✒️ Modern · Present day
Mystery Writers Convention Murder Mystery Party
A hotel full of people who plot murder for a living. One stopped plotting.
6-14 players, sweet spot 8 · the full kit is ready in about 20 minutes. Or name your guests and see who they play, with the opening scene, free in about 30 seconds.
The annual convention has taken over the hotel. There are panels on poison, a signing line for the bestselling author, an agent taking pitches in the bar, and a tote bag full of galleys for everyone. The awards banquet is tonight. The guest of honour is expected to give a speech about the future of the genre. The speech never starts. The genre has, for once, come to the writers, and every person in the ballroom knows exactly how a plot like this ends.
Playing it feels like a locked-room puzzle written by people who know all the tricks. Every guest is a suspect who also thinks they are the detective. Plagiarism, poisoned reviews, a stolen manuscript, a ghostwriter with a grudge. Clues hide in dedications, contracts, and the hotel programme. Accusations are delivered with footnotes. Your kit casts the convention, gives each guest a secret, and hands out clues in stages. The reveal is the final chapter, and everyone has been trying to write it first.
Perfect for
A perfect fit for book clubs, writers' groups, birthday parties for readers, and corporate team building for any team that thinks it is the smartest in the building.
Cast size
6-14 players, sweet spot 8. Every kit is written for your exact headcount and gender mix, so nobody doubles up and nobody sits out.
Who is at the party
A taste of the cast a mystery writers convention kit produces. Your mystery is written fresh, with its own suspects, secrets, and one guilty guest.
The Bestselling Author
Has topped the charts for a decade, has not written a word without the ghostwriter in five years, and arrived with a new contract.
The Literary Agent
Represents half the room, takes fifteen percent of everything, and lost the biggest client on the list yesterday.
The Debut Novelist
Won the convention's new writer prize with a manuscript that bears a strong resemblance to an unpublished one.
The Critic
Writes the review that decides careers, has never given the guest of honour a star, and was seen in the wrong hallway at the wrong time.
Setting the scene
Costumes
- A tweed jacket with elbow patches, reading glasses on a chain, and a convention lanyard for the veteran author.
- All black, a statement necklace, and a phone in each hand for the agent working two deals at once.
- A cardigan, a tote bag of books, and a nervous smile for the debut novelist at their first convention.
- A trench coat and a fedora, worn with self-awareness, for the noir writer who dresses like their protagonist.
- A smart blazer, a stack of galleys, and a red pen behind one ear for the editor with the final say.
Food and drink
- A poison-pen cocktail: blackberry gin, lemon, and soda, served deep purple with a lemon twist.
- A hotel banquet buffet in miniature: chicken skewers, dinner rolls, and a slightly sad Caesar salad, served with a wink.
- Coffee and Earl Grey in hotel-style urns with a plate of shortbread for the panel that ran long, and for the non-drinkers.
- A cake decorated as a book cover, with the convention's fake title and a knife already through it.
Atmosphere
- Print a convention programme with panel titles, times, and each guest's character listed as a speaker.
- Stack thrift-store paperbacks down the centre of the table and hide a clue between the pages of one each round.
- Playlist: film noir jazz and string quartet, with a typewriter sound effect to open each round.
- Set out name tents at the table, a Signing Line sign, and a podium (a music stand works) for accusations.
Host tip
Expect your guests to overthink it; that is the fun of this theme. Let them. Hand out the clue sheets slightly earlier than usual, because writers read fast and want more to chew on. Use a podium for the accusation round and have each guest deliver theirs as a panel statement, with a time limit. For the reveal, present the solution as the convention's closing keynote and award a paperback to the best detective.
How your kit comes together
Set the table
Pick Mystery Writers Convention, your player count and gender mix, the difficulty, and the tone: campy, dramatic, or dark. Add your guests' real names if you like.
We write the mystery
A complete, original plot with a victim, a killer, red herrings, and a web of clues that lets the table solve it. Usually 15-25 minutes; we email you when it is ready.
Print and play
Download the host guide, one booklet per character, name tags and ballots. Or send each player a private link to read their part on their phone.
Questions hosts ask
Is the mystery writers convention theme good for a book club?
It is the theme we recommend first for book clubs. Everyone already loves the genre, the costume brief is a cardigan and a tote bag, and the kit rewards close reading. Gather & Gasp generates fresh characters and clues each time, so no member can have read it before.
Will experienced mystery readers find the puzzle too easy?
No. Every kit is generated fresh with its own secrets, red herrings, and clue order, and the solution is never a recycled template. Choose a higher complexity in the customize step for a group that reads Christie for sport.
Can I use it for a team-building event?
Yes. It suits editorial, legal, and research teams especially well, since the game rewards careful reading and argument. The kit handles 4 to 20 players, prints at home, and needs no acting experience, only opinions.
If you like this, try
True Crime Podcast Live
The hosts came to solve a cold case. Now they're the story.
Victorian Manor
A grand estate, a stormy night, and secrets behind every door.
Film Noir Detective
Femme fatales, shadowy alleys, and a dame who walked in.
Ready to gather the suspects?
A custom mystery writers convention mystery for 6-14 players, written for your guests, in your inbox in about 20 minutes. Kits from $19.99.
Create your Mystery Writers Convention mystery