Where do murder mystery parties come from? A short history

The murder mystery party may seem like a recent game. Yet it draws on a much older tradition: the detective novel and the pleasure of guessing "whodunit". Here is how the game made its way into our living rooms.

The origins: the detective novel

It all starts with the puzzle mystery. A crime, a closed circle of suspects, clues scattered through the pages, and a final reveal where the detective explains everything. The reader tries to find the killer before the detective does. That is exactly the mechanism a murder mystery party uses: a group of suspects, clues, a final accusation.

Board games of deduction

In the twentieth century, that pleasure of deduction moved into board games. The most famous, Cluedo (Clue in North America), asks you to find the killer, the weapon and the room. But players remain outside investigators: they do not play a character with secrets of their own.

Dinner theatre

Later came murder mystery dinner theatre: actors stage a crime among the diners of a restaurant, and the audience has to find the killer. The idea of mixing a meal and an investigation was born.

Kits to play at home

The next step was murder mystery party kits to play with friends. Each guest gets a character, a booklet with their story and secrets, and becomes both suspect and detective. No actors needed: the players are the cast.

The first kits were boxed games. Today, many are printable kits: you receive them instantly, print them at home, and can replay with other friends.

What has changed recently

Today's murder mysteries push realism further:

• documents that imitate real case files;
• voicemails to play on a phone;
• cases playable on a tablet;
• editions in several languages.

That is the choice we made with The Vernier Case and La Queimada du Pazo: real case files, in English, French and Spanish.

Why it lasts

Because a murder mystery party combines three simple pleasures: gathering around a table, playing a role and solving a puzzle. To go further, read the great detective novels behind murder mysteries and the differences between Cluedo, murder mystery and role play.