Murder Mystery Dinner

[RedCloakLives!]

Has anyone been to one of those murder mystery dinners? Either as an event, or as a do-it-yourself game. What was it like?

Thanks.

[Eldan]

Once. Horrendous overacting, from pretty much everyone. It didn't help that all the actors spoke what I've come to call "Theatre German", which doesn't sound remotely what anyone within a few hundred kilometers of here speaks. Still fun, but more in a "very bad b movie" kind of way.

[Domino Quartz]

What's a "Murder Mystery Dinner"?

[Grinner]

What's a "Murder Mystery Dinner"?

You go to a restaurant, and the staff put on a whodunnit while you eat.

My only experience with them is via the television series Bob's Burgers.

[Serpentine]

You mean like How To Host A Murder? I freaking love those things. One of my favouritest things ever. There's a bunch of them around, often pretty easy to get really cheap (they don't have a lot of replayability so they end up in op shops and secondhand stores a fair bit). They're best if you play it with a good group of people and everyone dresses up and gets into their characters. I think there's a good chance I'm going to be doing another one sometime soon, and I think if I'm the one who organises it I'll assign everyone a dinner course to contribute as well, to keep things easier.

[factotum]

I went to one once--it was pretty much as Eldan and Grinner described; an acting troupe that would have struggled to get jobs cleaning a theatre director's car, held at a restaurant serving what could only be described as "food" through the application of enormous amounts of suspension of disbelief. The murderer turned out to be the one who kept turning to the audience and saying "I really want to kill these people" or words to that effect, who my table had discounted as a possibility because we couldn't believe the writing was so dreadful as to make that person the killer.

What Serpentine is describing sounds a lot more fun, where the people eating are also characters in the show, but I've never been to one like that.

[Serpentine]

Like I said, How To Host A Murder are the ones I've done. There's a couple of other companies doing them as well, though, and I've just discovered there's at least one with games you can download - and for huge groups! Aaa!

I've never heard of the sort you guys are talking about, and I don't think I can think of anything much more boring and awkward. Maybe it'd work okay as part of something like Dracula's Cabaret Restaurant? Ionno.

[AdmiralCheez]

I went to one once about ten years ago. It was quite fun, but I can agree that the acting could have been better. Food was good, though. Although since the actors were also the wait staff, and our waiter was being put on trial at the time, it took a little while to get my drink refilled.

I'd recommend going to one at least once, just to experience the fun of the waiters collaborating with you on how to murder their coworkers. That's not something you get in most regular restaurants.

[Eldan]

Like I said, How To Host A Murder are the ones I've done. There's a couple of other companies doing them as well, though, and I've just discovered there's at least one with games you can download - and for huge groups! Aaa!

I've never heard of the sort you guys are talking about, and I don't think I can think of anything much more boring and awkward. Maybe it'd work okay as part of something like Dracula's Cabaret Restaurant? Ionno.

I think in the idea can be good. It went sort of like this: There were about thirty guests who arrived in groups of two or three. Mixed in among them was a handful of actors who tried to look inconspicuous. Then followed a fairly normal meal with several courses. Between each course there would be a break and the guests would mingle a bit. During the second break, one of the guests was found "dead" and the guests would have to find out who did it. Thing is, we immediately could tell the actors from the real guests, which made it a lot easier.

[Talion]

The closest I have been was a production of "Mouse Hunt" that was both dinner and a show, about...I want to say 15 years ago. It went pretty well, though it was obviously much less impromptu than one in which the audience participates.

Otherwise my experience would be limited to a Dark Brotherhood quest in "Oblivion" wherein you're locked in a house with half a dozen other people with the express purpose of killing them all...with a bonus reward at the end if you aren't discovered as the killer. It was well worth going through to try it out in every possible combination.

That being said, this actually sounds like a great game for a Halloween dinner party, with everyone getting a cue card for their character and trying to solve a murder mystery between them.

[TheThan]

I'd recommend going to one at least once, just to experience the fun of the waiters collaborating with you on how to murder their coworkers. That's not something you get in most regular restaurants.

Clearly you don’t live in my town.

I jest, I jest, the service industry in my town isn't that bad… yet.

[Scarlet Knight]

The "Host a Murder" dinners I've been to have been fun. Do it around Halloween to get friends to dress up.

I've been trying to create my own but I can't seem to balance the "everyone is a suspect" clues with the "only one person can be guilty" clues.

[Peelee]

The "Host a Murder" dinners I've been to have been fun. Do it around Halloween to get friends to dress up.

If you can only manage that by it being on Haloween, you need more badass friends.

The closest I've been to a murder dinner had been Medieval Times, but i friends and i have looked into home murder mystery game box that we want to run sometime soon.

[RedCloakLives!]

Thanks, everyone. I'd heard of them but never been in one. It sounds like there are two types, the commercial ones, and the do-it-yourself ones.

It was suggested as a company event. But now, I'm thinking, well, why not do it with the gaming group sometime? Something to look into.

[tomandtish]

Thanks, everyone. I'd heard of them but never been in one. It sounds like there are two types, the commercial ones, and the do-it-yourself ones.

It was suggested as a company event. But now, I'm thinking, well, why not do it with the gaming group sometime? Something to look into.

Sounds like you got it summed up.

Most of the commercial ones have worked out a deal with one or more local restaurants to put on the shows. For example, in Austin Keith and Margo's has a deal with Maggiano's.

I've been to a few commercial ones at different places, and done several of the "How to Host a Murder". Both have advantages and disadvantages.

Commercial Advantages: The professional cast can be an advantage, as they'll know their role well. There's usually therefore a stronger sense of realism.

Commercial disadvantage: Cost. For example, at Maggiano's it cost $65/person. It includes food and gratuity, but not alcohol (if you drink). So it adds up.

Neutral: In some of the commercial ones I've been to, the killer has always been a cast plant. The guests are always detectives. Your opinion may vary if this is an advantage or disadvantage.

Home version advantage: It's a lot cheaper. You can do game, dinner and drinks for less than price of two people attending one of the commercial ones (includes purchasing the game).

Home disadvantage: You are given different bits of information at different times. This can make things awkward for people who aren't good at adjusting. Some versions are set up that even the killer doesn't know they are the killer until the final information release. Can be awkward if something got released incorrectly.

Neutral: Killer is always one of you.