Murder mystery party · 8 to 20 players · A4 or US Letter
Murder at the Video Awards: an 80s murder mystery party.
It is a Friday night in 1985. The cameras have stopped rolling on a music channel's very first awards show, and the party starts right there on Soundstage 2. Dawn Diamond, the aerobics star who co-hosted the show, never turns up for the toast. She is lying dead in her dressing room, and there was a sedative in her shake. Security locks the building until the police arrive. Your guests play the singers, the producers and the hangers-on, and one of them did it.
29.99 EUR for the printable party kit
Instant download · A4 and US Letter PDFs · personal use only
Every guest comes as someone from the soundstage: a pop singer up for Best New Artist, the floor manager in a headset, the head of the channel with a brick car phone, a gossip columnist with a Polaroid camera. Their booklet says who they are and what they did during the break after the taping. It also gives them a secret to protect, gossip about other guests and a mission for each round.
The invitations do the dressing-up work for you. Each one describes a full 80s look for that character and an easier version from an ordinary wardrobe, along with the one small item the character carries.
You host and play a part as well. The envelopes hold everything you read aloud, and the answer is sealed in the last one, so you learn who did it when your guests do.
There are 18 pieces of evidence, 6 for each of the 3 rounds, and every innocent suspect is cleared by one of them. A program checked the clues at 8 players and at 20: each alibi against the timeline, and exactly one name left standing at the end. After that, AI players ran the full party at both sizes. Round 1 left every one of them unsure; by the end of round 3, each had the killer, the method and the motive.
How the night goes.
- Guests turn up in their 80s best, put on a name tag and read their booklet.
- You read Envelope 1 to the room and set out the first clues.
- Over 3 rounds the guests talk and trade what they know. New evidence arrives each round, and the 2 characters who die on the way go on playing as ghosts.
- Everyone, you included, writes down who did it, how and why.
- You break the seal on the final envelope, read the truth and walk through how it could have been solved. Then come the awards, among them Best 80s Look and Best Dance Move.
The host guide plans 145 minutes from the first guest to the awards, and dinner fits between any two rounds. The menu file has a mixtape too: 24 hits from 1980 to 1985 to play through the night, a side for arrival, each round and the reveal.
Free · for the TV
A host screen for the TV.
Connect a laptop to the TV and open the host screen. It walks through the host guide's timetable step by step, with a big countdown for each round and a soft chime when time runs out. The envelopes run without a clock, so the reading takes as long as it needs. Press C to put the whole cast on the TV with their portraits, which helps guests match names to faces, and mark the ghosts as the night goes on.
Scan the code on the screen and your phone turns into a remote, with Next, Pause and the cast in your pocket while you play.
Nothing from the envelopes or the evidence is on the screen, so it spoils nothing and you can still play.
Is it the right one?
- You are throwing an 80s birthday, a teen party or an office night and want one game for the whole room.
- You are hosting and want to play, not just run the night.
- Your guest list keeps changing. Every size from 8 to 20 works, and Start here says what to print.
For a Christmas party, Murder at the Nutcracker runs the same way at a snowed-in theatre gala in 1934. For a mystery to solve at the table instead of acting out, try The Storm Night, a police file for 1 to 4 players.
Before you buy
Can the host play a character?
Yes. Nothing you read while getting ready tells you who did it. The answer stays sealed in the last envelope until the end, so you play the night with everyone else and fill in a voting card too.
Do guests need an 80s costume?
It helps, but nobody has to buy one. Each invitation describes a full 80s look for that character and a simpler version from an ordinary wardrobe, plus the one small item the character carries.
What if I have more than 8 guests?
It works for any number up to 20. The host guide lists the characters to cast for each guest count, and Start here says which sheets to print. Every part you cast has a secret, gossip about the others and a mission for each round.
How much do I print?
For 8 players you print 49 sheets, and for 20 it is 72, all on one side. Start here has a table for every party size in between, so you print only the sheets your party needs. The kit comes as A4 and US Letter PDFs.
Is it suitable for a teen birthday or a work party?
It is written for ages 12 and up, with no swearing and nothing gory, and the drinks on the labels have alcohol-free names.
What happens to a guest whose character dies?
During the party, 2 more characters die. Their players stay in the game as ghosts. Each guest may ask a ghost one question, and the ghost has to answer truthfully from their booklet. Ghosts cannot be accused, and they still vote at the end.
Is anything shipped?
No. It is a digital download from Etsy. You print it at home, as many times as you like for your own parties.