small groups. I know exactly what people do wrong, because I’ve made every type of mistake possible. These aren’t murder mystery dinner games where you need to plan a bunch of stuff advance, so there’s only a few things you’ll need to remember. I’ll just break down these simple things quickly in order to make your night go as smoothly as possible.

How a Case File Game Night Differs from Other Game Nights

Most game nights have a clear structure: someone knows the rules, explains them, and the game begins. Everyone is playing at the same time, there’s a scorekeeper, and the end is obvious when it arrives.

A case file is different from regular game nights as there are no turns. Everyone is working on the same objective together. You’re not keeping score or trying to beat other players, but rather trying to solve an objective together and move onto the next one. Everyone reads at a different pace and thinks about solutions differently, so a lot more discussion is necessary.

Think of it more as a group of friends meeting to try and solve a puzzle together. Case files often contain puzzles, secrets codes and lots of evidence that needs inspection.

Before the Night: Setup Checklist

Do all of this before your friends arrive. These are based on the mistakes I’ve made in the past. If you follow everything on this checklist, your night will go perfectly.

Download and print the full case file days ahead of time. If you try to print on the night of the party, your printer might run out of ink or decide to jam. It’s like they can smell fear. As soon as you start stressing, your printer gives you more problems. Also, print everything, don’t skip instruction pages or anything that doesn’t look important to you. It’s all important. Color printing is recommended for most cases, but always check the salespage as some cases work just fine in black and white.

Print multiple copies of the evidence set if you have more than 4 players. One set of evidence pages shared between a big group means that someone will always be waiting while someone else is reading a page or trying to solve a puzzle. If you have more than 4 players, split into equal groups of 4 or fewer people, and print off a second set of evidence for that group. As it’s in PDF format, you can print as many copies as you need.

Clear a large table. You need space to lay out evidence and compare them with other clues. Use a coffee table, a dining room table, or throw some cushions on the floor and use that – just make sure that you have a large clean space to work on.

Get pencils and a notepad. Every player should be able to quickly write down their ideas. I prefer pencils because pens always dry up at the worst times. If you’re using pens, just make sure you have backups. I also like to have some highlighters to quickly mark off parts that I think will play a part in the case later. The instructions will give you recommendations on what stationary you’ll need in order to play. And because you’ve followed point number 1 and printed out your pages in advance, you know exactly what stationary to get.

Test the QR code for the online hint and answer system. This is not something you’ll have to do with our cases, but if you’ve purchased with another company, always check in advance that their QR codes or website links work correctly. Sometimes companies don’t realize that their answer website is down until a customer complains about it. We provide 2 QR codes on our instruction pages, so in the extremely rare event that we are updating that site while you’re trying to play, you can simply use the second QR code that’s offsite.

Confirm how long your case takes. Allow roughly 2-3 hours for a case-file game night is about the average. If you’re playing one of our medium-hard or hard cases with six or seven objectives, then keep at least 3-5 hours free. It probably won’t take you that long, but when players are eating/drinking, chatting and laughing – time flies. So set a realistic expectation before you start or friends will have to rush home before the case is complete.

Choosing the Right Case for Your Group

Our top picks for game night are in this roundup of the best case files to solve at home, with difficulty ratings and info about every case. For game night specifically, here’s a quick guide based on group type.

Group Type	Recommended Case	Why It Works
First-timers (any group size)	A Fatal Ruse	Medium difficulty, 4 objectives, lots of optional clues. Finishes in 2-3 hours.
2-player date night	Harmony Seascape	Interesting nautical setting, 3 objectives, fast-paced. Finishes in 2-3 hours.
Group of 3-4, mixed experience	Hell at the Restaurant	Lots of evidence to work through. Medium-hard difficulty keeps it interesting throughout. Finishes in 2-4 hours
Experienced group who wants a challenge	Hiking Trails of Betrayal	Hard, 6 objectives, 40 pages. Lots of codes and puzzles, will give anyone a challenge. Finishes in 2-4 hours.
Groups who love history	Murder at Evercroft Manor or Murder at Tulip King Hotel	Victorian or 1930s noir settings with realistic evidence that matches the period. Richer storytelling, longer play time, funny at time – plan the whole evening around one of these.

