Cover to Hollywood Lies, a murder mystery game.

Hollywood Lies

(33 customer reviews)

$54.99

Hollywood Lies is a downloadable movie-themed murder mystery game for 16 to 32 guests and one or two hosts. It is set at a modern-day Hollywood post-awards party, and characters include producers, directors and actors. This includes, free of charge, Halloween and Christmas-themed versions of the game. Written by Steve Hatherley and DeAnna Knippling. Recommended for ages 12+.

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Hollywood Lies is a murder mystery game for 16 to 32 guests and one or two hosts. It is set at a modern-day Hollywood post-awards party, and characters include producers, directors and actors. Download the free introductory pdf file.

Hollywood Lies is a thrilling evening of scheming, intrigue and skulduggery. Your guests will be in the middle of the action, and it will be up to them to wheel and deal to get what they want. Will they achieve their goals, keep their secrets hidden, and make the best movie in Hollywood Lies?

Hollywood Lies comes bundled with Halloween Lies (the same game but with a Halloween theme) and Christmas Lies (the same game with a Christmas theme).

"Hollywood Lies was exactly what we wanted on New Year's Eve, a gala murder mystery. The guests haven't had that much fun at a party in years!"
Lauren Plaviak, Canada

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See stories and pictures from Hollywood Lies.

It is award night, and Tom Speed's latest film, Dazzled to Death, has just swept the board and garnered four Erics – for Best Picture, Best Actor, Best Director and Best Screenplay. Sadly, Tom Speed's award for Best Actor was accepted posthumously by his friend, Hayden Vicars, as Tom was killed in a driving accident late last night.

Despite this note of sadness, celebrations are in full swing at the Dazzled to Death post-award party. Deals are being cut for future productions, and everyone is having a good time enjoying the atmosphere and mingling with Hollywood's movers and shakers.

Is there anything suspicious about Tom Speed's death? Who will win next year's Erics? Find out at Hollywood Lies.

Hollywood Lies lasts for about four hours and is suited to an evening. It is often played over a meal – a finger buffet if possible, to allow guests to circulate and talk in private.

"I just hosted Hollywood Lies for a group of teen homeschoolers this weekend. I have to say that they had a blast! Their "movies" were a hoot! This is the 3rd year in a row that we have used your games as sort of an ice breaker for the kids to get to know one another. As usual, it was a great success. Thanks again!"
Janice , North Carolina, United States

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Beginner-friendly
One of our more straightforward murder mystery games, suitable for beginner hosts.

No combat, no poison.
No combat, no poison.

Characters are ungendered.
Characters are ungendered.

The free introductory pdf file contains an introduction to the game and a cast list of all the characters.

