A murder mystery app puts a murder mystery party on your guests' phones. Each guest gets their own character, secret and clues on their own screen, the host moves the game from round to round, and everyone votes at the end. It replaces the printed booklets and envelopes of a boxed kit. Sleuth Night works this way, in the phone's browser, so nobody downloads anything. Setting up is free, and you can try a whole mystery free with Dead Stop.
Two kinds of murder mystery app
Search for "murder mystery app" and you will find two very different things:
- Solo detective games. You play alone on your phone: search crime scenes, question characters, solve the case. Good on a train, not at a party.
- Party apps. A group of friends plays together in one room (or on a video call). Everyone is a suspect, one of you is the killer, and the app handles the secrets and the timing. This is what you want for a dinner party, a birthday or a game night.
The rest of this page is about the second kind.
How a murder mystery party app works
- The host picks a mystery and adds the guests. Type a name next to each character. With Sleuth Night this is free and takes about ten minutes.
- Every guest gets a private link. It opens their character: who they are, what they are hiding, and a two-item costume hint. Send the links a few days ahead so people arrive in character.
- On the night, the host presses Start. Every phone moves to Round 1 together. Each guest sees that round's objectives and the facts only they know.
- Clues go on the TV. Open the screen view on a TV or laptop and the evidence appears for the whole room when the host reveals it.
- Three rounds, then the vote. Guests question each other, trade secrets and lie. Then everyone votes on their phone, and the reveal plays out on the screen.
The host is a suspect like everyone else. The app holds the structure and the timing, so the host does not have to sit out to run the night. Our host guide covers the evening step by step.
App or printable kit?
| Printable kit | Murder mystery app | |
|---|---|---|
| Prep | Print, cut and sort booklets and envelopes | Type names, send links |
| What guests read | A booklet each, read on the night | One phone screen per round |
| Secrets | Easy to see over a shoulder | Private to each phone |
| Someone cancels | Rework the cast by hand | Change the guest count before you start |
| The host | Often runs the game instead of playing | Plays a character |
| Clues | Read aloud from paper | Shown on the TV when the host says |
| Paper on the table | Yes | Optional: a print view is included |
A printable kit still makes sense if you want no screens at all, or you are playing somewhere without a signal. For most parties, phones remove the prep and keep the secrets secret. Our comparison of the best murder mystery party games covers both kinds.
What to look for in a murder mystery party app
- No download for guests. Asking ten people to install an app the night before loses two of them. A link that opens in the browser works for everyone.
- The host can play. If the host has to read every clue from a script, the host misses the party.
- The guest count can change. Someone always cancels. The mystery should still work when an optional character drops out, and a late extra guest should be able to join. Sleuth Night lets you change the count right up to the moment you press Start.
- One screen per round. Long scripts get skipped. Short objectives get played.
- Clues on a big screen. A TV keeps the room together in a way that passing a phone around does not.
- Pay for what you play. With Sleuth Night you set up free and pay $29 once, when you press Start on the night, and you can host the same mystery again.
Our mysteries
Ours: Sleuth Night
The whole party runs on your guests' phones. Nothing to print.
Each guest gets a private link with their character, the clues show on your TV, and the vote is a tap. $29 per mystery, paid when you press Start. Setting up is free.
- Death at the Speakeasy6–16 players · Chicago, 1927. The gin is cold, the jazz is hot, and the owner is dead.
- Murder at Blackwood Manor6–14 players · Halloween night. A séance, a locked library, and a host who never reached midnight.
- Silent Night, Deadly Night6–14 players · Christmas Eve. Snowed in. One family, one fortune, one Santa too many.
- Murder at the Masquerade6–14 players · Venice, the last night of Carnival. Nobody unmasks until the killer is named.
- Corked4–6 players · Murder at Château Valcourt. A harvest dinner, a locked cellar, and a 1961 that isn't.
- The Last Dance at the Hotel Mirabelle2–4 players · A Riviera gala, a film star who will not wake, and two detectives who only have each other.
- Dead StopFree · 4–5 players · A sleeper train, a snowdrift, and an art dealer who will not reach London.
Not sure which? Take the 60-second quiz.
Every one runs on the same setup: phones for the characters, a TV for the clues, the host as a player. Hosting two? Pick Hotel Mirabelle, a detective case for 2 to 4. Hosting a crowd? Death at the Speakeasy takes up to 16, and this page shows the exact cast at twelve. Playing apart? It works over Zoom too.