Murder Mystery Game Builder Template
The purpose of this template is to help you build your murder mystery game to be loaded into the Murder Mystery engine at The template will guide you through the most important elements of a murder mystery and will provide sample information to give you an idea of what should be entered. This template contains an abbreviated set of sample text, to give you an idea of what information should go in each field. It does not contain a full mystery, as many of the instructions and clues have been removed. It is expected that you will complete the template with all information required for your game, including all clues.
The brown text is sample text and should be replaced with your own murder mystery content.
How long should the game be?
We recommend that you have at least 4 rounds: 1 pre-game round that contains clues and information that should be distributed before the party, 2 rounds of clue gathering and one round to reveal the solution. We generally recommend that you provide two clues for each character for each round. One should be a reveal, one should be a conceal clue. A game with this format will take 2-3 hours and will fit well into a dinner party format.
Can I see a full sample?
We respect the intellectual property of our authors, so we can not offer you a full version of any of the games. You can however purchase a game to see how they work online.
What do I do when I am done?
Send an email to . We will review the game and activate a test copy. You can run a full test of the game as if you were a host. You will assign guests to the characters, review instructions, send invites, send pregame clues, see pregame site, host party and the visit post game site. After you have completed the test, you will likely need to tweak the materials and instructions. Hopefully you tested this in a real environment with friends so you get the full effect. Also, your friends can provide some feedback so you have a few reviews. When you are satisfied with the results. Send an email to an email to and request that the game is activated.
Why should I bother using this tool?
Currently our online site has no spelling or grammatical corrections tools. In addition, working online can problematic due to session timeouts. It is advised that you produce the game offline using this tool or one you have created, and then copy and paste the information into our online tool. This approach will also allow you to maintain a backup copy in the event of data loss on the site.
Refer any questions to and we will try to help you where we can throughout the building process.
Have fun.
Author Information (This section is for new authors only)
Author
/ Betsy FrancisBiography
Author Bio / Betsy is a free lance murder mystery writer hailing in Colorado. Her worked is primarily inspired by her deranged family members and her close relationships with a sinister dark side.Other Work
Enter standard text or HTML to include links / <b>Novels and Novellas<br></b>The Murder Game published by Double Dragon eBooks<br>
<a href=" eudora="autourl" target="_blank">
Eyes of Truth published by Twilight Times Books<br>
<a href=" eudora="autourl" target="_blank">
Daughter-in-Law published by Twilight Times Books<br>
<a href=" eudora="autourl" target="_blank">
Captivity (Darkhour Vampires: Vol. One) published by Wings Press<br>
<a href=" eudora="autourl" target="_blank">
<br>
Web Sites (List of Author sites)
/Email (This will not be revealed on the site. It is used for internal correspondence and login.)
/Author Password (This will be used to log you into the author site to see how your mystery is selling.)
/ PasswordMystery Information
Mystery Name
/ The Railburn AffairGuests
/ 6 - 12 Guests (18 and over)Attire
/ Character specific circa 1930Description (Less than 150 words) This is the general description of the game that is shown on the view mysteries pages.
/ Canvassed in the Majestic Rocky Mountains, the Stanford Alpine Hotel basks in the graciousness of a by-gone era. It is 1936, and a well known railroad baron is found dead on the premises. The guests of the Hotel, the fashionable elite of the early 20th Century, are now all suspects.Storyline Brief description (2-4 sentences) of game, setting and game style
/ An entertaining murder mystery game for adults set in the 1920's. Great choice for Halloween.Format (see online for details)
/ Can Host Play? ___ (Yes or No) | Limited Game Option ___ (Yes or No) | Large Group Format ___ (Yes or No)Host Instructions
/ Thank for purchasing the Railburn Affair and using the host-party site. We hope you find this mystery and our interactive features unique and fun.The Railburn Affair is intended to be a light murder mystery that allows you and your guests to step into a different character while trying to solve the case of this strange, twisted plot. As in any murder mystery, the key to a successful party is to relax and let the night unfold as your guests want it to. This means don't try to run the party, let it run itself. As long as each guest knows their role and is given the clues at the right time, everything should work out fine.
The Railburn Affair mystery comes with 12 characters. If you are not using all of the characters in your murder mystery, you may encounter some clues that reference some of the other characters. You may omit these clues or change them to fit your party. Changing them is easy if you copy them from the View/Print all Clues Page and paste into your word processor. This is also a good way of avoiding the browser header and footer from being printed. You can take a similar approach to printing your invitations.
