Murder Mystery Party: A Murder on the Grill Rulebook

Table of Contents

Table of Contents

• Party Instructions
  • The Characters
  • The Invitations & Costume Suggestions
  • The Game Contents
  • Pregame Instructions
  • The Game Schedule & Rules
  • Secret Clues

Party Instructions

It is your duty as a party organizer to see that the rules are observed and to keep the players in order. It may be helpful for you to provide each guest with a pad and pen for notes. However, on no account should you read any of the Character Booklets or listen to the Compact Disk in advance. Cast your guests according to the character profiles printed on the invitations, keeping a character for yourself, but remember that no one will prove to be quite what they seem. There are eight characters in all–six suspects and two extra guests (four men and four women). The six suspects must be present at your mystery party for it to play properly. It is not essential for the Extra Guests to be present. These two roles should be filled only if you are inviting more than six people to your party.

The Characters

• JOHNNY ANGEL – A mechanic who can fix anything on wheels
• BOBBY SOX – Tom's sweet little sister
• CHUBBY CHEDDAR – A Rock 'n' Roll musician
• BARBY Q – A dazzling blonde divorcee
• IVAN SPUDNIK – A Russian rocket scientist
• TIARA DIAMOND – Tom's pretty fiancée
• DAN DRAGNET – A TV actor (Extra Guest Non-suspect)
• PEGGY SUE – A newspaper gossip columnist (Extra Guest Non-suspect)

The Invitations & Costume Suggestions

Try to send out your invitations early. Encourage your guests to enter into the spirit of the evening by dressing in appropriate costumes, as suggested in the invitations. They can choose to arrive elaborately dressed, or simply bring along a single prop. Improvisation is the key to the success of the evening. If extra guests turn up, they can join in and question the suspects too.

The Game Contents

• 1 Party Planner
• 8 Party Invitations & Envelopes
• 8 Place Cards
• 8 Character Booklets
• 6 Secret Clues
• 1 Compact Disk with Clues and the Solution

Pregame Instructions

When your guests have all assembled, give each one their proper Character Booklet, and ask them to spend a few minutes reading the RULES OF THE GAME and the INTRODUCTION pages. You must explain to your guests that they should not read beyond the STOP notices at the bottom of the pages until they are instructed. When you are sure the guests have had time to absorb the information, let each one introduce themselves as the character they play, using the facts in the paragraph titled WHAT THE WORLD SEES. The paragraph labeled THE TRUTH is for the guests' personal information only and should not be revealed at this point. Then play the compact disk to learn what crime has been committed and to set the scene.

The Game Schedule & Rules

1. INTRODUCTION. Let each one introduce themselves as the character they play, using the facts in the paragraph titled WHAT THE WORLD SEES.
2. CD. Start the CD featuring Dazzling Dan. The narrator will advise you when to pause the CD.
3. FIRST DIALOGUE. All characters now act out their parts.
4. ROUND ONE. Have suspects take a few minutes to review their individual bits of information, then begin asking questions and revealing facts in any order. (Make sure all the facts are revealed before continuing to step 5.)
5. CD. Continue the CD to wrap up Round One. The narrator will advise you when to pause the CD.
6. SECOND DIALOGUE. All characters now act out their parts.
7. ROUND TWO. Suspects first review their individual bits of information, then begin asking questions and revealing facts in any order.
8. CD. Continue the CD to wrap up Round Two. The narrator will advise you when to pause the CD.
9. THIRD DIALOGUE. All characters now act out their parts.
10. ROUND THREE. Suspects first review their individual bits of information, then begin asking questions and revealing facts in any order.
11. OPTIONAL. Each character may choose to read their final statement as written in their booklets.

Once you have listened to the first section of the CD, everyone should turn to the FIRST DIALOGUE. This is a prelude to ROUND ONE, which follows immediately.

You will find that each page in the numbered rounds is divided into FACTS YOU WILL REVEAL and FACTS YOU WILL REVEAL ONLY AFTER CHALLENGED. Between each round, ensure that your guests have a few minutes to absorb the material before proceeding. The object of each round is for every guest to use the information from FACTS YOU WILL REVEAL as prompts for questioning the other guests, while only revealing their own secrets from FACTS YOU WILL REVEAL ONLY AFTER CHALLENGED when directly asked.

NOTE: When questioned, the player cannot lie, though he or she may be evasive. If challenged directly, however, they must tell the whole truth. At some point in the game, the murderer will be informed in their Character Booklet that he or she has committed the crime, and given information to help them avoid detection.

At the end of ROUNDS ONE and TWO, Dazzling Dan will be on the CD to help you by summing up what you should have discovered.

It is your duty as the party organizer to bring each round to an end by asking if your guests have revealed all the necessary information. This is an appropriate moment to move on to the next course of your meal, or to refresh the snacks and drinks.

Remind your guests that they should not read beyond the STOP notices until you instruct them to do so and that the Booklet they have been given is for their eyes only.

Secret Clues

There are six documents labeled CLUE #1-#6 with the name of the character who is to read each one. These should be given to the correct suspect at the start of the game. They should not be opened or read until they are instructed to in their Character Booklets.

After ROUND THREE, guests have the option of reading their version of the events out loud, as written on the last page of their Booklet, or they may choose to dive in and make accusations immediately. If the statements are read, beware, because one of them is untrue – the murderer's. Play the CD for the final time to hear the SOLUTION, as discovered by Dazzling Dan. Allow approximately 3 hours to play the game. A series of menu suggestions, from a full meal to simple snacks follow, along with preparation guidelines, decorating and music tips, recipes and shopping lists. All to make your mystery evening carefree, yet mysteriously memorable!

Be as inventive as you would like with your choice of foods, beverages, music and decor. All suggestions are optional, but will help to create the ambiance appropriate to the game scenario. Enjoy and have fun!