How To Investigate Solving The Mystery

The party you are attending is classified as an interactive “Mingle” mystery. This means you will be up off your hiney, speaking with the other Suspects and participants and asking and answering questions to piece together the mystery. It’s a true investigation, to form a theory about the killer, their motives, who had the means (ability) and who had the opportunity to commit murder.

If this sounds intimidating, don’t worry. It’s actually easier than the the traditional form of mystery party. You don’t have to perform lines or embarrassing stunts, you just simply investigate, and try not to incriminate yourself. You will be provided with a few questions in the Announcement of Murder. Those questions will allow you to gather enough information to naturally come up with your own questions.

Suspects Can Investigate Too

The party you’re attending will fit into one of two scenarios; either everyone attending is a Suspect, or there are a handful of Suspects and everyone else will question the Suspects to piece together the mystery without taking on a character themselves. Either way, you, as a Suspect, will also be flexing your sleuthing skills, questioning the other Suspects to find the killer.

Your Goal

The goal of the Suspect and Sleuth is to identify the killer (even if the killer is the character you are playing), and conceal your own motives as best as possible while still following the “Rules” (outlined below). Ideally, you will be the only one who will outsmart the others, showing what true, untapped genius lies within you. You want to identify the red herrings and rule them out as suspects, ask questions that will make the other Suspects give up their Hide information, deflect suspicion from yourself and try to steer investigations away from you.

Your “Clues”

There are two types of information you will receive in your Suspect Guide: “Share” and “Hide”. The Share information can, and should, be blurted out to anyone who comes your way, and is usually about the other Suspects, your alibi etc. The Share clues will push suspicion onto the other Suspects and away from you. The Hide information should be kept “close to your chest” and concealed as much as possible – without lying.

Usually, the Share and Hide Clues can be found on the last 2-3 pages of your Suspect Guide.

The Rules

There are only three rules that you must, MUST abide by or the mystery will not work. Other than these three things, you can pretty much do anything you want.

1. Don’t make up information about the other Suspects. There are only three rules that you must, MUST abide by or the mystery will not work. Other than these three things, you can pretty much do anything you want.
   For example, unless your Share information says “You saw Joe Jones kill the victim”, don’t say it!

3. Don’t lie about your Hide information. So, if your Hide information says “You were running down the dark hallway at the time of the murder”, and someone comes to you and says, “So-and-So saw you running down the dark hallway at the time of the murder”, you can’t say “No, I wasn’t”, “I don’t know” or “Maybe, maybe not…”. Don’t lie.

5. You must share your “Share” information. There’s always one person who thinks they’re going to be cool by playing the “tight-lipped” Suspect. No matter how many people ask them questions about things they saw, they won’t share their Share information. These people spoil the party.

No really. Here’s the thing about Share information: It’s designed to be used so that you can place the blame on someone else and deter suspicion from yourself. It also contains information vital to solving the mystery.

So, please don’t be a “tight-lipper” (as we not-so-affectionately refer to them). Don’t spoil everyone’s good time. Share your Share information, don’t lie when asked about your Hide information so we can all be friends, capiche?

Now, having said all that, you CAN be vague. An example of this is “Where were you at the time of the murder?” “I was in the hallway.” You don’t have to tell them you were actually in the hallway with the victim. Wait for them to ask you “Were you alone?” Let the sleuths work for it!

I Have Nothing To Say About That

Sometimes, participants will get REALLY into it and come up with off-the-wall questions. If you are asked something totally out there, something not remotely related to anything provided to you in your Share or Hide information, simply say “I have nothing to say about that”. The other participants will be informed in the Announcement of Murder that this phrase means they are on the wrong track, but saves the awkwardness of having to break everyone’s concentration to explain that there is no information about what they’re asking. This phrase definitively tells the investigator that you aren’t just being vague, but that you genuinely don’t have the answer they’re looking for.

The Killer Doesn’t Know They Are The Killer

Sometimes there are participants who will wander around asking everyone if they are the murderer. If this person is at your party, it will probably be in a loud, accusatory voice, and they will shout, “WHY DID YOU DO IT? WHY DID YOU KILL HIM/HER?” We love these people – they make everyone laugh. So, if this person shows up at the party, don’t worry, you’re not going to be in an awkward position. The killer doesn’t know they’re the killer, so you can be entirely honest with the material you have without worry about letting something slip that you shouldn’t.

Who is the Mystery Writer?

I partner with Shot In The Dark Mysteries, created by Leigh Clements. I license the stories, customize the experience for your group, and host the game on site. The writing credit belongs to Shot In The Dark Mysteries.