Guides · By player count

Murder mystery party for 8 people

Eight is the sweet spot for a dinner-table murder mystery. Here is which of our mysteries fit 8 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 8 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 8 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)

8 more optional characters available if your group grows.

Set up the Speakeasy, free Read 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 8 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)

6 more optional characters available if your group grows.

Set up Blackwood Manor, free Read 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 8 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)

6 more optional characters available if your group grows.

Set up Deadly Night, free Read the full mystery page

Hosting 8 players: what changes

✓Everyone fits round one table and can hear the round intros without shouting.
✓Serve a course between rounds. Three rounds, three courses, and the timing takes care of itself.
✓Two or three guests will drive the interrogation. Give the quiet ones a reason to talk by seating them next to the loud ones.
✓Rounds of 20 minutes. Set a timer on the TV screen so nobody has to be the bad guy.

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

Questions hosts ask

Do all 8 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 8 becomes 7 or 9 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 8-player party, free.

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

Set up a party, free