Guides · By occasion

Murder Mystery Game Night

A murder mystery game night is a board game where the pieces are the players. Everyone gets a character with a secret and a few things they need to find out or hide, and the table spends the evening questioning each other until someone names the killer.

Sleuth Night puts each character on a private link, so there is no box, no booklet and no rules to read out. Everyone opens their link on their own phone, the host taps Start, and the clues appear on every phone (or on the TV) as the rounds go by.

Set up this party, freePay $29 once, when you press Start. 30-day money-back guarantee.

Recommended mystery

Corked

1970s · 4–6 players · about 90 minutes

Corked is written for the size of a game night: 4 to 6 players around one table, about 90 minutes. Bordeaux, 1976: the château's owner announces he is selling up, goes to the cellar for the famous 1961, and is found dead at the foot of the stairs. Everyone at the table plays a suspect, and one of them did it.

Read the full mystery page

✓ 6 characters, choose 4–6 on the night
✓ Each guest gets a private link: character, secret, objectives
✓ Host runs three rounds from a phone; TV shows the clues
✓ Everyone votes on their phone; reveal on the screen
✓ Print view included as a backup

What the night looks like

Château Valcourt, Bordeaux, the last night of the 1976 harvest. Henri Valcourt has just told his guests he is selling the family château to an American, and goes down to the cellar to fetch a bottle of the legendary 1961. He never comes back up.

The game runs in three rounds of about 20 minutes. Each round gives every player new objectives and puts new evidence on the table: what was in the glass, what was burnt in the cellar stove, who has a key to the cellar door. Between rounds, people bargain and accuse.

After round three everyone names the killer, the reveal plays on the phones, and the scores are argued over. About 90 minutes in all, so it fits before or after another game.

Tips for a game night murder mystery

Send the links a day ahead

Each player reads their character in two minutes before game night. It gets everyone in character from the first round instead of reading at the table.

Snacks, not a dinner

Corked is set at a dinner, but it plays just as well with cheese, bread and a bottle of red on the table. The wine is optional; the lying is not.

Four is enough

The four core characters carry the whole plot. With five or six, the optional characters add more suspects and more motives.

More than six of you?

Death at the Speakeasy plays 6 to 16, or two people can share one character in Corked and play as a pair.

Questions hosts ask

What is a good murder mystery for game night?

One that plays in an evening without any preparation from the host. Corked is 4 to 6 players and about 90 minutes, and everything is on the players' phones. For a bigger group, Death at the Speakeasy takes 6 to 16.

How long does a murder mystery game night take?

About 90 minutes for Corked: three rounds of roughly 20 minutes, then the accusations and the reveal.

Can we try one free first?

Yes. Dead Stop is a free one-hour mystery for 4 or 5 players on a 1930s sleeper train. It runs on the same phones-and-links system.

Does the host get to play?

Yes. The host plays a character like everyone else; moving to the next round is one tap.

How much does it cost?

Setting up is free. You pay $29 once, when you press Start Round 1, and the mystery stays unlocked for any future game night. There is a 30-day money-back guarantee.

Set up your game night party, free.

Two minutes to set up. Pay $29 once, when you press Start.

Set up a party, free