Clue Mystery Party Ideas

A murder mystery party is a fun and exciting way to have a good time.Using the cultural icon identified with murder mystery--the game and movie Clue--from which to draw inspiration can put you on the right track. This classic game, developed in 1944 by a British citizen near Birmingham England, has gone through countless editions and has sold millions. Having a Clue-themed mystery party can add a little more of a kick to your mystery party with a few of your own party ideas thrown in for good measure.

The characters in Clue include Professor Plum, Colonel Mustard, Mrs. White, Mr. Green, Miss Scarlet and Mrs. Peacock are well known and loved. Having your guests role play as these characters can be great fun. Assign a role to each guest before coming to the party, so guests can dress appropriately, bring the proper accessories and learn their character's general personality. This will give your guests time to find appropriate clothing and to get into character.

The six weapons in Clue are as iconic as the characters. The wrench, the rope, the lead pipe, the revolver, the knife and the candlestick are essential to throwing a good Clue mystery party. To make your party complete, you should find safe versions of each of these weapons and place them around the house. Use a toy revolver and knife instead of the real version for safety and work these into your mystery in as many ways as possible.

Once you have written your mystery, make sure to scatter your clues around the house before your guests arrive. These clues should be in the open, but not obvious. Each clue also should be interesting, without being too difficult. For example, you could use a will indicating a certain guest is receiving a fortune. To make it more difficult, the name should be missing, having been ripped off the will or scribbled through in ink. Make several clues that point to the culprit. Make your guests work together to figure things out. One clue should not reveal the entire mystery.

To make each guest feel important, assign specific roles for each guest. This doesn't refer to the characters they are playing, but the role they play in the mystery. Take each guest into a private room and explain what she will be doing. She won't know what anybody else's role will be until the end of the game. Assign your killer and assign your murder victim. Make other people involved romantically (but not in an embarrassing way), or have others dislike each other. Have certain people do certain things at certain times throughout the event. For example, somebody could turn off the electricity at 8:30. Another could take all of the weapons and hide them. Each action should make sense in the story and for their characters. This will help your party move smoothly. Don't micromanage their game actions, though. Give them only a handful of actions to perform and let them do the rest.