You may want add fake guests to the character you are not using so you can see their clues as well. Some of these clues could possibly be changed and given to other guests. They aren't required but they may make the mystery more interesting.
To see the solution you will want to review the final round of clues. Looking at the motives page will show the hidden motive of each character. If you want to know the outcome, read the final (solution) round of clues. These clues are meant to be read out loud at the end of the party after each member of the party guesses who they think did, how they did it, and why. As with all of the clues they should be printed before the party and delivered to each guest during the appropriate round.
While this game can be played however you like, it is best suited for dinner parties. The rounds are designed :
Round 0: Deliver these clues to each guest before the party or give them to the guests as they arrive. All pre-game clues are the same, and are intended to build anticipation for the event. They do not have any critical information in them.
Round 1: Deliver these clues over cocktails as your guests arrive.
Round 2: Deliver these clues with your main course.
Round 3: Deliver these clues with desert.
Here are some other suggestions that you might want to try:
1. Upload digital pictures of your friends in to each guest character.
2. Get physical evidence that matches the clues and "plant" during the party.
3. Upload a picture of the party venue into the mystery picture slot.
4. Send the pre-game clue a few days before the party.
5. Send other pre-game emails with instructions or party notes.
6. Have an unnamed guest come to the party as a police investigator and announce the murder and tell the guests they are all suspects and would be each of their best interest to discuss their relationships with the victim to help the investigation by shedding some light on the previous night's happenings.
7. You may want to get props to add to the excitement of the event. The clues are somewhat dependent on the characters you choose. A few ideas are: A broken Bottle near the crime scene, a Karaoke CD with Lola and Copa-Cabana to accompany some of Johnny's favorite tunes.
8. Take digital pictures during the party and post to the Post-Party site.
9. Send an email after the game as a follow up telling them pictures are on the post game site. (By doing this all guests will get a link to the post game site).
10. Add your own suggestions for other hosts on the site.
Guest Instructions (Optional Field)Field to describe how guests should play this game. This field should only use if you have unique guest instructions. If this field is omitted, guest will see standard instructions.
Solution (Optional Field)This is a recap of mystery to be read at the conclusion of the game. This is NOT required if you have a solution round (Read more info to see how this differs from the Solution round).
Reviews (Provide any customer testimonials that you would like to include on the site)
/ “This was my first time participating in a Murder Party, and I was delightfully surprised. The clues and the solutions all fit so well together. I loved the fact that we could improvise as well on individual characters actions and words. The fact we could get onto the website so easily made it great for everyone to know what was in store for them at the MM party. The night was unforgettable.”- Lissa Bricker
Multiple Outcomes? (Yes or No)Note this option requires multiple solutions.
/ NoGame Type (place X in front of each applicable type)
/ __Type - Personal Party (Friends, Family,etc)__ Type - Large Group (15+ Guests)
__ Type - Corporate/TeamBuilding
__ Type - Community Group (Church, Club,School, etc)
__ Age - Children
__ Age - Teens
__ Age - Adult (18 and older)
__ Gender - Male and Female
__ Gender - Female Only
__ Gender - Male Only
__ Style - Mystery (No Murder)
__ Style - Serious Sleuthing
__ Style - Entertaining (not serious)
__ Style - Sleep Over (Kids)
__ Format - Standard
__ Format - FreeForm
__ Format - Scripted
Rating – This is a rating of the contents of the game, and the minimum age requirements for playing.
/ E – Everyone; EC – Early Childhood; T – Teen; M – Mature; AO – Adults OnlyCharacters:
Name / Role / Picture / Codes* / Costume Suggestion / Internal Motive /Description
Jake Daniels / The Bartender / / OM / White shirt, with tie and possibly a vest.Always have a towel handy. / The baron has had a lucky streak and is due a large payout through Jake. Unfortunately, Jake’s bets have not faired so well and his personal gambling debts have reached a crippling level. / Jake travels town to town getting work where he can find it. Bartending during prohibition is an odd occupation indeed. Jake’s real income comes from accessory sources: moonshine bootlegging and booking wagers.