Cast of characters

    • Morgan Beech: Star of blockbuster movie Dazzled to Death. Morgan won critical plaudits for playing Kendall Nimitz, the victim's partner. This was Morgan's first major role in a movie.
    • Detective Arden Chase: One of Hollywood's finest detectives, Detective Chase is well known to the movie community.
    • Sam Cortinelli: Sam Cortinelli is one of Dazzled to Death's stunt doubles. Sam is rumored to have "family" connections.
    • Mel Cutter: Mel is the author of "Cutter's Comments", a notorious newspaper column in the Hollywood News. In the column, Mel described Dazzled to Death as "limp and tired" and accused Tom Speed of "having all the charisma of a fishbowl". Mel is a regular feature at post-award parties.
    • Joss Dawson: Joss has been in the business a long time, first as an actor and now as an agent.
    • Luca Delmonico: Luca is comes from a very wealthy family and recently appeared in the movie Davy Jones' Locker.
    • Ash d'Lessey: Dazzled to Death's director and winner of the Best Director award in this year's Eric awards.
    • Cass Dockery: Cass works for a small independent movie financier, but is looking to break into acting.
    • Lou Egan: A respected Hollywood film director. Lou was the original director for Dazzled to Death, but was replaced by Ash d'Lessey.
    • Eddie Flax: Eddie is one of Hollywood's many agents and does a lot of charity work.
    • Terry Ford: Terry has worked in over 100 movies, playing character roles. In Dazzled to Death Terry played "Hatch", a bodyguard.
    • Charlie Henderson-Plum: Charlie played "Skipper Primley," Dazzled to Death's British villain.
    • Claude Janvier: Claude is a composer who recently wrote the music for Ash d'Lessey's Bludgeoned on Broadway.
    • Jam Lafayette: Owner of the popular Sacre Bleu! restaurant and TV celebrity chef.
    • Ronnie Manfred: Ronnie is a character actor who often plays evil henchmen. Ronnie has had many different jobs before getting into acting.
    • RT Markovitz: Press photographer for The Big Cheese, a tabloid newspaper.
    • Max McNab: Max plays bit-parts and is struggling to get into the big time. In Dazzled to Death Max played "Cop in Elevator".
    • Evrim Meric: Bit part actor with a minor role ("Cam Nightshade") in Dazzled to Death. Evrim also works at the Sacre Bleu restaurant.
    • Jules Milton: Manager of Spangles Hotel, where the Dazzled to Death post-Eric party is being held. Six years ago, Jules was accused of a fire that burned down three sound stages.
    • Ghana Moon: Ghana is one of Hollywood's most successful screenwriters, and won an Eric for Dazzled to Death.
    • Bernie Newman: Bernie has come to Hollywood to become a movie star.
    • Nat Rankin: Nat is a character actor who recently appeared in Davy Jones' Locker as a villain – as usual.
    • Hunter Sharp: Hunter is an independent film producer/director and directed last year's award-winning Under the Big Top.
    • Toy Shepherd: Toy is a comedian from the East Coast and has suffered some bad luck lately.
    • Jackie Simpson: Jackie was originally signed up to act in Dazzled to Death, but was fired before filming started after Jackie and Tom Speed had a blazing row.
    • Pip Slater: Pip is one of Hollywood's many agents and is looking to sign up more clients tonight.
    • Val Taylor: Val both acts and produces. Val was one of Dazzled to Death's co-producers.
    • Bobby Treveeno: Bobby is an entertainer of the old school and can dance, act and sing. However, Bobby's career is in decline.
    • Les Tytan: Les is a mesmerist whose clients have included Charlie Henderson-Plum and Mel Cutter.
    • CJ Vasquez: One of Dazzled to Death's co-producers and is keen to make more blockbusters.
    • Hayden Vicars: Hayden is co-producer of Dazzled to Death, and one of Tom Speed's closest friends.
    • Shelly Wells: Shelly owns TrixieCorp, a large corporation that makes fast food and frozen dinners (among other things), but is now producing a movie.

The characters are all ungendered, so they can be played by anyone.

You also need one or two hosts, to organize the party and ensure everything runs smoothly. (We recommend two hosts, particularly if this is your first Freeform Games murder mystery party.)

How Freeform Games murder mystery games work

Hollywood Lies is unlike other murder mystery games. Although the game starts with a murder, each character has several goals they must try to accomplish. While they may want to solve the murder, Hollywood Lies contains plenty of other plots and secrets to keep everyone busy. Hollywood Lies isn't scripted, and lets the players decide how to achieve their goals and thwart their enemies.

"Hollywood Lies went just perfect and everyone enjoyed themselves (we had 13 teenagers and 3 adults). It was just excellent!"
Isabell Auffermann, United Kingdom

On the evening of the game the guests are met by the organizer, the Master (or Mistress) of Ceremonies.

They then receive their detailed backgrounds - including dark secrets, objectives and money. The players can form alliances, blackmail each other, steal items and even try to make the best movie for next year. Along the way they may solve some of Hollywood Lies's mysteries. What is the Post-Modern Freeform Movement up to? Who will get tickets to the charity ball? What really happened on the set of Snow Business? Which script will be made into a movie? And of course, how did Tom Speed die?

