Organizing murder mystery party materials
Here are ideas for organizing murder mystery party materials, such as item cards, money, character sheets and so on.
These ideas have been written both by our customers and by us.
Contact us if you have a great idea you’d like to share!
Create a folder to organize everything
Cynderella recommends preparing a folder for organizing the game materials:
“I bought a special folder that has a lot of different compartments and pockets in it. I printed everything out, cut everything up and put everything together two months in advance. I put the special ability and weapon cards in a pocket in the folder. I put all of the character scripts in a compartment, all of the host instructions in a compartment, etc. I had everything in it’s own compartment so I could easily find it any time I needed it. At the party, it was so easy to hand everything out to everyone and keep up with the instructions. I just kept my folder within easy reach and I was able to enjoy myself the whole time.”
Name badges
Several customers suggested using sticky labels instead of name badges. If you like the look of our name badges you could even glue them to sticky labels.
Tips for item cards
Plastic credit card wallets (free from a local bank) will keep item cards and money safe from prying eyes but meant they were still easily accessible (suggested by Debbie Myerscough).
Punch a hole in the corner of item cards so you can use a metal ring (eg a keyring) to hold them and make them easier to keep track of (suggested by Joan Frank).
Print the cards on different coloured card – for example, print the money on green card and items on white card. It does take a little work, but it looks really good (suggested by Jessica Schweitzer).
Passport holders
Lanalehr reports:
“I went to the dollar store and was looking for some sort of folder-type thing for everyone to put their cards in. I found passport holders, which had little flaps on the inside that held the cards and nametags perfectly. I also folded the character booklets in quarters and tucked them into the second side for quick reference. There was also room for a little notebook (4 in a pack from the dollar store), and a golf pencil for everyone. Total cost: about $1.50 per guest.
“People really loved the idea, and commented on them a few times. Since we were doing Davy Jones’ Locker and were all on a ship, the passport lended itself well to traveling in international waters. (Everyone got a laugh that they were all Canadians, despite their character backgrounds). The passports were small enough to carry around or tuck in a pocket or side bag, and we didn’t have papers lying around everywhere like last time.”
Prop bags
Ejvals suggests:
“I wanted to use props in the game, so I made 8 by 11” bags out of scrap material for everyone to hold their props, character descriptions, and ability cards (strapped together with a hole punch and a piece of string). The bags closed with Velcro. The women had rope straps on their bags to sling over their shoulder, and the men had belt clasps to hang on their belt loops at their waists.
“The players enjoyed using the props…especially when it came to the action part of the game. I put the information from the actual item card on return address labels and then stuck them onto the prop. For example, if there was a gun, I put a label on the handle that had how many uses the gun had.
“The bags worked great!”
Envelopes
Pat Baker-Simon reports:
“One of the things we did to get the teen group involved before the Hollywood Lies party night was to put their pre-information into manila envelopes stamped ‘confidential.’ My daughter handed these out at school. It added to the excitement.”
Your tips for organizing murder mystery party materials
Do you have any tips for organizing murder mystery party materials? If so, please contact us if you have a great idea you’d like to share!