The Rules of Playing Together

There really are no rules for play in case files, it’s all about having a good time. But I’ll add in some pointers that I’ve learned from many, many group night plays:

Have someone read out loud all interrogations, letters and newspaper articles

Most of the evidence and puzzles will need to be handed around to everyone because their impossible to solve by ear, but witness statements/interrogations, letters and newspaper have A LOT of words in them and it’ll take forever for each person in the group to read them individually. Take turns to read out longer documents to the group. You’ll still need to hand them around the double-check facts, but the initial read through is sometimes enough for players to jot down clues they notice.

Be patient with your friends

You should complete objectives by consensus – meaning everyone should have a chance to think of an answer and explain why they think they are correct. Don’t rush through it. You might find the first objective ridiculously simple and wonder why your friends are taking so long, but everyone approaches problems from different angles. By objective 4, you might be completely confused while everyone else figures it out immediately. Give everyone the chance to enjoy the game fully, and they might ever discover some secret Easter eggs in the game that you completely missed.

Have snacks and drinks available

Games can 2-4+ hours to play. Always have something to nibble on. Throw together some quick sandwiches and some juice, and have it ready to go. When frustration kicks in, it’ll help a lot with your hangry friends.

Use the hints

Take your time to throw out ideas and try to solve every clue and puzzle, but if your group simply isn’t getting anywhere – check out one of the hints. The first few hints are very general and won’t ruin the puzzle for you, but they might give you a good starting point or at least let you know if you’re going in the right direction.

Handling Different Skill Levels in the Group

If you’ve solved many cases before and your friends haven’t, there can be some pacing issues. More experienced players know how game designers think and where they might hide clues, so answers seem way more obvious than for new-comers. You don’t want your friends to feel like spectators while you bulldoze through the case

Here’s something that will help. If you’re the most experienced person, make sure that the evidence is passed around to everyone else before you see it. You’ll need much less time to spot patterns and track down clues than anyone else. I tend to focus on making sure that everyone has a refilled drink and having a good time. By the time the evidence gets to me, everyone has had a chance to think through some ideas and are ready to throw out suggestions.

Group Size: What Changes

Group Size

What Works Well

Watch Out For

Solo

Full immersion, play at your own pace

No second opinion when you’re stuck, codes might take longer

2 players

Steady pace, good debate, easy consensus

If one person plays too fast, the other can feel sidelined

3-4 players

Best overall for game nights – good evidence division, active discussion

One dominant voice might take over

What to Do After You Finish

Cases tend to take 2-4 hours, but can go longer or shorter. If your friends are still up for more games, you can pull out the free Deceptive Demise mini-case that’s short enough to finish in under 30 minutes. Alternatively, if you’re not ready to end the night, I like to put on a good murder mystery movie. or TV show. It’s keeps the same mood of investigation and discovery.

Frequently Asked Questions

How many players is best for a murder mystery case file game night?

There’s no exact size. I prefer to play alone, but if I’m having people over, 2, 3 or 4 all work great.

Do you need to print multiple copies for a group?

Only if you have more than 4 people. Four is the breaking point when it comes to sharing evidence. If you have a larger group, split them into small groups of 4 people or less and give each group their own set of evidence. Since the PDF is a digital purchase, you can print as many copies as you need at no extra cost.

When should a group use the optional hint system?

It’s best to do this by concensus. Give everyone plenty of time to throw out ideas and possible solutions. When everyone agrees that they’re out of ideas, you can use your first hint. The first hint is always pretty vague, so you’ll still have plenty opportunities to figure it out yourselves.