Finally, the game concludes and everyone finds out how they did, and what secrets everyone else was concealing.

Recommended for ages 12+

We recommend Hollywood Lies for those aged 12+ as it is family-friendly and contains no adult themes.

Extra characters

Sometimes you have too many guests and need more characters. So most games have free extra characters (written by us or previous hosts) included in the download when you purchase the game.

  • 'Ginger' Roberts – freelance reporter in search of the Big Story. (Any)
    (by Freeform Games)
  • Gwen Cortinelli – secretary and Sam Cortinelli's wife. (F)
    (by Jo Stinett)

Please note that we haven't always tested these – and they may not tie in exactly with our games.

"Thank you for a great site, fantastic games, good service and very quick reply. Keep up the good work." Ole Martin Brodwall, Norway

Cast Iron Guarantee

We offer a Cast Iron Guarantee on all our murder mystery games. If you're not completely satisfied with Hollywood Lies then please let us know within 30 days and we will refund you. See our full terms and conditions, and our refund policy.

Trouble downloading? If you have trouble downloading the game files, please first check your spam folder. If you still can't find the download email, contact us with the name of the game and the email address you used to purchase it, and we'll resend it.

33 reviews for Hollywood Lies

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    laura c. (verified owner) –

    There was a LOT of prep work in order to play this game! It was fun, but it was work! In defense of the game, we did have 25 players. Most of us were so busy trying to meet our personal goals that we never figured ourt who the murderer was. Next time, I will opt for a less detailed game.

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    Hilda (verified owner) –

    This is the second game I’ve purchased from this platform.
    We played it at our office party and it was a lot of fun. Without revealing too much, one of the goals involve the participants to form teams to rehearse and act out a scene. That part of the game was especially a great hit and produced (pun intended) a lot of laughs and memories. I also love that when you purchase the game, you get two additional themed version; great for playing around the holidays. The only negative is there are a lot of goals, abilities, secrets etc so it is not entirely beginners friendly. This is better for more experienced players or you have to give the character sheets to the participants well ahead of time (which presents its own problems). But all in all, we had a great time and I would not hesitate to buy from Freeform games again!

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    Lewis Cocks –

    Amazing

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    Virgo Hynes –

    The first thing to comment on, was the INCREDIBLE support I received from Mo & Steve. When I realised that this was not your regular Murder Mystery, I sent a panic message on Facebook and got a reply within the hour. For the following 2 weeks, while I prepared for the night, I sent numerous messages and ALWAYS received a detailed response within hours, which clarified so much for me. Steve even sent me a link to scripts which was invaluable. I would give 100% for Customer Service. As regards the night itself, it was an outstanding success. All the locals are still talking about it a week later. Everyone came in their costume AND in character and had a wonderful night of fun and laughter. I would highly recommend “Hollywood Lies” , especially if you have a big group. I had sent out the characters, tips and rules beforehand which helped to get the night up and running very efficiently. As the group were spread over the country, I didn’t have to worry about anyone “spilling the beans” !!

    Image #1 from Virgo Hynes
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    Image #4 from Virgo Hynes
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    Franziska –

    Super documents, Perfect Time-line to hold on, very complex game with many different quite complex plots. I suggest to give 30 minutes time to really make a short film and show it then with a beamer. The films can be taken with the mobile and should not be longer than 2-4 minutes. That was a lot of fun for us!!

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    Marion R. –

    We used it for a party with 17 eleven and twelve year olds. It worked beautifully. Different from other murder mystery games the addition of the movies gave everyone something to do. Those who didn’t really care about solving the murder had a blast creating their scenes. There are enough clues to be able to solve it. We ha one group of four very smart kids who together figured out whodunnit- including the most comprehensive solution we have ever achieved. Eager to try the other games. 4 stars for the fact that there was no version that fit the number of players. We had 17, so there were a lot of people mentioned that didn’t appear.

