We’re Having a (Murder) Party

Penny Warner has published over 50 books, both fiction and non-fiction, for adults and children, including over a dozen party books. Her latest book, HOW TO HOST A KILLER PARTY, is the first in a new mystery series. Her books have won national awards, garnered excellent reviews, and have been printed in 14 countries. Her first mystery, DEAD BODY LANGUAGE, in her Connor Westphal series featuring a deaf reporter in the California Gold Country, won a Macavity Award for Best First Mystery and was nominated for an Agatha Award. Her non-fiction book, THE OFFICIAL NANCY DREW HANDBOOK, was nominated for an Agatha Award. Warner writes for party sites such as OrientalTradingCompany.com, BirthdaysRUs.com, iParty.com, and BalloonTime.com, and with her husband Tom creates interactive murder mystery fundraisers for libraries across the country. She can be reached at http://www.pennywarner.com.


“HOST A DIY ‘GET A CLUE’ PARTY”

As a party hostess and author of HOW TO HOST A KILLER PARTY, I find murder mystery parties to be among the most popular. Maybe it’s a result of playing the Game of Clue when we were kids. Remember when Mrs. Peacock got caught holding a candlestick in the conservatory? Well, you can bring back your favorite childhood mystery game with my “Get a Clue” Party. Just pull out your magnifying glasses, don your trench coats, and put your heads together to solve an intriguing—and entertaining—mystery, based on the board game, Clue!

Intriguing Invitations. Make mysterious invitations by cutting out letters from magazines or using your computer to create a Ransom Note with a fancy font. Add specific details from the board game, such as pictures of the weapons, names of the rooms, and so on. Assign each guest a suspect role from the Clue game

Cool Costumes. After you assign the guests their roles, suggest they color coordinate their outfits to match their characters—Mrs. Peacock in blue, Colonel Mustard in yellow, Miss Scarlett in red, and so on. If you have more guests than you have roles, ask the rest to come dressed as their favorite sleuths.

Set the Stage. Cordon off areas in the house or party room and label them like the board game: The Library, Study, Conservatory, Kitchen, Dining Room, Lounge, Billiards Room, Ballroom, Hall.  Lay out the “body” using a taped body outline and place the weapons on a table in the center of the room, such as a rubber knife, a candlestick, a toy revolver, a rope, a lead pipe, and a wrench.

Play the Game. Like the board game, choose one suspect to be the killer, match him or her with a weapon, and set it in one of the Clue rooms. Decide on a victim, set up the crimes scene, then place clues in each of the “room” for sleuths to discover. Here’s how to set it up:

    1. Select enough black cards from a deck of cards to equal the number of players, then replace one of the black cards with a red card, and mix them up. Pass out the cards to the suspects. The one who gets the red card is the murderer and must keep this a secret until the end.
    2. Have each player make up a reason why they could be guilty. Let them use their creative imaginations to come up with a motive. For example, Ms. Scarlett might have a motive to kill the victim because she was jealous of her. Have them also choose a weapon and the room where the murder occurred.
    3. Then have each suspect share an alibi that prevents him or her from being the murderer—if innocent—such as, “I was having an affair with Mr. Green at the time of the murder.”
    4. The one who is the murderer can stretch the truth but cannot lie.
    5. Take turns questioning each of the suspects—except “Are you the murderer?”
    6. At the end of a timed session, have detectives try to guess whodunit, along with motive, weapon, and opportunity, based on what they’ve learned from the suspects.
    7. If no one guesses correctly, continue the game until someone identifies the guilty party.

Break for Refreshments. Serve colorful foods that represent each character and give them a creative name. For example, you might prepare Plum’s Plum Jam ‘n’ Toast, Peacock’s Blue Hurricane Blast, Mustard’s Mustard Green Salad, Green’s Green Beans, White’s Mashed Potatoes, and Scarlett’s Strawberry Dessert.

Pass out Prizes. Send everyone home with a Clue board game, a murder mystery novel, a copy of “Murder By Death,” a magnifying glass, or a flashlight.

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February 3, 2010   Posted in: Guest Blogs

One Response

  1. Penny Warner - February 3, 2010

    Hi Lelia,
    Thanks for sharing your blog site with me!
    It’s a terrific site – can’t wait to catch up on what I’ve missed.
    -Penny

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