Lawrence Railburn, Sr / The Railroad Baron / / V / Executive suit and hat. Bring a cigar to top it off. / The victim. He is the aggressive owner and operator of the Western Pacific Railroad. His over bearing, authoritarian style tends to alienate or attract all of those around him. With Lawrence, you either love him or hate him, or more often then not love to hate him. / The victim. He is the aggressive owner and operator of the Western Pacific Railroad. His over bearing, authoritarian style tends to alienate or attract all of those around him. With Lawrence, you either love him or hate him, or more often then not love to hate him.
Amos / Hobo / / M / Think old and ratty. Anything torn and worn will work fine. / Poor, homeless, no commitments and nothing to look forward to. He would do almost anything for a drink. A clean hit could pay for a lot more than one drink. / To avoid an ugly and costly lawsuit the Western Pacific Railroad faced for unnecessary violence against a freeloader, the Company has given Amos (no one knows his real name) a complimentary vacation package to their most popular destination.
*Codes. You may enter one or more of the following codes to specify special features.
R = Optional. This character is not-required in order to play the mystery. In order to accommodate various sized groups, optional characters are very important. Note: optional characters should not have clues critical in solving the mystery, but they should have clues so they feel included. NOTE: Optional required
V = Victim. This is a fictitious character, and should not be assigned to an attending guest.
H = Host. If you recommend that one of the characters is the host. You can specify and the system will automatically setup that character as host.
M = Male. Should be played by male.
M = Female. Should be played by Female.
Pre Game
These clues should be sent to guests before the game, preferably through the email function on the site. These are very popular as they build up the anticipation of the event. HTML formatted clues should be sent separate with a note in the description below. Pictures can be cut and paste into picture column or sent separate with a note in the picture column. If you use a picture, be sure to describe it fully in the description so the clue can be used even if the picture is not represented Keep in mind, that these clues must be sent manually by the author, so it is best to only have one or two and make them for all guests.
You must specify one or more than one character, for each clue. This is the character who will receive the clue. The Related character indicates who the clue is about. Clues related to characters not assigned to a guest will be omitted. Clues to be delivered to all guests should be entered as General Clues at the Round Level.
Examples of pre-game clues: Newspaper Articles, Emails, Announcements, etc…
Round Name
/ Pre-GameRound Instructions*
/ These clues should be sent to the guests before the event or as they arrive. Note the pre game clues are the same for all guests.General Clues
/ <table<tr>The Railburn Celebration Will Be A Starlit Affairto Remember
<TD vAlign=top align=left width="197" height=258 rowSpan=2 bgcolor="#FFFFFF">
<P align=justify<FONT face=Arial size=2<b>By Frank WordSmyth</b<BR>Western
Pacific Railroad officials acknowledged paying a settlement to an
unknown boxcar freeloader who apparently was thrown from the car by
an employee of the railroad. Officials did not disclose the
settlement, but said the parties had reached an amicable arrangement
that would avoid the courtroom. Further the arrangement would
pose no financial impact to Western Pacific. </FONT</P</TD</tr</table>
*Enter instructions for the host in this field. You may specify how and when to distribute the clues. You may also suggest ways they might be able to help move the mystery along. Be careful not to reveal too much, as the host may be playing along.
Clues:
Character /C/R
/ Related Character / Clue Name / Picture / DescriptionAll / R / Newspaper Article / HTML sent separately
Sylvia Railburn / R / Frank Jones / Email Message / While checking your email, an email in your husband’s inbox caught your eye. The ominous subject “YOU ARE DEAD” caused you to open the message and read it. This is what you saw:
To: LAWRENCE RAILBURN
From: FRANK JONES
Subject: YOU ARE DEAD
Message: You have gone to far. Now it is my turn…
C – Conceal this clue
R - Reveal to Others
Round 1 (Copy this section for as many round as you need)
These clues will be delivered to the guest at the beginning of the party. These clues work just like the pre-game clues, except they are delivered during the party. General clues can be created that are given to the host to reveal to all. Indicate these clues by entering no character names.
Examples of round clues: A Note, A Telephone Message, An Overheard Conversation, Witnessed Act, a Matchbook, or any evidence that one might encounter.
Round Name
/ The Crime SceneRound Instructions
/ To start the game, the Host should make an announcement that Lawrence Railburn was found dead and everyone in the Hotel - guests and staff - are asked to stay until the mystery gets sorted out. The authorities have encouraged each of you to talk among your selves and try to discover hidden motives among members of the group. The Host should then hand out the first round of clues. Sometime during this round the Host should escort the party to the crime scene.General Clues