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    Gavin Mitchell –

    Everyone loved it! Although no one cared much to find the murderer. Everyone focused on the side quests more than anything. It may have been helpful to have a face associated with the victim

    Image #1 from Gavin Mitchell
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    Brayden Lans –

    Hollywood Lies was a smashing success! Thank you so much for the quick response and making such an awesome game 🙂 I have also done your A Speakeasy Murder a few years ago, but I think I enjoyed this one more because of: 1. Every character was gender neutral, it made casting much easier and more fun! 2. The end goal of producing a movie was so fun for everyone involved (especially since they didn’t know coming in) There was great depth and so much going on, everyone was well pleased with how the night went and felt satisfied with having played 🙂

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    Karen Manton-Cook –

    Just to say that the Hollywood Lies party was a great success as our end of season party for staff and volunteers. As the host, it was quite a lot of work(!) and I made sure that everyone was given details of their character a week before the party. On the night everyone dressed the part and got into character right from the start! Perhaps the most fun part was the three scenes acted at the end of the evening – just hilarious. I have to say that for all the preparation involved, the party itself was a huge success, and thanks to you and your team for the layering of a great story. I’m not sure anyone worked out who the murderer was!

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    Kim Duke –

    We did Happy Birthday R.J. game 10 years ago for my husband’s 30th birthday – it was so much fun! So I am surprising him with Hollywood Lies for his 40th! Your games are fun and so well laid out.

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    Aaron McKendry –

    Thank you so much for what your company does! Hollywood Lies is going to be my 7th game from your company, and every time, whether I have been a player or a moderator, I have had a truly wonderful and memorable experience. I bought my first game, Casino Fatale, back in 2011 after searching for months on the Internet for a murder mystery that wasn’t like the scripted box games I had played before. Every since I found your site I haven’t even thought about looking anywhere else. Everyone that I share your games with always has such a good time and they are always willing to come back for another one. This most recent game will be the second with my coworkers, and as I said people had so much fun the first time that word spread quickly throughout my office and I have had so much interest in this one.

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    Jennie Dixon –

    Murder mysteries have now become an annual event on my birthday this year – and Hollywood Lies is the third one we have played. I have to say, I think it is my favourite so far!! (And I didn’t think anything could top Happy Birthday R.J.) Everyone had so much fun and got really involved in the films at the end – what a great night!! Thanks again for a fantastic game!

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    Ellory S. –

    I have played in A Heroic Death and Arabian Nights, so I decided to host Hollywood Lies for my 13th Birthday Party. I added in custom ‘weapon’ cards to make the game more exciting and everyone had a blast! I’ve already told everyone I’m doing it again next year!

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    Allison Abbott –

    I thoroughly enjoyed playing Hollywood Lies, easy to find suitable clothing, it was very easy to find appropriate themed decorations. The making movies and watching them was fun and a good laugh.

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    A Customer –

    Overall, Hollywood Lies was an incredibly fun night and everyone had a great time. Thank you for providing such a detailed hosting package. It was very thorough and made it so much easier to host!

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    Sandi Atherton –

    We had so much fun playing Hollywood Lies and I am pretty sure I won mother of the year for hosting it. 🙂 I think the kids all did a fantastic job with their roles. We will definitely come back to you for another game. Thanks! Here’s a video we made for the game, in the form of a trailer.

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    Ben Putt –

    Hollywood Lies is a great product, we’ll definitely be using you again!

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    A Customer –

    The kids had a wonderful time with Hollywood Lies, and really got into their parts! It was fun to have the kids get all dressed up for the party. My daughter will always remember her 16th birthday party!!! Thank you!

