Sleuth Night

Guides · By player count

Murder mystery party for 12 people

Twelve is a proper crowd. The structure does the hosting for you. Here is which of our mysteries fit 12 players, exactly who is in the cast at that size, and what changes about hosting at this size.

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Mysteries that work for 12 players

1920s · 6–16 players

Death at the Speakeasy

Chicago, 1927. The gin is cold, the jazz is hot, and the owner is dead.

The cast at 12 players

  • Lola LaRue, the headline singer (she/her)
  • Dorothy "Dot" Marlowe, vinnie's wife (she/her)
  • Frankie Costa, the bootlegger (he/him)
  • Dr. Edmund Hale, the society doctor (he/him)
  • Ruby Fontaine, the cigarette girl and bookkeeper (she/her)
  • Sam "Sticks" Delaney, the bandleader and drummer (he/him)
  • Charlie "Hot Lips" Bertrand, the trumpet player (he/him)
  • Mabel Marlowe, vinnie's sister and the hostess (she/her)
  • Otis Greene, the bartender (he/him)
  • Countess Anastasia Volkova, the "russian countess" (she/her)
  • Detective Jack Brannigan, the off-duty cop (he/him)
  • Pearl Whitmore, the heiress flapper (she/her)

4 more optional characters available if your group grows.

Set up the Speakeasy, freeRead the full mystery page

1980s · 6–14 players

Murder at Blackwood Manor

Halloween night. A séance, a locked library, and a host who never reached midnight.

The cast at 12 players

  • Vivian Blackwood, the niece (she/her)
  • Dr. Silas Thorne, the family physician (he/him)
  • Madame Esmeralda, the medium (she/her)
  • Gideon Crane, the groundskeeper (he/him)
  • Harriet Mulgrave, the housekeeper (she/her)
  • Ambrose Fell, the town historian (he/him)
  • Tobias Blackwood, vivian's brother, the actor (he/him)
  • Lucinda Vane, cornelius's fiancée (she/her)
  • Sheriff Dana Whitlock, the off-duty sheriff (she/her)
  • Percy Nightingale, the lawyer (he/him)
  • Ruth Ashby, the cook (she/her)
  • Jasper Quill, the true-crime podcaster (he/him)

2 more optional characters available if your group grows.

Set up Blackwood Manor, freeRead the full mystery page

present day · 6–14 players

Silent Night, Deadly Night

Christmas Eve. Snowed in. One family, one fortune, one Santa too many.

The cast at 12 players

  • Holly Ashworth, reg's daughter, runs the flagship store (she/her)
  • Noel Ashworth, reg's son, the cfo (he/him)
  • Ivy Ashworth, reg's second wife (she/her)
  • Dr. Gabriel Frost, reg's oldest friend and physician (he/him)
  • Merry Pemberton, owner of hollybrook lodge (she/her)
  • Kris Tannen, reg's driver, and the lodge's santa (he/him)
  • Officer Pat Lindqvist, the snowed-in local officer (they/them)
  • Belle Ashworth, holly's daughter, home from college (she/her)
  • Rudy Kessler, the buyer's analyst (he/him)
  • Aunt Ginny Ashworth, reg's sister (she/her)
  • Tomas Reyes, the lodge chef (he/him)
  • Pastor Joy Whitfield, the village pastor, up for the carols (she/her)

2 more optional characters available if your group grows.

Set up Deadly Night, freeRead the full mystery page

Hosting 12 players: what changes

New to this? Read how to host a murder mystery party first, then how the game is played.

Questions hosts ask

Do all 12 guests need their own phone?

Yes, one phone per player. Each guest gets a private link with their character, secret and round objectives. Two people can share a character on one phone if they want to play as a pair.

What if 12 becomes 11 or 13 on the night?

Change the player count on the host dashboard right up to the moment you press Start. Optional characters drop in or out; the mystery still solves.

Does the host play?

Yes. The host is a normal character. Advancing rounds is one tap on the dashboard, and the TV screen shows clues to the room.

Is it printable?

Every mystery includes a print view of all character cards and the host sheet as a backup. Most hosts never print anything.

Set up your 12-player party, free.

Pay $29 once, when you press Start on the night. 30-day money-back guarantee.

Set up a party, free