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    Lynda Wearn –

    By popular request I have just purchased my second Freeform Games murder mystery. The first, Hollywood Lies, was a huge success. Although I’d hosted Murder Mystery evenings in the past, this was firstly, the most ambitious (34 guests all well into their roles and costumes), and secondly, the most enjoyed. Everyone was so busy wheeling and dealing and producing their playlet that they forgot about the murder! However, we got back on track and one sleuth deduced the correct answer. Great fun – looking forward to Jan 2nd for our Casino Fatale night. Thanks so much.

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    Michael Dinga –

    Hollywood Lies was a fantastic game for our 14 year old daughter and her friends, who really took to playing their parts and playing the game.

    It really kept her and almost 20 of her friends busy and having a very fun time for the entire party, with interaction between her varied friend groups.

    Our friends have even said that we “have set the bar too high” for the next parties. Thank you!

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    Shirley Thomson –

    Just played Hollywood Lies (kids version) for my daughter’s 13th birthday party. It is the first unscripted party I have run and I was concerned. It was fabulous and the timings were great.
    Can’t believe we managed to keep all those teenagers involved for 4 hours. Many many thanks!

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    June Wilson –

    We tend to go away as a group of 20+ every year or so, and one of the highlights of our holidays has always been the murder mystery night. Hollywood Lies took it to another dimension. It was fantastic.

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    Dee Reed –

    We hosted Hollywood Lies for our daughter’s Sweet 16 birthday party. She wanted to do an Old Hollywood theme where everyone dresses up. We rented a venue and had a buffet meal so the kids could mingle. We played big band and swing music and decorated with the “dazzled to death” theme in mind… diamonds of course!!! Because our daughter is in the Drama club at her high school, we knew this would be a big hit. 24 of the Drama students attended, they had such a good time and said it was the best party they have attended and they want to do one again very soon… for New Years!! With the thoroughness of your games it will be no problem, the hardest part is deciding which game to play!! Thank you so much for making my job easier.

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    Kerri Lawnsby –

    I loved the first game we played of yours… Hollywood Lies. Best night of my life… my husband and I attended and only knew 2 people there. By the end of the night we knew 30 more people — all by their Hollywood Lies names! It was fun running into them various places and using our “stage” names. We loved it so much we always wanted to host our own. So now we are [Casino Fatale].

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    Janice Bruce –

    Everyone there said how much they’d enjoyed it – we’re veterans of your games, but this [Hollywood Lies] was definitely the best. There were quite a few people there who had never been to a MMP before and didn’t know what to expect, but everyone had a great time. There was lots of variety in the plot and we all thought that the idea of producing scenes from films was inspired – showing them was the highlight of the evening. Please congratulate the author!

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    Joel Kelly –

    I played Hollywood Lies at my school, it was really fun. I played Sam Cortinelli.

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    Janet Reese –

    We did this for my daughter’s 14th birthday and she had already chosen ‘Hollywood’ as the theme of her party. Since I did this for young teens, I changed all the references to the nude photos (we made them photos of Crystal picking her nose!) One thing that I really liked is that since each of the characters had their own goals that they were trying to complete, it made the evening move along smoothly. I was really worried if kids this age would actually get into it, or if they would be bored, but it really helped having the plays to work on. The plays were really a HUGE hit for the climax of the party.

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    Doris Arnett-Gary –

    I thought that when I did Snow Business last year that that was the most fun 13 people could have. Well, Hollywood Lies was the most fun 30+ people could have. This time it was for my birthday. Everyone of my sisters and brother, sister-in-law and brothers-in-law attended (I’m the baby of six, 41 and the youngest of them is 48), a bunch of my friends from church and work also attended. [Incidentally, we’ve written Hollywood Lies for 16-22 guests — Doris added some characters of her own. Mo and Steve] "My son, daughter and a number of my nieces and nephews helped out as well. Those who were old enough to take parts did and the younger teenagers agreed to act as hosts and hostesses. I made up names (and nametags from ‘Spangles Hotel’) for them and they helped with the food, ran errands, made sure the guests stayed in character and even judged the best actor/actress competition so it wouldn’t be biased. "I don’t know when I’ve had so much fun. Everyone talked about it for weeks afterwards. Actually they’re still talking and it was more than two months ago. They talked about it so much now my pastor wants me to do one with the ‘Marriage Enrichment’ ministry at my church. I don’t think I’ve ever laughed so hard. Everyone (including my very straight-laced, serious brother) had an absolute blast laughing and trying to stay in character. A couple people asked me ‘can’t you just have a normal birthday party?’ and since I’m nowhere near normal, of course I said no. They had a good time too though. I loved Hollywood Lies and I love Freeform Games. I made a scrap book and I’m always shoving it in someone’s face. 🙂 I’m HOOKED!!!!!!

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    Doris Arnett-Gary –

    I don’t think I’ve ever laughed so hard.

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    Denise Boyd –

    I would just like to thank you for this wonderful game. Played twice, once with adults and once with kids. The adults took a while to get into it but eventually got there (I think after the alcohol started flowing), but the kids were magnificent and got into their characters really quickly with some sussing the murderer after only 20 minutes. Everyone thoroughly enjoyed themselves and keep asking when the next one will be.

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    Pam Janson –

    My son, Alec, hosted an end-of-school party using Hollywood Lies in June for high school friends. They had a great time. We had 17 guests arrive dressed for the post "Eric Awards" party to find a red carpet, movie-theme decorations and trophies for the award winners, sparkling grape juice and mock cocktails. It took them a bit of time to get into their roles with the excitement of the end of the school year. But they did settle into their roles and, with some help from my husband, they got their tasks figured out and started mingling. Hollywood Lies was great because, not only did they have to solve the murder-mystery, they had to organize skits to perform at the end of the evening.Even though the party took a lot of advanced planning and shuffling of roles when a few people couldn’t attend, they enjoyed themselves immensely. I am planning another Hollywood Lies party this year with work colleagues. This is a great idea for a fun party and the information we received was very helpful!

    Image #1 from Pam Janson
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    Pat Baker-Simon –

    My daughter’s Hollywood Lies party was a HUGE hit with her friends. They came in their "dazzle wear"; we even had the "red carpet" leading up to our door for the guests. It was fun for them. The concept of the game is great for this age group — they had to mingle and talk to one another. No wallflowers were allowed!

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    Tiffany Geden –

    I just wanted to let you know how much we enjoy your games. This [Hollywood Lies] will be the third one we have run and they have been a great success. This year, we’ve actually had friends of friends calling to ask for an invite. Thanks for a fabulous product!

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Can the host play the game as well? Emily asked on 7 December 2024

Hi Emily, thank you for your interest in Hollywood Lies! Yes, that's very possible -- the game wasn't designed to work in that way, but quite a few customers choose to do so. We have more info about how it can work here.

 Freeform Games answered on 8 December 2024 store manager
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Are all of the players equally important? I have around 20 people so I was just wondering if by having less than 32 people I will be missing out and also if the people not part of the 16 main characters will feel "left out" or have less importance. Jacob asked on 3 December 2024

Hi Jacob, thanks for this question! We've aimed to design the game to avoid this problem -- so that when you add in more characters beyond the 'core' 16, that also adds in further plotlines and things to do, and so the extra people should find themselves just as busy and engaged. In practice most people run this game with 20+ characters, and as you'll have seen from the reviews here, they are generally happy with it.
(If anything, people's concern is usually the other way -- that if they run it with only 16 or 18, will they be missing out on fun stuff that will come into the game as more characters are added?)

 Freeform Games answered on 4 December 2024 store manager
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Can we have less players? Ary asked on 24 September 2024

Hi Ary, thank you for your interest in Hollywood Lies! This particular game needs a minimum of 16 guests. If you have less people than that, you will need to look at our smaller games -- here are the ones for 10–15 guests, or here for 9 or less.

 Freeform Games answered on 25 September 2024 store manager
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